Hermosillo is in the Sonoran Desert, the same desert as Phoenix and Tucson. It is truly hot in the summer mid-June through August, with daytime temperatures consistently in the 100's and at times as high as 115 (Fahrenheait). Dry heat or not, it is hot. I live in Tucson, and HMO is consistently hotter during the day in the summer. Being 60 miles from the ocean, and surrounded by agriculture, HMO is also humid at times. It's uncomfortable but bearable, and you will become accustomed to it. It would be the same as you said about Phoenix: everywhere you go is air conditioned. Evenings are usually pleasant even in the midst of summer, which is not the case in Phoenix.

HMO is a growing, vibrant and prosperous business center, #5 after Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Leon. Living there is cheaper than the US as concerns housing and food. Electricity is expensive. Gas for the home is propane gas delivered in tanks. You don't need heat in the winter. Depending on where you would live in the city, water pressure is often a problem. Make sure where you live has a water tank (called a "tinaco") on the roof as there are times when the water is turned off. (It becomes very annoying when you can't flush the toilet, or the shower only drips on your head.) Make sure you have purified drinking water in the house, for example a 5-gallon water jug on a dispenser or stand. Municipal water is required to be treated, but the delivery system itself is not guaranteed to be sanitary for drinking purposes.

HMO has excellent health care facilities.

Bahia Kino and San Carlos are very pleasant places to go, but neither has many "reasonable but nice" places to stay in terms of cost. Bahia Kino is far less developed than San Carlos, but that will be changing fast as Mexico is building a new coastal highway from San Luis Colorado south of Yuma to Guaymas ... it will take many years to complete. A new highway is being finished from HMO to Bahia Kino, which is an easy day trip of 1 hour in each direction.

HMO has no freeways within the city, though there are bypasses around the edges in all directions. Traffic is heavy, but driving there is safe. You will find it is easy to get around once you become accustomed to the layout. Buses also go everywhere and are cheap and frequent.

HMO has lots of "mega-mart" grocery stores where you will find almost anything you need or want. You will find that some things to which you are accustomed are not available, for example real ham and good cheese similar to California and Wisconsin cheese. But you will learn to like what is available. There are also many specialty shops as well as two public market areas.

Going out to eat you will find the same diversity as any large city, and usually half as expensive as the US. There are many great places for seafood, and also lots of seafood available to prepare at home. When you get the urge for a "real steak," there is even an Applebee's in HMO as well as some other steak places. You will also learn to eat at the many taco stands which are generally sanitary and safe. There are several outstanding "hole in the wall" places for fish tacos, which are usually only available for lunch time. Residents tend to eat both lunch and supper later than gringos, but all restaurants are well accustomed to gringo times with all the business people and visitors who go there. HMO itself is not a tourist destination, though it strives to be. Air fare to HMO from the US also tends to be relatively expensive as it is primarily a business destination for air travelers.

Just like the natives, you will come shopping in Tucson at times for clothes and other things. HMO has Costco, Sam's Club, two Walmarts, and lots of shopping, but you will find at times that you have needs which aren't met in the stores there. It's a 4-1/2 drive to Tucson on a well-maintained and safe 4-lane highway.

I had an apartment in HMO for over two years recently, and spent extensive periods of time there. It's a huge city, well over a million considering its outlying areas. (The "official" population in 2004 was estimated at 690,000.) It's very spread out like Phoenix and Tucson. There are nice areas and not-nice areas. The crime rate is allegedly less than Phoenix and Tucson. I have always felt safe there. I lived in a "nicer" neighborhood, and parked my car on the street and never experienced any problem. People are friendly, helpful and welcoming.

Post a list of things you want to now about. In what area of the City will you be living? I am also open to direct inquiries: bobbear43@yahoo.com.

One thing I thought about after the post above was dealing with money in Mexico. Most people from the US keep their accounts in the US and handle money by Internet. You can certainly open a checking account in a Mexican bank, and it is safe, but few things are paid by check in HMO. Debit and credit cards work everywhere. Mexican banks also issue debit and credit cards. Cash from an ATM gets the current non-discounted exchange rate at the moment of transaction, which is always more favorable than exchanging US money. Checks on US banks are not accepted because of the length of time required to clear. Paying for services such as electricity, cable service, telephone, etc. become a pain to an extent as you generally have to pay at an office or a bank in cash. Since I didn't live there full-time, I don't know if you can pay by check from a Mexican bank.

You can pay for gasoline with a credit card at some PEMEX stations, but it is usually such a lengthy transaction right now that you will prefer to do that in cash. It is supposed to improve, but they have been saying that for years as concerns PEMEX.

