There are many reasons to go to Mexico, but here are my top three reasons.

Number One Reason to go to Mexico: It's cheap to live in Mexico!

Unless you go on a vacation here, and do a bunch of touristy things like tours, you can live for a lot cheaper than if you were in the U.S.A. or Canada. One U.S. Dollar is about 13 Mexican pesos. For example, a 200g bag of dry pasta is 3.50 pesos, and an extra large loaf of bread (740g) is 28.50 pesos. Milk is also cheaper here, one half gallon is about 20.40 pesos. You may be surprised at how much groceries cost in Mexico compared to what you're used to!

It's also really cheap to hire a maid to clean your house one or two times a week. We usually pay our maid 300 pesos a week, which is more than what she asked for, and she comes twice a week and cleans the whole house! We have also hired a gardener to come once every week, to water and trim the plants. We usually pay him about 150 pesos each time he comes to work for us. Activities are cheap in Mexico too, whether you want to take up cooking or bird-watch in the mountains, there are tons of things you can do without breaking the bank. If you’re a keen bird-watcher and love to read about rarer species, you’ll be interested to know that Mexico is home to the elusive potoo bird. 

Number Two Reason to go to Mexico: The food is great!

Pico de gallo, jalapeños, and spicy green salsa

When you imagine Mexican foods, you probably think of tacos, burritos, guacamole, enchiladas, rice, beans, and tortillas. While they do eat those here, it's not the same style you may be used to. The kinds you can buy in Mexican restaurants in the US are not pure Mexican. It's a mixture of Texan and Mexican foods, called Tex-Mex. The style of tacos you can find in Mexico varies depending on which state you're in. A common style is seasoned meat (beef, pork, and Mexican sausage) on two corn or flour tortillas. It's a simple, but very delicious meal, and it usually only costs seven pesos for one taco. Usually, two is enough for a meal. You can always find a taco maker in a traditional Mexican Market. They usually come with some super spicy salsas and sometimes come with a bowl of beans.

Each Mexican state is known for its food. The state of Jalisco is known for its Tortas Ahogadas or “drowned sandwiches” which are pork sandwiches on very crusty bread and soaked in a spicy tomato sauce.  Another traditional food in Jalisco is called Birrias and this is pork that is slowly cooked in a banana leaf inside a ceramic container.

Mango covered in flavored sugar

Number Three Reason to go to Mexico: The people are really, really nice!

Another great reason to go to Mexico is that the people are extremely kind and giving! If you are buying something, and you find out that you don't have enough or they don't have any change, they're likely to let you take the item with you, without charge, until you can pay for it! My mom was buying an item from a local veterinarian and he didn't have the correct change, so he had offered to let us take the product and come back later to pay him for it. This is just one example of the many ways that the people are kind to others.

Mexico isn't just a great place to visit for a short vacation. It is a cheap place to live, the food is great, and the people are really nice. There are many reasons to go to Mexico and live, but these three will give you an idea of what to expect when you are here. 

Joy Whitehead is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

Photos courtesy and copyright Joy Whitehead