Moving to Mexico comes with the obvious list: Passport, residency paperwork, somewhere to live, flights, a suitcase that somehow has to contain your life without attracting an overweight baggage fee.
The digital side is easier to leave until later.
That is, until you land and your bank sends a security code to the phone number you just cancelled. Or you need directions from the airport and your data has not started working. Or the WiFi in your new apartment turns out to be considerably better at reaching the kitchen than the desk where you planned to work.
None of these is a disaster. They are simply the sort of small problem that feels much bigger when you have just moved countries and are already trying to think of what the words are in Spanish for unstable connection.
So consider doing some of these jobs before hopping on your flight to Mexico.
1. Decide What to Do With Your Old Phone Number
Do not cancel your phone number simply because you are moving. At least, not yet.
Think about how many things are attached to it first; banks may use the number for security codes, email accounts may use it for recovery, payment services, social accounts and government portals may still depend on it too.
Go through all of these important accounts while you’re still in your home country and still have access to your phone number.
For some people, keeping the number on a cheaper plan is the easiest option for the first few months. I did this for years while living in Mexico and it was well worth it as someone who was still running a US-based business. But if you plan to stay long term in Mexico, it’s best to get all of these things reconnected to either email addresses, authentication apps, or to a new Mexico phone number.
Whatever you choose is entirely up to you, but it’s something you’ll need to organize before you move to Mexico. The important thing is making that decision intentionally rather than discovering six weeks later that the only way into an old account is through a number that you no longer have access to.
You will also need to decide what you are using in Mexico. We have a detailed guide to getting a Mexican SIM card, which is useful for understanding the practical side of switching to a local number.
Mobile plans change often, so check current prices and packages directly with the provider before choosing one.
2. Download Things Before You Need Them
The first day in a new country is not the day to discover that everything useful lives in your emails or elsewhere on the Internet.
Save a few things to your phone or computer so that you have them to hand without needing to access WiFi.
Start with your accommodation address. Download the relevant part of the city in Google Maps. Save your airport transfer details. Screenshot your first hotel or rental booking. Make sure that you have phone numbers of these places so that in case you need to contact someone when you arrive, you can so.
Google Maps allows users to download areas for offline navigation, which is useful during the awkward period between landing and getting mobile data properly sorted.
Do the same with important documents: copy of your passport, residency or visa paperwork, travel insurance details, tental information, and emergency contacts. Keep all of these either in a folder on your phone or as a hard copy printed out and ready to show immigration if needed.
You do not need twenty duplicate folders scattered across every device you own, but you should be able to reach the important information when there is no connection.
This is particularly useful during the first few days, when nearly every address is still unfamiliar.
3. Work Out Your Mobile Data Setup
A local phone number becomes useful surprisingly quickly in Mexico.
Restaurants may contact you through WhatsApp. Delivery drivers may call. Banks, landlords and service providers may ask for a Mexican number. You will also use data for maps, translation, ride-hailing and the endless small searches that come with figuring out a new city.
If you are staying long term, a Mexican mobile plan may make more sense than relying indefinitely on roaming from home.
If your phone supports dual SIM or eSIM, there is another possibility: keeping the old number available while using a Mexican number for everyday life.
It is vitally important that you check that your phone is unlocked before leaving. If you are still paying off your phone, you will have to buy it outright in order to get it unlocked.
This is much easier to deal with while you can still call your existing provider without thinking about international calling. And if you are moving rather than visiting, think beyond the first week. The cheapest airport option is not necessarily the phone setup you will want six months later (but of course, you can also change this later down the line).
4. Treat Internet Quality as Part of the Apartment
A beautiful apartment with unreliable internet becomes less beautiful somewhere around the third frozen video call.
If you work remotely, ask about the connection before signing anything long term. Do not settle for “yes, there is WiFi.” Ask for a speed test. If possible, test it yourself when viewing the apartment.
Pay attention to where the router sits as well. A perfectly good connection in the living room may become frustrating if your desk is two concrete walls away.
This is particularly relevant when choosing between Mexico’s many possible bases. The WiFi options available in Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta are going to outshine the services available in Puerto Escondido or San Cristobal de Las Casas.
If you are looking at empty apartments where you will need to get the WiFi set up yourself, ask around in Expat groups on Facebook for hte best local service. Megacable might be the best in Mexico City, but over in Guadalajara Telmex might be the better option. Do some homework before simply committing to the cheapest provider.
