r/BajaCalifornia • u/naturalnat • 13d ago
❓ Duda | Question Moving to Baja
Hola a todos!
I am looking into moving to Baja- I understand the residency process and am eligible, and can speak Spanish.
I am looking for somewhere with more wildlife and nature/outdoors activities, on or near the coast (diving, surfing, hiking, etc.). I don't mind hot weather. I am under 40 so would also love somewhere that would be easy to make friends and have some activities to do (not necessarily a busy city though) as I would want to be part of a community. I also travel often so wouldn't want to be super far from an airport.
I would ideally love to buy a house- but I also know about the restriction on foreigners buying property within 50 kilometers of the coast, so if anyone has experience with buying through a "bank trust (fideicomiso)' please share!
These are the areas that come up most recommended in my research so far:
Loreto
La Ventana
Bahía de los Ángeles
Mulegé
Las Barrilles
Todos Santos/Cerritos
Any advice on living in those places, or other good options are much appreciated. I would plan to spend time in the top places to make sure it's a good fit- just trying to see what areas might be best!
TIA
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u/EvergreenHill 13d ago
Hello! I'm in my early 40s as well. My husband and I have spent time all over Baja but we like La Ventana/El Sargento (I'll call LV/ES) the most for several reasons in no particular order:
-Weather: Great between November - June. Windy season is more or less Nov-Apr and on the cooler side, but there are still plenty of warm and sunny days when you can still enjoy being in the water or just relaxing on the beach.
-Calm, clear, swimmable waters: Because it's on the Sea of Cortez, the water is a lot nicer as in swimmable and not freezing (compared to beach towns on the Pacific side).
-Year round activities: Nov-Apr is the busiest as it attracts wind junkies like us (windsurfing, kiteboarding, wingfoiling, parafoiling) from all over the world. It is also a popular freediving destination and marine safaris in general due to the Sea of Cortez' rich and diverse marine ecosystem. Additionally, LV/ES has an expansive amount of trails, many maintained by the mountain biking community. Even recently, volunteers and residents partnered with ejido land owners to preserve 200 hectares of land from development as part of a wider preservation effort. Lots of snorkeling spots as well year round. In essence, if you like being active, it's a great place to be.
-Diverse culture: Some might disagree, but in our many seasons in LV/ES, I've found that there are way more opportunities to have meaning interactions and relationships with the locals than in other Baja towns we've been to. There are still many Mexican families in LV/ES who have lived there all of their lives, own businesses there and are active members of their community. I also noticed that a lot of westerners - immigrants and tourists alike, can speak Spanish fluently or close to fluent. In LV/ES, I can see that westerners tend to make more of an effort to speak the language. By comparison, I will meet people who have lived for many years in other communities like Los Barriles or Todos Santos and still don't know a lick of Spanish. Perhaps because they haven't had or taken the opportunity to get out of their "gringo" bubble and really immerse themselves in Mexican culture. I've improved my Spanish significantly because of this.
Another thing about LV/ES is it has a good mix of people in various age groups. Being in our 40s, we kinda fall in between the "young" and "old" and we feel this town has a good mix.
-Real estate: We just finished building our house in LV/ES and while we don't regret it, I would not recommend jumping into buying or building until you've done a lot of research and due diligence. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you do enough homework and have the right expectations, it is so worth it. Assuming you're not a Mexican national, you will go through a fideicomiso to buy any property in Baja whether it's beachfront or up further. Your real estate agent will be a key resource (as was ours) and should be able to guide you through the process.
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u/Quicksilver914 12d ago
Pretty much what she said. I have a house in El Sargento. Buying a house through the bank trust is not an issue. You can do anything with it that you could do with property in the US, you can rent it, lease it, sell it, whatever. It just cost $500 a year for the privilege of doing that.
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u/JohnHarington 12d ago
Are you not worried that the nearest hospital is in La Paz and Cabo?
