Entrepreneur Expat

Leaving the U.S. and Building a Freer Life Abroad with Curt

• Justin Keltner

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👉 Free Moving to Mexico Guide: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/mexico

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Remote Work and Online Income Resources:

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👉 Free Make Money From Anywhere Guide: https://www.entrepreneurexpat.com/money-guide 



V I D E O S    T O    W A T C H    N E X T :


Online Business Tips to Working and Traveling In Mexico: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zGH0voCyOc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j&index=2

Moving to Mexico: 10 Reasons Why We Chose to Live in Guadalajara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK23vD8_xjc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_LAY7UV78YMgms-f2e1UcwN&index=23

Tips for Moving Overseas: Top 5 Remote Work Skills That Make Money: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFzjCrlNAL8&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j


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Inquiries: community@entrepreneurexpat.com


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Disclaimer: The information in this video should not be considered tax, financial, investment, or any kind of professional advice. Only a professional diagnosis of your specific situation can determine which strategies are appropriate for your needs. Entrepreneur Expat can and does not provide advice unless/until engaged by you.

Justin Keltner

More and more millionaires are leaving the US every single day, and it might not be for reasons that you expected. Today, I'm joined by Kurt Smith, who is visiting us here in the Lake Chapala, Mexico area, all the way from New York. He's actually one of our VIP white glove relocation clients. We're helping him get his permanent residence sorted out in Mexico. We're about 95% done with the process. Mm. Just a little bit more left to go. So we're super excited to have him today on the show, and we're gonna talk about what some of the reasons are that brought you- Yep to Mexico and that made you want to move to Mexico and, uh, eventually spend your retirement here. Very much. And some of the things in the US that, uh, that made it a little bit, you know, even more compelling. So for those of you that are new here, this is Entrepreneur Expat. I'm Justin Keltner, and on this channel, we help entrepreneurially-minded individuals, especially high-net-worth individuals in the US, Canada, and Western Europe, relocate to places with not just a lower cost of living, but really a higher quality of life, without sacrificing any freedom, comfort, or security. So that's what we're here to talk about today. Welcome to the Chapala area, Kurt. Thank you. And welcome to our, our channel as well. I'm super excited, uh, to be here with you and, and, uh, to jump into that conversation. Yes. And I wanted to also note that for people that are looking for our help specifically, just like we're helping Kurt, you can go to entrepreneurexpat.com/consult. We work specifically with people that have a million dollars or more in assets, and they want help optimizing things like tax strategy. They wanna figure out how to build an international lifestyle and how to make their money go further. So you can go to that page there, entrepreneurexpat.com/consult, and you can also check out our free guides below, including our Move to Mexico guide, which I think you signed up for-

Curt Smith

I

Speaker

did a long while back. Uh, that's how you- Yes first got introduced to this. A year

Curt Smith

ago maybe. Yeah. Yeah, something like that.

Speaker

Yeah. So you can check out that guide below this video as well. So welcome.

Curt Smith

Thank you.

Speaker

Thank you for being here.

Curt Smith

Great to be here.

Speaker

What are your thoughts on Chapala so far? First

Curt Smith

of all, th- thank you- Yeah for having me here. It's been, it's been great. I've enjoyed the Lake Chapala area. It's amazing. And also I wanted to thank you for the help on the immigration process. Um, you know it's working well when it feels easy. Uh, and for me, it feels easy. I know it's not... It's- you're doing a lot of work behind the scenes to make that happen, but- So far, there's wood right here. So far, uh, everything has been very seamless, so thank you for that.

Speaker

Yeah.

Curt Smith

It's been great.

Speaker

Thank you.

Curt Smith

Yeah. I

Speaker

appreciate you

Curt Smith

having me. But yeah, I, I enjoy it here in Lake Chapala. We were at Ajijic, um, a couple days ago and, and it's just, it's amazing to me the diversity- Yeah uh, of the area. Um, as you know, yesterday we... about an hour and a half drive up into the mountains, you're in an entirely different world, uh, than you are down here by the lake. And so it's just, uh, I guess geographically it's just an, an exciting, diverse place to be too. So it's been a great couple of days so far.

Speaker

Yeah.

Curt Smith

Yeah.

Speaker

Yeah. I'm glad, I'm glad you liked it. And yeah, for, for those of you that aren't familiar, uh, with this area, so we're in... We're near Jocotepec actually on, on this side of the lake, and, uh, we took Kurt up to Mazamitla yesterday. So Amanda and myself and Kurt went up there for a few hours. We went to this little eco park and, and had some food up there in the mountains, and got to just experience some really nice clean, uh, fresh mountain air- Yes and look, walk around the downtown, and it was, it was a lot of fun. And then we went to Ajijic as well, which is, uh, very popular- Yes with the American and Canadian expats.

Curt Smith

Yeah. Yeah. It was very nice. Um, tremendous restaurants and boutiques, and it's a-- Ajijic is a great town also. Yeah.

Speaker

What's your favorite part of just being here overall? Like, uh, in the, in the Chapala area. I mean, I know the weather's great, but, like, what are your favorite things so far, even with the small sample size?

