Gen X Mover from CA in Mexico started business in the retirement hotspot

Malahki Thorn remembers very well the flames encroaching on his house in the northern desert of California.

It was in 2015, and the saddle fire burned about 1,500 acres in Hyapom, a small town about six hours north of San Francisco. For almost three decades, Thorn had seen that the flames had become more frequent and destructive, polluting the air with smoke for months at the same time.

Thorn, 52, said that the sheriffs managing the emergency response told him to evacuate. Otherwise, he should write his social security number on his arm in case they have to identify his remains.

“I just remember having thought:” I’m not ready to start again, “Thorn told Business Insider. It was too much change, he said, after having recently separated from his 17-year-old partner. “I didn’t know where to go, with three dogs and three cats and my Toyota Tacoma.”

Thorn said that surviving this experience, then having trouble finding affordable home insurance clearly showed that living in Hyapom was too risky.

“I couldn’t understand how I was going to have a pleasant retirement,” said Thorn.

In 2023, Thorn sold his house in Hyapom and moved permanently to Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, where he had spent a vacation for many years. Thorn considers himself a “climate engine” which has escaped the risks of California forest. He also joined many Americans who move in search of a lower cost of living. Thorn said that paying less for housing, food and public services allowed him to continue entrepreneurship.

He told Business Insider what it was to choose where to live, to start a business as an expatriate and to make friends at Puerto Vallarta.

Start of a company in Puerto Vallarta

Before moving, Thorn spent a few years spent between California and Puerto Vallarta to network in the real estate industry.

He connected with a real estate agent in Puerto Vallarta who helped him secure several online interior design projects in the region, including condos by the sea. Since then, he has co -founded Raventhorn Group, which includes his design company, a carpentry studio for furniture, personalized construction and real estate management.

The Puerto Vallarta real estate market is booming, the condos inventory of 1 and 2 bedrooms which soar 105% from 2023 to 2024 and closed luxury communities increasing in value, according to local real estate agents and finance professionals at Thelatinvestor. The short -term rental market experienced a 5% increase in tourists during this period.

“Many buyers also undertake renovations because the price of property in Puerto Vallarta is cheaper than in America,” said Thorn. “You can’t find anything ocean in America for $ 600,000. So people have money to spend. It’s like a gold rush here with construction and all the people who move here.”

“ I did not want all my friends to be retired American ” ‘

Thorn has started a local immigration lawyer to advise him on how to live and work legally in Mexico. He asked for temporary residence and work visas, as well as a single tax identification number and a local bank account.

Thorn said he had decided to buy a house far from the main tourist areas of Puerto Vallarta to make friends with the locals and network with professionals. He is satisfied with this decision, even if He said it needed to be more vigilant about security.

“I think it is possible to come here and to live a very isolated lifestyle in a closed community or a condominium,” said Thorn. “I chose to live differently. I didn’t want all my friends to be retired from the Americans.”

Thorn said he didn’t expect him to leave California. Now it is grateful that he moved before forest fires were getting worse and was able to create a new commercial enterprise.

While little data indicates that climate risks such as hurricanes and forest fires directly cause massive migrationThorn’s story suggests that they can become more a factor.

“It was not completely easy,” said Thorn. “But I am grateful to have had the courage to come. If I had waited for my house to burn, I might not have had these options.”

Do you have a story to share on the move? Contact this journalist at cbedreau@businessinsider.com.