Boomer Retirement 2009-05-09

Enjoying Retirement On the Baja Gold Coast of Mexico By Mikel Miller

If you are trying to figure out where you can afford to enjoy retirement, especially if your 401k tanked last year, consider the Baja Gold Coast of Mexico from Rosarito Beach to Ensenada. The northwest Pacific Coast of Baja California Norte has rugged cliffs and sweeping ocean vistas, like the Big Sur area of California, and enough sand and surf to please almost everybody from beachcombers to surfers. After I retired in the fall of 2007, I discovered that the cost of living in this predominantly English speaking area is very affordable. Also, the exchange rate of Mexican pesos to U.S. dollars makes money go further.

Pacific coastline near La Mision in Baja California Norte

Housing offers good value, and a wide range of individual houses or condos is available in communities with other USA and Canadian citizens. Due to the real estate crash, prices for many existing residences range from $200,000-$350,000 USD for ocean view or ocean front properties with two or three bedrooms, and many come fully furnished. Similar properties on the USA Pacific coast more than twice as much, even after the crash. Monthly HOA maintenance fees average between $100-$150 USD. Weekly maid service costs $25 USD for one-half day. Almost all expatriate communities are gated; most have 24/7 security by off-duty local police, some wearing their municipal police uniforms. Many communities have one or more pools, a Jacuzzi, picnic and playground areas; you also get to watch pelicans, dolphins and migrating Alaska whales from your patio or balcony. Reprinted with permission.

Utilities are relatively inexpensive, compared with USA climates that require extensive air conditioning and heat. With average daytime high temperatures in the 60s and 70s all year, homes do not need air conditioning, and newer residences use economical gas heat. A typical monthly bill for electric, gas, water, and sewer averages between $100-$125 USD. Property taxes are very low. Property taxes for a $200,000-$350,000 residence in this area are $250-$300 USD annually. Residents over 60 pay only half that much, or about $12.50 USD a month, if they register at the tax office and pay directly rather than using an agent. The Mexican bank trust annual fee is about $500 USD, or around $42 monthly. Having a bank trust, or fideicomiso, is the only way a foreigner can own real estate legally in Baja. In essence, Mexico assigns the property rights to you, and a local bank holds the deed in a trust. Very good Mexican health care is available at greatly reduced prices. The annual cost is less than $500 USD a year for health care at governmentsponsored facilities through the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, or IMSS). Resident foreigners are eligible for this program, which includes basic dental care and prescription medications, and coverage begins six months after applying. Also, the area has several private hospitals and clinics, many staffed with doctors who studied, trained, and obtained board certification in the USA. Private practice fees are less than half the cost for USA medical and dental care. Groceries and food have bargain prices in pesos. Two people can eat very well for $200 USD monthly. Most expatriates use discounted pesos for fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, staples, and household goods at Calimax, Comercial Mexicano, or Walmart. Meat bargains are in neighborhood butcher shops (las carnicerias) that cut NY strip steaks to order for only $4 USD a pound. Two pounds of jumbo shrimp are only $9 USD at the fresh seafood market (el mercado de mariscos) on the Ensenada waterfront. Live California spiny lobsters from fishermen (los pescadores) at the Popotla fishing village are about $5 USD per pound. Refilling an 11-litre bottle with purified water at a small grocery (la tienda de abarrotes) costs less than $1 USD. Dining out offers good value for the money, especially in pesos. Two people can enjoy dining out at least once a week for about $25 USD, or about $100 USD a month, including Margaritas. Most restaurants offer full dinners ranging from $8-$14 USD for meat or seafood dishes, with generous portions two people can share or take home. Two lobster tails at restaurants in the Puerto Nuevo lobster village cost about $16 USD. Even at an upscale gourmet French restaurant in Ensenada, most entrees are only $9-$19 USD, half what the same entrees cost almost anywhere in the USA. Many restaurants have 2-for-1 drink specials and earlybird-special full meals for $5-$7 USD between 4-7 pm.

Some have live music and dancing on Friday-Sunday nights, with no cover charge. Leisure time activities cost less, especially in pesos. Ticket prices are low for museums, cultural events, and festivals. Current English-language movies in a new movie cineplex cost about $5 USD. A half-day offshore fishing trip is $25 USD. Local residents pay only $38 USD for 18 holes of golf after 1 P.M., including a cart, with four holes over crashing ocean surf. Miscellaneous expenses are reasonable, and you can pay in pesos. You need about $70 USD monthly for all of these -- your annual Mexican immigration documents, mandatory auto liability insurance from a Mexican insurance company, homeowner’s insurance, a private postal service, and a bill paying service. Most personal services are cheap in pesos. A car wash by hand to conserve water costs $7-$8 USD, including vacuuming and cleaning the inside. Haircuts for men or women are $5-$10 USD. Several good spas offer discounts to people who sign up for resident cards. With the discount, pedicures and manicures are around $20 USD, and a 30-minute massage is about $35 USD. You can pay more, of course, for special treatments. Shopping offers great bargains. You can watch local artisans hand paint Mexican tiles for your home, and order custom-built wood and iron furniture for a fraction of the cost in the USA. Original art, fine silver, sculpture, and ceramics from local artists are available in dozens of galleries and shops at very reasonable prices. Summary of average monthly living expenses here in U.S. dollars, based on interviews with residents about actual costs:  HOA fees & housekeeping $225  Utilities $125  Property taxes & bank trust* $ 55  Medical/dental* $ 40  Groceries $200  Dining out $100  Leisure time activities $200  Miscellaneous* $ 70  Personal services $100 Total $1,115 * Paid annually or semi-annually In addition to making retirement dollars go further, retiring to this area has other advantages. Anything you miss about the USA is only a short drive away. Many area expatriates drive to San Diego frequently for banking, shopping, or a USA doctor appointment, and are back home for dinner. San Diego is the 9th largest U.S. city, and offers professional sports teams, opera and symphony performances, the world famous San Diego Zoo, historic Old Town, Little Italy,

Reprinted with permission.

and the San Diego harbor. It also has plenty of direct flights to cities across the USA and to Canada. The air quality and climate are very good, with fresh air from unpolluted westerly winds sweeping across the Pacific Ocean. The climate is much like coastal San Diego -- mostly sunny, not too cold, and not too hot. The humidity is a comfortable 45-50 percent, and the only significant rainfall is about two inches a month from late November to early March. Sometimes, fog and ocean mist blanket the shoreline until late morning.

Oceana Course, Bajamar Golf Resort, Baja California Norte

The area is a safe place to visit and live. The only two U.S. citizens killed in Rosarito Beach or Ensenada in 2008 were transporting drugs, according to an analysis by the Houston Chronicle newspaper. All but a few Mexican murder victims here are members of drug cartels, sometimes within the same cartel, or they are law enforcement officials and Military troops fighting the drug cartels. Sensationalized USA news media stories about violence in Mexico often overlook these facts. Despite drug cartel violence in Mexico, 2008 FBI crime statistics show that New Orleans, St. Louis, and Baltimore have higher murder rates per 100,000 residents than Rosarito Beach and Ensenada. Non-drug related violence involving handguns is very rare here, because Mexico has mandatory jail sentences simply for possessing handguns or ammunition. All retirees need to find a safe, affordable place to enjoy retirement. For me, this is the place. -- Mikel Miller, a retired U.S. Government employee from Maryland, is a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. He is finishing construction of a home about 50 miles south of the San Diego border. His e-mail address is [email protected].