Mexico: Pros and Cons Without a Pitch
So Jocelyn asks for a rule: every Helps line needs a Costs line next to it.
Picture a couple named Jocelyn and Tobiah, 64 and 66, who live north of Houston. Their daughter Soraya has told them she would visit often if they chose Mexico, and that has pulled the list toward one side before anything is written. So Jocelyn asks for a rule: every Helps line needs a Costs line next to it.
| Side | What they found | Year and kind of source |
|---|---|---|
| Helps | Mexico City is 1,234 km from Houston and 2,057 km from Miami. | Computed great-circle distances |
| Helps | The highlands are mild. Mexico City averages a January high of 21.2 C and a low of 5.8 C. | Weather service data for 1951 to 1980, an old period |
| Helps | Under the treaty, Social Security is taxed only by the United States. | Treaty text, Article 19 |
| Helps | The income test is published by each consulate: about 79,771 pesos a month, or a balance of 1,344,373 pesos held for 12 months. | 2026, arithmetic from consulate sheets: 680 days of the national unit of account at 117.31 pesos a day |
| Costs | Government fees about doubled. A four-year temporary card is reported at 25,057.82 pesos, up from 11,984. | 2026, law firm reports of the fee law |
| Costs | The State Department rates Guanajuato and Jalisco Level 3, Mexico City Level 2 and Yucatan Level 1. | Advisory of 29 May 2026, as summarized by secondary sources |
| Costs | Mexico City sits at about 2,240 m. A plan to cap rent rises at inflation was announced. | July 2025, news report |
| Costs | Offices are reported to ask for proof of a Mexican address and to have longer waits. | Oct 2026, one reported source |
Tobiah multiplies. Two four-year cards are about 50,116 pesos in fees. He does not have a dollar figure for it, because the exchange rate moves.
"The test is where the consulates differ," Jocelyn reads. "The Houston office listed about US$4,342 a month in 2025. It changes, so we ask Houston for this year's number."
Soraya calls in. She likes Lake Chapala. Jocelyn opens the advisory and reads the Jalisco text aloud, slowly.
"Mom, that is a lot of reading before a lease."
"It is a lot of reading," says Jocelyn. "I would rather have read it."
Tobiah adds the last line to the Costs side: the rating is for a whole state, and a state is large. They would like a rating for the street.
You could…
- Ask the Mexican consulate for your state for this year's income test in dollars, and which papers it wants.
- Read the State Department text for the exact state before you look at houses.
- Ask an accountant who works with Americans abroad how a US pension would be taxed in Mexico. The pension exemption in the law names Mexican schemes.
If you chose a town in Mexico, what was the first line in your Costs column? Tell us below, so the next couple can start their list there.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Rules change, so each figure shows the year it applies to; ask the official office before you act.
Sources: Consulates of Mexico (Tecun Uman income and savings sheet, August 2025; Houston 2025 sheet); Mexican national statistics institute, unit of account for 2026; Clark Hill and Garrigues summaries of the 2026 federal fees law; Mexperience (October 2026); United States and Mexico tax treaty, Article 19; Mexican income tax law; United States State Department travel advisory (May 2026); Mexican weather service data via the World Meteorological Organization.
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