Living out your golden years in style is what retirement should be all about. And that includes soaking in as much sun and fun as possible, which is why many Americans (more than 60,000 of them, according to statistics by the Social Security Administration) choose to move to Mexico upon retirement. But Mexico is a pretty big nation, so where, exactly, should soon-to-be retirees be looking? GoBankingRates conducted a study of small towns throughout Mexico to find out.
“Mexico is blessed with sunshine, culture, and food loved the world over,” GoBankingRates wrote in its findings. “But best of all for retirees, perhaps, is its affordability.”
Specifically, GoBankingRates wanted to find the 10 best places to retire in Mexico for under $2,500 a month. It analyzed the cost of living in various cities around the nation using the service Numbeo Cost of Living. To qualify for its analysis, the cities had to “have every data point available for accurate calculations,” including the cost of eating out, groceries, rent, mortgages, transportation, clothing, utilities, and even down to the cost of leisure. The rent price was calculated off the cost of a one-bedroom home or apartment located within a city center and out of the city center and three-bedroom homes or apartments in the same proximity.
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After analyzing the data, it found the city of Aguascalientes, located in central Mexico, to be the most affordable.
“Aguascalientes has low costs across the board, but it particularly shines in terms of one-bedroom rent outside the city center and three-bedroom rent inside the city center,” the findings read. “At just $169.81 and $384.31 per month, respectively, Aguascalientes has the lowest costs of any city surveyed in those categories.”
The analysis showed that the average monthly expenditures for a single person in the city, including rent, is just $861.59, and without rent, it falls to $583.
As for where else retirees should look, Ensenada, Veracruz, Puebla, Saltillo, Querétaro, Tijuana, Playa del Carmen, La Paz, and Mazatlan all made the list as well. To see all the findings and available data, visit gobankingrates.com.