When you check out a possible home, look for some of these amenities. Phone service and the availability of Internet access. Look for a clinic, or hospital, doctors, and pharmacies. Check out real estate prices, rentals and the local occupancy rate. Visit the local Gigante, or Calimax supermarket.
Schools are important, with or without school age children.
Answering these questions will help you decide if, perhaps, this is the one. So, don't expect the same amenities, and surprise, they have some that are exclusively Mexican. So, you give a little, and you get a little. Groceries to feed a couple can run as high as 50 percent of what it would cost up here, but you will offset some of those savings with one or two nights out dining in town. Beer is almost as costly in Mexico as in the US, but local wines, rums, and other liquors are quite reasonable.