Mexico City Becomes Remote Work Heaven for US Digital Nomads

Sandra Ortiz struggles to talk about her family’s restaurant without breaking down in tears. “They arrived and told us we had five minutes to get everything out,” Ortiz said, remembering his family’s eviction in February.

Ortiz, 55, and his four brothers had taken over Tortería Colima from his father, who started it as a bakery in 1968. The brothers expanded into a restaurant, which became popular with Mexico City residents.

For 54 years, the Ortiz family ran their business on the ground floor of a four-story building located on a busy corner of the increasingly sought-after Roma neighborhood.

But in recent years, the family has seen how the community around them has changed. An influx of foreigners, mostly from the United States, inspired Mexican homeowners to renovate and remodel their properties to accommodate the new wealthier portion. Ortiz saw visitors and tourists suddenly become full-time neighbors.

“Prices are much higher,” she said. “It’s difficult because a lot of these foreigners come and have a lot of money to spend on these apartments and rentals.”

Ortiz’s landlord followed the business trend. The family tried to back off and keep their space, but after a lengthy legal battle they were evicted in February. More than half a century of belongings were piled up on the street when they were forced out. The building is being renovated into high-end apartments.

“Too much pain… They hurt me a lot,” Ortiz said, washing dishes alongside two of her sisters. They now work at another restaurant – no longer as owners but as employees – in a much less central location than Tortería Colima.

Ortiz admitted that the crippling impacts of Covid-19 and rising global inflation have exacerbated the situation, and she doesn’t blame foreigners for wanting to visit Mexico City. But she fears that as more American expats come to stay, more locals will be expelled.

While renovations are underway on the floors above its now-closed restaurant, across the street is a shop with a sign appealing to new residents. Reads: “Hello! Mexico City!” … in English.

“Please leave, we don’t want you here!”

It’s not hard for residents to understand the appeal of moving from the United States to Mexico City.

“It’s beautiful, their money is worth more here, they can live in a very nice and big house or apartment, create a better life,” said Fernando Bustos Gorozpe. “But it’s not like there’s any interest in participating and understanding the local culture here.”

Gorozpe is a university professor born and raised in Mexico City. He noted that the trend of American expats traveling to Mexico’s capital has accelerated with the pandemic, as Mexico had fewer border restrictions than other countries.

This has coincided with an increasing number of American companies allowing their employees to work remotely. Many chose to do this south of the border in Mexico City.

The US Department of State says that 1.6 million US citizens live in Mexico. But he doesn’t know how many are living and working there on tourist visas.

The Mexican government doesn’t track this data either, but it recorded more than 5.3 million American tourists flying to Mexican airports from January to May 2022. That’s nearly a million more compared to the same period in 2019.

Real estate agent Edyta Norejko said she receives dozens of calls weekly from Americans asking about moving to Mexico City.

“A lot of times it’s from Los Angeles or New York,” she said, adding that most are trying to avoid the rising cost of living in the United States and profit from a strong exchange rate.

In 2014, Norejko, who is originally from Poland, and her husband, Eduardo Alvarez, who is from Mexico City, created their real estate company with foreigners in mind. It is said that around 70% of their business comes from clients outside of Mexico who want to live in the country’s capital.

“There are many benefits for foreigners living in Mexico City,” Norejko said, referring to tourism revenue generated by Americans traveling to Mexico. “We need them.”

In the first five months of 2022, tourism by US travelers generated nearly $11.5 billion in revenue for Mexico, according to the country’s tourism secretary.. It is on its way to surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

“It’s money that comes in, but it ends up in the hands of a few people,” said Bustos Gorozpe. “And residents end up displaced because they can no longer afford to pay for these areas that have become very expensive.”

In neighborhoods like Roma and Condesa, charming cafes and trendy restaurants now cater to English-speaking expats. Gorozpe noted that fewer foreigners are striving to speak Spanish, and in some cases assuming that locals must understand English. This led to growing frustrations among some residents.

“Of course, it’s not like, ‘We hate outsiders,’” Gorozpe said. But he said signs posted in one community expressed growing anger. “They read: ‘Please leave, we don’t want you here!'”

digital nomads

Among the American expats who have flocked to Mexico City in recent months is Erik Rodriguez, 37.

Rodriguez originally traveled to Mexico City as a tourist and now lives in the city and works remotely as an economic development analyst for a US-based agency.

Although his grandparents were born in Mexico, Rodríguez admitted he is not in Mexico City to rediscover his roots or improve his Spanish, of which he speaks little. He is there to save money while still enjoying a quality lifestyle.

“In San Diego, my apartment (a studio) was probably $2,500 (per month),” he said. “Here I have a room and I pay $800 a month.”

Rodriguez and other so-called ‘digital nomads’ can be seen in city cafes or parks, laptops open, busy at work. He said that when he arrived in Mexico City, he felt nothing but welcome.

“I think there was a sense of ‘we want people to come here to stimulate the economy. Thank you for being here.’ But I know there have recently been complaints from residents about the effect expats living here have had on their own lifestyles,” he said.

Rodriguez says he is unsure about staying in Mexico for the long term. But, he added, “it’s starting to feel like home.”