I opened an office in Monterrey smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. I had been commuting back and forth for a while until i moved here a month ago. I now commute the other way. The big three, MxCity/Guadalajara/Mont, are easy to live in imo. Monterrey, as many of you know, is what would happen if Denver and Houston had a baby. All the beauty and backdrop of the mountains with all the commerce and labor Texas has to offer, including HEB's when they are open. Throw in a bunch of parks, lakes and rivers all while eating elote and some tacos.
I get the U.S. perception of Mexico. Some of it is not unmerited but much of it is also misunderstood. Most of what people know of Mexico i call border town or Netflix experience. Lets start with the elephant in the room. The murder rate of this country is four times that of the U.S. with half the population. The explanation is simple, most of those murders were cartel related and have little to do with the average person living in the major cities or resorts of Mexico. The solution for expats is simple. Do what nearly everyone who lives here does. Don't start none won't be none. You do like you do in Houston. You don't drive down MacGregor or thru the 5th ward at night. When you remove the gang on gang murders from the equation the rate is similar to that of the U.S. Frankly i feel more safe here than say NYC, sorry Penelope;) I'm just not one who finds it anymore unsafe, in terms of being murdered, than living in L.A. or Htown and i've done both. My experience is cartel talk here comes mainly from foreigners. I'd imagine its similar to Germans having to endure Hitler talk when people visit there. It sure as shit was/is real but just isn't really talked about until the Americans arrive or you watch the news steering you to it. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-78352-9
The positives of Monterrey far outweigh the negatives. I suppose my investing here is proof of that. In brief, the cost of everything except housing is awesome. Living, not housing, is cheap relative to the U.S. but is expensive relative to Mexico. It is also highly educated and has nearly all the modern conveniences. Did i mention i can Didi (uber) around town for $2 most places to get a good $5 haircut to go and get a full meal for $4-5. Add a few bucks for you drunks and gluttons. It has a standard of housing as high or similar to that of the U.S with neighborhoods no different than Memorial, Tanglewood or inside the Loop. The prices to go with it. There are many parts where you just don't know if you are in Mexico or the U.S. Shit HEB has all the good U.S. stuff PLUS all the Mexican shit AND covered parking. Walmarts here aren't shitholes like in the U.S. Costco's, best buy and all the other places you normally go are here for you people who need a sense of suburbia home. The best part, imo, is there is a cheaper Mexican alternative to each of those. Even better you go to the centro and the shopkeepers there have an even cheaper version of the knockoff. As a non regio i appreciate the "codo"(rubbing elbow) of the people here. I'll write more as I have time but, like everything else in life, don't take marital advice from single people, financial advice from know it all doctors( maybe Alpha not sure yet) or food recs from skinny people.