The first reason why I'm living in Queretaro,
Mexico as an American is the perfect year
round climate. With the latitude of Hawaii and
an elevation that's a bit higher than Denver,
Colorado, comes perfect weather all year long.
The coldest month of the year is January,
with an average high of 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
And the hottest month of the year is
May, with an average high of 85.
Number two is safety.
I wanted to live in Mexico, but I
also wanted a safe place to live.
Queretaro is one of the safest cities in the
country, with a homicide rate of just eight murders
per 100,000 residents, which in terms of serious crime,
makes it safer than where I was living before
Phoenix, Arizona, which has a homicide rate 50% higher
at twelve people per 100,000 population.
Number three is the cost of renting a home.
Here we're renting a large 3,500 square foot, three bedroom,
three bath home with great views in a nice neighborhood
in a gated community for $1500 a month.
Now, it's been a while since I've lived in the US.
But after a bit of online house hunting, I learned
that it would take about $4,500 to get a similar
home where I used to live in Arizona.
So renting here costs just one third
of what it costs in Phoenix.
Number four is that it's a historic city.
You have ancient history with the prehispanic pyramid on
the southern end of the city known as El
Cerrito, which dates back to the year 400.
But then you have more modern history as well.
The city as we know it today was
founded by the Spanish in the year 1531.
So in the historic city center,
you have gorgeous, well preserved facades.
And in addition to that, you have a
massive aqueduct built 300 years ago that stretches
more than a kilometer across the city.
Number five is that it's also very modern.
The same day you visit the Juriquilla Hacienda dating back
to the year 1707, you can drive ten minutes
and visit modern shopping malls such as Antea Lifestyle Center,
which is the biggest mall in all of Latin America.
It features shopping for all budgets, including many
stores that you'll see in typical US malls.
But it also has very high end shopping options.
Like Hugo Boss, Yves Saint
Laurent and Louis Vuitton.
Now, after you blow through your life savings at the
mall, you can head next door to City Market, the
fanciest grocery store I've ever seen in my life, where
you can purchase a $10,000 bottle of wine and wagyu
steak that sells for more than $500 a kilo.
Now, don't get me wrong, not everything
is super expensive, because the 6th reason
is the affordable cost of living.
You can go out to eat and have a cheap dinner such
as tasty tacos and a drink for two people for $10 total.
The US
Equivalent of this might be going to Chipotle, where you're
looking at $30 for two burritos and two drinks.
Or you can go to a fancy restaurant and have a great
steak dinner for half the price that it would cost you
In the US.
You can hire a full time live in cook, housekeeper
and nanny for $600 a month, whereas in the US.
You might be paying $1,000 per kid per
month just for daycare, five days a week.
And after spending $3,000 a month for
your three kids daycare in the US.
You still have to clean your own
house and cook your own food. In the US
Your cell phone bill might be $70 a month.
Here, it's going to be ten or $15. In the US
It might cost you $75 for an hour long massage.
Here, that'll probably be about $30. If you
want to go to the movies with your
partner and get a popcorn and a drink.
Here in Queretaro, it's about $15 total, whereas
that might be $40 in the United States.
Number seven is the amazing food.
Of course, there's excellent Mexican food, but there's also a
huge variety of foods from all over the world.
And eating out isn't too expensive, so we can
do it pretty often without breaking the bank.
For example, some of our favorite restaurants here in
Queretaro include an African restaurant owned by a Nigerian,
a Korean restaurant owned by a Korean, and an
Indian restaurant owned by an Indian.
It's incredibly diverse with people and
food from all around the world.
The 8th reason I live in Queretaro are the
short, cheap flights to destinations all around Mexico.
You can find round trip plane tickets to many
beach destinations around the country for about $100 each.
For example, I like to book the direct flight
to Puerto Vallarta, where I'm at the beach after
just an hour and 15 minutes flight.
And you can travel to all of
these destinations around the country without ever
crossing a single international border.
And not being subject to international customs
takes a lot of the frustration and
headaches and anxiety out of traveling.
Number nine are the nearby vineyards.
Within an hour's drive, you can arrive at countless vineyards
and cheese producers, which makes for awesome day trips in
which you barely have to leave the city.
You can spend the day relaxing in the vineyard
while enjoying the nature, a nice bottle of wine
and a cheese plate, all for less than $25.
Number ten is the city's amazing location.
Queretaro is located in almost the exact
geographical center of the country, so you
can get to many awesome destinations quickly.
Mexico has about 130 of these towns that they
call Pueblos Magicos, which translates to magic towns.
I've been to a bunch of
them and have never been disappointed.
They usually get the designation of a
Pueblo Magico because of their rich history
and culture or breathtaking nature.
Most of these towns are super pretty and really awesome
to visit within three or 4 hours driving from Queretaro
There are approximately 30 of these magic towns that you can
visit, and some of them are only an hour away.
I highly recommend that you check
out as many as possible.
For example, this one that we recently went to called Huasca
De Ocampo in the state of hidalgo is breathtaking.
Number eleven the city is very walkable
If you're in the right neighborhood. You can't walk
from one end of the city to another because
it's too large of a city for that.
But there are quite a few neighborhoods where you
can live where most necessities will be within walking
distance or just a short bike ride away.
A few of these include Jardines de La
Hacienda, Lomas del Marquez, Centro and Alamos.
Number twelve the city is super clean.
I've traveled all around Mexico, and Queretaro is
probably the cleanest city I've been to.
There's very little trash on the ground.
The garbage men come by almost daily and
there isn't much tagging throughout the city either.
Number 13 - Queretaro is big enough to have
all the conveniences of a big city.
For example, it's large enough to have
five golf courses, big box stores like
Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, and Home Depot.
You also have many restaurants and stores that you'll find
in the US and Canada, such as Chili's, Buffalo, Wild
Wings, HEB, Tim Hortons, and Denny's to name a few.
But at the same time, you have all those conveniences.
It's not such a big city that it's so overwhelming.
You also don't have the awful pollution
that you'll see in the huge metro
areas such as Guadalajara and Mexico City.
Number 14 - the city is visually appealing.
You have the gorgeous city center, and you also
have the massive aqueduct, and you have quite a
few nice parks around the city as well.
In addition to all that, you also have
many really pretty neighborhoods around the city that
would make a great place to live.
Number 15 is the super
high speed and affordable Internet.
Almost everywhere in the city you're going to have
access to fiber optic Internet and you can get
speeds of 300 megabits for about $35 a month
or 1000 megabits for $75 a month.
Next, watch this video where I answer the question
can you live in Mexico on Social Security?