Vancouver and Beyond

The Ottawa Citizen

Saturday, January 12, 2008

- Check out International Living’s retirement havens and quality-of-life lists. (Go to www.internationalliving.com)

- It helps to make a list of what’s important to you. What factors will allow you to enjoy a good lifestyle? Is it warm weather you’re after? What cultural and leisure activities are important to you? Is it important to be a short airplane trip from home? What kinds of communications do you need — Internet? Cable TV?

- Once you’ve chosen a prospective country, you’ll want to zero in on a particular area that offers those characteristics. Climate varies widely in a country as diverse as Mexico. The central highlands boast what the locals call “perpetual spring.” The north is hot and dry. The south coastal regions are hot and humid.

- Once you’ve selected a possible country, contact the embassy or consulate to ask about health care, education, property ownership and residency requirements, culture, taxes, special benefits for seniors and any other topics that are important to you.

- Spend time exploring the country and specific area you have in mind. What a great excuse for a vacation — “I’m scouting out prospective retirement places.” Do not buy property impulsively on your first trip.

- Consider political stability, climate, housing prices, cost of living, red tape and whether foreigners can own property. And talk to Canadians who’ve done it already. They’re your best source of information.

- To obtain more information about moving to Mexico, go to www.canada2mexico.com or contact the Mexico Tourism Board in Toronto at 1-416-925-0704, ext. 24. Montreal and Vancouver also have Mexico Tourism Board offices.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2008

Last Updated: Friday, October 12, 2007 | 11:49 AM ET
CBC News
Canadians settling in to spend the winter in Mexico are revelling in the way the loonie is stretching further, allowing them to splurge on everything from groceries to winter homes.

‘For Canadians the high dollar and the flat market, if they’re interested — this is the year to buy.’
—Paul Hart, expatriatePaul Hart, a retired senior civil servant from Manitoba, said the power of the loonie — which was trading Friday morning at $1.0268 US — is allowing him to trade up and buy a bigger home at Lake Chapala in central Mexico.

“The loonie’s doing terrific! We’ve been coming down here about six years,” Hart said of the community with a large contingent of Canadian expatriates.

“When we first came down, the dollar was really low. We were getting as low as 5.6 pesos to the Canadian dollar and now we’re getting 10.8, so it’s just fantastic!”

Hart said Canadians considering buying real estate should cash in now with market conditions being highly favourable.

“The market here is also flat because it’s been somewhat overbuilt and the flat housing market in the States has really impacted sales here,” he said. “For Canadians the high dollar and the flat market, if they’re interested — this is the year to buy, this is the winter to buy I think.”

Realtor Trudie Nelson says she’s seen an influx of Canadians in the area since she moved down from Toronto a decade ago.

“It’s the largest community outside Canada for Canadians to retire now,” she said. “I think larger than the American market at Florida. It is a huge market.”

But Nelson cautions Canadians against purchasing real estate hastily, saying it demands a strong commitment on the part of the consumer to relocate.

Rent burden eased by loonie’s ascent
Barb Madren, formerly of Windsor, Ont., now rents lodging in the lakeside community of Ajijic, also in Central Mexico. She describes the loonie’s ascent as “sensational” and has taken to teasing her U.S. friends about the flagging greenback.

“My rent is in U.S. dollars which means I’m doing better,” she said. “I’m not paying as much rent as I was before.”

For years Canadians in the region developed a reputation as being typically tightfisted, Madren said, a stereotype bound to change with more Canadians expected to flock to the region.

“The first joke I heard when I came here from an American of course was, [what's] the difference between a Canadian and a canoe? A canoe tips. Can you believe?” she said.

According to a Statistics Canada first-quarter travel report, sun-seeking Canadians made Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba the top three overseas destinations. Over half a million overnight trips were made to Mexico between January and March of 2007, up 24.6 per cent from first quarter of 2006.