The mail service in Mexico is dependably undependable. I would discourage using mail for anything except correspondence, and cenrtainly not for any type of financial transaction. Sometimes the mail is fairly quick within the country, but between the US and Mexico can take up to 30 days typically. Anything of value mailed to Mexico from the US, such as gifts and merchandise, is subject to customs and held at the post office. Unfortunately I have to also say that things of value sometimes disappear in Mexico's mail system. If you buy things now over the Internet or by mail, you won't do that in HMO. I have friends in HMO who do buy from the Internet, but they have their packages shipped to my house in Tucson, and then pick them up when they visit, or I take it to them when I visit there. Even with my experience, I can't tell you exactly how much merchandise you can take across the border from the US. I don't recommend anything of much value.

Depositing a check from the US in a Mexican bank takes up to 30 days for the check to clear. It is best to use electronic transfer arranged between two banks, which is only a day or two.

If you are planning to purchase a property in Mexico, you need to consult with a major bank and an attorney recommended by someone living in HMO.

I plan to also retire in northern Mexico at some time. Actually I'm already retired but have too many responsibilities here to live there full-time yet. When I do, I will maintain my financial accounts here in Tucson which I can access by Internet and by phone.

Mexico has a health insurance program available to non-residents. I don't know much about it except that it is available and is reasonable in cost. US health insurance programs generally do not cover medical care in Mexico. Many retirees maintain their health coverage if they have it through their retirement programs, and come to Tucson for non-routine medical care when needed.

You also need to look into the whole resident visa problem of being a non-citizen resident in Mexico. I know very little about that, but there is information here in TripAdvisor and many web sites. You can defer that by getting 180-day tourist visas at the Mexican Immigration offices at the border. But you won't be able to get a Mexican drivers license until you have the proper visa. Your US drivers license is valid there as long as it is valid and not expired. Look at the "Inside Pages" for Mexico here in TripAdvisor and see if there is some information about visas.

I am sure you are aware that you have to have Mexican insurance on your vehicle. You can also get long-term permits for your vehicle; I believe for 180 days at a time. To actually import a vehicle and "make it Mexican," you have to deal with agencies which are in border towns such as Nogales.

Bob,

Thanks for your great posts, full of information. Very good of you to do that, to go to all that trouble. I see you have referred others to the post. Good idea.

I just got back from HMO and Alamos. Spend most of the time in Alamos. Not that I am thinking of living in Alamos. Even if I wanted to, I think it has already become expensive beyond my means.

I am very close to retirement now and I will move to HMO in early April. I am moving ALL my stuff to storage in Tucson.

I will get an FM3 visa and a menaje de casa with which I will take basic living necessities (like a bed) and only as much as I can fit in the bed on my truckito. You only get one load on the menaje de casa.

Still do not have a house lined up in HMO but my friend tells me not to worry. Well, I only worry about what it will cost. I know there are houses for rent.

Anyway, just wanted to thank you for your post.

jb

I am glad that you found the information helpful. I read the other post about renting a house that you had posted a reply recently where the couple was renting in Obregon. HMO is generally more expensive than other cities further south. HMO also has a lot of good paying employment for its citizens, which is why they are able to afford what there is. There is a lot of inexpensive housing as well. For the middle class, a new town house equivalent to 2000 sq ft runs about $50K US. A detached house on a lot of the same size is about $100K US. There are both higher and lower prices of course. You can buy a fixer-upper in El Centro or near for maybe $20-30K US.

Century 21 Elga is a Mexican firm of course associated with Century 21 in the US. They have a good reputation but I think would only be useful for higher rent houses. Your friend is right that it is easy to find something nice to rent in a good area. Good ones: Pitic, Loma Linda, San Benito, El Centro.

From reading the other posts I see you got a lot of detailed information about HMO. I do have a little different slant on things:

1) The population of HMO is misleading. It definitely has less commerce than the average US city of 100,000. Applebees is the only US style sit down restaurant I can think of. There are many US fast food places on the other hand. The people from HMO tend to prefer just about everything with tortillas and chiles (even the childrens candy is frequently spiked with chile flavor)

2) The water tank is essential as there are water restictions

3) The highway to Nogales is not safe. You should not drive it unless you are in daylight. There are regular reports of American citizens who are killed in one car accidents on highway 15. I have been here one year and I personally know of about 20 deaths in one car roll over accidents. Once inside HMO the main roads are OK. People drive badly here. They drive worse than Phoenix or Tucson but not a lot worse than Miami (they will go down one way streets for what they consider short distances, change lanes indiscriminately, back up without looking, make left turns from the right lane, etc)

4) As you were told, be very cautious buying property. There are several lawsuits I know of in Sonora that are going on with real estate scams focused on naive Americans. I don't know of any major issues in HMO but buyer beware. You will find a wide disparity of housing prices due to the neighborhoods and housing. Keep inmind that many neighborhoods here still have dirt streets. There are a few developments where the housing is upscale by US standards but I can count them on my fingers. Also, the houses don't have heat. If you have a house built you will still need to spend thousands of dollars finisihing it . They tend not to quote prices that include things like kitchen cabinets.

