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Mexico vs Philippines: Retirement
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Which country is better to retire in by the beach, the Philippines or Mexico?
barneyrubble
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I’m reasonably certain that you could find a decent beach town on the Costa Allegre and live like a king on $1500 a month. Nayarit is buggy but 200 miles closer to the border. Divided highway from there to Tucson. Busy international airport with daily direct flights to major US markets barely two hours away in the latter case. Thanks to the trade winds you’ll probably find a better 12 months/year climate at the right Philippine coastal location. Then if it’s rural/primative enough you could live over there for as little as a third of that figure-but if you’re leaving relatives or real estate or both behind in the USA then it’s not even a contest in my book. Just to state the obvious you shouldn’t retire in a Mexico/Central American beach town until you’ve been there in the summer and it can be a very long summer. Tecoman, Colima was wonderful in the first week of January but quite oppressive into the second week of November three years later. That time around the locals told me that it had already “cooled off” for the winter there! The one exception here would be central Baja on the Pacfic side which is pretty desolate in the first place but gets bracing windy weather into July. Cabo San Lucas is popular (if you can pay the fare of course) because the real steamy part of summer doesn’t start until that late. So most 12/months year retirees will opt for locations above 5000 feet altitude and the vaunted “eternal spring” climate as a result. You can always drive to the beaches: just avoid Easter Week in Mexico.
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I would suggest the answer depends on travel distance, inconvenience and your family connections. If one plans to retire 3–6 months a year in a new country, airfare is a consideration. If one has children, grandchildren or elderly parents, a longer move would or could be very inconvenient for everyone. Both have great beaches and friendly people, both are inexpensive altho’ the Philippines can be MUCH cheaper and regarding safety, both have areas to avoid. Your question is especially meaningful to us because we love the beaches Cambodia and the mountains of Laos but we have five daughters, 11 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren in Michigan USA who miss us if we are gone traveling more than 90 days. If we retire 6 months a year in Yucatán Mexico (our current thinking) our daughters and many if our adult grandchildren can fly down to stay a week or two. While both our parents are dead, we must consider other friends and family who might need us. Airfare from Mexico to Michigan is quick and rather cheap (4 hour flight about $400) but it’s 20 hours plus and $1000 or more to fly from Cambodia. I wish we could pack light and leave forever but in our situation it’s impossible:-( We will choose Yucatán Mexico to retire in but visit Cambodia for a month or two during winters. REMEMBER you can’t always get what you want. Good luck in your decision