Let’s Move to Mexico!
Jim Dobson-Kelley
Making an international move can be intimidating and daunting. If you’re like me, I stress making a move within the same city! Here, I will share with you my experiences blended with those of nearly a hundred clients I have helped make San Miguel de Allende home. Please keep in mind there are no firm ways to make your move. With planning you can make the move as you wish, for what works best for you. Planning the move for a smooth transition can take a longer time frame than getting your residency, so I’ll reserve the topic of immigration for the next blog. (Be sure to plug obtaining residency into your timeline!) Please keep in mind you only have six months from receiving your residency to move your household to Mexico duty-free.
Setting goals and creating a task list with completion dates will help ease your mind and lessen the stress of what seems a formidable undertaking. We knew on our first visit in 2003 that we wanted to live in this beautiful town, upon our eventual retirement. On New Year’s Day 2006 while enjoying our first meal of the new year on the sunny rooftop of our vacation rental overlooking the parroquia, we decided we did not want to wait until retirement and set a goal of moving to San Miguel by the summer of 2011.
Upon returning home to our business, we created a five-year plan. Every decision we made (other than what to have for dinner or which movie to watch) we took into consideration how that decision would affect our goal to be living full time in San Miguel in the summer of 2011. We didn’t purchase the property which we would call home until March 2008.
On June 1, 2010 I created a one-year count-down sheet from 365 down to 0. Beside each day I noted tasks that needed to be completed by that date. The action of crossing off that day every evening gave a visual of how many days we had remaining. That kept us on-task and our excitement level at its peak!
Upon returning from our annual San Miguel stay in January of 2011 we started our most daunting task: liquidating our business, which successfully made a good nest-egg for us and we closed the doors to our business on May 31, 2011. We placed our home on the market May 1st and had an accepted offer on May 4th with a closing date of July 11th. We were going to meet our goal! (The “Magic” of San Miguel at work! That’s another blog!)
What about your furniture?
In 2011 only one consignment store existed in San Miguel with limited (and expensive) opportunities to purchase new. We downsized from 4,200 sq ft in the U.S. to about 2,000sq ft in our new home in Mexico. With furnishing options limited, we knew we needed to move most of our household. How did we do that?
-We had the measurements of the rooms in our new home and set about measuring the footprints of those things we planned to bring.
-We focused on our quality and upholstered furniture, and heirloom/antique items. All of which were near impossible or expensive to replace here.
We brought:
-Our art collection (which took 30 years to curate). It meant too much to us to leave behind.
-Our quality linens, using them as packing material for our fragile items.
-All of our kitchen: countertop appliances, cookware, and utensils. For which quality is expensive here. Since we had them, we brought them.
-All of our electronics.
We started the physical process by having a moving estate sale on that Memorial Day weekend. We sold about 40% of our furnishings and decorative accessories. We made enough to pay for the move and give us eight months of living expenses here in Mexico!
Currently there are about five quality consignment shops in San Miguel and almost every weekend there is an estate sale of people transitioning to another property or returning to the U.S. Like us, I have had clients who carefully considered what to bring, focusing on expensive items or those difficult/impossible to replace. I’ve also had clients who have only moved quality kitchen items and electronics, while others have flown in with only their clothes packed in suitcases. The decision is totally up to you!
Many people have moved their household items themselves utilizing vans, pick-up trucks, even pulling a trailer. Rental vehicles and trailers are not allowed to cross the border without a letter of permission from the leasing company. If you borrow a friend’s vehicle, the owner must be with the vehicle. There are local moving companies specializing in moving from the U.S. and Canada to San Miguel and all points in Mexico. Please contact me for referrals. When utilizing a moving company, a Menaje de Casa (inventory of household goods) is required for customs. As a reminder, you will have six months from obtaining your Mexican residency to move your household duty-free. Be sure to plug obtaining residency into your timeline!
We packed the boxes ourselves which reduced the cost. You are only allowed to bring used items. It is best not to purchase anything new to bring. The Menaje de Casa requires each box to be labeled (top and sides) Box 1 of XX, 2 of XX. The Menaje de Casa document (I made an excel spreadsheet) will be detailed with contents: Box 1: dishes; Box 2: decorative items; etc… DO NOT pack electronics and appliances in original boxes, customs will believe them to be new and charge duty. (Note from personal experience: although liquor boxes are sturdy and great for moving, they will certainly be opened for inspection!) Each electronic item needs to be listed separately with item description and serial number. If you bring too many of one item that appears new, customs will believe they are intended for re-sale and charge duty. The moving company will provide you with a current list of documents required for them to represent you through customs.
