How to Move to Mexico with Ivonne Paavan of Host Relocation

In this episode of Adventure Calls, host Jess Drucker sits down with Ivonne Paavan, founder of Host Relocation, to uncover the reality of safety and acceptance for LGBTQ+ expats and the local community in Mexico. 

Discover why more Americans are choosing to relocate south of the border and how Ivonne's expert insights can make your move seamless and stress-free. Jess and Ivonne discuss the realities of life in Mexico, from safety, the actual cost of living, the importance of learning Spanish how to get a visa to Mexico, what schools children can attend, what part of Mexico to move to, and more. 

We talk about life in cities like, Mexico City, Queretaro, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun
Playa del Carmen, Monterrey and Guadalajara. 

Below are the key takeaways from this episode:

• Safety for the LGBTQ Community: Mexico offers significant safety and acceptance for LGBTQ individuals, sometimes even more so than in the US.
• Comprehensive Relocation Services: Host Relocation Mexico provides a range of services including residency, housing, and multicultural training to facilitate smooth transitions for expats.
• Learning Spanish: Adapting to life in Mexico is easier with Spanish proficiency, and Host Relocation offers pre-departure Spanish classes via Zoom.
• Cost of Living: Although gentrification has raised prices, the cost of living in Mexico generally remains lower than in the US, particularly for dining and entertainment.

About Ivonne Paavan + Host Relocation
Ivonne Paavan is the founder of Host Relocation, a leading relocation company based in Querétaro, Mexico with teams in all major areas of the country. With a wealth of experience working with international companies, Ivonne understands the unique challenges faced by expats. Her company offers comprehensive services, including residency, housing, and multicultural training, to ensure a smooth transition to life in Mexico. Ivonne is committed to making sure all clients, particularly those in the LGBTQ community, feel safe and supported in their new home.

Host Relocation Introduction Visa video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2gSwIsFabU&t=30s
Website: https://hostrelocation.com.mx
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hostrelocation
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hostrelocationmexico

Rainbow Relocation Strategies

The Adventure Calls podcast is brought to you by Jess Drucker and the Rainbow Relocation Strategies team, the first and only LGBTQ+ centered company focused on creating international relocation strategy for those look to take the leap and follow their call to adventure.

Website: www.rainbowrelo.com
Website: Jessicadrucker.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainbowrelo
Book: How To Move Abroad 

The Adventure Calls podcast is a bi-weekly podcast that seeks to empower queer folks to move, live and thrive abroad with interviews with relocation experts, queer expats who have successfully relocated and other organizations that give a lens on the LGBTQ+ experience in the world.

Transcript

0:10

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Adventure Calls podcast. The only podcast that empowers specifically queer folks and their families to move, live, and thrive abroad. My name is Jess Drucker, and this episode is for you if you're considering relocating to Mexico. Maybe you were inspired by the last two episodes. We talked to Hannah Dixon. She's a digital nomad, an entrepreneur, and for now, a resident of Mexico herself. And she talks all about how she was able to relocate to Mexico and run her business from there. And if you've been thinking about a move abroad and you really wanna consider Mexico, today is gonna get even deeper into how to do that because I'm talking to Yvonne Pavan. She's the founder of Host Relocation, a relocation company based in Queretaro, Mexico, and they have services and connections throughout the country. And so before we get into today's episode, I wanna share with you the answer to a question I get a lot, which is, what's a relocation company and why do you need one? And you definitely don't need a relocation company. When I was younger, I never would have even considered it, and I would have thought of you as, like, weaker than me for using 1. That's ridiculous. If you've got a job, a house, a family, responsibilities, using a trusted relocation company can save your sanity and it can help you get everything right the first time so you don't make any mistakes. Using a relocation company can help you figure out, like, what visa to apply for in the 1st place, what the requirements are, what all the paperwork you need to get together to apply for the visa is, and you need a local expert to tell you, like, what the process looks like and then what the timeline is. Plus then, once you've been issued the visa and you're actually moving, let's say to Mexico, they help you figure out, like, what moving companies to use, what real estate options you have, should you buy or should you rent, what city to move to, how to open a bank account, even like where to do your grocery shopping and how to find English speaking doctors. So they are really the bridge that gets you from your home country to your host country. And that's why Yvonne's company, Host Relocation, is perfect. Yvonne is a native Mexican. She understands how the system works. But in her decade, 10 years of experience working with expats like this in this capacity, She knows all the difficulties and challenges that expats face. She knows what your question is gonna be before you know it, and she has answers ready before you ask it. On this episode, I talk to Yvonne about