5) the cost of living here is lower than the US. If you buy US products you can expect to pay about 15%-100% more for it depending on what it is. If you buy Mexican brands you can expect a discount of 15%-50% for the US equivalent. The biggest savings is with services. The labor here is considerably lower than the US. We pay $40/month for a gardner who comes once a week. On the other hand, the best labor is working in the US. We had a lot of trouble finding a good gardener and went without for about a month. We know three couples who have burned through about 5 maids and 2 nannies ain the last year and they are still searching (in one case the woman split right after they gave her a salary advance). In all these cases they were referred by agencies or friends.

6) Health care here is fine for most things. Everybody raves about CIMA hospital which is associated with Baylor University. Most of their doctors speak english. At least 10 Americans/Canadians I know have had some issues with being overcharged. For example the going rate for a regular doctor visit is approx $40US but when they discovered they were gringos the prices escalated to $70-$100. If you speak spanish you can get pretty good basic care for much less by doctors who are not associated with CIMA. We went to a cardiologist who had studied in Paris but he didn't speak english so many of the Americans/Canadians don't use his services.

7) While you shouldn't drink the tap water it won't kill you. We drink bottled water but we will drink the tap water if it is bolied. When people first come here their stomaches have to adjust. Sometimes it is a month, it took me about 4 months. The bigger issue is the problem with upper respiratory infections. Unlike Tucson and Phoenix, they don't use a lot of crushed rock to keep the dust down. So many people, both Mexican and expat, have signifcant respiratory issues. Our child spent a week in the hospital and I know Mexicans who have seriou sproblems as well.

8) In general HMO is safer than Tuscon. However, they do have the drug related crime that is related to the Sinaloa Cartel. Normally that has meant a gangland murder a couple of times a year. Apparently, there is amajor offensive going on right now and there have been half a dozen assasinations of police officials inthe last two weeks. They have beenon major thoroughfares in some cases. One murder happened at a conveniences store across the street from Costco.

9) Don't mind the heat. Yes the temperatures mentioned in other posts are accurate but they have air conditioning and many of the buildings are built from cement so they are naturally cool. When you take into account the aridity a 100 degree day here would feel like 90 degrees most places.

If I were planning on retiring to Hermosillo I'd rent for a year and then make the decision whether or not I want to stay. A lot depends on your personality and expectations.

Welcome to Hermosillo!

My wife and I have been living here for a little more than 2 years and love it. We are renting a house here, and I agree that you should not have any trouble finding a rental. It really depends on how much you want to pay. Here's my take.....

Small, basic 2 BR houses can be had for as little as $100 USD per month. There won't be much in the way of amenities or luxuries, but they are available.

You'll find a number of "condo" style houses/apartments that are around 700 sq. ft with 2 BR in the $300-$400 range. Expect a gated community with "nice" construction and amenities including air conditioning.

At around 1400-1500 sq. ft. you can probably find houses beginning around $700 USD per month and going up to $1000 USD. Also expect gated communities and amenities like underground cisterns with water pumps, full-time security guards, etc.

I agree with the previous poster, Century 21 Elga is a good place to start looking for a rental property. We used them and found a really good deal on a good property.

We are partial to the northern part of the city, although there are some really nice neighborhoods all around. I think you'll enjoy meeting and interacting with the people.

Housing is less expensive in HMO. Restaurants are less expensive. Little heating is needed in the winter. Other than that, most things cost about the same as Tucson or Phoenix.

GotMitUns - You have posted something negative in nearly every recent post about Hermosillo and Nogales. Opinions of course are welcome in TA. In most cases, people who are asking questions, particularly the original poster, need responses which are helpful. You appear to be new to TA, and frankly your negative posts are really not helpful. In most cases, the negative aspects have already been "covered." It's not helpful to revive older posts with primarily negative information.

sir I understand. The housing is cheaper but it also depends. The houses are different, usualy they don't have central air conditioning system, they eather have coolers or the AC units that are installed into walls. Houses usualy don't give you much of space to park your car in front of it and houses are very small, bathrooms are way bellow standards that of USA, the roach problem is out of control. Truth is you will pay a little less money for housing in hermosillo but when you compare everything it realy is not that better than USA.

You can go to better part of town and pay rent of the same as in usa and the house will be up to the USA standars so you are getting the same.

Thats why I don't understand what is that tourist see better in hermosillo.