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Sandra and Michael Wright retired early in the city of Bucerias, Mexico.
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A West Kelowna couple who retired early in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic share their story in hopes of inspiring others.
Sandra and Michael Wright met 20 years ago and moved to the West Bank in 2000 to raise their children. The couple always loved going on vacation trips to Mexico and as they got older they decided to retire there at some point.
After looking for the opportunity for more than a decade, the Wrights came up with a 10-year plan to get their finances in order and retire.
“Our 10-year plan became a five-year plan, and the following year the five-year plan became a three-year plan. In October last year, we said we have to do it now,” says Michael, adding that the couple is only at their early 50s.
“We both had bad days at work and got home. We were walking down the beach in West Kelowna and decided to go over a series of numbers. We thought if we could really change certain things in our lifestyle, we could probably do it now So we just went on the mission of selling everything we owned and, funny enough, the first thing we sold was a snow blower. “
October 12, 2019 was the day the couple decided to move. By November 10, 2019, they had bought two large suitcases. In December and February they visited Mexico and decided where to move – to the city of Bucerías.
Bucerías means “place of divers” and is a small seaside resort in the state of Nayarit. The population of Bucerías is approximately 9,000. Seasonal inflows double that.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first broke out in March, the Wrights wondered if they would still carry out their retirement plans.
“We said, ‘Yeah, we’re going. We won’t let this stop us. We won’t let it crush our dreams.’ And here we are, “says Sandra.
On April 21, 2020, the Wrights put their West Kelowna home up for sale and received an offer a few weeks later. The couple finished their last working days in the months that followed and had bought a home in Mexico through Zoom by September.
“The whole trip made it clear to us how much stuff we as humans only collect and not use,” says Michael. “We had a large three story townhouse with a huge garage that you could park a bus in. We never missed the stuff we sold.
“We moved here and had two large suitcases, one hand luggage and a backpack. We turned everything else into cash and put it on the bank. Downsizing wasn’t that difficult for us.”
The hardest part was saying goodbye to friends and family.
“We wanted to enjoy this part of our life, we were young and I didn’t want to wait until I was 65,” said Sandra.
The Wrights officially moved to Mexico on October 5th, 2020. They are currently waiting to take possession of their new home and are temporarily renting a property nearby.
“We were shocked at how little it cost,” says Michael. “We both had really good paying jobs and now we live a better lifestyle on a fifth of what we took home.”
And despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it was easy to become a permanent resident of Mexico, according to Wrights.
“Our original retirement plan was six months in Mexico – six months in Canada. But we couldn’t figure out the financial aspect of the six months in Canada. So we knew we had to be in Mexico full-time and just come back to visit Canada,” says Michael. “We went through the permanent residency process and it was actually very easy.”
The Wrights had to meet certain financial requirements in order to apply.
After spending just a few hours at the Mexican Consulate General in Vancouver, they had their visas and passports ready. After arriving in Mexico, the couple voluntarily isolated for two weeks. After that, they hired an interpreter and went to the immigration department.
“We literally went to immigration with our papers and interpreters at 8:30 a.m. and came out at 11:15 a.m. with our permanent residence cards,” says Michael.
Now, five weeks later, the Wrights are feeling at home and much safer from the virus in Mexico.
“In every business you have to stop, step on a disinfection mat, wear masks, disinfect your hands and measure the temperature,” says Michael. “We haven’t seen the temperature measurement anywhere in Canada.
“We spent two months in Vancouver visiting family and friends before we came here … It’s definitely a lot stricter here and they take it more seriously here.”
And because tourism has declined due to the pandemic, the beaches remain empty.
“You go down to the beach, it’s the seventh largest bay in the world here, so you literally have 27 miles of walkable beach and no one is on it,” says Michael.
“Locals just scratch their heads about COVID because all they see is that their entire economy is closed and they don’t see or know anyone who has been sick. They see absolutely no evidence of COVID in the community other than the fact that it is Tourism and businesses down here devastated. “
But in the past few weeks the Wrights have noticed more planes stopping at Puerto Vallarta Airport.
The Wrights hope their story will inspire others who may have considered doing something similar.
“It’s possible to live in Mexico on less than $ 2,000 a month and have a better lifestyle than Canada by far – including restaurants, transportation, the home you live in, and so on,” Michael said . “Do your research, find out what you can afford to save, and save for that amount. If you don’t think you can, you can.”
“Follow your dreams. It can be done,” says Sandra. “When I was at work I was told I had nowhere to go and I just thought, no, that’s not true, I can do what I want when I give it up and we did. We just are very satisfied with our decision. “
The couple now enjoy going for walks, spending the day on the beach and checking out the markets.
