Mexico in 2026: Friendly Locals & Low Costs

Runner-up among 31 destinations in 2026, Mexico is the friendliest place for expats anywhere — though safety and the environment hold it back.

➡️You’re welcome to use these 2026 Expat Insider results. Please remember to credit InterNations as the source, and where possible, include a link to www.internations.org.

In this article:

In Brief
The Friendliest Place to Land
Money That Stretches Further
A Feast for the Senses but Safety Concerns Remain
Practical Matters: A Mixed Bag
High Job Satisfaction (for Those Working)
The Typical Expat in Mexico
Further Reading

In Brief

Mexico ranks 2nd out of 31 destinations in the 2026 Expat Insider survey. It takes 1st place in the Ease of Settling In Index and 3rd in the Personal Finance Index, with solid results for Expat Essentials (6th) and Working Abroad (10th). The Quality of Life Index (16th) is more of a mixed bag.

Overall, 85% of expats say they’re happy with their life in Mexico, far above the 70% global average. Many put down roots, too: close to two in five (38%) want to stay forever, compared to 27% globally.

The Friendliest Place to Land

Mexico tops the Ease of Settling In Index, sweeping 1st place in all three of its subcategories: Local Friendliness, Finding Friends, and Culture & Welcome. More than four in five expats (84%) find locals friendly toward foreign residents — the best result anywhere and well above the 61% global average.

Opinion

Social gatherings are very important here and it’s easy to participate in them. Very open community. (US American expat in Guadalajara)

Opinion

Making connections is unusually easy: close to three-quarters (73%) agree it’s simple to make local friends (vs. just 39% globally), and a similar share (75%) are happy with their social life (vs. 54%). Most also feel welcome (1st) and at home (2nd).

Money That Stretches Further

Mexico ranks 3rd in the Personal Finance Index. Around four in five expats (81%) feel their disposable household income is enough or more than enough for a comfortable life, 10 percentage points above the global average of 71%. And roughly three-quarters (73%) are satisfied with their financial situation in general (vs. 55%).

The cost of living is a clear plus, as well: nearly three in five (57%) rate it positively, against just 39% of respondents worldwide.

A Feast for the Senses but Safety Concerns Remain

While Mexico lands midfield in the Quality of Life Index overall (16th), it shines for Leisure Options (1st). Expats love the culture and nightlife (1st), and the food scene is a major draw — more than nine in ten expats (92%) rate the culinary variety positively, well above the 75% global average. The climate is another highlight: Mexico’s weather ranks 1st worldwide, with 84% rating it favorably (vs. 58% globally).

However, not everything is rosy. Mexico ranks 25th for Safety & Security, with only about two-thirds (68%) feeling personally safe, compared to 81% globally. A lack of safety was also a top concern for expats before moving (27% vs. just 6% worldwide).

Mexico receives further bad results in the Environment & Climate Subcategory (26th). Here, it’s especially dragged down by the bad air quality (28th) and expats’ dissatisfaction with the urban environment (30th).

Practical Matters: A Mixed Bag

Mexico places 6th for Expat Essentials, though again there are some mixed results in the details.

Housing is a strong point (3rd): more than three-quarters (77%) say it’s easy to find a home (vs. 44% globally). And 50% deem it affordable, compared to less than a third of respondents worldwide (32%).

Getting a visa is simple (3rd), too, but the same can’t be said for bureaucratic matters in general. Nearly every other expat (47%) finds it difficult to deal with local authorities, and the online availability of admin services lags behind as well (25th).

Opinion

Bureaucracy and paperwork can be awful at times. My advice: Breathe and go back another day. (British expat in Mexico City)

Opinion

Expats are also not satisfied with the availability of cashless payment options (29th) and the ease of opening a bank account (25th).

The language, at least, doesn’t seem to slow things down. More than half (53%) agree Spanish is an easy language to learn (vs. 39% globally). And an average 48% agree you could get by in Mexico even without speaking it (vs. 48%).

High Job Satisfaction (for Those Working)

One in ten expats in Mexico (10%) explicitly moved there to retire abroad (vs. 4%). For them, the country’s 10th place in the Working Abroad Index may no longer be relevant, but for everyone else, it offers an interesting mix of results. Only slightly above half the respondents (54%) are satisfied with their working hours (vs. 63%) — and still, the country ranks 5th for work-life balance.

Expats are overall very satisfied with their job (2nd) and view their personal career opportunities favorably (2nd), yet an above-average share of 28% disagree that moving to Mexico has improved their career prospects (vs. 22% negative ratings globally).