Tools are considered part of your household (if you have good tools be sure to bring them, but once hear do not loan them out!). If you have a hobby that requires special tools, materials, or equipment they are generally accepted as part of your household. If it appears they may be used in business or lucrative activities it could be a gray area requiring an explanation to customs. Once again, the moving company can advise you on current policies and regulations specific to what you want to bring.
The moving companies are fairly timely. Our household was loaded on a Sunday and left on Monday. We also left on Monday (one hour after closing on the sale of our home), arriving in San Miguel on Tuesday, with our household arriving and put in place on Friday! If you have less than a full truck-load the moving company will work with you to consolidate it with another client. This allows you to keep the moving costs down but it may take a little longer for your household to arrive.
What clothes shall you bring?
San Miguel de Allende is commonly referred to as the “land of eternal spring”. However, in late December and early January the nights can get a little cold. If you’re an early riser, the mornings can be a little chilly until the sun warms everything up. If you’re from the cold north, you may want to leave behind your heavy winter coats and clothing, saving a few items for those few weeks in winter. If you think you’ll be visiting the north in winter, you’ll want to keep a few for those visits. Otherwise in winter it is best to dress in light layers, then depending on the time of day you either walk on the sunny side of the street or the shady side. Me… I have a tendency to leave my shed layers behind. If I leave home early in the morning, I check the weather app and dress for what the day will be and deal with it by walking on the sunny or shady sides of the street.
San Miguel is a resort town, so everything is fairly casual. However, you will want to bring some formal or festive clothes for parties, weddings, and quinceañeras! Please consider if you have clothes that fit a little larger, you will “shrink out” of them here with little effort due all the walking and eating fresh, just one little lifestyle change you can expect. If you are smaller in stature, you will find the clothing and shoe selections are more plentiful. If you’re quarterback size, not so much.
Pets: move the whole family!
Household pets such as cats and dogs are easy to bring to Mexico. Other species can be considered livestock, so different requirements apply. Some species such as reptile and birds are considered exotic and could be illegal to transport internationally. We crossed the border with my Honda Ridgeline loaded Beverly Hillbilly-style (personal and valuable items we didn’t send in the truck) and our two Chow Chows comfortably in the back seat. Our hometown vet prepared international travel certificates (which were required at that time), but the documents were not requested when crossing the border. Crossing by land is much easier and relaxed. But please do not dismiss researching current certification requirements. Please contact me for current information.
As of this writing the U.S. CDC requirements for entry into the U.S. include microchipping and parasite-free certification. If you travel back to the U.S. with an adopted Mexican pet, prepare early as microchipping is not as common and not every vet is prepared to do the necessary parasite testing and certification. We crossed with two large sealed bags of premium kibble (enough to last until I sourced a pet food store) and a small open container for the trip. (More than a supply of 30 – 45 days may possibly be considered for re-sale and subject to duty.) There are two PetCo stores for your pet supplies as well as several pet boutiques dotted around Centro. My young female Chow Chow rescue is happily eating a custom blend of raw food we have delivered weekly. She loves it and the cost is actually lower than the premium kibble that she frequently tired of.
If you fly with your pets, you will definitely be subject to scrutiny of your pet, documents, and certification. Make sure you have everything in order. Please only fly with your pets in-cabin. I am not a proponent of pets flying in cargo. Too many things can go wrong. At best, your pet is either too stressed from the experience or too drugged to care. Either way, please don’t. (If you do, please don’t tell me.)
I hope you have found this information helpful. It is sure to generate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected] with questions or requesting additional information. Keep in mind some people will think what they did is the only way, telling you that you “must do it this way or that way”, pay no attention! It’s your life, your things, your move! You know what is best for YOU and what YOU want!
In future in I’ll be discussing immigration, healthcare/insurance, and other information I think you’ll find helpful for a smooth transition to your dream home in San Miguel de Allende! If there is a topic you’d like to read about, shoot me an e-mail or a call!
I have been working with foreign buyers here at Coldwell Banker SMART for over a decade. I am proud to provide the excellent client service for which our brand is known. If you haven’t yet connected with an agent, please reach out to me and let’s get started on your dream!
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