Steven LaChance Blog

I get asked a lot how you move to Mexico. My answer is always the same. The right way. And I do not mean that casually.

The right way means you follow the rules and the laws of the country you are choosing to live in. You get proper residency. You use the correct visas. You pay what you are supposed to pay. You do not come here assuming there are shortcuts because you are a foreigner or because you think things are flexible. They are not. Mexico has structure. It has systems. It has laws. Doing it the right way is not about paperwork. It is about showing, from the start, that you understand you are stepping into someone else’s country, not selecting a lifestyle.

Once you understand that, it becomes clear why moving here is only the beginning. Living here is where the real work happens.

Life in Mexico did not simply form the way it is now. The rhythms, the customs, the expectations have been shaped over thousands of years. This culture is ancient. Long before the United States existed, people were living, building, governing, farming, trading, and passing knowledge down on this land. In that sense, Mexican culture is the original American culture. People here know that. They carry it with them. There is pride in it, and it is well earned.

That history helps explain why Mexico does not bend to newcomers. It does not need to. When people arrive expecting Mexico to change to fit them, they are usually the ones who do not stay very long. I have seen that happen more times than I can count. Mexico does not adjust itself to outsiders. Instead, it slowly adjusts you.

That change is rarely dramatic. It happens quietly. You notice it in small things. The pace is different. Conversations are allowed to unfold. People come before schedules. Courtesy is assumed rather than explained. Respect shows up in behavior, not in words.

As time goes on, you begin to understand the people more clearly. There is warmth here, but it comes with boundaries. Help appears when it is needed, not for recognition. Pride is tied to history and place, not ego. Community is real, and you usually feel it most when something goes wrong. You learn that how you speak matters. How you listen matters. How you conduct yourself when no one owes you anything matters.

Eventually, something settles in. You realize the culture is not something you add to your life. It is the life. History is not tucked away or put on display. It lives alongside the present. Traditions are not performed. They are lived. You are always a guest here, even if you stay forever. When you accept that fully, things begin to open up. You practice. You earn.

And then, somewhere along the way, the balance shifts.

Mexico begins to give back. Not all at once, and not in loud ways, but steadily. It gives you time, the kind that does not feel constantly compressed. It gives you connection that feels direct and human. You stop feeling like someone passing through and start feeling like someone who understands how things work, even when they do not work perfectly.

It also gives you perspective. You get clearer about what actually matters and what never really did. You see how little you need to live well, and how much richness exists outside of accumulation. Ordinary days begin to feel fuller. A conversation. A shared laugh. A sense of place.

After living here for a decade, what stands out to me most is this. Mexico takes very little from you. Mostly it takes the things you no longer need. The rush. The rigidity. The need to control everything. What it gives back is far greater. A steadier rhythm. A simpler way of living. A life that feels more grounded and more honest than the one you thought you were bringing with you.

And the last thing I would say about all of this is simple. The Mexican people deserve your respect.

This is a culture that has taught humanity far more than it is often given credit for. Mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, architecture, and systems for tracking days, seasons, and the passage of time were being developed here long before much of the modern world existed. Innovation did not arrive here later. It began here.

Mexico is not behind. It is foundational. Change and growth were born out of these civilizations, not imported into them.

If you ever stand in front of one of the pyramids here and take a moment to really look, you understand that immediately. These were not simple societies. They were deeply advanced, thoughtful, and precise in ways that still hold up today. The knowledge and planning required to build what still stands centuries later is humbling.

Living here teaches you this, if you are paying attention. You are not arriving to improve something. You are arriving into something that already knows who it is.

And that is why the right way matters.

2026 content and photo
Steven LaChance