Although English is not as prevalent here as it is in Lake Chapala, another popular Mexican retirement destination, it is spoken.    As with anywhere in Mexico, though, expatriates here should soon start to pick up a little Spanish just as they go about their daily activities.    Schools, including Palomar Collge, offer Spanish classes to those who decide to learn Spanish in a more structured setting.   New residents will find that many locals appreciate gringos speaking, or at least trying to speak, Spanish.  

San Miguel has a very good health care center, the privately run Hospital de la Fe.    This facility offers services in internal medicine, anesthesiology, general surgery, gynecology, respiratory, neurosurgery and dentistry.   The hospital also features a 24-pharmacy and a fully equipped, around-the-clock ambulance service.  A relatively new emergency clinic affiliated with the Hospital San Jose in Queretaro is also open.

It really is not necessary to have a car to get around town and for those who do have one, parking can be difficult on the downtown streets.  From the Jardin (main square), most shops, restaurants, schools and sights are within easy walking distance, and meandering through narrow cobblestone streets is one of the great joys of living in this authentic Mexican village.   Residents can rent scooters, motorcycles and bicycles as well as automobiles, but car rentals are expensive.  Taxis are plentiful and are fairly inexpensive; the average trip around town is between $1 and $5.  

For those who enjoy golf, there is a country club complete with an 18-hole course.  Residents can also partake in horseback riding, swimming in naturally-occurring hot thermal ground springs, tennis,  mountain biking, nightclubbing, hiking, visiting historical monuments (churches, buildings, murals) and taking classes at fine arts & crafts schools (water and oleo painting, sculpture, music, guitar, modern and classic dance, literature, language, drama, ceramics, weaving, silk screening, tin working, paper making, tie-dye, paper mache works).    

Many expatriate retirees find social networks through the country club or through volunteering for one of the many charity organizations.   Some volunteers devote every Sunday to the weekly House and Garden Tour when more than two hundred visitors pay for tours of San Miguel’s most notable homes.   The proceeds are then used to support programs for reading, education, and health  care in the area.  Another charitable organization, Centro Infantil, provides preschool education to underprivileged Mexican children.  Mexico is a Catholic country and San Miguel has no shortage of Catholic churches, another avenue for volunteering in the community.

Drawbacks to retiring in San Miguel de Allende are relatively few, although not everyone wants to retire in Mexico and not everyone can get used to the "manana" attitude prevalent throughout the country.   Anyone thinking of relocating to a foreign country should take a test run first.  We recommend renting a home for at least six months before making any permanent move because relocating to Mexico, even to charming San Miguel, can result in culture shock and home sickness.  Visiting for a week or two is not the same as living here.  We have found, though, very few expatriates who have regretted their move to this wonderful city.

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