Our Visa Process to Live in Mexico
**This post has been updated with 2020 requirements from the Mexican government, but still retains our experience getting a visa the first and second year.** Getting a visa to live full-time in Mexico takes time and some exhausting work. Many people live in Mexico part time especially from the Northern states to escape winter. This is because the regular tourist visa you receive when entering Mexico is good for 6 months compared to the 90 day visa you receive in most other countries. Part-time living is fine if you want a winter home in warm weather and spend your summers with family after the snow has melted. But we went…
Should You Sell Your House Before Moving Abroad?
A question we are asked often is “Did we sell our house before we moved abroad”? Well, yes we had planned to, but no it didn’t happen. We planned to put our house up for sale 3 months before we moved to Mexico, but it didn’t work out the way we hoped. Here’s the Story… When we decided to move to Mexico, we visited a few towns that we were considering for our wants and needs. We chose Queretaro in May of 2017 and spent the next few months working on home improvements, organizing our finances and packing up the kitchen (it took a while). In September, Hurricane Irma…
How to Ship Your Belongings Overseas
Our boxes have arrived! All 63 of them… Yes, we packed WAY too much. The kitchen stuff alone was 42 boxes. No, we didn’t bring our own stove and refrigerator, but Tom is a self-made chef, so he has plenty of “toys.” We shipped a cryovac machine, 22 cutting boards (I don’t know why we need that many), the Vitamix (that’s for me), mixer, food processor, 2 crockpots, special pots, pans, ceramic cookware, and even an espresso machine. When I moved to the Dominican Republic, I had 3 suitcases and 2 dogs. That was a much easier move. Couldn’t we get that stuff down here? Yes, of course we could,…
How to Pack Like A Boss for a Big Move
When it comes time to pack for a big move, the task can be overwhelming. How did you acquire so much stuff? If you’re lucky, your company will pay for most of the relocation costs. If you are doing this on your own, it’s time to “clean house”, decide what’s really important and become a master of the art of packing. Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links which means we will receive a small commission when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Do Your Research on Shipping Companies First, research shipping companies. Some will charge by weight, others by cubic feet. If shipping…
How We Stay Connected Using A Google Fi Phone
I did a lot of research about the best way to maintain my business phone number when moving abroad to Mexico. My email direct marketing business uses cell phone calls, text messages and email heavily both to accept orders and to get credit card numbers or changes to credit cards on file. So I needed to remain in touch with my clients but I needed to do it in the most economical manner possible. I had ruled out the big American service providers who all had an international plan designed for someone on a two week vacation abroad, but far too expensive for someone living abroad. AT & T provides…
Research Tips For Pet Travel to a New Country
If you think it’s hard planning your own flight to your overseas location, planning your pet travel is even more difficult. As humans, we can deal with wonky flight times; leaving at 5am in the morning, or arriving at an unknown location at 11pm at night, hoping someone will be available at the hotel or Airbnb to let us in. But putting our pets through it is worse. I’m not talking about the handbag- pets. I’m talking about the “large” dogs over 20 pounds that need to go in a crate in the dark belly of a plane. They don’t know what is going on, where they are going,…
How to Choose the Perfect Country for You
Have you ever dreamed of living in a villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea? Or an off-the-grid ecolodge in the jungles of Costa Rica? Strolling through the vineyards of Tuscany? Or maybe a high-rise apartment in Penang with the best Asian food just steps away…The perfect country is out there for you, but which one? I’m really surprised at how many people mention that they would love to live in another country, but then say “Oh, it’s only a dream.” Why is it just a dream? It doesn’t have to be. It’s not something you take lightly like “Should I have white wine or red wine tonight?” Moving to another…
Why Did We Choose Querétaro, Mexico?
Mexico is a kaleidoscope of different landscapes. From the beach towns of the Yucatan, wine regions of Baja, the jungles of Oaxaca and mountain ranges twisting their way through dessert and pine forests, it’s hard to choose the perfect place to visit, let alone live in. Big city splendor and conveniences can be found in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Central Mexico is full of charming colonial towns with their colorful buildings and festivals in Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and Pátzcuaro. Adventure seekers may like the thrill of water sports on the coasts, waterfalls in Sierra Gorda or hiking and rappelling in Copper Canyon. Visiting Mexico is easy though…
Leaving to Start a New Journey
Our new journey begins today! This is us 10 minutes before we left for the airport. We look exhausted and frazzled, we know, but we were ready to celebrate! Champagne has never tasted so good! We were still cleaning, painting and vacuuming our now empty house up until the minute we left. We finished moving the last of our furniture, our king size mattress, out into the driveway. One of our garage sale attendees was going to pick it up and give to another family who lost everything in a house fire. The last 3 months of packing, sorting and garage sales while still working 60-70 work weeks were exhausting…
Our Top International Living Destinations
Tiffany: It is absolutely mind boggling how much the cost of living is in the United States compared to other places in the world. It’s hard to believe that I make almost twice as much with my full time job in the U.S. compared to what I made in the Dominican Republic, yet just barely getting by. Tom is exhausted working so hard, but not getting ahead. I presented the idea of moving overseas to Tom a few years ago, but it took time to sink in. So I gave him a goal: By 2020, we are living overseas somewhere. Start looking for where you want to go”. His reply:…
