Welcome to San Miguel de Allende!
If you’ve landed on this page, you probably already know that our little village of 140,000 people is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where people actually live and work—like fellow UNESCO site Florence, Italy—and that we have been voted by Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards as the Number One City in the World five times already by 2023 (even Florence can’t beat that!). Our list of additional international accolades is nearly endless.
But what’s it like living here, you may ask?
As the most popular expat destination in Mexico—which is also the biggest expat country destination for retirees due to our U.S. proximity and low cost of living—we expats have a large support network. Speaking Spanish here is certainly helpful, but even The Dream Pro’s command of Spanish remains limited and I live and work here full time!
The walkable community of San Miguel de Allende offers English-language arts, culture, entertainment and dining options of a city ten times its size, partially because our expat population represents over 25 countries and we are the Hollywood-style playground for Mexican nationals. We are a government-recognized wine region akin to Tuscany in look and climate, an international gourmet destination for foodies, the equine capital of Central Mexico and host of numerous internationally-recognized creative festivals and conferences, from the Guanajuato International Film Festival to the San Miguel Writers’ Conference. No other expat destination in the world offers our English-language social and cultural infrastructure!
What about that cost of living savings I mentioned?
House-staff wages at roughly 100 pesos an hour mean you have maid and maintenance service at your leisure. Property taxes seldom exceed in the hundreds of dollars annually, only on seven-figure homes. Cooks, drivers, caterers, bartenders…all are equally affordable. In fact, anything that would be automated in the U.S.—from an electric gate to a sprinkler system—is operated manually here. And while our mid-range housing costs can compare to certain non-coastal areas of North America, the quality and design far exceed what the same dollar would buy elsewhere. A home of $600,000 here would cost twice that anywhere in the U.S., likely five times that on the coasts.
As a full time San Miguel resident since early 2009, I have experienced everything there is to learn about expat life here, from building a home and transporting my entire life from the U.S., to starting my own business and navigating the business, legal and social scene here. I often speak with clients about their comfort level with making the transition to expat life here, full or part time. Contact me if you’d like to do the same!