Curt Smith

Yeah. Well, the weather's great. Um, I've sent out, uh, on Facebook some pictures of sunrise over the lake, which, uh, people have responded to, and so it's, it's just, uh, beautiful surroundings, uh, to be in. Uh, it's, um, laid-back. Mm-hmm. Right? Um, I'm, you know, familiar with, um, other, another city in, in Mexico, uh, Veracruz. Uh, that's a bit more hectic I understand. I haven't been y- uh, recently to Mexico City, but I'm heading there soon, and I'm- Yeah that's gonna be hectic, so-

Speaker

It is

Curt Smith

this laid-back, um, you know, environment is nice. And, uh, it's, it's just calm. Uh, relatively interestingly, in the evenings cool.

Speaker

Mm-hmm.

Curt Smith

So it's, it's been a great, um, great experience.

Speaker

And wh- why Mexico? Like, what, what was it about Mexico that you said, "You know what? I'd, I'd rather..." And obviously you're not moving down here yet, but you have plans in the future to potentially retire- Yeah and you wanted to get the residency thing out of the way so that in the next couple years you could come down and spend more time- Yep here without- In the future, yep you know, uh, issues because it's getting harder and harder, guys. It's, it really is getting- Yep significantly harder. Um, but why Mexico? Like, what are some of the reasons that you actually chose Mexico overall, and that you, um, you know, whether that's the Chapala area or Veracruz- Yep or you might have different houses around

Curt Smith

here. Yeah. Yeah, so part of it is proximity to the US. Obviously, I still have, uh, well, have family in the US, and, and the need to get back and forth to- Mm-hmm uh, US, especially East Coast US. Uh, is important. And so, uh, you know, the, the Mexico, major Mexico City airports are, um, and, you know, also Guadalajara Airport make that easier than some of the other options that are out there.

Speaker

Mm-hmm.

Curt Smith

Uh, so that's certainly part of it. Um, I, I'm planning a fairly active retirement, so, you know, in, in a few years when I do retire, I, you know, I plan to still be involved in, you know, the area of my career, which is analytics. And, uh- very exciting to see the plans that Mexico has, uh, in, um, investing in their, uh, AI infrastructure. And so, uh, that kind of speaks well to me, uh, for what I would like to do, uh, when I do get down here and, you know, what else do to stay active. So, uh, you know, infrastructure is more than just roads. Mm-hmm. And also, by the way, amazed to see the roads are kind of well-developed here, and it's, it's not- They're taking better

Speaker

care of them here than in a lot of places

Curt Smith

in the US. I know. It's not, not necessarily what you might typically think. Uh, but yeah, very, very well-developed infrastructure from that standpoint. And as I mentioned, the infrastructure that, the analytic and data infrastructure here is also, um, building, right? Which is, it's... You know, I wanna be in a place where, um, it's growing.

Speaker

Mm-hmm.

Curt Smith

Um, as opposed to in a, in a very mature place or in a very early stage of growth place. And Mexico is in, in my mind as, for me at least, that sweet spot- Mm of still a lot of growth, but yet fairly well-developed.

Speaker

Can you speak to that a little bit more? Mm-hmm. Because, uh, like, for example, Amanda and myself, you know, this is our plan B, and we're gonna do a live stream here soon where we talk about, uh, the, you know, plan, plan A versus plan B versus plan C. And we already have our residency here. We're about to both have permanent residency, and then we're gonna have Mexican passports, and we're looking for that other category that Kurt just mentioned, right? Which is that, that, uh, what, what's the, you know, now maybe a little bit less polished. Because Mexico's fairly polished compared to Latin America- Yep. Yep but still growing. We're gonna be looking at, you know, some of those more up-and-coming places like Paraguay, for example. But could you speak a little bit to your decision-making process around the, "Hey, it's- Yep it's growing," 'cause I know you're in, you're, you're in specifically biotech analytics, right?

Curt Smith

Yep. Yep.

Speaker

That would be the category. Uh, you were, you were looking for s- you know, a, an economy that was growing, a lot of startups. Yep. A lot of startups in that area- Yep specifically. What are some of those other attributes that you saw about Mexico, like, as a... It's, it's nice, and it's very livable. Yeah. And it's still relatively affordable, of course. But things are growing, and things are kind of headed in a really positive direction.

Curt Smith

Yeah. Yeah. And, and, you know, again, if I was, you know, I'm at the stage of life where I have a different, uh, investment horizon than you probably do. Mm. And certainly Am- you and Amanda do. Um, and so, you know, in my 60s, I, I, I am looking for something that's a bit more developed than, let's say, some of the other Latin American countries, as an example, maybe Paraguay or I, I know s- I've seen- On YouTube, people talking about Bolivia as being also, uh, an up-and-coming country, and I think-- and I'm sure they s- they are. Uh, but again, for me, the, kind of the, the Mexico, uh, you know, where their, um, fledgling pharmaceutical industry is-

Speaker

Mm-hmm

Curt Smith

where their, um, I- AI investments are, um, it's well beyond what those other countries are, you know, thinking of doing at this point. Sure. Right? And so, uh, again, it just... In a 10 to 20 year time horizon, um, it's, uh, a better part of the curve for me- Yeah uh, from my perspective to be on, than an earlier part of the curve. Sure. And, you know, and for me, again, in my ex- my experience, uh, it's better than being in a later part of the curve, which is where I would place the United States, right, on that growth curve or maybe even eventual declining curve.