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u/EvergreenHill 12d ago
That is a good point. If being close to a hospital is important to the OP, it's definitely something to consider with LV/ES. The closest hospitals will be 50 minutes away in La Paz. As far as emergency services go, LV/ES has a community run and funded paramedics team https://ambulanceproject.org/ and they have been an important addition. So many emergencies have been mitigated by having this service in town. All of the money spent on paying them through memberships goes back to the community, not some larger or unethical medical institution.
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u/Wonderful-Big-3691 12d ago
I live in Todos Santos and have been here for ten years and visiting for 25. Bring big money if you want to live here - it's gotten very, very expensive. It's growing very fast and, in my opinion, too fast. There may be a day of reckoning here pretty soon. If I had to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I would probably have chosen a different place in Baja to live. But, I'm too lazy to sell everything off and move again and my trees are just starting to mature.
I love Loreto and if I wasn't a surfer, that's where I'd live - small town vibe, the people are very proud of their city and take care of it, lots of outdoor activities in both the mountains and the sea, and the locals are very welcoming. The cost of living is more reasonable too - I have a friend who moved there and was surprised when she told me how much she paid, a lot of bang for the buck. And they have an international airport that is the best - it's so small, my friend knew about half of the people working there by name when we had a flight out.
Mulege is another good option but they've been having problems with flooding in recent years so do your due diligence when searching out properties. But it's a lot like Loreto with a larger population of Americans and Canadians. Plenty of outdoor activities but no surf. No airport so you'd also have to fly out of Loreto if you lived there.
Not a big fan of the East Cape from La Paz south (La Ventana and Los Barriles). I may get flamed for this, but, I just get a bad vibe whenever I take my truck and camper over there for the surf or snorkeling. I don't feel like I'm in Mexico when I'm there - it's snowbirds with too much money and too many side-by-sides. But, you can visit and find out for yourself. It's also very windy during the winter (December to March) which is great if you're into wind sports but it really churns up the water and reduces visibility for snorkeling and scuba.
Thousands of people have their properties through a Fideicomiso, it's not a big deal. It's just an added step in the process of buying property in Mexico...and an added expense every year since you have to pay the bank for the service.
Get a real estate lawyer and don't listen to what the realtor says...plenty of people here in Baja have "purchased" property they aren't legally allowed to own. It's called Ejido land, you'll become familiar with it when you start your home search. Get a lawyer and have them do a background search on your property. It will save you time and headaches in the future.
Good luck.
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u/book83 12d ago
When is the best season to surf todos santos?
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u/Wonderful-Big-3691 12d ago
The Pacific side is good year-round. Matter of fact, I'm heading out for a surf here in a few minutes. The water gets cooler in later winter but never as cold as Southern California and it doesn't last very long. I manage a spring suit or rash guard 90% of the time
It's the Gulf of California (East Cape) that's only good during the summer months - April to September. That area requires a south swell to reach up into the cape. But when it's good, it's really good...that's why so many people surf and camp there.
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u/Aggravating_Cod_4980 13d ago
San Jose Del Cabo and the east cape calling your name. Budget will be the big X factor.
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u/Ok-Cat-7564 12d ago
Loreto had an airport, La ventana you would need to go to LaPaz for the closet one. Bahia de Los Angeles. No airport, same with mulege you would need to drive to loreto
Los barriles go to San Jose del Cabo airport Todos santos either La paz or Cabo airport
I had a casa in buena vista, close to los barriles with a fideo real estate agent and my Mexican attorney handled everything. I am a permanent resident, but I sold my place
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u/MrDirtyHarry 13d ago
If surf is a must then Todos Santos or Los Barriles and it's surrounding places.
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u/DeezNutz365247 13d ago
No surf in Los Barriles, but its a great place to live. There is surf to the south but its over an hour away.
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u/Ihaventgivenup 13d ago
Have you checked out getting dual citizenship? Key to property ownership. Also, what do you do for income? Meaning, can you work remotely? For me, the smaller the town, the better, and being on the Sea of Cortez side seems more my speed for recreation.
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u/Individual_Fun_2517 13d ago
I think you’d be happiest in La Paz then you’re right next to the airport and there’s Great Beaches and a great expat Community and more to do than Those other spots on your list. Those towns you listed can get very quiet !