“Our Life in Guanajuato is Cheaper Than Rent in Tampa"

Guanajuato, Mexico
Tim Leffel finds peace and affordability in the vibrant streets of Guanajuato, Mexico.|©iStock/ferrantraite

Living in a cookie-cutter world of conveniences and two-car garages, Tim Leffel—once a long-time RCA Records employee and now an accomplished author and blogger—decided years ago to trade it all in for a humbler lifestyle in the heart of central Mexico. Setting roots in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Guanajuato, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, Tim knew almost immediately that the place had corazon (heart).

The pulse of Guanajuato’s lively and colorful streets beats with the sounds of music, happy families, and life. With nearly 200,000 residents, visitors can wander narrow alleys, celebrate history, or enjoy a vibrant scene for food, art, and culture.

Why Guanajuato? Making a Change

Tim Leffel with his book, A Better Life for Half the Price, in Guanajuato.
Tim Leffel with his book, A Better Life for Half the Price, in Guanajuato.

Tim, his wife, and their now college-aged daughter became legal residents of Mexico over 12 years ago, moving to Guanajuato with careful consideration. Despite Tim’s immediate recognition that it was “a special kind of city,” the decision to relocate involved extensive planning.

Tim is no stranger to moving around and living abroad. He has lived in Virginia, Nashville, New York, and even spent a few years backpacking and teaching English with his wife in Turkey and South Korea. His book A Better Life for Half the Price is just one of many he has written on the topic of moving abroad cheaply—and successfully.

Describing the vistas in Guanajuato, Tim often muses about the colorful houses that spill down the mountain where he lives and the glow of the lights from the statue of El Pipila, a prominent monument that meets his skyline view. In Guanajuato, he describes “a peaceful community with cultural events, evening dinner parties, and a group of people with a ‘willingness to chill out.’”

“It’s a city where there are far more pedestrian streets than ones that have cars on them, so it’s a taste of Europe without going so far away. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage city with structures older than anything north of St. Augustine in the USA. And since it’s a university town, there’s a lot of culture, music, and art,” Tim explains.

After experiencing the charms of Guanajuato for the first time, Tim was eager to share his idea of relocating there with his wife. However, with a travel-based career and a ten-year-old daughter, there was much to consider.

The Big Move to Guanajuato

Sunset over the Catedral de Guanajuato, highlighting the city's rich history.
Sunset over the Catedral de Guanajuato, highlighting the city's rich history.|©iStock/Jui-Chi Chan

The Leffel family embarked on a trial run the year after Tim’s initial visit. They spent a month in Guanajuato, immersing themselves in the local lifestyle—shopping where the locals shop and exploring schools for their daughter. Tim strongly advises such a trial run, especially for families or couples, because, as he puts it, “if you’re not on the same page with what’s important to you—the heart, head, and wallet factors together—it can be a disaster.”

After successfully getting a feel for the area, the family decided to move the following year.

“One of the toughest parenting conversations of our lives,” Tim recalls, “was telling our 10-year-old daughter that we were leaving the place she had known her whole life, with all her friends, selling our house, and moving to Mexico.”

They chose to rent for a year, continuing to assess schools, gauge their adaptability, and balance what their new lives could look like more permanently in Guanajuato. The family split their time between their part-time home in Tampa, Florida, and Mexico, gradually settling into their new routine. Eventually, with confidence in their decision, they purchased a house and established their roots.

A Day in the Life

Tim remains active in his work, dedicating much of his time to his Cheapest Destinations blog. His afternoons, however, are spent enjoying the peace and beauty of the outdoors. A typical day includes a long walk, often up to the Presa de la Olla area, where there’s a calming, shady park and a small lake where people paddle around in rowboats. The mountains, trees, and birds flying around provide Tim with his regular dose of nature.

Living in Guanajuato requires being in good physical shape, as the daily routine often involves handling stairs at high altitudes. Tim’s favorite pastimes include hiking the surrounding mountains, further contributing to his healthy lifestyle.

The move to Guanajuato has had a profound impact on Tim’s well-being. He notes, “The improvement has been massive in terms of health, happiness, stress level, and costs. We walk more and eat less processed food. I feel like my blood pressure goes down every time I return from the USA.”

Errands in Guanajuato are simple yet enriching. Tim frequently walks into town for local market goods, passing by “amazing coffee shops, bargain bars, a chocolate shop, stands selling ice cream, and a restaurant with seating on a little bridge over one of the pedestrian streets.” The historic center, with churches that date back hundreds of years, is a regular part of his route.

Overall, Tim describes his life in Guanajuato as “the usual expat scene: parties, meeting for dinner, meeting for drinks, and having fun.”

Challenges and Adaptations

While daily routines are easily adapted, integrating into a new culture and making friends can present challenges. As Tim points out, “You’re going to be mixing it up with the people who really live here—in their language, most likely not yours.”

Children, however, often adapt more quickly than adults. Tim’s daughter, for example, found a friend in their neighborhood who didn’t speak a word of English. They played together, watched SpongeBob in Spanish, and conversed like normal kids. Later, during middle school, she was welcomed into a tight-knit group of chatty friends who made her feel at home.