Speaker

So... Mm-hmm. What are you seeing in the US that kind of puts it on that, on that trajectory where, like you said, the market's already very mature, and maybe, maybe it's not still on the up and up. Like, what, what are some of the characteristics you've seen? Uh, because a lot of people ask us about this. Like, "Why, why should I leave the US? I mean, it seems fine now. Yeah, maybe things are getting a little bit more expensive, but like- Yeah why should I really have this, this plan B?" Or, or even what you, you told me earlier before we started filming, which is like Mexico's really gonna be your plan A.

Curt Smith

Yeah. It's e- it's evolved- Sure from being a plan B to more of a plan A, uh, for me. And frankly, you know, uh, a, a backup plan would be United States, right? Mm-hmm. I mean, you know, that's a, a fallback, uh, given my thinking now, uh, of where I'm planning. So, um, and, you know, I'd, I'd say the United States is just very well developed on every economic sector, right? So, it-- so therefore, the growth potential going forward is going to be less in every economic sector, whether you're talking about real estate-

Speaker

Mm-hmm

Curt Smith

right? So the growth potential in real estate is going to be less. The amount that you'd have to invest to get into the US market is going to be much higher than it is, um, you know, place for place with the Mexican market.

Speaker

Sure.

Curt Smith

Um, you know, we, we, we talked about the growth of, uh, AI. You know, I expect that to be much greater here than it was, um, than it is, um, in the United States. The United States is at a high level right now, but, you know, again, looking for where you can help an economy grow, I see much more opportunity for me to work in a Mexican economy to help it grow from an AI standpoint than in the US economy, um, in my, you know, kind of later years, retirement years. So-

Speaker

Yeah

Curt Smith

you know, it's just a, for me, a better match of, you know, kind of putting the cream on my, uh, the end of my career as I go into retirement- Um, in Mexico than in, uh, the United States.

Speaker

Yeah, and you don't wanna be bored. Like, we have a lot of people say, "Hey-

Curt Smith

Yeah

Speaker

you know, I'm, I'm retired or I'm nearing retirement, but I'm not dead. I still wanna be- Yeah doing stuff." And, and we see, uh, living in a place where there's a lot of retirees, uh, unfortunately when people stop using their brains and stop thinking and stop doing things-

Curt Smith

Yeah

Speaker

and they just, uh, you know, they're just gonna relax forever

Curt Smith

Yeah.

Speaker

They, you know, they end up drinking a lot, and they end up-

Curt Smith

Yeah

Speaker

uh, you know, just in a lot, lot of maybe negative habits and, and also their, their mental state kinda starts to deteriorate. Yeah. So you wanna actually keep busy, you wanna keep g- you know, keep everything going, and, like, what's the, what's the point- Yeah of not anyway, right? Yeah. Like, what are you gonna do, sip margaritas on the beach all day Yeah,

Curt Smith

and certainly that'll be part of it, but-

Speaker

Yeah

Curt Smith

but yeah. You know, and I'm not ready to be put on the shelf- right, in retirement. I'm not, not, not at that stage in my life. I still- Yeah feel I have something to contribute, and then it's just a question of much like I've done throughout my career, and then it was done which company can I contribute the most at? Mm-hmm. Now I'm broadening that perspective to say, What country, not company, can I contribute the most to? And, and, you know, can I find the best growth opportunities?"

Speaker

Yeah.

Curt Smith

And for me, I see those growth opportunities more in Mexico than I do in the US, um, just 'cause again, it's a, a, a bit of a perfect meeting of infrastructure and where it's at from its own economic development standpoint.

Speaker

Great. So tell us a little bit about kind of your just career history and how you got to where you are and, and how that evol- uh, that evolved as well, like with your investments and everything that you've been able to build up until this point.

Curt Smith

Yeah. So my... I, I've, uh, had-- This year is my 40th year in my career, so, uh, a long career in analytics. Mm-hmm. Uh, business analytics, helping companies understand what drives their business and, and helps them grow their business, um, at a faster rate. Um, and so my entire career has been based on data and the ability to do analysis on that data, and so it's interesting, uh, back in the '90s, I went from the consumer packaged goods world, right, to the pharmaceutical industry. Consumer packaged goods are things you buy in the grocery store. Pharmaceutical industry is ob- obviously medicines. Uh, because what, what was happening is the, the data and the analytics in the pharmaceutical industry was just exploding at that time, and so, um, and so that kind of prompted that career move- Mm-hmm uh, you know, to go, to go to pastures where I, my skills could be better, um, leveraged. I'm in... And I'm bringing that same thinking to this process, right? To where I see, um, the skills that I've developed over a 40-year career, um, can be best leveraged, um, in that new environment. And so, you know, I've had a, a great 40-year career, um, and it's been a successful career. We've, um, invested very, uh, conservatively and so have done well. And, um, you know, I'm in a fortunate s- place where I don't- Need to leave the United States, um, for sustainability or f- you know, so that I can afford a life. Uh, but again, where do I see that I can have the best potential, um, in these, you know, hopefully last 30 years, uh, of my life? Um, a- and, and I see that, you know, south of the border-

Speaker

Mm-hmm

Curt Smith

um, here in Mexico, um, more so than in the United States.

Speaker

Interesting. And, and let's, let's talk a little bit about, like, that investment side because- Mm we, we chatted a little bit about the numbers earlier. You're, you're more than welcome to, to share what that kind of looks like because you could kind of li- I mean, you could live comfortably still in the- Mm US, but nowhere near at the quality of life that you would have here, right? Mm-hmm. Like, with any amount of money because of things like f- the food quality, the- Yeah,

Curt Smith

yeah

Speaker

environment. I mean, so, so many other things that, uh, Mexico has that are kind of on the decline. I mean, I was wondering if you could speak to that a little bit, both, like, on the finances and then the flip side of, like, well, quality of life regardless of what you spend.

Curt Smith

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And, and so, yeah, so I, um, yeah, again, I've, I've, uh, been, um, successful in my investments and, and so... And also I'm fortunate in that I am one of those fortunate few that h- does have a pension. Mm. Um, so I do have a very good safety net of, of a pension, you know, eventually Social Security. Um, and then on top of that, the investments that, that I have. Um, and so the... You know, I could live in, in most markets in the US, but um, again, again, it's just the ongoing cost of living. Uh, but what you can afford or the, the life that you can construct, uh, in Mexico, uh, from what I'm seeing and experiencing just being down here a brief time, uh, is much richer, uh, than what, uh, you know, I can construct or continue to live in the United States. Part of that experience is I have, I would call extended family, um, in Veracruz. Mm. And I look at, you know, the, the kind of lifestyle that they're able to live, um, in, in that city. Um, and again, and it's, it's just much more efficient, if you will, from a cost standpoint, right? And so, uh, that's exactly what I'm, uh, looking to create in my life.

Speaker

Yeah. And not just that, right? You... The, the quality of... I mean, we spoke to this a little bit earlier, like, people here tend to be a lot friendlier.

Curt Smith

Yes.

Speaker

I think, I think we were chatting about this yesterday, right? Yeah. When you're in the US and you walk into an elevator and you say hi to people, and everybody just kind of looks confused, like- Yeah, yeah but it's totally the opposite here.

Curt Smith

Yeah, yeah. No, it's very, very friendly- uh, culture here. I, I, um, am surprised by... We were at a restaurant in Ajijic and, um, you know, other patrons were leaving. Um, and as they leave, because we happened to make eye contact, uh, they said, "Buenas tardes," right? Mm-hmm. And, you know, and so there's just this kind of, um, kind of- Community feeling, um, with even those simple engagements that you have with people on the streets. That is not a kind of typical engagement, um, that you would have in, in many US areas.

Speaker

Yeah.

Curt Smith

Right? It's actually more like what I experienced growing up in rural Pennsylvania, right? It's much more of that small town, rural kind of community sense, um, than, um, than what you have in many of the metro areas in the United States now.

Speaker

Yeah. And even in the cities here, it's the same kind of experience. Um, we lived in Guadalajara for about- Mm-hmm three years, Amanda and I, before we came down here to the Chapala area, and we were in a little neighborhood ca- called Chapalita. And even though that neighborhood was in a city of over four million people- Yep you still felt like you were in a tiny little town, 'cause you would meet your neighbors, and, uh, you know, people would be out walking their dogs. Yeah. You would say hello. It wasn't like in the US where everybody's just kind of in their, like, rigid little bubble or box or whatever and, and there isn't that same kind of friendliness, right? Yeah. You'd never know your neighbors in the most places in the US.

Curt Smith

Yes.

Speaker

Uh, so here I just... It's, like, s- less stressful. Yeah. That's what I've experienced. It's less stressful. Yeah. People are friendlier.

Curt Smith

Less stressful, and you feel more connected, right, to your neighbors, to people around you, and, you know, and it's, it's... It is a, a, a, I think, qualitatively it's a better, uh, lifestyle,

Speaker

right? Mm-hmm. And you get a lot more bang for your buck.

Curt Smith

Yeah. Yeah. Right now I, uh, live in the New York City area- and that's the antithesis, right, of this, where, you know, um, y- you avoid eye contact with people, right? Um, it's intrus- it's considered intrusive if you would come up to someone. They'd be concerned if they, if you came up to them and initiated a conversation if you didn't know them at all. And it's just not... It's, it's a different, uh, culture here, right? Uh, that's much more expected and, uh, yeah, it's a, it's a very nice lifestyle.

Speaker

What else are some of the other pros of Mexico over the US that you've, that you've seen? I mean, for somebody who does have, like, a sizable amount of net worth, so it's not like they're thinking about, "You know, I have to move to Mexico." Mm. And this is one of the things we tell clients, like, Mexico's not for broke people anymore. Mm-hmm. Mexico's not for someone who, you know, maybe is making $2,000 or $3,000 a month like maybe it was five or 10 years ago.

Curt Smith

Yep.

