Why NOT to move to Mexico (Part I)

Infrastructure

Moving to a different country is not the same as visiting.

Before taking the leap and investing the much needed time, work, and money for relocation and residency costs, you need to understand that moving to a different country is not for everyone, and Mexico is not for everyone. 

This is why I’m planning on writing a series of posts about reasons NOT to move to Mexico.

Today I will focus on infrastructure.

Mexico is a third world country. Things like power outages, water outages, gas outages, and such are perfectly normal.

You may be thinking about moving to a beach location that looks like paradise, and paradise might be the way the natural landscape looks from a distance, but you really need to spend time in your chosen location and pay attention.

Each city in Mexico is unique. What is true about one city is not true about another one.

Most cities in Mexico are not as manicured as cities in the U.S. or Canada. Sidewalks are poorly designed if they exist at all. If you're not looking while you walk, you could very easily get hurt with the number of holes and uneven pavement! 

In charming colonial cities like San Miguel de Allende, the beautiful cobblestone streets are the number one reason for many twisted ankles or broken toes.

San Ángel neighborhood. Mexico City LBM1948, CC BY-SA 4.0

Internet speed is not as fast as in Canada or the U.S. You can find very reasonable internet in most cities in México, but I currently have crazy fast upload with my internet plan in Canada which could never be compared with what I could get in México.

Buildings are not built “according to code.” There can be crazy wiring inside and outside in many parts of Mexico. It’s not unusual to see a GCI outlet next to a water source like a sink or pool. This is especially true in older construction.

If you are handicapped or have mobility issues, like my step-father, there are many businesses and buildings with stairs and no ramp to accommodate wheelchairs or the handicapped.

Plumbing in Mexico isn’t designed like what you’re used to. In many places, the pressure isn’t strong enough to send toilet paper down Mexico’s pipes, and oftentimes toilets get clogged. Not to mention that a lot of towns in Mexico are very old, and their pipes can’t handle the same systems toilet paper is designed for.

Many places in México don’t have a lot of water pressure. In fact, it’s a treat when you go to a place that has sturdy water pressure when you take a shower or wash dishes! Newer construction will have better water pressure of course, as well as nice resorts and hotels.

Public bathrooms in Mexico are usually neither free nor widely available. For example, on the highway, it's not common to have public stops with public bathrooms. And toilet paper is not usually supplied!

Speed bumps (topes) in Mexico seem to be designed to slow down a tank instead of a car. They are huge! And they are everywhere: even on highways. If you’re coming down a highway at 80 kph and don’t see a speed bump, it can really damage your car.

There are usually signs saying "tope a 500 mts" or something similar. Which stands for “speedbump at 500 meters.” But if you’re driving at night, on a dark highway, and not paying attention, you might miss the sign. 

Xcalacoop, Yucatan Максим Улитин, CC BY 3.0

Potable water isn't widely available in Mexico like it is in Canada or the US. In Coatepec, where we are planning to move, most people buy water by the gallons in a jug called a "garrafón" which can be refilled and is used for cooking and drinking.

The general advice and recommendation is not to drink tap water anywhere in Mexico. Again, each city is unique, but in general, most of Mexico doesn't have sewage plants or segregation of sanitary sewer vs storm drainage. Many places, even larger cities, rely on septic tanks.

Some areas don't have storm drainage at all. Rainwater just sits in the streets. If people want to drink the tap water, they have to install filtration and sanitizing devices in their own house. There may be no option for sewer connection. Some cities have them and others don't.

I use exactly the same filter in Canada and in Mexico: we recently found out our house in Ontario still has lead pipes! If you live in Ontario, you may have lead in your tap water if your home was built before 1955, has a lead water service pipe connecting the home to the municipal water supply, has older household plumbing, has plumbing fixtures with a higher lead content, or has lead-based plumbing solder. But I digress.

In Mexico, some neighborhoods can be smelly. And I'm not talking about the faint smell you might get from roadkill on the side of the highway, I'm talking like a sewer smell in parts of the city where drainage was built hundreds of years ago. And yet, downtown Hamilton, where I live right now, is a lot smellier than Coatepec!

The bigger the city, the better the infrastructure generally, and Mexico City is the biggest city of all. But again, each neighborhood within each city is different, and this is even more the case in Mexico City. There are neighborhoods with excellent infrastructure. Some may even look like first world level infrastructure.

Polanco, Ciudad de México, by Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, CC BY-SA 4.0

And some can potentially be affected if there is a big earthquake (Yes: Mexico has earthquakes).

And yet, after receiving our gas bill last Saturday, we would have decided to move to Mexico if we hadn’t decided already last summer!