A Black Woman's Retirement Move to Merida at 70 almost happened in a different country entirely. Rosetta started planning her exit in 2014, right after her divorce, and her first choice was Belize. Her family pushed back, telling her it was too far, so she turned her research toward Mexico instead. Merida showed up on her radar, a city she had never heard of before, and the more she read, the more it looked like the right fit. A scouting trip in October 2024 confirmed it. She fell in love with the architecture, the food, and the people, and even the Airbnb she stayed in for that week felt like home.

She moved on February 10, 2025, and she didn't come alone. Rosetta brought her spiritual mom, the mother of her ex-husband, who had become one of her closest and dearest relationships long after the marriage ended. The two had formed what Rosetta calls a covenant, built through years of caring for each other, and when Rosetta decided to move, her spiritual mom wanted to come too. They sold the house. They had an estate sale and let go of almost everything, including Rosetta's extensive shoe and heel collection, keeping only three suitcases between the two of them and Rosetta's daughter.

Before the move, Rosetta spent years in corporate work and in ministry, serving as a chaplain, minister, and evangelist while working for her pastor's financial business in Las Vegas. She was ready to leave both worlds behind. Since arriving in Mérida, she has taken Zoom off her phone entirely. No more conference calls, no more meetings, no more being in charge of anything. She describes it simply as freedom, and at a point in her life where she is retired and answers to no one, she says she will do exactly what she wants.

Rosetta also addresses the misconceptions head-on. People ask her about cartels and safety before they ask her anything else, and she points out that the fear rarely matches the reality. She notes that back in the United States, school shootings have become so common they barely register as news anymore, while her own family feels safer in Mérida than they ever did at home. She has let go of the materialism that used to drive her, saying there is nothing left that she is attached to, and she has found unexpected freedom in owning less.

Her advice to anyone considering the same move is direct: make a plan, put your priorities in order, pay off your debts before you leave, and then pull the trigger. She also tells people to come with an open mind, learn the language, and remember two words a stranger once gave her on her first scouting trip: be kind and be patient. If you are approaching retirement and still waiting for the right moment, what is actually stopping you from making your plan today?

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