Speaker

Can you live off of a couple thousand dollars a month? Sure. Uh, but number one, you're not necessarily gonna live that well as you could before. Number two, they're not even gonna let you in. I mean, you've gotta have at a bare minimum, like- Yep to qualify for permanent residence now it's almost 300,000 US in a bank account or in a retirement account. Um, so for people that aren't necessarily concerned about the money, uh, but are like, you know, "I, uh, is it safe?" Like, is it, you know, what are- Mm. There's a lot of concerns that come up like that, like is it, is it safe? I mean, are people nice there? Do they treat, you know, expats well? I mean, what are some of the things you've seen like that and maybe other Other pros you've noticed about what your life is gonna look like at some point being down here in- instead of up there.

Curt Smith

Yeah. Yeah. Well, and we've talked about the community and the kind of the neighborhood feel. Um, and most of my experience comes from experience I had, had in Veracruz. Um, and that's a sizable city. It's not the size of Mexico City or Guadalajara, but um, it's, you know, not a small town. Mm-hmm. And, and to your point, um, your earlier point, y- it does feel more community-oriented-

Speaker

Yeah

Curt Smith

um, than what I have experienced in US cities. Um, so, you know, that's a big part of it. Um, the diversity is, uh, amazing, right? Uh, and by that I mean the kind of, uh, environmental diversity. Uh, we talked earlier about this experience of going from, you know, more of an arid area around the lake up into the mountains, and the lush green and almost y- like you're in a different country. That's just an hour and a half away.

Speaker

Mm-hmm.

Curt Smith

Um, same thing in Veracruz. You go from Veracruz up into the mountains and, um, you know, towards Mexico City, and it's that same kind of experience in the coffee-growing- Mm regions, uh, where it becomes much more lush, uh, much green, mu- much greener. Yeah. And as I think about a life that I'd like to create, um, for myself, having like multiple places across the country, right- Mm to, to live in, um, is much more of an option here, uh, than it would be in the United States, right? So having- Right a place in Veracruz, having a place, you know, you know, up in the mountains outside of Veracruz, um, maybe even, you know, having an apartment in Mexico City-

Speaker

Mm-hmm

Curt Smith

um, you know, it b- all becomes very manageable, right? From Mexico City for the culture, the mountains for the fresh air and, and lifestyle that that provides, and Veracruz for the energy, right, uh, that that provides, and again, the extended family, uh, that's living there. So, um, it just seems like a better, for me, a m- a richer, let me say, use that word, mosaic- Mm uh, for building a life

Speaker

down here. 100%, and that, that's, that's gonna be our plan as well. Like, Amanda and I are gonna have maybe a house in Southeast Asia somewhere and a house- Mm uh, in Caribbean Mexico or maybe a Caribbean island and then a place, let's say somewhere like Chapala, where we've got different sizes of cities or towns that we're living in, different energy, different people- Yep different climate. Um, maybe something in Central E- Eastern Europe, right? Yep. It gives you the ability to not just be in one place, and that's, that's a big thing we talk about at Entrepreneur Expat is the geographic diversity. F- sure, for, for a hedge, that's, that's certainly part of it because if something doesn't go well in a given country or there's some type of political movement or something happening in that regard that maybe makes it not as attractive as it was before- Mm-hmm I mean, that's definitely valid. But also just to be able to experience- different kinds of life and have a community in different places and be able to be s- you know, have your home wherever the best weather is-

Curt Smith

Mm-hmm

Speaker

that season. I think that's, that's something that a lot of our, our viewers value as well. Yep. So it's really cool, uh, that you're, you're doing that. And now in terms of the safety and all that, I mean, do you feel- Mm fairly safe? Like, how does that compare, let's say, to somewhere like New York City? Because a lot of people have said, "Oh, Mexico's so dangerous," and they listen to the news and-

Curt Smith

Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker

I mean, what's your experience?

Curt Smith

I, I have felt safe. Um, I've had no kind of, uh, insecurities, right? Um, or certainly haven't felt threatened. Um, and again, most of my experience in Veracruz, I feel comfortable walking around Veracruz at all hours, you know, o- of the night. And so that hasn't felt scary at all. I was in Veracruz actually this year for Carnival and- Mm-hmm you know, that's a lot of people and a lot of rowdy people. Yeah. Uh, and even that was very comfortable, right? So I have not felt, uh, personally at risk, uh, in, in, um, Mexico. And, um, yeah, you, you see in the news, you see, uh, videos of, uh, you know, kind of security risks, but again, I, I haven't seen any of that in my experience here. So... And, and again, I fortunately haven't I don't feel particularly insecure in New York City either.

Speaker

Mm-hmm.

Curt Smith

Um, you, you do s- tend to see more kind of person-on-person stories of violence in New York City- Yeah uh, than you do here. Um, you know, uh, so, you know, there's scary stories in both places really, right? Um, and but yeah, I, I feel very comfortable here.

Speaker

Here, here what I've noticed is it tends to be very isolated even to like micro areas, like a certain neighborhood of a certain city. Yep. If there's kind of more of that gang activity there- Yeah uh, or, you know, some of the rival gangs kind of fighting with each other. Yep. That does happen in Mexico, and that's what you hear frequently about the news. I haven't seen anything like that personally in the total of almost six years that I've lived in Mexico. Like, I've never witnessed anything like that.

Curt Smith

Yep.

Speaker

Um, most of the expats that I know here, and I know dozens and dozens of people all throughout the country, never seen anything like that. But the news kind of makes it out to be this thing that's like very common, like you're gonna walk out of your house and you're in the middle of a- Yeah you know, guns a-blazing or whatever. I'm like, no, that's, that's ridiculous. Yeah. Like, that's not reality day to day is you... in most places. Now, of course, in Mexico City or even in Guadalajara, there's nice neighborhoods and there's bad neighborhoods. You know, you're not gonna come here and, you know, you're not gonna live in a, in a, in the ghetto if you wouldn't live in the ghetto in your own country.

Curt Smith

Yeah. Same thing in Manhattan- Yeah or New York, right? Same thing, right? There are sketchier neighborhoods and there are more comfortable neighborhoods, and so.

Speaker

Yeah. I mean, I, I've always felt very safe here. Um, how did your kinda relocation journey start? I mean, if you wanna speak to a little bit about how you found us as well and- And in general, how the process was going in your mind of, you know, you decided you wanted to- Yep to come, and then how that all sort of unfolded.

Curt Smith

Yeah. So I've been looking for probably two or three years for alternatives, uh, to where to retire to as op- you know, as opposed to the US. Um, and it's largely been, I'd have to say, a kind of a YouTube exploration.

Speaker

Mm-hmm.

Curt Smith

Um, so, um, you know, I've, I've visited or, or seen most of the, um, podcasts on YouTube around locating in, you know, like the top five countries or the top 10 countries or the w- where you should go in 2026. Um, so I was a pretty avid consumer of that information and, um, and then, you know, I've always thought that I would end up in Europe. Mm-hmm. Um, and so that was an early kind of consideration. Um, as I kind of went through and just, again, thought through the numbers-

Speaker

Mm-hmm

Curt Smith

um, not a lot of places in Europe that are much, uh, more cost-effective than the US, right? It's- And

Speaker

the taxes too.

Curt Smith

Yeah. And it's- The taxes in Europe

Speaker

are wild

Curt Smith

yeah, very, very high tax. Can be a very high tax space. Uh, there are some countries that were, uh, that those, I think there are less opportunities there, like in Portugal and Spain, they were more open to it, um, to having expats come in. But, um, but again, it came back to, you know, what gives me proximity to the US- Mm-hmm since I, you know, I'm not, um, creating a barrier. This is also why I wasn't looking at Asia- Mm generally, right? I'm, I'm not looking for a 10 to 15-hour plane ride to get back to family, um, in the US. And so, um, that's where Amer- uh, Mexico was in a very, you know, kind of ideal location- Mm for me. Kind of narrowed it down quickly. Um, as you mentioned earlier, um, I saw your, some of your podcasts, um, and, and, you know, we've talked about various opportunities to work together. Um, and then we have developed, you know, this immigration process. Um, but, um, I pretty quickly narrowed it down to Mexico versus other Latin American countries, in part because, you know, as I mentioned, I do have a, an extended family, um, in Veracruz. And so, um, you know, wanting to be, you know... You already have a essentially an installed community there.

Speaker

Yeah.

Curt Smith

Right? And- That helps. Yeah. It, it, you know... Not that it became a no-brainer, but it, it helped make the choice much clearer for me. Um, and so, uh, but I was looking at, uh, Argentina, um, and I was looking at Uruguay. Um, I was looking at Chile. Um, those are all, you know, kind of popular places for people to go. Mm-hmm. Um, and, uh, but For me, again, Mexico was just at a perfect development stage and also, um, you know, proximity to the US.

Speaker

Sure. And what has the process been like so far? I mean, just working with us and I know you found us originally on YouTube. I think you subscribed- Mm-hmm to one of our- Yep whatever, the Mexico guide or one of those things. Yep. Yep. Maybe, maybe several. And then we actually helped you a little bit, um, you know, talking about, you know, potential, uh, potential businesses you could do from abroad later as you retire.

Curt Smith

Yeah.

Speaker 3

So you mentioned to me a few times that you kinda were starting to see a lot of the writing on the wall, uh, in terms of the relocation process getting more complicated for Mexico, and also- Mm-hmm more expensive, and the requirements going up. When did you sorta notice that and then make that decision to say, "You know what? I'm, I'm gonna pull the trigger on this. I'm gonna make it happen"?

Speaker 4

Yeah. Probably it was last year going into this year where the increase... Uh, each year they've been increasing the financial requirements, but they continued to increase it. They even changed the basis for the math that they're- Mm-hmm doing the, uh, requirements on- The

Speaker 3

UMA versus the other-

Speaker 4

Yeah. Yeah. And so it just kind of underscored for me that that could change at any time, right? Mm-hmm. So it's certainly not restrictive for me, the, the limits that they've brought it to, but who knows, right? Um, if, you know, in 2027 it could change again, it could become m- even more difficult. So, um, there was no time like, in my mind, the present, uh, to get moving on that. You had mentioned, we talked about maybe some entrepreneurial work. We talked about relocation. For me, the entrepreneurial work and thinking about what that could be in the future was a bit longer timeline, and the immigration piece was more of a shorter timeline. So then I said, "Well then, let's get moving with that." And so- Mm-hmm here

Speaker 3

I am. Yeah.