everything like immigration, shopping, where to live, where certain types of ex expats like to live in certain places in Mexico. We talk about whether you really need to learn Spanish, how to drive your car down from the States, the requirements for permanent visas, how to choose a local school. And we also do something I love to do about Mexico, and we do a bit of myth busting. Like, how Mexico is way more than just Cancun or the Yucatan in Mexico City. There's so much more to see and so many other places to live. Like how Yvonne is based in Queretaro, which people might not even know about, but it's a fantastic city north of north of Mexico City. We also talk about how safety or lack of safety is less of an issue than you might think. After all, in the US, we're the ones with all the gun violence in the first place. And we address the elephant in the room, obviously, around narco trafficking and what that really looks like living in Mexico. We learned that Mexico isn't as cheap as you might think. And also about how as a neighbor to the US and Canada, there's a lot of familiarity in Mexico that you might not get if you choose to move to Europe, for example. Your plugs work, first of all. You can plug in your hair dryer and it doesn't get fried. So there's something. But just a personal note, I've lived myself in 4 countries as an expat for 10 years, and then I also traveled to over 40 more as a nomad. All in, I've spent about 6 months living in Mexico at different times in my life. And you can imagine that people ask me a lot like, where's the best place you ever traveled? Where's your favorite place you ever lived? And sometimes I'll say something you know, I'll say Cambodia. Cambodia was beautiful. It blew my mind. I learned so much about Southeast Asia when I was there. I felt really comfortable there. I might say the United States. Honestly, I think the geography, the sheer size of the United States makes it a fascinating place to travel. But honestly, in the end, I always say Mexico. Mexico is so rich in culture, food, geography, history. It's multidimensional. It's fascinating. People are smart. They're intellectual, but they're also super fun and kind. They're traditional, but really open, and they're open to LGBTQ folks as well. So if you're being pulled in that direction at the moment toward Mexico, please know I'm a huge fan. I think you'd be lucky to move, live, and thrive in Mexico. And that's why I'm so excited now to get started with my interview with Yvonne Pavan of Host Relocation. Let's get into it. Yvonne, thank you so much for joining us on the Adventure Calls podcast today. I do wanna point out before I ask you to introduce yourself and tell us all about what you do. You are part of our global relocation guide with Adventure Calls. You're listed as a relocation consultant for Mexico. So thank you so much. It's really special for me to have you on this podcast today. No. Well, thank you for your time, and thank you for the invitation, Jessica. Yeah. So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and about what it is that you do with host relocation? Okay. My name is Yvonne Pavan. Mexican, of course, and I have been working in the area with host relocation for now 10 years. I have been working a little bit more myself. I started as an employee. That's where the idea came from. So first I studied, business management, and I have a specialty in international customer service. Mhmm. So my first workable experience was with international companies where I met a lot of foreigners here in Queretaro. So I live in Queretaro. Queretaro is we call them the heart of Mexico. It is in the center part of the of the country. And suddenly 20 years ago, Queretaro was a little town, and they started to arrive a lot of international companies. So I work in one of them, talking with a lot of foreign people. So I basically knew what they needed to live here in out abroad, in any part of of Mexico. So when I got pregnant, of course, the schedule for Mexican companies is very complicated for women. So I said, you know, I I already work with the foreigners. I did it basically for free because it was not my main job, but I I helped them with relocation to them. The company normally in Mexico only offers the immigration part and the housing. And then they said, here is your key for the car. I need you to be here tomorrow at 7 AM, 8 AM. Like, I don't know the roads. You know? I don't know how to drive in Mexico. Of course. Yeah. Or, you know, I am sick. I don't know where to go, to which doctor, which medication I need to take. It's different. And a lot of things that make me think that a lot of people needed when they moved here. So that's where I started host relocation 10 years ago. So from then, it has been very nice journey for me. Yeah. And so and that's awesome because you saw all the needs before you founded the company. Exactly. Exactly. No. That that's really cool. And so let's talk a little bit about that. So you, obviously, you do relocation services for people moving to Mexico. And do you deal mostly with corporate expats or do you also deal with self initiated expats, people who move to Mexico on their own without a job? Host relocation started with corporate only, but now even though we serve the 2 markets, the corporate and individuals, our main market is individuals. Talking about retirees, young people working nomads that they can live everywhere in the world, or families that they want to have a different experience for their kids. So we serve mainly individuals. Oh, that's great. Okay. Perfect. That's even more targeted then. I didn't realize that. That's that's fantastic. Okay. And so let's talk let's just let's dive in. So I think a lot of people, and I said this to you before we got on the call in an email, but I think a lot of North Americans, especially US Americans, when they're thinking about moving abroad, Mexico is always, like, on the list. You're like, we could just move we could move to Mexico. It's like, it's in the same time zone. It seems really familiar, you know, Mexico versus, like, a move to Europe, for example, because, again, time zone flights home are frequent and closer. But even for, you know, for Europeans relocating as well, it Mexico is a really inviting place for a lot of people to move to. I'd first love to know, like, who are the majority of your clients? Do you deal mostly with, like, North Americans? Yes. That's the majority of host relocation clients is North Americans. Talking about Canadians and Americans, and I will say a little bit more Americans. But, of course, we have a little bit of everything, even from Africa. You know? It's it's very interesting how they, Mexico has been known all over the world. It's very interesting. Yeah. I mean, Mexico is also a really big country, you know, with lots of places to move and and so many different environments that you can move in move to. And that's something I want to ask you. So when you're talking about your ex pats who moved to Mexico, what are some of the main cities that people consider or end up moving to when they move to Mexico? We have, I will say, different markets. So for example, the people that is younger, they want more, like, a vibrant city. So they choose Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, which is like the bigger cities. Then there there is the beach people that they always looking for, you know, water activities, and they love the sun, which are mainly the Canadian people because, you know, they they love the sun. So they choose that has been growing a lot in, foreign community, La Paz in Baja. Los Cabos has been famous for many, many years, but La Paz, it's just 2 hours from Los Cabos, and it has become a very very big destination for foreigners to move. It's cheaper. It's, you know, cozy. It's smaller. So they they have been very attractive. And of course, the always beaches like Puerto Vallarta, Cancun. Now it's also become a famous Mazatlan as well. So and the I will say the gem of the gems has been Queretaro. As I mentioned before, it it has been growing in international companies, and that has been attractive to more of the people. We are 1 hour from San Miguel de Allende, which is like we call them the retiree town. Yes. But some people find even though they are retired, that doesn't mean that they are older. That means that they are over 50 years old, which are very young still. And they said, we want still, like, a bigger city. San Miguel is sometimes small for some people. So Queretaro has the perfect fit. It has it it is a cosmopolitan city. It has all the services like hospitals, shopping malls, and we are the heart of Mexico, so we have day trips with magical towns. Magical town doesn't mean magic like magic. It's just a name that the Mexico, government gave them because they have something special. So you can do day trips to those places in every weekend, so you never get bored. That's what Queretaro has been recognized for, that has a little bit of everything and perfect weather, all the central Highlands, we have an average of, I will say, 70, 85, Fahrenheit all year round. We don't have, like, the cold winters that you may experience in United States or Canada, and, of course, the north part of Mexico. So we are very steady, and we are not that hot and humid as the south part of Mexico. So the central highland has become very famous. And as I said, it's it's different for all the people. If you're a beach person, if you're more like a retire, you want to have a relaxed life, have a group of your friends where you can meet every day, do your activities, or have a little bit of everything, or be a younger person with a lot of things to do every single day. So as Mexico is a big country, so it's a limit for everything. Yeah. No. Absolutely. No. Absolutely. One question about about the central highlands. Do you still fly into Mexico City? Queretaro has, for example, international airports. So we have flights from Houston and Dallas and Detroit, Chicago, Toronto. So you can like, if you want to to start the process in Queretaro and live in Queretaro, there's options. And, of course, from Europe, no. So if you are coming from Europe, you need to fly to Mexico City. Right. Okay. That makes sense. And then for Mexico City, do people mostly drive or fly? There's both options. There's a bus. We have, like, Internet like, Mexican buses that come in from one state to another, which are very cheap, very affordable, very comfortable, and, like, high class. They have even a TV and everything. So They're like being in a in an airplane. Exactly. On the road. On the road. Yes. They're excellent. Yeah. Absolutely. It's very easy to commute from one state to another. Okay. And so there's lots of different options, obviously. And you're right. It's like the what's the reason for your move? Are you still working? What about for families? Do you find families sort of congregating in one area or another? Like, I would imagine maybe families with small kids or younger kids aren't living in San Miguel de Allende, for example. That's a a lot of a bigger retirement. Well, I I will tell you by surprise, they are moving more to to than San Miguel. San Miguel is too small for Yeah. For the kids. Exactly. So they like, the families that we have, they all choose Queretaro as their main state. Mexico City is too big for them. You know, it's a it's a new country, new culture. They said, no. It's too much for me. It's like New York, like