But did you know Mexico is also a hot relocation spot for families with school-aged children While Mexico doesn’t publish data on the family makeup of its foreign population, the number of extranjero families living here appears to be significant and growing: just look at the number of Facebook groups and blogs dedicated to families living in or immigrating to Mexico and you are bound to find parents and kids of various nationalities integrating everywhere into daily Mexican life The school’s story is reflective of what’s happening in several locations in Mexico we have seen a huge influx of foreign families,” says Amber Nieto who grew up in San Miguel de Allende with a Mexican father and American mother and runs a website and consulting service for families we had 46 new families … and there are 16 nationalities represented currently.” Mexico News Daily conducted a survey of foreign families in Mexico to learn more about this growing demographic We heard from 28 families who had immigrated to Mexico over the last 15 years That data, compared with data from a 2017 survey of 43 other immigrant families is helping paint a clearer picture of where families are from Of the 28 families that responded to our most recent survey The earlier survey in 2017 specifically targeted U.S relocation specialists told us that they’ve seen interest in moving to Mexico rising from families all over the world 99% of my clientele was from the U.S.,” said relocation consultant Katie O’Grady “Now I’m seeing more interest from Canadian now I’m seeing more interest from families in the Midwest and southern states.” San Miguel de Allende-based relocation consultant Sonia Díaz is seeing similar changes “The majority of my clients are from the U.S but I am seeing more interest from people in Europe nearly every person was retired,” she said “But the number of young families I have as clients has at least tripled since I started relocation consulting services 10 years ago.” The families we heard from are gravitating toward coastal cities like Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán and also Mexico City — the latter which has long been popular with expats in general and is becoming more and more popular with people from the U.S These destinations match findings by INEGI this month It found that in the first nine months of 2022 the top destinations for new temporary visas granted were for people with addresses in Mexico City Our survey found people are choosing to live all over the country — from small fishing villages to megacities to rural communities in the middle of the country A good example of this diversity is the Dempseys state of Virginia with their three children three horses and five dogs to an avocado farm in the small community of La Escondida They wanted to be closer to the father’s side of the family La Escondido’s population in the 2020 census was 774 there are a number of reasons why families are moving to Mexico such as seeking better weather to reducing stress to finding a lower cost of living But new reasons have risen to the top spots between the surveys of 2017 and 2022 almost all of the top five reasons families moved to Mexico were geared toward personal fulfillment such as spending more time with family and experiencing Mexican culture Our 2022 survey showed the top reasons concerned more practical quality-of-life issues: No “There have been waves of immigration,” said O’Grady presidential election and now during the pandemic The biggest difference I see now is that most of my clients are moving because of political discomfort who moved with his family from Johnson City has become a toxic country with all the gun violence political divide and racism,” he wrote in his survey response [that] there are areas that have become more violent or harder for families to live They feel safe here,” said Ramírez of her foreign students’ families “And now with the pandemic and things opening up for jobs families have the option to move to another country more easily It has reduced the number of families that leave One survey respondent who wished to remain anonymous wrote “We left Canada in June 2022 due to the political climate and divisiveness We wanted to live where the culture is rich people are kind and [where] we could have better health all around and we could raise our children to be bilingual and bicultural.”  seeking a lower cost of living was also a big driver for families making the move the second most popular reason given in our most recent survey Amber Nieto concurs that the main reasons given for moving to Mexico are “the better quality of family life and lower cost of living,” adding “People can have a slower paced lifestyle here and create a stronger sense of community.” cost of living was already a major factor for Jason Hartman the want of going to Mexico became a need,” he said “I was running the numbers of what my wife and I were earning at our jobs a respectable but not ostentatious food budget and care costs for two kids — at the end of the month “I shared what I found with my wife and told her we either have to move out of California to a more affordable place or I need to change positions with a company that pays more,” Hartman said “She brought up the idea of moving to Mexico where her family was from and where we had visited on multiple occasions and loved.” The Hartmans are now coming up on the eighth anniversary of their move to Mexico in February “It’s the best move we could have ever made,” Hartman said Now I work when I want to and save more money than I did while in L.A.,” he said Our survey also found that a good number of families immigrating to Mexico already have ties to the country although the numbers decreased from the earlier survey to the most recent Forty percent of respondents from our 2017 survey and 29% from our 2022 survey cited a connection to Mexico: a Mexican partner or spouse; extended family in Mexico Gray and her husband met in England — she is English — and moved to Mexico with their three young daughters in 2009 to be closer to family since her husband’s family would be relatively nearby in Mexico City where her kids attend the Instituto Bilingüe Victoria “I had always known I didn’t want to live in the UK,” Gray said “I always knew I would live someplace else So when the recession hit and our business suffered “I wanted my kids to be a part of a big Mexican family despite the challenges her family has faced boils down to ensuring that their daughters were raised in a safe and nurturing environment with good educational opportunities which they found in the Pueblo Mágico of Tequisquiapan Debbie Slobe is a writer and communications strategist based in Chacala, Nayarit. She blogs at Mexpatmama.com and is a senior program director at Resource Media. Find her on Instagram and Facebook ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC