TUCKING into homemade tacos while basking in the warm evening sunlight, Alexandra Wilson smiles as her toddler and baby daughter giggle together on the grass.
It’s a world away from her life eight years ago, when she worked as a debt collector for a power company in while nursing a broken heart.
Fresh from the break-up of a long-term relationship, Alexandra took a spontaneous holiday to in October 2017 – and after falling in love with the Riviera Maya on the coastline, she packed in her job, sold her house and moved there.
Alexandra, 38, now lives in the beach town of Playa del Carmen with new partner Daniel, 27, a drinks company consultant, and their two children aged four and nine months.
She says moving to the other side of the world, where cocktails cost just £2.50 and local beers are a quid, is the “best thing I ever did”;.
“People thought it was just a ‘holiday thing’, that I was being silly and leaving my career and mortgage was a fantasy which would wear off,”; Alexandra admits.
“Others couldn’t fathom why I’d want to move to a country 10 hours away where I didn’t even speak the language.
“People tried to talk me out of it. But I stood my ground.
“I felt held back in the United Kingdom. I was working to simply pay the bills. There was no challenge in my future, just the same old, same old.
“My ate up all my salary. A supermarket shop was a big night out for me.
“It was daunting but I knew I’d hate myself if I didn’t try it. The worst thing that could happen was I’d fail and have to come back to Britain.”;
Mexico is a popular British holiday destination, with around 1.3million UK tourists heading there last year.
But since 2020 there has been a staggering 481 per cent increase in the number of Brits leaving the UK and moving to Mexico, especially the Riviera Maya, with its Caribbean beaches, tropical weather, relaxed lifestyle and rich history.
In 2020, census figures revealed there were 2,582 UK-born people living in Mexico. Now 15,000 British citizens live there as long-term residents and with dual nationality.
The number of relocating there is also on the rise, lured by the Mexican Temporary Resident Visa, which allows them to live and work remotely in the country for six months to four years.
Adventure
After her break-up in mid-2017, Alexandra decided to treat herself to a solo holiday – and chose Mexico as “somewhere different”;.
“I thought it would be a real adventure,”; she recalls.
“Then I made the snap decision on holiday to move here. I knew if I didn’t try it at 30 I never would, and I would have regrets.
“I’d bought a semi detached three-bedroom terraced house two years earlier in 2015, and was turning 30.
“I hadn’t considered moving overseas and had established roots in Yorkshire. But I was miserable in Britain.”;
Alexandra secured a six month travel visa, which is the equivalent of a digital nomad visa.
She flew back to Playa Del Carmen in July 2018, and found work selling time shares at a five-star resort.
I made the snap decision on holiday to move here. I knew if I didn’t try it at 30 I never would, and I would have regrets
Alexandra Wilson
“As soon as I got a job I applied for sponsored residency, and that meant I could work at the resort while the paperwork was being processed,”; she says.
A studio flat in the hotel’s grounds was included as part of her work contract.
“Working with Mexican staff was amazing, it was a great way to make new friends and it forced me to learn Spanish fast,”; Alexandra says. “I picked it up within six weeks.”;
Within a year Alexandra moved into a two-bedroom apartment with a friend, sharing the £500-a-month rent.
She says: “The apartment included a pool, gym, tennis courts and a basketball court – all for £250 a month.
“It was a world away from .”;
Cheap living
Alexandra met Daniel – already dad to a now-10-year-old daughter – through work five years ago and they “hit it off immediately”;.
They quickly moved in together into David’s two-bedroom villa in a family neighbourhood, where mortgage costs are just £250 a month.
They welcomed their first daughter in April 2021 and their second followed in September last year.
Their home, which is a 15 minute walk to the local sandy beach, features a generous garden with an outdoor kitchen area for evening meals and cooking in summer.
Alexandra says: “It’s wonderful for the children. Family and friends often drop by for day-long BBQs.
“Whenever you walk down the street everyone says hello, the parks are great for kids and everyone is friendly.
“It’s such a change from Britain where people are more closed off.”;
Alexandra – who now works as a private relocation specialist, helping source property and employment for people moving to the region -says monthly bills are dramatically cheaper than back home.
“Our gas and propane are bought in bottles, and we pay £20 every two months compared to my gas and electric bill in Britain which was £150 a month,”; she explains.
Whenever you walk down the street everyone says hello, the parks are great for kids and everyone is friendly. It’s such a change from Britain where people are more closed off
Alexandra Wilson
The family pays a tenner every second month for electricity and their water bill is £15 a quarter.
“We buy in drinking water – it costs £1.50 for a 20L bottle which pops onto a stand like those in offices,”; she says.
Wi-Fi is £20 a month and a mobile phone costs £15 for the same period.
Instead of , property owners pay property tax – or ‘Impuesto Predial’ – annually.
Alexandra and David pay around £200 a year compared to an average Band D council tax of more than £2,000 a year in Britain.
“Living in Mexico made me realise just how much of the money I earned used to go on bills,”; Alexandra says.
“I don’t understand why gas, electricity, water and council tax are so expensive in the United Kingdom.
“Life here has opened my eyes.”;
The family spend £60 a week – £240 a month – on groceries and Alexandra now prepares fresh homemade meals daily.
Milk costs £1 a litre, fresh bread is a quid, a dozen eggs cost £1.89, and meat and cheese is bought by the kilo – with beef a third of the price in Mexico compared to the UK.
“I have not had a ready meal for eight years,”; Alexandra says.
“The last time I bought one was when I was in Britain.
“Living here has shown me just how easy it is to cook everything from scratch.”;
Top notch healthcare
Playa del Carmen is famous for its Fifth Avenue, a street lined with shops, restaurants and bars.
When the couple go out a bottle of local wine is £3.50, and a large margarita is £2.50.
They prefer to dine at local neighbourhood cafes and restaurants, tucking into Yucatan specialities like tamales, made with corn masa dough and pozole – a traditional stew using a salsa Roja.
“Dinner is typically around £8, but if we want a three-course posh meal it’s £30 including wine,”; Alexandra says.
Alexandra shops for clothes in the resort’s large American-style shopping centres, and her local Walmart supermarket.
She also claims healthcare in Playa del Carmen – where every Mexican citizen is entitled to cost-free access to healthcare and medication – is better than in Britain.
“There are two types of hospitals, one is the public facility and the other is a workers’ public hospital,”; she explains.
Dinner is typically around £8, but if we want a three-course posh meal it’s £30 including wine
Alexandra Wilson
“Once you are a citizen you have access to the workers hospital.”;
Alexandra had both her daughters in the public hospital and said the staff were excellent.
“No one else was allowed in the room with me, but the nurses were so supportive,”; she recalls.
“Having my first daughter was scary – I know some people go back to Britain to give birth.
“I didn’t because the quality of care here is excellent. You can also pay insurance and use a private hospital.”;
Instead of signing up to a local GP surgery, all pharmacies have a doctor attached.
Alexandra and her family often simply pop in to see the pharmacist doctor, and pay just £1.80 for the consultation and medication.
“When friends say they have to wait three weeks just for a phone consultation with the GP back home I am shocked,”; she says. “It’s just ridiculous.”;
Alexandra’s four-year-old attends a private Mexican kindergarten, costing the couple £150 a month – a fraction of the cost of UK nurseries.
“My eldest is bilingual and there is always someone to babysit our youngest – neighbours, and my husband’s family are local,”; she says.
Getting around is also cheap; Alexandra says a one-way ticket anywhere on local transport costs 39p, while a monthly pass is £19.30, and taxis are just over £2 a mile.
Meanwhile a tank of fuel is a third cheaper than Britain, at 95p a litre.
“Living in Playa Del Carmen is literally a world away from Hull and Britain,”; Alexandra says.
Living in Playa Del Carmen is literally a world away from Hull and Britain
Alexandra Wilson
“I know many people think it’s too hard, but I just did it and haven’t looked back.
“You can make up your mind one week and be working here a month or two later. It is that simple.
“I never thought this would be my future. Now I can’t imagine a life back in the UK.
“Moving here not only healed my broken heart, but it gave me a future I could only dream of.
“I have hope again, I can save, and most importantly I have two amazing children and a partner.
“I took a leap of faith and now I’m living the dream.”;