Chicago. And Queretaro is a perfect fit. It's not too small, not too big, and they have all the activities that they have. We have a lot of places, or they can go different type of ages, like the small kids, teenagers. So they love that. And in fact, we have in Facebook group. It's called Kids Expats in Queretaro, and they have been growing. It started with 50 people. Now it's over 1,000, and it's still growing. So the people is very interested on gathering their kids with some other kids, and it's not only for expats. Mexicans, we are there as well. So Mhmm. It's it's very interesting. And just going with families a little bit more, in Queretaro, is there an international school or an American school? Are there like like the typical sort of like British, French, German schools? Or is there Yeah. Exactly. That's that's one of the advantages of Queretaro. Of course, Mexico City offers that since forever. Yeah. But Mex Queretaro started offering those kind of education, as I said, 20, 25 years ago. We have IB school, that means that if you study here in those, schools, you can go back to your country, and they can keep with the same school year grade. Yes. So that's important. We have here the we have the Japanese school, international school of of, we have the American school, which is the JFK, so we have a German school, the Swiss school, So it's yeah. We have a little bit for everything for everybody. Can you talk a little bit about, like, what I know you're not an immigration lawyer. Okay? I don't expect you to to get all to to talk about all the details. But, like, what are the sort of typical visas you're seeing? I'm so glad that you work mostly with individuals because it's different when you talk to someone who works mostly with corporate. They don't know this stuff as well. What are some of the typical visas, or, like, how are people actually getting to stay in Mexico for residency purposes? No. That's a super, super important question, and I think that will be 90% of the question of your audience. There's several, well, we have 2 type of visas, the temporary and the permanent. How to get them? We have just 4 options. The first one is through economic solvency. If you are retired, if you're working noma, if you are a freelancer, if you have a family and you have your savings, you can apply through economic solvency. You need to go to the Mexican consulate in your country, not necessarily in the same state, but in your country, and then come here to Mexico and do the second step. The other option is, like, corporate people that they have a job offer from a Mexican company and that it's a different process with a visa application. They need to go also with the to the consulate to be approved, and then come back here and the temporary visa is with permission to work. And then if you are married with a Mexican citizen, or you have a Mexican child, you can also get the temporary residency. And basically that's it, just economic solvency, family link, and a job. And when you're talking about economic solvency, in in Spain, for example, that's called the non lucrative visa. Some other countries call that a retirement visa. But all it really means is Mexico has a set amount of money they require, and it determines that you can handle your own finances without working in Mexico. Correct. Yes. And they have a range to prove what like, they are requesting for temporary and for permanent. Basically, the permanent visa is called retirement visa, which is for people that is not working anymore in Mexico. Retirement doesn't mean necessarily having a social security from your country, but not working. I have people like in their forties, fifties that they sold their companies, They receive an inheritance, but they have the enough economic solvency even though they are not 60 years old, and they can get the permanent residency. That is called even though that is called retirement visa. So What about the nomads? Like, the or let's say I I think nomad is a little bit not right of a term that all these countries are using because, like, you're not necessarily being a nomad. You're wanting to live in Mexico for, like, a longer amount of time. But what about the nomads or remote workers who are relocating to Mexico? What kind of are they on? They apply through economic solvency, all of them, because they they have a job in their countries, or they they have their own jobs. They are, like, they have their own company. So they can apply. Normally, they have the enough economic solvency to apply. I I don't want to talk about numbers because they are different. Even though in the US, and you said I'm American, I want to apply in the US. Unfortunately, the consulate has slightly different amount of requirements. So it starts from 3,000 US dollars a month, but it depends on the state, the requirement for economic solvency. But mostly working nomads or families, they all apply through economic solvency. They are not interested or working in Mexico, They will continue with their jobs or continue with their own companies. Yeah. I think that's a good point you bring up that, you know, you say you can't give an exact number, and it's and and and people will go online, and they will look in, you know, we were saying, like, Facebook groups and try to get information. And someone someone will say, well, I was required to have 3192 a month or something. And then they think that's the right information. But the truth is, not only is every consulate different, but every decision maker, every person that might stamp your passport or your visa is a different person, having a different kind of day, reading your materials. And so it can be very subjective within a range. And so it's really your process is gonna