Lifestyle

After 25 Years as a Florida Deputy, Paul Retired to Mexico on a Third of the Income. Now They’re Back in the U.S.: “We Have Debt Again. I’m Working Again”

By Curtis Jones · November 11, 2026

Paul spent 25 years as a deputy sheriff in Florida. “In 2015, I retired from law enforcement,” he said in a video he posted in July 2024 on his YouTube channel, Qroo Paul’s Corner.

His wife, Linda, was not yet eligible to retire, and Paul said his pension alone would not cover their expenses if she quit. So they tried something bold. They sold, donated or otherwise got rid of nearly everything they owned, packed four suitcases and flew from Orlando to Cancun. The plan was to live in Mexico on about a third of the income they had been making in the United States.

Friends and family called them crazy. Paul said it worked out great. They lived debt free for years, with enough left over to travel and spend time on the beach.

Then, as he put it, life happened. By the time he made the video, the couple were back in Florida. “We’re back living in the US. We have debt again. I’m working again,” he said.

The reason was family. Paul said Linda’s mother needed more help than they could give from abroad. Trips back to Florida and handling her banking online were not enough, and moving her to Mexico was not something she wanted. So the couple sold their condo and car in Mexico, packed about six suitcases and came home to start over. You can hear Paul tell the whole story in his video on YouTube.

He is clear that this was not a knock on Mexico. He praised the private health care they found there and said life is much more affordable south of the border.

Coming back was a shock. “Things have gotten super expensive since 2015,” he said. He also pointed to health insurance. Paul said he has coverage through his retirement, but Linda does not, and that finding affordable care was one reason they left in the first place.

His sense of rising prices matches the government’s numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers rose from 238.654 in July 2015 to 314.540 in July 2024, an increase of about 32 percent over the years they were away.

Former colleagues offered him jobs, and he took one. The couple first rented an Airbnb, then bought a house in Florida, which put them back in debt. At the same time, he had built two YouTube channels, each with more than 100,000 subscribers. In the July 2024 video, Paul said juggling both had him working seven days a week, so he was leaving his regular job that week to make videos full time.

Moving abroad and moving back both come with costs that are easy to underestimate. If you are weighing either move, a few points are worth checking.

Plan for family needs. Paul and Linda’s return was driven by a parent’s care, not money. Think about who might need you nearby in five or ten years.

Line up health coverage before you land. HealthCare.gov says moving to the U.S. from a foreign country may qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period to buy a Marketplace plan outside open enrollment.

Price out a return. Selling a home abroad, buying cars and paying rent again can add up quickly, so keep some savings set aside in case plans change.

Paul ended his video on an upbeat note, saying life is about rolling with changes and being willing to reinvent yourself.

This article is for general information and is not financial advice. Details of Paul and Linda’s finances are his own account from his July 2024 video. This article was produced with the assistance of AI and fact-checked against the sources cited by LightWave Reports.