A Colonial Foothold

A large proportion of foreigners purchasing property in Mexico choose to make their investment at one of Mexico’s many fine beach locations.  Mexico has over six thousand miles of sea-facing land with ample diversity for those who want to live near water: from the relatively calm shores of the Sea of Cortes (now more often referred to as the Gulf of California) as well beaches facing the mighty Pacific, the clear turquoise-hue waters of the Mexican Caribbean, and eastward across the Gulf of Mexico.

However, there exists another option when you’re searching for a property foothold in Mexico: a collection of beautifully preserved colonial towns and cities.

Most of Mexico’s colonial cities are situated at altitudes above 5,000 feet.  This means that you can expect cooler and more temperate climates here than you’ll experience on the coasts where, in the spring and summer months especially, temperatures and humidity soar.   Winters can be cooler in the colonial cities – chilly in places, requiring the warmth of a fireplace or heating system.  Summers in Mexico’s colonial cities are warm and can often get quite hot.  Most regions experience ‘monsoon’ rains between May and October each year; they often take the form of torrential afternoon or evening downpours which cool the high summer temperatures and make the local flora and fauna burst into life.

The spring and fall climates are beautiful in most of Mexico’s colonial cities; featuring an ideal temperate ambience with occassional rainfalls between otherwise undisturbed sunlight, shining across crisp and deep azure-blue skies.

Although many popular Mexican resort towns have been – and continue to be – easier to get to and from than most of Mexico’s colonial cities this, too, is changing.  Mexico has invested heavily in its road network over the last couple of decades and in the last few years, the country has embarked upon a series of initiatives to upgrade important regional airports.  Mexico’s extensive bus network is outstanding and offers excellent service, comfort and affordability. The one transportation system that Mexico still lacks – and would probably benefit greatly from – is a high-speed passenger rail system.  In any event, colonial cities in Mexico are more easily accessible today than they ever have been; and that is a trend that is going to continue improving.

If you’re scouting for places to live and invest in Mexico, its colonial cities are worth considering for another reason: demographics.  For at least thirty years, Mexico City has been the center of political and economic activity in the nation – attracting over one fifth of the country’s total population into a little over one-tenth-of-one-percent of its total land space.   People living in the capital are, unsurprisingly, feeling the pressure and actively considering alternatives to the metropolis as they seek out better lifestyles for themselves and their families.  They are spying colonial cities and moving there.

The growth in provincial residency is encouraging providers of services and amenities to invest there too; and so shops, supermarkets, entertainment facilities as well as good doctors, clinics, hospitals and other sought-after services are beginning to develop outside of the capital.
Many expatriates do look-out for brand names they recognize, like Starbucks and Wal-Mart (and find these in increasing numbers across colonial cities in Mexico), although one attractive aspect of Mexico is that you can still shop locally without the need for chain stores and franchises, if you want to.  The local storekeeper, baker, green grocer, butcher, hardware store attendant, and pharmacist – they’re all there waiting for your business.  It’s a choice that many people living in ‘industrialized’ nations are now being denied through the relentless homogenization of retail trading spaces there.

What colonial cities are expats moving to?  There are a few places like San Miguel de Allende, Ajijic/Chapala and Cuernavaca – which have been popular with foreign expats for some four or five decades now, and their lure and appeal is still attractive to many who visit and make of these places their home, full or part-time.

Many expats looking for a foothold in Colonial Mexico are researching alternative places to those well-trodden towns and a few which have caught the eye of foreign expats in recent years include Merida, Campeche, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Oaxaca, San Cristobal de las Casas, Morelia (and nearby Patzcuaro), Puebla and Veracruz.

San Cristobal de las Casas and Patzcuaro are unique in that they offer a blend of colonial and indigenous culture and architecture.  Both locations are ancient highland towns which have been pristinely kept and protected, to preserve their longstanding heritage.  San Cristobal, situated in the highlands of the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico, is a little more remote; whereas Patzcuaro is a four-and-a-half-hour road trip from Mexico City, or an eighty-minute road trip from Morelia’s international airport.

To see an example of the type of houses available in Mexico’s colonial cities, visit this house for sale in Patzcuaro.   The property, which is owned by an American family, was purchased a few years ago when it was in a state of ruin.  The family contracted a local architect to draw up plans for a restoration of the property to its former glory, while keeping as many of the original features and materials as practicable.  The results are stunning and stand as an example of what is possible if you want to develop a property in Mexico – or simply want to move in to a property that has been beautifully restored for you.

Colonial cities offer (generally speaking) significantly lower prices than equivalent land and property spaces situated at popular beach towns and resorts.   This is, in good part, due to the lower demand for colonial property than real estate situated by the sea.  It’s also worth keeping in mind that colonial property markets do not experience the same amount of turnover as their seaside counterparts; so if you buy land or property in a colonial city in Mexico, it might take longer to sell.  You can learn all about property purchase and ownership in Mexico here on Mexperience.

If you’re looking for a long-term investment and a foothold in Mexico that will provide you with a stable home, a wonderful climate, good access by road and (sometimes) air, a lower cost of living than the US, Canada and Europe, and a place where you can be surrounded by history, culture, heritage and Mexico’s stunning natural habitats on your doorstep – do some research about Mexico’s colonial cities, and then go and see a few of them in person.  You may be pleasantly surprised.