be individual no matter what usually. Right? I mean, that's Exactly. Exactly. Yes. So it's better to check or consult to a facilitator like us or many others exactly the requirements. We can help you find the information online. So if you said I'm Canadian or I am an American living in New York or living in Texas, we can help you with the detailed information. And when when we're talking about the residency, what's the length of time that the visa stays? When you say permanent, is it, like, forever, or is it Yes. I think I heard 10 years, or is that the temporary? Permanent means forever. So if you are over 18 years old, the only ones that they need to renew every 4 years are the kids. But if you are over 18 years old, it's forever. You don't need to go to immigration anymore. And right now the law, the immigration laws doesn't require to live here in Mexico to keep your residency status, neither temporary or permanent. So Wow. You can be permanent and live 10 years in Europe and come back, and you will be still permanent. Now we're talking about numbers, and you were saying, like, it starts at 3,000 a month. And someone might think like, oh, that's 36,000 a year. I could live on 36,000 a year. That's amazing. But can we talk about a little bit about, like, economically speaking? I think people think about Mexico as being, like, relatively cheap. But in my experience, it's surprising the more of a lifestyle you wanna keep that's like home, basically. Like, if you wanna keep a more like American lifestyle, it can get very costly, actually. Can we just talk a little bit about, like, people's perceptions or maybe this is a leading question, but misperceptions of the cost of living in Mexico? Yeah. That's what I've heard about my clients lately that they expect it to be cheaper than what they are leaving or they are expending every month. I think gentrification already, it's in Mexico, so we are not as cheap as we used to be 10 years ago. Because yes, we were cheap, and not anymore. The real estate prices has been growing in an average of 20, 30 percent in general. Of course, there are some states more expensive than others, but still the growing of, for example, La Paz is one of the examples. It used to be very cheap 5 years ago, And right now, since they become a very famous spot for foreigners, the real estate has been growing 30% at least. The food we have been experiences a lot of American chains like HEB, which is in Texas. And I will say it's just slightly 10% less than you will spend in the US. On even some products, it's the same price. For example, Costco in Mexico, I is the same price. Starbucks, they are the same price. The the good thing about Mexico is that you have options. In some months, you have a very big expense or something. You can still go to a taco stand. You can take some breakfast for tamale and a tole, and you will spend like less than 100 pesos. If you want a nice restaurant because you will receive family or friends, Yes. But it's still I will say the restaurants, according to my clients, you can spend like 200, 300 pesos per person in a very nice restaurant, which is like 25 US dollars per person or less. And when I go to the US, I spend the double in a nice restaurant. Yes. So I will say it depends on your lifestyle. If you go to a regular market to the movie theaters, which is a very, I will say, a thing in Mexico, it's gonna be super cheap. I will say the half of the price than in the US with popcorns, with sodas, with the with the ticket entrance. The activities for kids and for teenagers, they are also cheaper. We have in Mexico, Chuck a Cheese, MaxFun, different kind of, video games places, and they are the half of the price that they are in the US. Okay. So it varies. But I will say cheap, we are not that in that point anymore. What is the, like, real truth you tell your clients about learning Spanish? I will always suggest if some people contact me, like, 2 or 3 years before they want to move, like, actually do the move, I will say start learn learning Spanish. We are so close, and a lot of people in Mexico, you will find out, especially the younger generations, they speak we speak English. Mhmm. So most of the people haven't feel that, like, 100% need of speaking Spanish all the time. But if you go to the market, if you want to talk to your neighbors, if, for example, if you have kids, and you want to be immersed in the school activities, you need to speak Spanish. The language will give you an opportunity to know more about the culture, know more about the people, and really, really immerse in the culture. So I always suggest to start learning Spanish as soon as you decide to do the move, And while you are here, you can do a face to face class so that helps you learn and be fluent in Spanish in a few years. Yeah. Especially and also Mexican Spanish too. Like, once, you know, when you get to Mexico, taking a 1 on 1 class with a teacher, you're gonna learn, like, the local language as well. For example, in host relocation, we have a teacher that gives classes through Zoom. She's Mexican, so she speaks, like, I will say the Mexican accent. Yeah. And the people that's that still lives in the US, in Canada, and Europe, they take classes with her, and they start to do, like, the adaptation to even cultural and language at the same time. So that's that has been very interesting in our market and with our clients. So you offer Spanish classes even before, like, pre departure? Everything through Zoom. Wow. Isn't Zoom amazing? Yes. I know. It's amazing. So okay. So and how would you feel, like, in general? And I know you're speaking for an entire nation when I ask you this question. But, like, you know, especially Americans can be so afraid of speaking