(NewsNation) — As inflation skyrockets and the housing market teeters, some Americans are packing up their homes and relocating south of the border.
According to the Los Angeles Almanac, the median cost of a home in Los Angeles County sits at more than $860,000; and renting in the Golden State is not much more affordable.
Real estate experts and Mexican homeowners confirmed that more Americans are picking up and moving south of the border to cope with the cost of living.
“I’ve become more Mexican than American these days,” Megan Beck, who lives in Rosarito, Mexico, said.
Beck calls her living situation “the Mexican-American dream.” Originally from Nebraska, Beck and her husband built a home in Rosarito, Mexico, which is about 30 miles south of San Diego.
“I’ve been able to build a home from ground up. I couldn’t afford that over there. It was just getting too crazy,” Beck said.
Zachary Solomon currently lives in San Francisco but has also had his eyes on the Mexican housing market — his father and brother already live there.
“It’s almost a no-brainer for me,” Solomon said, “And it’s just, I have to convince my partner to end up moving there.”
Influencing the exodus of Americans: the huge difference in cost of living between the two countries.
Numbeo, the world’s largest cost of living database, helps people calculate the difference in costs of food, utilities, childcare and all other life necessities.
According to the site, a one-bedroom apartment in San Diego costs $2,597 per month to rent. In Tijuana, Mexico, a same-size one-bedroom apartment rents out for $617 per month.
Condo complexes, such as the “La Jolla Excellence” in Rosarito, Baja California, just south of Tijuana, are advertising directly to Americans. Just 24 miles south of the border, the complex offers luxury villas and condos with beach views and access. Promotional videos in English tell Americans it “can make dreams a reality.”
The website also offers a blog on the difference in cost of living in Mexico versus the U.S., trying to persuade Americans who are considering the move, to make the move.
Some Americans living in Mexico said those considering relocating may as well crunch the numbers to see if the move is right for them.
“Just try it out, you know, like come down, come down to different couple weekends or weekdays. Feel it out — the vibe down here — because a lot of people fall in love,” Megan Beck said.
Of course, the law of supply and demand also exists in Mexico, and Fermín Kim King, the president of the real estate association of Tijuana, says the cost of housing in the city is going up as more and more Americans migrate there to live.
He says that the price of low and middle-income housing has gone up as much as 30% since the beginning of the pandemic.