More Americans Are Moving to Mexico, Even Though It Could Risk Their Lives

The number of Americans residing in Mexico on a temporary or permanent basis grew by more than 70 percent from 2018 to 2023.

A parachute jumper with a U.S. flag before the start of the 2023 United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 22, 2023. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

OAXACA, Mexico—Though the U.S. Department of State has issued multiple warnings about the high rates of violence in Mexico, and three tourists were recently murdered in Baja California, the number of Americans moving south of the border is surging.

The number of Americans residing in Mexico on a temporary or permanent basis grew by more than 70 percent from 2018 to 2023, with the numbers for 2024 still pending, according to data from the Immigration Policy Unit of the Mexican Secretariat for Home Affairs.

Many American ex-pats say the lower cost of living is what prompted their move.

“The affordability [here] allowed me to retire at 62,” Helena Arvanites, who moved from the United States to Queretaro, Mexico, told The Epoch Times. “I enjoy the quality of life, incredible people, and beautiful weather.”

“It’s cheap and I can buy a casita [cottage] to rent as an Airbnb,” Eduardo Aguinaga of Guanajuato, Mexico, told The Epoch Times.

“More affordable, new culture, simple life, beautiful weather, kind people,” Ana Sbragia, who moved from Mississippi to Silao, Mexico, told The Epoch Times.

For others, there are political reasons.

“I needed to leave the USA as things are just too crazy and cruel there now and I don’t see it changing anytime soon,” Nancy Martin, who moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, from Seattle, told The Epoch Times. “Also for someone with a meager income (but decent savings), it is almost impossible to find accommodations in Seattle. Small apartments go for $2,500 a month.”

But the surge of Americans heading south of the border is not necessarily welcomed by Mexican locals, who say they are driving up prices and making rents more expensive.

“I hear more English than Spanish when I walk through my neighborhood now,” Rosa Rodriguez of Mexico City told The Epoch Times. “And they don’t have any respect for the culture here, everything is more expensive, and they turned the tienda [store] down the street into a yoga studio.”

State Department Travel Advisories to Mexico

The U.S. Department of State has recommended that American citizens do not travel to six of the 32 Mexican states because of the high risk of crime or kidnapping. Those states include Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.

The State Department recommends that anyone traveling to those states keep traveling companions and family back home informed of their travel plans.

“If separating from your travel group, send a friend your GPS location. If taking a taxi alone, take a photo of the taxi number and/or license plate and text it to a friend,” the State Department said.

Despite the warnings, thousands of Americans have moved to those states over the past 5 years, with more than 11,000 having moved to Zacatecas alone, according to data from the Secretariat for the Economy of Mexico (SE).

Zacatecas has recently seen a wave of killings over confrontations between the local police and the Sinaloa Cartel, Mexican newspaper La Jornada reported.

“People get killed at supermarkets and malls all the time in the United States; yes, things are bad, but put it into perspective,” Ana Tavarez of Zacatecas told The Epoch Times.

Most Americans who have moved to Mexico on a temporary or permanent basis, however, have relocated to the territories of Mexico City, Jalisco, and Quintanaroo, according to numbers from the SE.

Baja California Murders

One of the Mexican states on the State Department’s travel advisory list is Baja California, which currently has a “reconsider travel to” warning because of crime and kidnapping. It is also where three tourists, one American and two Australians, were recently brutally murdered.

Brothers Jake and Callum Robinson from Australia and American Jack Carter Rhoad had apparently stopped to surf the breaks between Punta San José, about 50 miles south of Ensenada, and La Bocana, further north on the coast. They were attacked there on April 28 or 29.

As soon as police arrived at their last known campsite, it was clear that something had gone violently wrong.

There were blood stains and marks “as if heavy objects had been dragged,” leading to suspicions of an attack, the Baja California state prosecutor’s office said in an attempt to reconstruct the scene.

Officials Explain What May Have Happened

Chief state prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez described what likely would have been moments of terror that ended the trip for the three men.

She theorized that the killers drove by and saw the foreigners’ pickup truck and tents and wanted to steal the truck’s tires and other parts. But “when [the foreigners] came up and caught them, surely, they resisted.”

She said that’s when the killers would have shot the men. She said the attack likely would not have been motivated by the fact that the men were tourists. “The evidence suggests [the killers] did not know where they were from,” she said.

Then, at “a site that is extremely hard to get to,” the bodies were dumped into a well about four miles away. Investigators were surprised when, underneath the bodies of the three foreigners, a fourth body was found that had been there much longer.

“They had to have previous knowledge of it,” Ms. Andrade Ramírez said of the attackers, acknowledging the possibility they were behind the previous killing.

The well had been covered with boards. “It was literally almost impossible to find it,” Ms. Andrade Ramírez said. It took two hours to winch the bodies out.

Though the brutal murders have hit close to home, some American expats say it’s not going to make them change their lifestyle.

“Mexico is not Disneyland,” Ms. Arvanites said. “Will these tragic deaths alter my behavior while living here? No.”

Prosecutors have identified three people as potential suspects, two of whom were caught with methamphetamines. One of them, a woman, had one of the victims’ cellphones when she was caught. Prosecutors said the two were being held pending drug charges but continue to be suspects in the killings.

A third man was arrested on charges of a crime equivalent to kidnapping, but that was before the bodies were found. It was unclear when or if he might face more charges.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.