another language and making mistakes. And I say to people all the time, you wouldn't believe the mistakes that I've made and the things I've accidentally said in another language. But, like, how how receptive are would you say are the Mexican people toward silly gringos making mistakes when they speak Spanish? I think the Mexican culture, and in my experience, it's very flexible and very patience. The people appreciate the effort that the foreigners made on trying to speak in Spanish. So even though you don't conjugate the verb perfectly, or your grammar is not perfect, or the words the common mistake is that you say the word that it's a masculine, which used to be a feminine, and it makes us laugh, but that's it. We will not make a joke of you. We will not say any offensive to you. We will try to be respectful and try to help you, and we try to understand. So this is what you mean, Jessica? Yes. Okay. Perfect. So Right. And that is a comment that I have from my clients in general, in any place in Mexico. The people is very patient. We appreciate that you make the effort, and we try to help you. Yeah. I think patient is such a good word because I I find that too in Mexico. And in a lot of places, people take for people don't realize here, like, how patient people are with second language learners in a lot of countries. But you're right. There it is there is a level of patience because a lot of people know what it's like to learn English, and English is way harder than Spanish. So Mhmm. Exactly. Tell me about it. I know. And you're doing I'm I don't even know how people do this. I I I told you before I speak Spanish, but I cannot imagine interviewing you in Spanish. I would be so embarrassed. So tell me this. Like, I think there's, like, a little bit of an elephant in the room. People are obviously always thinking this about Mexico, but, like, what's the what what what do you tell your clients, especially pre departure, about safety in Mexico? And is Mexico safe? And should they really relocate there, especially if they have kids? What's, like, the safety factor, and how do you talk about that with your clients? Okay. I well, I know a lot of histories and stories about the US, especially. Yeah. The nonsafety that you have been experiencing the last few years. So in Mexico, we have safety issues, you know, the cartels and everything, But they are very, like they are located in some area. And if you don't belong to that group, to that market, to that, basically, you don't hear about anything. So we don't have, like, people in the US consuming, like, a lot of drugs. We don't use guns, they are illegal here in Mexico and they make a big show all the police officers, if somebody it's just reporting anybody that has a gun, and that helps a lot with safetiness. So I will say just feel safe. In Mexico, my clients say they feel safer than in the US, honestly. Thieves, they are everywhere. Yeah. Picky pockets, they are everywhere. Tips of opportunity, for example, if you leave your laptop in your car unattended and you go to a convenience store, maybe they will break your car, you know, but it's a a thief for, like, opportunity. So just be careful about your things. Don't leave things unattended. Don't leave your car open. But you will do that everywhere in the world. But the good thing is that we don't have guns, we don't have shootings, we don't have drugs. Well, of course, there must be drug people everywhere, but not as the amount of people that is in other countries. So we still feel very safe in general, me as Mexican, like women walking alone on the streets, walking with my kids, no issues, never. And I've been in several parts of Mexico and so far so good. I have never feel, of course there are like states that says in this neighborhood, please don't step in this neighborhood. But we always any any facilitator, any people says don't go there. But besides that, we are a very safe country. Thanks, Scott. Yeah. Yeah. And I think I always find it so interesting when, especially, Americans are worried about safety across the border, and it's like, well, here's where the school shootings are, and here's where anyone can have a gun on them at any time. Crime is very high here. You know, there are to me, this is, like, one of the least safe places I ever feel. And, you know, in exactly. So I think I think the thing that scares people a little bit is, like, the cartel factor, which makes sense. I mean, that's a scary thing that is like it's very foreign. It's like a it's like a a foreign idea for us that, you know I mean, I guess we hit, like, mobsters and stuff. But, I mean, that's that's what makes people feel like something that they don't understand, and it feels like they can't control that, I guess. Mhmm. Do people in Mexico talk about that? Like, could you ask your Mexican neighbor about that, or is that just something that, like, the locals don't really think about on a day to day basis? Yeah. We talk about, like, for example, if we read the news in Facebook, like, something happened in certain state, it's like yeah. Mainly, it was that, the cartels working. So, yeah, we talk with the neighbors. Oh, we need to be more precautious, whatever. Yeah. But it's not like an open subject. It's not like a common thing to talk about, honestly. Interesting. Yeah. Yeah. No. And I I definitely, I think, you know, one of the safest places I've ever felt living and for any extended period of time is Mexico. So just my to put my 2¢in, I couldn't agree with you more. Okay. And then, you know, my audience is, like, primarily LGBTQ or has, you know, an ally or has some affiliation with the queer community. And I don't expect you to know anything in particular, but just, like, giving a general sense I