Can I live in Cancun for less than $1,000 per month?

Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? After all, back in the United States and the United Kingdom the only way to have the “good life” is to spend upwards of $3,000 per month to cover your basic necessities. Most people assume that it costs the equivalent in other countries around the world, but they are wrong.

Every year, more and more digital nomads and pensioners are choosing to live in Mexico in places like Cancun because they have access to the same amenities they had back home…for a fraction of the cost. To give you an example, take a look at medical tourism in Mexico. It costs a mere $250 per year for access to the universal system, which is a flat fee with no limits, no deductibles, free medicines, tests, X-rays, eyeglasses, even dental work. And contrary to what you might know from the propaganda spread in your home country, the quality of the healthcare in Mexico is first class. Not to mention, all of the doctors at major clinics here studied in the E.U. and the U.S. and speak English, so you don’t have to worry if you don’t speak Spanish at first.

The Mexican government only requires you to prove that you have $1,000 a month in pension or income coming in to establish an FM3 renter’s visa, because that’s the maximum amount of money you will need to live in Cancun. $1,000 a month in Cancun is the equivalent of $4,000 per month back in the United States. In short…you will be living an upper middle class existence on next to nothing.

Isn’t Mexico Dangerous?

When most people start looking at where to live in Mexico, the first thought that pops into their head is “Mexico is dangerous”. The reality is that Mexico is actually far safer than many of the cities you would think are traditionally on the “safe list”. Especially when you look at Cancun. To give you an example of what I mean, take a look at Quintana Roo, which is the State that Cancun is located in. Quintana Roo as an entire State has a 2/100,000 murder rate. This is in comparison to Washington D.C. which has a 31.4/100,000 murder rate, 9/100,000 in New York or 8/100,000 in Denver. These are the same statistics governments around the world use to determine whether or not a country or city is safe or dangerous, so when you compare Cancun to cities around the world you come up with one conclusion: Cancun is one of the safest cities in the world as far as murders go. (These numbers are as of 2011)

In other words, Cancun is safer than New York City, Denver or Washington D.C., all major cities in the United States which are touted as some of the safest places to live with some of the highest qualities of life on the planet. The reality is that you can live in Mexico in a place like Cancun and be safer than you would be in most cities in the United States, while at the same time enjoying a cost of living that is between $600 and $800 per month per person…well under $1,000 per month and with access to one of the best medical tourism systems in the world.

Welcome to the dream life

It’s called the location independent lifestyle. Traveling the world as a digital nomad, living in places that most people only ever see on the Discovery Channel or on the National Geographic website. Exploring exotic new cultures, meeting new people and expanding your horizons, all while cutting your cost of living down from $2,500 to $3,000 per month to a mere $600-$800…yet maintaining the exact same amenities and lifestyle you had back in modern-day suburbia.

It’s more than just a dream. It’s a reality enjoyed by millions of location independent digital nomads around the world, living and enjoying the absolute freedom that comes with dictating life on your own terms.

My name is Tim Anderson. I spend my time living in countries where the cost of living is a fraction of what it is back home, where my money is worth 3-4 times what it is in the Western world. I work a maximum of three to four hours per day and spend the rest of my time camped out on the beach, hiking the mountains or the jungles, sitting in parks indulging in local customs and meeting people from different cultures around the world. I travel to exotic locations and spend six months or more in each place I go. My life is on my terms, and I alone dictate how many hours per week I work. I haven’t woken up to an alarm clock in years and my total living expenses per year rarely rise above $10,000, yet I spend the vast majority of my spare time in places that most people consider as vacation-only destinations which supposedly cost thousands per week to live in.

Before I was a location independent digital nomad I was a redneck construction worker from Colorado. I never finished high school and I never went to college. I was a third generation ceramic tile and natural stone contractor and installer for over 15 years before I made the transition into a location independent digital nomad. Now, I’m a multi-cultural explorer who has visited dozens of countries, speaks three different languages and has the freedom to do whatever I want, when I want. If I can do this, anyone can do this. You don’t need a degree or special training to pursue a dream of absolute freedom. You just need the desire to learn and the ability to adapt.

In the words of the late Steve Jobs, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Sounds too good to be true

Of course it does! That’s because you’ve been taught since the day you were old enough to understand the English language that the only way to be a productive little worker bee who is part of modern society is to stay at home, spend a ridiculous amount of money on a college degree, get a mortgage on a house in suburbia, loans for two cars and then work your way up the chain in a corporate environment over a career of 40+ years barely eking out a living before you are finally “allowed” to retire into the good life of freedom, travel and setting your own schedule. But as more and more people are finding out in the modern era (such as via this article at MSNBC), the reality is that more and more people are leaving the traditional “American Dream” behind in favor of a location independent lifestyle as a digital nomad. And the best part about it is that anyone can do it!

I choose to live in Mexico because it gives me the benefit of early retirement and a lowered cost of living. I only need $800 per month on the high end to cover my total cost of living including entertainment, yet I have an upper middle class existence. For all intents and purposes I am retired, despite the fact I am only 32 years old…a full 30 years younger than most people in the United States are allowed to retire.

How did I retire early? By choosing to live in Mexico in the city of Cancun, as well as in places like Sofia, Bulgaria and Bogota, Colombia over the past 4+ years. By cutting my cost of living down to almost nothing, I’ve been able to essentially live the retired life for the past few years since I left the States behind.

Is it really that easy?

All it takes is a conscious choice on your part to become one of the location independent digital nomads of the world. To rid yourself of the shackles of modern society and to unlearn everything you have been taught over the years about what it means to be an upstanding, productive member of society. You can either choose to spend your life in indentured servitude, or you can choose life on your own terms, living where you want, when you want and how you want. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn.”

The friends I’ve made in my travels are part of what makes this lifestyle so exhilarating. I’ve lived in Bulgaria, Colombia and Mexico, and I’ve traveled to dozens of countries in between. As of 2012 I live in Mexico and I’m working on an on-going tour of South America, working on Live Like a Local immersion guides. I’m here to show people you don’t need to be a millionaire to make retiring early your reality; you just need the desire to break free of the so-called “American Dream”, to wake up from the Matrix, to spread your wings and fly. We are all of us human beings, and there is a massive planet called Earth that we all share as One People. Don’t let the lines on a map define who you are. Become a location independent digital nomad and make your home wherever you want it to be.