Speaker 4

Hopefully finally.

Speaker 3

So you, you said, uh, yeah, you're about to have your, your card as soon as you get back from your, your Mexico trip because you're about to go on a whole Mexico-

Speaker 4

A journey

Speaker 3

journey.

Speaker 4

Yes.

Speaker 3

Which, uh, we're gonna start to do soon as well. That's on the- Yeah on the cards for us very soon to help people see at least Jalisco and this area.

Speaker 4

Yep.

Speaker 3

Um, so you're about to travel around for a couple weeks, and then by that time the card's gonna be ready. Yes. Uh, you are on a tight timeline as well. Yes. Um, if you wanna speak to that too because most of the time, you know, the, a lot of the facilitators we work with, uh, or that, well, that we've worked with in the past, right now we have a team that's just like very, very tight, but a lot of the time they would say, "You need to be here for two weeks, three weeks, a month." You've only been here so far, uh, you landed on Sunday, and now- Yes now it's Wednesday, so- Yep you've been here for a few days. Yep. And you already have about 90% or so of the thing done. Yep. We had the payment.

Speaker 4

Yep.

Speaker 3

Uh, we got the, the tr- the whole tramite, as they call it here, approved. Yep. And you're able to just kinda go travel, come back, and have the flexibility to do sort of whatever you need to here.

Speaker 4

Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah, so again, a very seamless process. Um, you know, and yeah, all, really my only role is to sign the documents, pay for the payment Uh, but then everything else is handled by the facilitator and you. Uh, and, uh, again, it couldn't, couldn't be easier-

Speaker 3

Mm-hmm

Speaker 4

um, to kind of work through that process. So, so that's worked out very well. I'm looking forward to getting my card and, you know, um, being fully in-

Yeah

Speaker 4

uh, as a resident, so.

Speaker 3

And what was the process like? I mean, just detail-wise from the time you kinda landed here to the process of the paperwork and just everything, I mean, including the housing and- Yeah and transfers and, like, what- Yeah what does, what does that- So- sort of look like- Yeah step-by-step- Very- from your perspective?

Speaker 4

very, very easy process, right? You, you had mentioned, I think on the onset, uh, that I signed up for the VIP white glove service- Mm-hmm and it's certainly been, uh, white glovish- um, to date. And so, uh, picked up at the airport, uh, by, um, Luis, and, uh, you know, had a, a nice drive, uh, in the middle of the night unfortunately because of... The worst thing about this whole process has been flying. Mm-hmm. The, there were, um, repeated delays on my trip down here. So, but when I finally got here- uh, everything has been seamless. So, um, Luis brought me to the townhouse, uh, where I'm staying, and, uh, it's, you know, certainly very convenient, um, to, to, um, have your support, right? Right, uh, almost next door. Um, and then, um, uh, the townhouse is lovely, and as I mentioned, beautiful views of the lake. Um, each morning wake me up and, um, and then, uh, you all, you and Amanda, have been great at showing me around the area. Uh, taking me, as I mentioned, up into the mountains to see some other, uh, kind of areas and get another flavor- Mm-hmm uh, for what this area could provide. So, um, it's been really easy. We went out to lunch. The facilitator met us at lunch, so I don't even have to go to an office, uh, to sign the paperwork and, and, you know, kind of close the deal, if you will. Mm-hmm. Um, that's, you know, that was done while we were at lunch in Ajijic and, um, yeah, it's been great. Um, my passport is back. Uh, my letter that I'm official and in the program, um, I've received that. And so like I said, could not have been easier.

Speaker 3

Cool. Yeah.

Speaker 4

Yeah.

Speaker 3

I'm glad, I'm glad it was so seamless, and we pride ourselves... And even when there's a lot of little details to figure out, uh, and even when there's things that can be le- delayed or go wrong or anything, uh, we try to make it as seamless as possible for the client because you value your time a lot, and you don't wanna- Yeah have your time wasted. Yeah. Right? And, and there's a lot of facilitators and other people that do these kinds of things. Their focus might be, you know, let's just do kind of a bare bones thing. You have to come to our office. You need to do this with the paperwork, that with the paperwork. You know, we, we don't really take responsibility if things go wrong. Mm-hmm. And I'm just like, "Okay, let's turn that around on its head- And create a, a process where you just don't have to really think about the next step at all.

Speaker 4

Yeah.

Speaker 3

Where we handle it. So I'm glad that that's exceeding our expectations there, for

Speaker 4

sure. Yeah. The other thing, and we've talked about this, is, is, you know, um, Mexico runs on relationships.

Speaker 3

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 4

Um, and that's the other thing that I know has been a big help for me in this process. Not, not that I have any relationships with, with the c- officials here, but, you know, working through you and you working with these facilitators that have the established relationships with the immigration offices, uh, I know has been a great boon, right? So we ran into a little bit of a bump with a key person in the office, in the immigration office being out on vacation. Um-

Speaker 3

And that was the only person who handles these

Speaker 4

sorts of paperwork- Yeah, exactly things, but- So, you know, go figure. Um, but the, you know, the nice thing is I feel like we're very much on top of that or your facilitators- Mm-hmm uh, and you all are very much on top of that. And, you know, I am going now on my journey, and so we'll just, you know, wrap things up when I get back in a couple of weeks. And so, um, again, I... R- really very little stress for me. If I was trying to do this on my own, I can't imagine, or, you know, with someone less connected with the kind of administrative infrastructure here, um, that would be much more difficult and much more stressful, so.

