Thanks for this, it made me do some research and find some interesting things.I live in Merida, Yucatan (since Feb 2020) and I love it (I'm from Central Europe):
1) Fking cheap real estate and cheap terrains still. You can buy a beautiful 3 bedroom house with garden in a good district at around 200k USD or cheaper (even less if you are willing to build it from scratch). Depending on your needs and zone, it could be even cheaper.
2) Fairly good infrastructure. Not Germany or France but it's very good for a Latin American country. Never been to the US, but I imagine it's better than in many poor/rural US states.
3) 1.2 M population, big enough but not too big like CDMX, Paris, Berlin, NY and other monsters. Doesn't feel like a megalopolis, doesn't feel like a village or a sinkhole either.
4) Summer all year long. It's too hot for some people but it's a part of the lifestyle.
5) Beautiful beach with kitesurfing spots is 20 minutes car drive / 40 minutes bus ride from my house
6) Carribean side - 4 h bus / 3h car drive to Cancun, Tulum, Cozumel (2nd world's biggest coral reef)
7) Way cheaper groceries etc than US, Europe (although it can be more expensive than Eastern Europe)
8) Safest city in Mexico, 2nd safest in both Americas according to many crime statistics
9) Amazing food, rich culture overall
Yucatán capital named North America's second safest city
Mérida has been ranked the second safest city in North America and the safest in Latin America by a business magazine.mexiconewsdaily.com
10) Fairly good cultural life (museums, shows, local culture, live music). Of course it's not a big US or European city in that aspect, but I'm good.
11) Good connections to Europe, US, rest of Mexico (CDMX is 2 hours flight away, Florida and Texas as well)
12) One of the biggest expat communities, biggest US expat community in the world as far as I remember
13) Lots of millionaires, entrepreneurs, interesting people from all over the world
14) People are super nice. All my landlords feel like family. They bring food, water, bags of ice, beers...GREAT people! Extremely caring, friendly, hospitable.
15) Great healthcare, people come from other latin american countries and sometimes US to get treatments here. I was personally treated from many skins problem that I couldn't get rid of in Europe.
16) Visually, It's a tropical paradise. Flamingos, crododiles, monkeys, lizard, colorful birds of all sorts, turquise waters, coral reefs, coconuts, coffe, avocado, papayas, markets with fresh food (you can buy a big a$$ shark or amazing reef fish to grill along with fresh fruit and veggies for PENNIES)
17) Mexico has amazing coffe and a big coffe culture if you like to work remotely
18) It's a hidden gem, still not as touristy and "Trendy" as Bali, Thailand etc.
19) Great investment opportunities when it comes to real estate. ROI 7-14%. And you can always rent a house/apartament to rich Americans/Canadians/Europeans.
20) Beautiful, feminine and more down to earth women. A big plus if you're single and ready to mingle.
21) Spanish. I love the language.
22) Cheap labor. I don't ever clean my house, I pay 200 MXn and have it done. I don't care about my garden nor pool, I have it done. You can have a private chef and overall millionaire's life way cheaper.
22) Beautiful colonial architecture. I think it's world's 2nd or 3rd biggest colonial city center, after Havana as far as I remember. Mayan and Spanish legacy around every corner.
23) Rents are awesome too. I rent a modern 250 m2 house (3 bedrooms, big living room + kitchen, 5 bahtrooms, garden, pool, private area in the best district) at 27000 MXN (around 1200 EUR) monthly. House cleaning once a week, gardener and pool cleaning included + fast internet + gas + water + maintenance. I only pay rent and electicity lol. Close to mall, gym, shopping centers, 20 minutes from the beach city of Progreso.
24) Easy to get the residency and just live here for as long you please, without visa runs and bullshit.
25 ) Lots of light, blue skies every day
Is it a perfect place? No. Sometimes it's too hot. It can be chaotic and a bit dirty in the city center, like all Latin cities (and all cities in general). You could get a cultural shock. People don't arrive at time. It's harder to maintain real estate because of the humidity and extreme sun. Sometimes I miss food that I grew up with or walking in the forest. But I can always go to a paradise beach, ruins, cenotes, caves, jungle etc.
But all things considered, Merida is the best that I've found, and I lived in 9 countries and visited 51 overall.
I can post some photos if you guys are interested.
I was born in Spain and if I live there for 2 years I could apply for a Mexican passport, it doesn't rank very high but it could be useful in some cases.
For entrepeneurs it could be great, much less taxation than in Spain, good inexpensive employees and next to the USA.
If you want it all digital you could create a US LLC as a foreigner, it will act as a passthrough, which means the IRS gets nothing, and you can enjoy your life on a tropical paradise while keeping the worldwide reputation and recognition of an LLC.
And I'll add another curiosity, Mérida is in front of the Chicxulub crater, made by the meteorite that extincted the dinosaurs.
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