Mexico's growing assisted-living market targets U.S. retirees

[AzDreamer]

Here's an article about something I have been interested in for a while. I only have second hand knowledge of a couple small Mexican retirement facilities but so far what I have heard is favorable when compared to the US facilities in my area.

Here is my summary of the article below.

Active senior and assisted-living facilities for as little as $1,100 a month.

Drug cartel violence that gets so much U.S. media coverage rarely touches civilians.

Mexican resort cities, like San Miguel and Puerto Vallarta, do not have the world-class hospitals found in the Mexican capital.

Mexico has a national health care system which Americans can buy into for $350 a year.

Buses can be used to travel back to the US.

Mexico's growing assisted-living market targets U.S. retirees | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Dallas News on Yahoo! | The Dallas Morning News

[socca]

Article in today's NYT about increasing violence/kidnappings in Mexico:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/wo...nted=1&_r=1&hp

I've been worried for quite some time about my relatives who vacation regularly in Cancun. They claim that I have nothing to worry about. I suppose the folks who aren't ostentatious are (more or less) safe.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i've read about the kidnappings before. seems to be more of a mexican on mexican event. they probably won't be storming the tv sitting room. my concern would be living incapacitated so far away from family, from someone known to check up on my care.

though i suppose i could band together with a group of my elder american inmates. i was surprised to not find many such facilities searching for them (online) in thailand but i suspect this will, as quoted, became a wave in the future.

"This is not going to be a niche market; this is going to be an entire industry," said Eduardo Alvarado, chief executive officer of La Moreleja, a residential development in San Luis Potosí, a colonial city in northern Mexico that also sports Wal-Mart, Home Depot and many other businesses familiar to Americans.

now if they would just build a few senior lgbt communities overseas, i'll be set. (though they'll probably charge us more for the drag shows & other, um, special services.)

[Bestwifeever]

I'll send my MIL tomorrow....

[Brat]

I have thought for some time that there would be a market for LTC facilities in border communities. The one issue is that the resident would need to speak Spanish. The frail elderly who have thinking problems often panic when they can't understand what is being said by care givers. However, today many Americans speak Spanish so that may not be a serious marketing issue.

The crime mentioned by others will really slow development, including the willingness to move there.

[Billy]

Billy and I have been living here in Chapala, Mexico for the last several months. It’s our old stomping grounds from back in the ‘90’s.

There is a Casa de Ancianos here that has been run by a woman from the US for the last dozen or more years. She speaks English and Spanish and this place gets very good reviews for its care. I imagine that more places like this will spring up as the Boomers age.

Although gardeners and maids would probably not speak much English, caretakers themselves would more than likely be bi-lingual. Doctors and nurses here speak a good deal of English. It’s in their best interest to do so.

Life here in Chapala has more and more of an upscale feel to it than it ever did years ago. A Wal*Mart just opened November 2nd, and there are some very good shopping options for food in the area. It’s not that different than places in the US with a large Hispanic population.

From our experience and observation, crime only hits the areas that splash with wealth (bank robbers rob banks because that’s where the money is…) and those places are becoming more plentiful as more Expats move in. The houses can be very ostentatious at a fraction of the cost one would pay up north. You can get country club living in the foothills with a guarded gate for a fairly reasonable price depending on what location you are moving from.

No doubt, there is an interesting juxtaposition of Expats who come here for the beauty, climate, better cost of living and services alongside the fact that this is Mexico, not Canada or the US. The residents, the laws, the customs, the language and the style is Latino. It is humorous to see how surprised (and sometimes disappointed) the Anglos are that this is the case.

But those points aside, it makes a good deal of sense that assisted living facilities would increase as the need for wealthy Northerners (as compared to the regular Jose and Anna living here) increase.

You can certainly get more care with a better climate for the Dollar than up in the States, so why not take advantage of it?