Speaker 3

100%. And what would you say, Kurt, to someone who maybe is in a similar situation? You know, they've got a nest egg. They, they have a retirement account. They could live in the US, but they want the optionality or they wanna just be able to explore for a while or retire in a country like Mexico, but maybe they're, like, on the fence a little bit. Mm-hmm. What would you say to them about, I mean, whether it's working with us specifically or just in general? Because a lot of people, they kind of hesitate, and you're, you're v- very analytical, as am I. Yep. You want all the data. You want everything- Yep to align, you know, perfectly. But sometimes you just kinda gotta get off the fence. Yeah. What would you say to someone who might be in that position like, like you were to a certain- Yeah extent at the beginning?

Speaker 4

Yeah. Yeah. I, you know, I, I am, to your point, I'm, I am analytical, and so I hesitate to say, "Well, just get moving." Mm-hmm. Because I do like to make sure all of the I's are dotted and T's are crossed, and I've gone through, you know. So, but, y- you know, keep moving forward, I would say, right? Because, you know, what happened to me personally is work and other things get in the way, and then three months pass and it's like, "Oh yeah, I was going to follow up." And now, you know, I, I knew I needed to follow up. But just get moving on, on the, the process. Keep it moving forward. Explore. Do what you need to do to explore. Come down to Mexico, right? Yeah. Even before you start the immigration process, as a tourist to, you know, visit. You know, see if you like the place. See if you like the various cities. Uh, there's very diverse cities here and, and towns and, and so I just... We keep moving that process forward. The worst You know, situation is just letting time pass and not, um, kind of working through the process. The other thing, and this is, you know, a bit, you know, kind of maybe difficult, but, um, is to pay for the service, right? Um, this is one of the situations where it felt to me like, uh, it, it would not be to my benefit to go cheap, 'cause there are cheap options. Um, and you know, th- this is very complex process, and if you have all the time in the world, maybe you would wanna do that. But, uh, if you wanna be relieved of the stress, and if you want... If you don't have all the time in the world, if you are like I am, currently working, you know, I do have a fairly aggressive job that I need to commit a lot of my brain power to, um, then, uh, pay for the service to, you know, bring you, you know, into the process. So that's- Great that would be my counsel.

Speaker 3

Yeah. Yeah, I appreciate that, that feedback. And anything else you wanna share? And it sounds like you're, you're on the right track here. We're gonna have all this sorted very, very soon, you know- Yep what's, what's remaining. And really the next step for you is just to figure out where you're actually-

Speaker 4

Yeah

Speaker 3

gonna live, right? That's- Yeah that's kind

Speaker 4

of the next thing. Think about where I'm gonna live, and yeah, and you know, start to, to plan what that future, you know, kind of life is gonna look like and, you know, how do I w- wanna get engaged, uh, you know, within Mexico... with Mexico and its culture, right? And its economy. And- Mm-hmm I'm really... It's an exciting time.

Speaker 3

Yeah. And you're, you're looking forward to connecting a lot with these, these biotech companies that are here as well. Yep. And even ac- So of course, if anybody has connections to those sorts of companies, definitely, uh, reach out to me or reach out to Kurt. We'll, we'll connect you guys, 'cause I know you're looking to get involved here in Mexico- Yep with some of those startups and things like that.

Speaker 4

Absolutely.

Speaker 3

More, more, uh, farther along companies as well in the, in the biotech analytics space. Yep. And yeah, there's a, there's a lot of really cool economic and startup activity happening in this country. Um, so thank you again for being- Thank

Speaker 4

you

Speaker 3

uh, on the show today. We really appreciate you being here, and I'm very happy to, to be hosting you here in, in the Lake Chapala area and helping you finish this, to your point, very complex process. Yes. Um, but making it as seamless as possible. If you are looking to follow in Kurt's footsteps and also move to Mexico, have all of your paperwork done right from start to finish, or even other countries in Latin America, we, we have a lot of partners, including Uruguay and Paraguay and Costa Rica and Panama. If you're looking to get your immigration done, just go to entrepreneurexpat.com/consult. We work specifically with people that do have a million dollars or more in net worth, and they're looking to save a lot of time and not have to- Mm figure out every step- on their own, we can absolutely help you do that. And if you're not quite there yet, you definitely can still check out a lot of those free resources below this video. We also have courses on how to pick a country and so many other things as well. So check those out. And again, thank you for being here and- Thank you thank you all for being the best part of Entrepreneur Expat. Subscribe to this channel if you haven't already, and hit that notification bell so that you don't miss a single video. We're posting new content every single week, so we love that you're here and that you're part of our community. Share this video as well with, uh, a loved one or a friend or someone that is thinking about moving to Mexico or just leaving the US in general because we can absolutely help them, whether it's with our content or with our services. And thanks again for being here. We'll see you again soon.