As I briefly mentioned in previous postings, many of Mexico's Pueblos Mágicos would make ideal retirement towns for those looking for places that are scenic, historically interesting, and have basic institutions and services that are important to retirees. These include security (low crime), basic medical services found in sophisticated clinics or small hospitals (and relative closeness to full hospitals and hour or two drive away; museums, tourism services, and adequate lodging. (The above basic criteria is required to become an official Pueblo Mágico.) While some of the pueblos are small and isolated, at least a third of those I have visited have large enough populations to provide a broad range of goods, services and culture to live well and inexpensively. These enchanting towns are largely overlooked by the large publishing sites that follow the crowded beaten paths.
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| The Church, la Parroquia, San Miguel de Allende |
In fact, the 111 official Pueblo Mágicos (in all of Mexico's 31 states) offer a huge variety of choices that would be of interest to most anyone-from cool, mountain towns, to warm coastal locations. Some, such a San Miguel de Allende (a former Mágico and now an UNESCO World Heritage Site), are as sophisticated as large cities-while many other "Magicals" are small with only a few thousand population of mostly artisans and ranchers, offering a peaceful, simple place to live. Most all are within an hour-or-two drive from State Capitols or vibrant cities, where one could find almost any service or material good needed. Within the system of Pueblo Mágicos, there is a place for almost anyone. I could easily write a book on retirement potential of these towns, rather than their scenic beauty for landscape artists, photographers and architects... but what I dowrite about corresponds to "magical" qualities that would attract many retirees that still have creativity, adventure and spirit flowing in their blood-and limited retirement funds. After all, the purchasing power of the US dollar or Euro is hugely significant in relation to Mexico's peso.
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| Jardín Principal, Jalpan de Serra in the Sierra Gorda Mountains. This is a lovely, quiet town. |
While I plan to elaborate more about the retirement potential of these pueblos in the future, there are a few interesting first steps you can take to consider these places: (1) begin learning Spanish well enough to shop, converse with your neighbors and assimilate into these towns. (2) The second major step is to research these towns (see www.mexicodesconocido.com), -and to visit the towns that are of interest. One last suggestion: never purchase property without first renting to make sure that you and your "pueblo-of-interest"-match well! Once you find your ideal "magical pueblo" you can apply for a visa permanente(permanent visa) and qualify for Mexico's excellent national health care system. To date, I have visited about a third of the 111 Mágicos in central and northern Mexico and have chosen about 20 for current and future books for my series on "Painting Mexico". For my purposes (art and travel), I explore these towns in great detail and learn much about them from local officials.
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| Pozos de Mineral, Guanajuato. This is a small, enchanting gold town near San Miguel de Allende. |
Here are some mid-sized Mágicos that are desirable for retirement:
San Miguel de Allende (sophistic and beautiful but getting very expensive)
Calvillo, Aguascalientes
Sombrerete, Zacatecas
City of Guanajuato (a UNESCO site)
Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato (small but close to San Miguel)
Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila (an oasis in the desert, but cultured)
Tequisquiapan, Queretaro
Jalpan de Serra, Querétaro
Pátzcuaro, Michoacán
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| Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. |
I will be adding to the above list and providing more information on each town in future postings. Stay tuned.
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