5. Think About Privacy on Networks You Do Not Control
Living abroad tends to mean using more networks than you did at home. If you are a digital nomad like me or you will be working remotely when you get to Mexico, you will likely be working in many different locations across many different WiFi networks.
There is your apartment WiFi. Then the café, the coworking space, the airport, a hotel on a weekend away, or perhaps somebody else’s apartment.
Most modern web traffic is encrypted through HTTPS, and the FTC notes that public WiFi is generally safer than it once was. That does not mean every network deserves complete trust.
Keep your devices and their softeware updated. Check the name of the network before joining it. Be especially careful with unexpected login pages.
A VPN can add another encrypted layer when you are connecting through networks you do not manage yourself.
There are plenty of providers, so look at the things that actually matter to you: device support, privacy policies, where servers are available and what the service costs after any introductory period. If ExpressVPN is one of the services on your shortlist, you can check ExpressVPN’s official website for its current features and supported devices.
A VPN does not replace good security habits. But it is a cital part of the setup.
6. Sort Out Banking Before Your First Mexican Payment Problem
Moving countries has a way of making perfectly ordinary banking suddenly complicated.
Your bank sees a login from Mexico. Your card gets declined while trying to buy groceries. While trying to log in, your verification message goes to the wrong number (see sorting this out in #1 above!). You try to call support and discover that the international number is only open during hours that no longer match your day.
Before moving, tell your bank if it still requires travel notifications and check how you will authenticate transactions abroad.
Also check the fees.
Foreign transaction charges and ATM fees can quietly add up when you are using the same card every day rather than for a one-week holiday.
It is worth bringing more than one payment method. It’s also why I am such an advocate of having a Charles Schwab checking account for all of my fellow US citizens moving abroad or traveling internationally. Their card allows you to take money out of any ATM anywhere in the world and even if that bank charges you a fee, Schwab will reimburse you at the end of every month. This feature is unlimited, so even if you rack up $30 in ATM fees, Schwab will give you $30 back at the end of that month.
7. Keep Your Important Documents Somewhere Sensible
Moving to Mexico can generate an impressive quantity of paperwork. They love a bit of bureaucracy.
You’ll have passport copies, residency documents, rental agreements, different types of insurance, perhaps employment paperwork, bank documents and receipts that suddenly turn out to matter much more than you thought they would.
Create a simple digital filing system before everything starts arriving.
Nothing elaborate, just folders with names you will understand six months from now.
Keep secure cloud copies of important documents, with strong authentication on the account itself. It can also be sensible to keep an encrypted backup somewhere separate from your main phone or laptop.
Do not let one device become the only place where your entire Mexican life exists.
Phones get lost and laptops stop working, usually at inconvenient times.
8. Build a Small Offline Backup for Everyday Life
Technology is wonderful right up until the battery hits one percent.
A few analogue backups still earn their place.
Know your home address without needing to open Maps. Carry a physical bank card even if you normally pay with your phone. Keep a little cash because cash is still king all over Mexico. Write down one emergency contact and keep it in your wallet or purse. Have copies of anything you absolutely need on travel days.
If you drive around Mexico, download the route before leaving a city rather than assuming mobile reception will remain perfect all afternoon.
If you work remotely, keep the files you need for that day’s work available offline too. I cannot count the number of times I have lost entire blog posts after thinking that I was still connected to the Wifi and when I go to save the draft, the entire webpage reloads and all of the work that I have done vanishes along with it beacuse the connection was going in and out. Even when I paid for what I thought was the good WiFi.
Things are simply not as convenient as they are in the US and that is part of what makes life in Mexico more interesting. But it helps to plan ahead for dead phone batteries, spotty wifi, and moisture getting into absolutely everything.
Get the Digital Admin Out of the Way, Then Go Live in Mexico
The digital side of moving countries should eventually become almost invisible.
That is the goal.
Your phone works, you can get into your bank account, maps load when you need them, your apartment internet is reliable enough that you stop thinking about it, and important documents are somewhere sensible rather than buried beneath 4,000 photographs.
Getting there takes a little preparation, but nothing that is any more stressful than moving your entire life to a new country.
Keep your old number until you know you no longer need it. Sort authentication before travelling. Download the essentials. Decide how you will get mobile data and make internet quality part of the decision when choosing somewhere to live.
Then move on to the more interesting problems.
Which neighbourhood has the best tacos.
Where the nearest tianguis is.
Why everyone told you to carry a light jacket in Mexico City even when the afternoon was sunny.
And how something that felt completely unfamiliar during the first week somehow starts to feel normal a few months later.
That is the part of moving to Mexico worth making room for.