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement

[tomintucson]

Akaisha,

Thank-you for yet another sober, thoughtful and informative post from foreign lands. Your descriptions often have a ring of familiarity for me, as I travel to some of the same regions as you and your husband, yet you always bring something fresh to the discussion. (And I've only been a traveler up to this point, never having spent more than a month or so in any one place. Often I tend to avoid the company of some Americans when I'm overseas, but I'm hoping I'll bump into you and Billy on the road somewhere. Or perhaps somewhere closer to our respective home towns...Wilcox? Patagonia? Dragoon? Arizona's a lovely place too.

Tom

[Billy]

Thank you for your kind words, Tom. I appreciate it.

You know, even with the financial markets the way they are these days, Billy and I agree that we want to continue to travel. What we see in the world opens our minds and hearts so much and allows us to hone our perspectives and talents in such a way that it’s worth it to us to continue seeing the world.

We like the feeling of shaking out the cobwebs and becoming fresh and journeying compels us to do just that. We are doers not havers, so this lifestyle suits us.

We leave for Oaxaca tomorrow morning for a month’s trip from there up the coast and back here to Chapala. Please feel free to come on down! We can help you find a place to rent - we should be here in this area until the spring when we will be leaving for Thailand once again.

Please do keep in touch. Would love to meet up someday.

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement

[tomintucson]

Akaisha,

Such a gracious invitation... I may be more inclined to meet up with you and Billy in Thailand. (You guys are really going in the spring? I know you favor the north, but it's still really hot! Yeah, I know, so is Tucson.) I want to revisit Chiang Rai, and see Mae Sot, at the Burmese border. I volunteer here in Tucson with about sixty Karen refugees from the camps near Mae Sot, and am considering a volunteer stint teaching English in or near the camps. I have, however, been somewhat taken aback by my market losses. I was contemplating this trip for November or December (Thailand and Laos), but for now I'm hunkering down, licking my financial wounds, and waiting to see which way the wind blows. I'm ambivalent about whether to travel or wait. Maybe I'll start a thread on the subject, soliciting feedback. In any event, you'll probably here from me in 2009 with word that I'll be passing through Chiang Mai....

Tom

[kcowan]

Friends here in PV who relocated from California are going through the process of signing up for the national medicare coverage for gringos (IMSS) and their experience has been very positive. The Mexicans are well-aware of the huge potential influx of retirees over the next decade and are trying very hard to make them welcome.

[freebird5825]

hmmmmmm...spicy food as a national diet and the golden years.
i better take a case of Prilosec along.

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by Billy

No doubt, there is an interesting juxtaposition of Expats who come here for the beauty, climate, better cost of living and services alongside the fact that this is Mexico, not Canada or the US. The residents, the laws, the customs, the language and the style is Latino. It is humorous to see how surprised (and sometimes disappointed) the Anglos are that this is the case.
Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement

Akaisha,

We visited Mexico City, San Miguel and Guanajuato in May. Had a wonderful time except for the parts where I was sick. Liked Guanajuato lots more than San Miguel, not sure why. Mountains vs. desert I guess. Our Spanish got a terrific workout. We stayed in B&B's in non-expat parts of town. Had a blast.

Guadalajara/Chapala is on our list of places to visit next time.

[kcowan]

You will not be disappointed when you visit next. It is a fascinating country. Billy and Akeisha started their international PT journey in Chapala/Ajijic. Billy did their tennis courts. I hope he is enjoying them...

[chinaco]

Sorry... I might be a pessimist or cynical after watching my parents try to utilize certain domestic geriatric help... for which they paid the expense. The US system... of nursing homes and assisted living... IMO and experience gets a low grade [a D+ or C-].

It would leave me wondering if the Mexican version would be similar to the comparison between US prisons and Mexican prisons, which jail would you prefer to be incarcerated? (yes a rhetorical comparison!)

What are the quality control mechanisms and safe guards in place? When you need elderly assistance you are at your most vulnerable... it is not like family will be able to watch over you! Not to mention that both the person receiving care and the family would want family near by and able to visit.

Assuming we are not talking about retiree vacations or extended sojourning to broaden your cultural experience.... but a situation where one needs hands-on help for the duration till the end.

Thoughts or concerns?

You might be better off hiring your local illegal to help in your own home under the watchful eye of family! I am half kidding here... but you get my meaning.