by Camazotz Cohaven Co-Founder, Gavriel Shaw
It’s a big decision. But these are trying times. In this article I explore the many reasons and options for moving your family to Mexico for sun and security as geopolitics has a cascading effect on our lifestyle choices.
Having children requires a long-term view. With millions of people migrating each year, Mexico remains a prize destination for its climate, infrastructure, property rights, and culture.
I settled on the Yucatan Peninsula as my new home. Near the gorgeous colonial town of Valladolid that is set to see increased tourism and immigration over the coming years.
I chose a large land property about 30 minutes outside of Valladolid, for both it’s quietude, closeness to nature, and also the potential for a hospitality venue and co-living community.
My partner is just 2.5 hours drive away and we plan to settle here at the finca (Spanish for country estate) and start a family. Our dream is to start a ‘micro village’ of up to 300 people, with shared valued and collaborative interests.
I have travelled around 50 countries starting back in 2006 and while there are so many amazing places to visit, depending on your budget, Mexico makes a lot of sense. The future is bright, so let’s dive into the details.
Family Values
If you want to break free of the status quo for family life, create an experience for raising children that will give them skills and perspectives for a new tomorrow, there are many community projects starting around Mexico that may be suitable.
My own values include:
Having neighbors I know, like and trust.
It ‘takes a village to raise a child’.
Living in the rawness of nature is better for mind, body and spirit than living in the hustle bustle of established towns.
Natural foods are worth putting in time and effort to produce rather than low-grade processed foods bought from the stores or restaurants.
Children grow up playing freely in a natural setting, rather than cloistered indoors in front of the TV or computer.
While these things are available in any country, there are many reasons to plan ahead for the lifestyle of tomorrow. Let’s begin with Mexico today.
Mexico Today
Family life in Mexico for foreigns is amazing. Taxes are low. Governments processes are slow… but they get the job done. Mexicans make friendly neighbors unless you are obnoxious. Learning to respect the culture and speak at the same tone as locals goes a long way to integrating in and being accepted as a welcome member of the Mexican community.
Mexico has a diverse climate due to its varied geography, which ranges from the deserts of the north to the tropical rainforests of the south. The biggest difference between each climate zone is rainfall.
No-Go’s if you want to live in a year-round lush, warm, natural environment:
Temperate Climate: This climate is found in central and eastern Mexico, including the states of Mexico, Morelos, Puebla, and Hidalgo. The region experiences cool temperatures and moderate rainfall.
Desert Climate: This climate is found in northern Mexico, including the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Baja California. The region experiences hot temperatures and low rainfall.
Semi-arid Climate: This climate is found in the central region of Mexico, including the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, and Guanajuato. The region experiences hot temperatures and occasional rainfall.
Good options if you like green all year round:
Subtropical Climate: This climate is found in the Gulf Coastal Plain, including the states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, and Tabasco. The region experiences high temperatures and high rainfall.
Tropical Climate: This climate is found in southern Mexico, including the states of Chiapas, Campeche, and Yucatan. The region experiences hot temperatures and high rainfall throughout the year.
Cancun is located in this region. The weather is the reason it became such a popular holiday destination. But Cancun city itself is mostly concrete buildings and beaches. If you’re looking for somewhere to actually ‘live’ and enjoy a natural setting, like me, I decided Cancun wasn’t the right place.
Valladolid is 2-hours drive in-land from Cancun. We’ve written about Valladolid elsewhere on the site.
For now let’s focus on…
Lifestyles of Tomorrow
Your choices globally are far and wide, your choices in Mexico are also varied.
Big cities, small towns, tiny villages, or deep in a rural setting.
Technology is changing the quality of life, where as big cities brought the most comfortable lifestyles until now (generally speaking), tomorrow I believe small modernized villages in rural settings offer the best possible lifestyle options.
Imagine:
Actually knowing your local neighbors and hanging out together for local events such as movie night on a project screen, pot luck dinners, exercise groups, study groups, reading groups, a way to help guide your children towards educational and entertainment experiences you feel good about.
This is the dream of ‘intentional communities’ that have not been very successful in the past due to a limitation on resources and technology.
They leaned more towards ‘hippie communes’ that attracted freeloaders and people wanting to simply ‘chill out, man’.
But today with remote work becoming ever more common, and modern technology such as StarLink Internet (which became available across Mexico in 2022 and the reason I was able to begin Camazotz Cohaven in the ‘middle of the jungle’), life is getting easier even when living ‘off-grid’, even for those of us with high ideals and big ambitions for a productive life.
Soon, augmented reality and virtual reality education and entertainment, will make children’s education, and adult education, and family entertainment, readily available in a 1000 different ways, even while being physically located outside of major cities.
I like the education systems of Mentesori, Waldorf, or Lumiar. I imagine a dozen or so families living at Camazotz Cohaven who use those educational approaches while connecting by virtual reality to their best educators around the world.
With our extra time, some of us will choose to work in the Camazotz Gardens, tending to the baby plants nursery for germination, transplanting seedlings into the gardens, pruning the food forest, and harvesting the abundance for high quality, clean, nutritious food.
Families will work together on events that both entertain and educate our children of various age ranges.
A dream I intend to build with like-minded people who want to raise children for a new era of human society.
Explore the Smarter Co-Living page to explore further.
Mexico’s Future
I can’t say for sure, but I placed my bets on Mexico for a relatively stable economy and political climate, which is a lot more than I can say for most of Europe or other western countries. The world is going through a major shift over the coming years and Mexico will likely maintain its relatively rural and peaceful co-existence with its neighbors.
The Yucatan of course is right on the coast, where I believe very exciting developments for Special Economic Zones will take place in the coming years. While I don’t want to be in the thick of all that, preferring to place my permanent residence within the quietude of nature, I do look forward to having access to all of the modern innovations and vibrant lifestyle that will be made possible along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan.