PHOENIX — Years of hard work have finally paid off for Jan Killebrew and her husband Rick Golish.
While the two are enjoying retirement life in Maricopa, they’re ready for life’s next adventure.
“We have probably 200 boxes we need to pack,” Jan said. Moving is one of life’s biggest stressors, but it comes with ease and confidence for Jan and Rick.
They’re about ready to substitute their backyard pond views, to the oceanfront in April.
"Hopefully our house down there will be just as nice,” Jan said.
Rick replied, "I have a permanent resident visa already. Jan is in the process of obtaining her permanent resident visa. We were down at the Mexican consulate this past week, starting that process. It takes about three months to complete. We've done the U.S. side, so now we have to complete the Mexico side.”
ABC15 first met Jan and Rick at the Phoenix Mexican consulate. They say their families were in shock when they told them about their international move.
“They're mostly people who have never been to Rocky Point or afraid for our safety,” stated Jan. “All they think about are cartels; that's all they hear about.”
The McKay Family hears those same questions.
We asked the McKays if they are concerned about crime in Mexico.
Kelly McKay replied, “I think at first until we crossed over. Then, like you said, everything kind of just what we believed in, what we heard, totally different when you're actually here.”
Kelly and Tamarr moved with their eight-year-old son to La Paz, Baja in January 2022. The Expat family shares their adventures overseas on their YouTube Channel called, ‘RVSeeingYou’.
"I spent 25 years serving my country,” said Tamarr. “At the same point, I don't want to hear about politics every day. So, we wanted to remove ourselves from it. We want it to be somewhere where it's not the focal point of discussions.”
We asked the McKays, “People are really pinching pennies and it's difficult on so many families. What are you finding living in Mexico, when it comes to finances?”
Kelly replied, “I noticed that even just with groceries, we can spend so much less here for the same amount.”
Andrea Durazo works in the Mexican consulate's visas department and says she’s seeing younger generations becoming permanent residents.
“If you’re a digital nomad, you get paid US dollars. You can perfectly live there,” Durazo said.
Jorge Mendoza, the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix told ABC15, “I have seen many young people who work normally online, and they can be in wherever part of the world they want and have their income from the States so that in the case of living in Mexico.”
The Consul General says in the last six years, the number of U.S. applications to apply for Mexican resident visas has grown.
Just out of the consulate in Phoenix, about 8,000 people have been issued visas since 2017 with the largest number, about 2,500 visas issued in the last year.
Mexico’s Interior Ministry data shows a nearly 60% increase in the number of U.S. citizens being granted temporary residency visas this year in 2022, compared to just 3 years ago in 2019.
Mendoza said, “They can live in Mexico with a pension with a modest pension, more comfortable.” Which is the case for Jan and Rick.
"Climate, people, cost of living food, the ocean, we love it. Less traffic,” Rick said.
The McKays are now focused on transitioning out of a nomadic life to make Mexico their home base.
“We're building a house right now that’s a 10-minute walk from the beach,” Tamarr said. “We can see the ocean from our front porch, and it's going to cost us well under $200,000. And guess what? It may not be everyone's desire, but we're happy about it. And we're content with it.”
As of today, the U.S. Department of State estimates 1.6 million U.S. citizens live in Mexico.
Ximena Sotres Brito with the Phoenix Mexican Consulate said there is a process to obtain a visa, “You must schedule an appointment at: visaspho@sre.gob.mx, and submit various requirements, depending on the type of visa you are applying for.”
For more information on the process, click here.
As for taxes paid, Brito says “Foreigners who are residents in Mexico and receive economic benefits for any business activity or own real estate in our country, are considered taxpayers and are taxed in the same way as Mexican citizens; therefore, they must comply with the obligations that correspond to the tax code for which they receive said remunerations.”
For more information on the tax requirements, click here.
