Any retired/disabled veterans who moved their family to Mexico after leaving the workforce? Looking for experiences/advice
I'm looking to hear from other retired or disabled veterans who made the decision to move to Mexico and live primarily off VA disability and military retirement, especially anyone who made the move with school-age children.
A little background: I'm in my mid 40s, retired from the Army after 20 years, and currently receive 100% VA disability along with my military retirement. My current job/contract is ending, and while I'm actively looking for another job, my wife and I have started seriously considering moving to Mexico if the right employment opportunity doesn't come along.
Mexico isn't really unfamiliar territory for us. My wife and I both grew up in the area outside León, Guanajuato, and we still have quite a bit of family around León and San Francisco del Rincón. We would most likely settle somewhere in that area, so we'd have a family/support network already there rather than starting completely from scratch.
Financially, between my VA disability and military retirement, we'd have a steady income coming from the U.S. regardless of whether I worked in Mexico. I would probably look into starting a small business just to have some extra income and not get bored.
Our biggest concern isn't really us, it's our three kids.
My wife is especially hesitant because of their future. She's worried that moving them from the U.S. to Mexico could limit their educational and career opportunities once they get older. That's probably the biggest thing keeping us from feeling completely comfortable with the idea.
I'd really like to hear from veterans, military retirees, or families who have actually done something similar.
A few things I'm particularly curious about:
- If you're living in Mexico primarily on VA disability and/or military retirement, how has it worked out financially?
- How do you handle VA healthcare, prescriptions, annual appointments, etc. while living in Mexico?
- Did you keep a U.S. address, bank accounts, phone number, etc.? Anything you wish you had set up before leaving?
- For those with children, what did you do about schools; public, private, bilingual/international?
- If your children were raised or finished school in Mexico, how did that affect their college and career opportunities later?
- Has anyone kept the option open for their kids to attend college in the U.S. after graduating from high school in Mexico?
- What were the biggest expenses or problems you didn't anticipate before moving?
- And probably the biggest question: knowing what you know now, would you do it again?
I'm not really looking at this as "retiring to Mexico at 44 and never working again." It's more about whether having guaranteed retirement/disability income gives us an opportunity to build a good life near our extended family without constantly worrying about finding another job in the U.S.
At the same time, I don't want to improve our quality of life now at the expense of our kids' opportunities 10–15 years from now.
Thanks for any experiences or advice you can share.