mean, and I'll I'll I'll start by saying Mexico blew my mind when I first went because not only is, like, same sex marriage legal and totally accepted, but also I you know, in Mexico, there's a lot of public displays of affection. People are kissing a lot and holding hands a lot and hugging a lot. And so were the gays, just like in the parks and, like, women, men. And I couldn't believe how, to me, that means you feel just as safe as your straight friends. If you guys are also, like, making out in the park, but it blew my mind how open and safe I felt when I was in Mexico. But if you could just speak a little bit to, like, the queer community and, like, if you've ever had clients who were gay and, like, sort of what that was like for them. Yeah. We have several gay clients here, especially in Queretaro. We have men marriages of men, marriages of women, and they agree with you. They said in at least talking about, they feel super safe. They have never been discriminated in any shop, in any place, in any park. I will say they are more precocious with their affect showing affections than Mexicans, honestly. Yeah. So I think Mexicans are more open on that kind of subjects. People in high school, uni high, you know, the teenagers are talking about it openly. I even, you know, I'm not that old, but they are like talking about openly with their parents, and we try to be just like focused, you know, and be open. And in general I think it's part of cultural thing. Mexican people is just to be very respectful. We don't try to offend others in purpose. We are educated to respect others, elder, younger, teenagers. But my clients they feel very comfortable here. I have one client that they even bought a house here and bought a house in the beach, and they leave have like part time here, part time there in Guerrero, and they just feel like in in home. They just sold everything back in the US from they were from Las Vegas, and they are so happy here. They have been here for 8 years. Yeah. You know, they never changed their they said they will never change their residency again. So And so what would you say, just to sort of bring this to a a little bit of a close, what would you say is, like, a really common misconception about Mexico that you want people to know? 1 is, that we talk the first thing, safetiness. Mhmm. They even, for example, I have clients that their family says you're gonna be killed, you're gonna be murdered, you're gonna be kidnapped on the roads. You know, those kind of misconceptions that never happened, honestly, unless you are in the mafia business. Okay. The other thing, nobody speaks English. Yes. There are some places if you go to a small little town in the middle of nowhere, yes. But in the bigger cities that I mentioned, or the beach areas, even the waitress, they can speak you in English. So don't feel like 100% afraid. It's like not going to Japan that nobody will speak Spanish. You know? Here, the people some of the people will speak English. For example, in chains I mentioned, Starbucks, I hope they speak English, and especially the younger generation. That's another misconception. 3, that the people can be unrespectful. Here the people is very caring about each other, so don't be afraid of being bold or racism if you are black, if you are white, I think I've heard more about our black clients that they are afraid that they have been, you know, targeting or somebody can do something unrespectful for them and, you know, that's not gonna happen. As I said, the Mexicans are different colors as well. We are whites, brunettes, like different colors, so we will never be unrespectful to the people, unless those people are unrespectful with the Mexicans. That's a different story. Sure. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't wanna speak at all for people of color because I am a white woman, but my understanding is that Americans have often black Americans have often crossed the border to go live in Mexico because there's an instant drop in the amount of racism that they feel once they get to Mexico. I mean, there's been a lot of authors that have talked about that for all the way back to, like, the thirties and forties, the 19 thirties and forties in Mexico. So I think there's a long history of black Americans actually feeling a lot more comfortable in this. Yes. I agree with that. When it comes to risk. My client says I yes. Yeah. Yeah. No. A 100%. Well, thank you. I mean, this is so helpful. I think there's so much interest, especially, you know, coming up here with the election that we're about to have. People are starting to think about where to move and how to do it. But one last question. Just, like, logistically, do you actually get clients from the US that, like, drive their cars and Empty. Okay. That's a common thing to do? Mhmm. Yes. Especially the ones that keep the ones to keep their car, like, they already paid off for their car. What's the point of selling it and buy a new one? So, yeah, they there's people that want to move around also. So they don't want to depend on rentals or Ubers, and they said, I want, even though for example, I'm going to start in Guadalajara, I want to go to Queretaro's, and Miguel Allende, I want to move around. So I will say they want to bring their cars here, especially because they are paid off. As a temporary resident, you can bring your car here. So that's an easy thing. You can have your car for 4 years, and also driving down the road, it's not unsafe. You drive on the daylight, and you stay on, at night in one hotel, and you will be perfectly fine. We have gasoline stations all over the roads, and, yeah, it's it's pretty safe to to come down down here driving. It's as I said, ask for a facilitator for the process