For Tim and his wife, making friends posed its own set of challenges. While the expat community in Guanajuato, consisting of a few hundred people, makes it easy to find English-speaking friends, forming strong bonds with locals has proven more difficult due to frequent travel and language barriers. “I honestly wish we spent more time with locals than we do,” Tim reflects. “Most of the locals we are close friends with are the ones who speak English because it’s kind of tough to form strong bonds if your Spanish is not completely fluent.”

Aside from adapting to the language and making friends, Tim notes that “the main difference [between life in the US and Mexico] is that time is fluid, and family and fun are both higher on the priority list than what they do for a living. Things get done eventually, but not necessarily on your schedule. If a worker is offered $500 to fix your house on a Sunday or to go to the family barbecue, you are going to be waiting all day. He’ll be at the barbecue, no matter what he may have told you. They have very different priorities than workaholic Americans, and that’s kind of comforting.”

Adapting to fewer modern amenities, like mega-stores around the corner, has also been an adjustment for Tim’s family. Fortunately, in recent years, residents of Guanajuato can enjoy perks like Amazon Mexico, Costco, and even IKEA within a few hours' drive. Smaller grocery stores like La Comer help to satisfy product cravings when the local produce markets don’t suffice. Tim jokes that he doesn’t miss much, “except hoppy beer and better snacks. We only go to the big supermarket once or twice a month because most of what we need we can buy locally within a 10-minute walk.”

However, Tim warns potential residents: “You have to have a tolerance for ‘noise that is superpower-level.’” He mentions the frequent and varied noises from mariachi bands, bar stereos, barking dogs, fireworks, late-night concerts, and even roosters in the town center. His advice is simple: “Bring earplugs and go with the flow.”

Cost of Living in Guanajuato

Outdoor cafes in Guanajuato offer vibrant street views and local flavors.
Outdoor cafes in Guanajuato offer vibrant street views and local flavors.|©iStock/ferrantraite

One of the great perks for Tim and his family living in Guanajuato is that their living expenses as a family of three were less than what they spent on rent alone in Tampa. Now that it’s just the two of them, their costs are even lower.

Housing

In their first year, the Leffels rented two side-by-side apartments for a total of $800, including utilities, using one as an office and guest space. Eventually, they purchased a home in Guanajuato.

Tim and his wife spend less than $2,000 per month on everything, without being overly frugal. They own their house free and clear but still do improvements and repairs regularly, and they have a weekly housekeeper. Annual property taxes are less than $250, and all utilities combined, including internet and cable, cost less than $100.

Over the years, they’ve made improvements to their home, which was already a solid structure requiring no fundamental changes. They redid the kitchen, laid new tile, and decorated it with folk art from around Mexico. Now, they are working on adding a roof terrace with a panoramic view of the city.

Air conditioning costs, a significant expense in their part-time home in Tampa, are non-existent in Guanajuato. At 6,500 feet, the climate never gets very hot or very cold. They eat and drink outside year-round, and Tim notes that he can’t think of one bar or restaurant in the city that has air conditioning.

Transportation

Tim appreciates the convenience of the nearby Leon/Guanajuato airport, which has many flights daily. However, owning a car in Guanajuato is more of a liability than an asset. When needed, Tim takes a taxi, which costs around $5 for a ride to the bus station outside of town. Without the need for a car, expenses for gas, maintenance, insurance, and related costs are kept out of the budget.

Cost of Food, Shops, and Incidentals

Dining out in Guanajuato is extremely affordable. The most expensive restaurant meal costs about the same as a subpar meal at Applebee’s in the USA. It’s easy to find $2 beers in a bar, $5 lunches, and a nice dinner for two for $30 or $40, including drinks.

One of the best deals Tim has found is getting a haircut, which only costs $4 at the local barber.

Healthcare

Healthcare in Guanajuato is another area where Tim has found excellent value. A terrific dentist charges about a fourth of what it would cost in the USA, with far superior service. A visit to a general practitioner costs less than $40, and a specialist charges between $50 and $65. Unlike in the U.S., doctors in Guanajuato take their time with patients, and they often provide their cell phone numbers for follow-up.

For more serious medical needs, the city of Leon, with its modern hospitals, is just a short drive away.

The Leffels have expat insurance with a high deductible, mainly to cover them when traveling back to the U.S., but they pay for everything out of pocket in Mexico. This expense is a minor line item in their annual budget, a stark contrast to the high costs of being self-employed in the U.S.

Safety in Guanajuato

Tim feels significantly safer in Guanajuato than in any city he lived in while in the United States. “There are no gun shows, no open carry laws, no guns for sale in Walmart. The violence is cartel against cartel and is seldom random,” he explains.

A Better Life

An evening in Guanajuato: Tim Leffel enjoys the slower pace of life.
An evening in Guanajuato: Tim Leffel enjoys the slower pace of life.

Embracing the slower pace, the noisy nights, and the occasional challenge of obtaining modern conveniences, Tim has found a city he loves. Guanajuato, he says, is a place for people who want to integrate into a culture and appreciate the differences. He’s living healthier, happier, and internationally—International Living at its finest.

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