Debt is ‘just part of being American’

Why more U.S. expats like Paul Kurtzweil are fleeing to Mexico for a debt-free life

2024-09-26 09:23:57 - Socrates X

When Paul Kurtzweil and his wife, Linda, moved from Orlando to Cancun, they never planned to return to the U.S. But then, “life happened.”

Kurtzweil, known as Qroo Paul on social media, explained in a viral YouTube video that they returned to Florida to care for Linda’s aging mother.

The retired deputy sheriff and his wife had been living off his pension since their move to Mexico in 2015. Upon returning to the U.S., he found a job in law enforcement again.

“I have to do that because that one-third of the income [his pension] is not enough in the States,” he said in his YouTube video.

Kurtzweil added that he and Linda could live “debt-free” in Mexico, but are now back in the red in Florida due to the high cost of living in America. Their experience highlighted why it’s not just the warm weather and great food aren’t the only reasons why so many Americans are looking south with envy.

Life in Mexico offers a more affordable alternative

Kurtzweil only returned to Florida to help his mother-in-law but was shocked by the steep prices of goods and health care compared to Mexico.

He said that his pension was enough to buy a condo outright in Cancun with enough left over to allow for him and Linda to travel. However, upon returning to Florida, he had to take on debt to purchase a larger home for himself, Linda and her mother. He said that someone once told him that debt is “just part of being American.”

Comparing the U.S. to Mexico, that comment isn’t a total exaggeration. OECD data from 2022 highlighted that Mexico has the lowest household debt among 31 developed and developing countries at 16.6%, while the U.S. ranks 17th in lowest household debt with 74.4%.

Angel De La Rosa, a Mexican man with U.S. citizenship, emphasized this in a viral TikTok video: “Being in debt your whole life should be considered poverty, but it’s not … At least here in Mexico, we own our things. We own our houses. We own our cars. We’re not in debt.”

Read more: Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead

Mexico migration

The cheaper cost of living in Mexico has attracted more Americans, like the Kurtzweils, to make the move. In fact, one TikToker suggested that the “new” American dream is to leave the country.

According to CNBC, there was a 70% increase in Americans applying for or renewing residency visas from 2019 to 2022, based on figures from Mexico’s Migration Policy Unit.

Another person who made this move was Adalia Aborisade. Previously working 60 hours a week as a teacher in Houston earning $60,000 annually, the 48-year-old relocated to Mexico City in 2020 for a more relaxed lifestyle.

Now she works 15 hours a week running her own financial coaching, relocation assistance and retreat business, Picky Girl Travels the World. She makes $38,000 a year.

“I make significantly less money than I did living in the U.S., but I work fewer hours, I am less stressed and overall my life is just filled with much more positivity and joy,” Adorisade told CNBC’s Make It.

But with the influx of U.S. citizens seeking a more affordable life in Mexico, the country now faces a very American problem: high housing prices. Mexico experienced the second-largest housing increase globally from 2023 to 2024 at 4.72%, according to The International Monetary Fund.

A 2022 MIT study estimated that Mexico will need to build over 800,000 new houses annually for the next two decades to meet demand.

— with files from Serah Louis

Debt is ‘just part of being American’

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