at the border. Yeah. Besides that, you are free to go. Yeah. Yeah. I think there's, like, some kind of a I forget what the name is, but you need to get some kind of a permission. Right? TIP. Temporary import permit. That's right. TIP. TIP. Right. Okay. Well, thank you. Again, this is so informational. I think people are really thinking about relocating now, and Mexico is always number 1 or number 2 on people's list. So this has been really, really helpful. Talk a little bit quickly just about your company and the services that you offer just so people know that there's someone like you and your team who can help them. Thank you, Jessica. Yes. Well, we are Host Relocation Mexico. We have different offices. The headquarter is where I live in Queretaro, but we can assist you in Mexico City, Guadalajara, La Paz, Los Cabos, and San Luis Potosi. And San Miguel de Allende, I work personally also in San Miguel de Allende since it's very close by. So we can help you with different services. The main service or the first service that you may consider before even the housing is the residency. Because as one of your questions is, like, how to live here long term? If you're a tourist, you know that Mexican government doesn't grant the 180 days anymore. It doesn't matter the nationality. It depends on the people that is on customs, how many they gonna give you. Someday, you can be very lucky and give you 6 months, but some days, it's only 1 week. Right. So if you are really wanted to live here or even some people that already bought a house, you need to get your residency. So that's the first service we offer. Then housing in all the states that I mentioned, places, we offer rentals and purchasing of properties. We offer all the settling services, which is the RFC, the tax ID, the bank account, the driver license, the car shopping in in case you want to buy a car here, and cooling for kids. We arrange everything for the school, multicultural training. There's some people that has really an intense cultural shock. So we offer here a multicultural training, so you can understand the culture, understand things, and don't take things personally. And, yeah, basically, all the relocation services as gathering tourist trips as well, day trips in some places. For example, Mexico City is very famous for the Zocalo Bellas Artes de Atihuacan, the museum. So we give all the tours there in La Paz, water activities. Well, my representative there loves, she's a scuba diving professional. So she knows all the the swimming activities and water activities you can make there. And, yeah, we can help you with all the move, and also we connect with other expats since we have a big community now of people living here. Yeah. And for, you know, for all I'll say about, you know, you definitely wanna speak Spanish and become, you know, as much of a local as you can. There's something a big relief to also know other expats. There are just things that expats know that locals don't understand about your own journey of moving. And so, yeah, that community is really valuable, especially when it's Exactly. Yeah. Mhmm. Mhmm. And where can people find you? What's your website, and how can people get in touch? Website, host relocation.com.mx. Remember.mx is a Mexican link. Yep. Yeah. So host relocation.com.mx. And my email is yvonne.pavan@hostrelocation.com.mx. And you can share anytime my cell phone number. I normally don't answer phone calls because I'm busy, but I can answer WhatsApp. WhatsApp is the, I will say, the leader of communication here in Mexico. So it's important to start using WhatsApp here. Yeah. And and just one last question. What should people reach out, not just to you, but to a relocation consultant? Like, how far in advance do you actually start working with people? I will say at least, 1 year in advance so we can prepare all the the journey here for you. Okay. Fascinating. Thank you so much, Yvonne. This is so helpful, and I hope that you get a lot of people coming your way from this. Yeah. And I hope your audience keep growing. And thank you so much. You're doing a great job also in your community, in your market, and I really wish more success than you have now. So thank you very much for your time. Alright. I know I'm ready to move to Mexico after that. And if you are too, all of Yvonne's links are are linked in the show notes. Please feel free to reach out to work with her directly. I Just wanted to also say, feel free to reach out to us at Rainbow Relocation. We do custom 1 on 1 coaching, and we're also launching a course. And the coaching really helps you figure out, first of all, where to move abroad across the whole spectrum of the world, where is it LGBTQ friendly, what are all the things you need to keep in mind and consider as an LGBTQ person and also if you have a family? So reach out if you wanna work with our team. You can check out rainbowrelo.com. That's rainbowrelorainbowrelo.com. You can also join our Facebook community, Queer Expats Worldwide. That's on Facebook. The group is doubling in size, like, every 10 days. As you can imagine, people are really looking for where they can move abroad at this point. If they're queer, they're asking very active questions in the group, so definitely join that if you're LGBTQ, an ally, and you're considering a move abroad. So thanks so much for listening to this episode of Adventure Calls. And until next episode, please remember that not everyone is dreaming about a move abroad. If you are and you found this show, take the leap, follow your call to adventure. By this time next year, you could be sitting on a balcony in Mexico somewhere wondering why it took you so long to actually do this. Until next time, I'm Jess Drucker and this is Adventure Calls.