From Jorge

I’ve spent most of my life watching Baja California Sur go from “where?” to “I can’t believe how much this costs.” Tourism money is flooding in, flights are full, and there’s a construction crane in every selfie. But behind the glossy headlines, there’s a simple tension: our economy is priced in dollars, while most people here still get paid in pesos. This week I take a look at that gap, the sunshine story and the shadow it’s casting on locals and long-term owners.

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Subject of the Week

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Cabo didn’t “grow”, it detonated. Tourism FDI crossed the $1B USD line in 2024, more than a third of Mexico’s national total. That’s not a wave. That’s a takeover. Flights are packed, cranes don’t get weekends off, and the state’s GDP now behaves like it’s permanently caffeinated.

But here’s the tension line:

And that gap is no longer a crack, it’s a canyon.

An average paycheck in Baja Sur lands at about $12,300 MXN a month.
The average rent? $26,700 MXN.

Rents are running at 217% of the average salary. You don’t need a committee to see the problem. You need a calculator, and maybe a second job.

Tourists arrive ready to spend. Airbnb guests alone poured $374M USD into the local economy in 2021, supporting over 8,000 jobs and boosting GDP (couldn’t find recent numbers). International visitors bring the sunshine; locals feel the sunburn.

This boom comes with a cost:
Workers are commuting further.
Families are getting priced out.
Early expats are whispering that the “good old days” weren’t that long ago.

For owners, investors, and buyers, Baja Sur is still an income engine. High-spend international guests keep occupancy strong. FDI tells you exactly where developers are betting next. And data, finally, replaces the old “Cabo just feels hot” gut instinct.

Follow the capital.
Watch the rents.
Find the spot where salaries, services, and infrastructure haven’t caught up yet.
That’s the next big move.

But only if your paperwork is bulletproof. A messy title or missing permit in this regulatory climate is like showing up to a hurricane with a beach umbrella.

Baja Sur is entering its recalibration phase. Growth isn’t slowing. But how we manage it is about to matter more than the raw numbers.

The boom isn’t over. It’s just getting complicated.

This economy works beautifully, unless you’re the one paying rent.
It enriches assets, unless regulation catches up to your business model.
It rewards clean paperwork, and punishes anything left to chance.

Baja Sur is still one of the best places to invest, build, and own.
But the rules of the game are shifting.

And in a two-speed economy, the winners are the ones who stay ahead of the paperwork, the policy, and the pressure.

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Clarity → Action

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Q: “We bought in Cabo Bello, in Cabo San Lucas, back in the ’90s. The fideicomiso still confuses us, are there deadlines or attachments we should have? We don’t want surprises when we sell or plan our inheritance. What can we do? Can you help us or point us in the right direction?”

ILT’s Solution
Most fideicomisos contain deadlines, clauses, or missing attachments that can stall a sale or complicate inheritance. Waiting until closing to discover gaps often means weeks of delay and thousands in avoidable costs.

For deeds set up in the ’90s, we frequently see: missing annexes, outdated beneficiary clauses, renewal terms that were never recorded, trustee bank changes, legal-description mismatches, and unregistered improvements. Here’s how we handle it with Onsite Analytics:

We’ll review the title and provide detailed suggestions based on what we find, so you know exactly where you stand and what to fix before it costs you.

Reply here or email [email protected]. We can include your question in future newsletters, or if you’d like it anonymous, say so.

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Back in 1988, I bounced my way up that dirt road for the first time, fully convinced I’d taken a wrong turn into Baja’s forgotten corner. Then, boom! Mike’s Sky Ranch appeared out of the dust like it had no business being there. A pool, a bar, a handful of rooms… in the absolute middle of nowhere.

My first thought was, who builds this here?
My second was, whoever did, I owe them a beer.

And decades later, that feeling hasn’t changed. Mike’s still pops out of nowhere and immediately feels like you’ve stumbled onto a legend that refuses to modernize, thankfully.

If adventure has a warm-up stretch, this is it. Twenty-plus miles of dirt that refuses to apologize for being dirt. Cattle crossings that act like they own the place. Boulders that appear out of nowhere like they’re part of the initiation. A landscape that widens, quiets, and slowly convinces you to forget whatever emails are waiting for you back home.

The further you go, the more the world fades.
By the time you pull in, your brain has recalibrated itself to “Baja frequency.”

Mike’s is not a resort. It's not pretending to be one either. It’s an old-school lodge where the welcome mat is a layer of dust and the main decoration style is “if it’s been here for 40 years, leave it.”

Inside the bar, the decades shout back at you:

It’s not curated nostalgia, it’s lived-in legacy.

Mike’s has a strange superpower: everyone becomes friends faster than you can finish your first beer. Maybe it’s the shared road in. Maybe it’s the “we survived the drive” grin everyone wears. Maybe it’s the pool that demands at least one ridiculous group selfie.

Dinner is served family-style, the stories get longer as the night gets darker, and when the generator cuts the power at 10 p.m., the stars take over the night shift. You don’t argue with the schedule, you just lean into it.

Mike Leon didn’t buy a ranch because it was a cute idea. He bought thousands of acres, opened the lodge in 1967, and then went on to win the Baja 1000 (1984) and the Baja 500 (1985). Not many hotel owners can say they’ve left actual tire tracks on off-road history.

Mike didn’t build a brand.
He built a benchmark.

Because Baja is full of polished places now. Because convenience is overrated. Because sometimes you want a destination that makes you work a little, or at least makes your suspension work a little.

You go to Mike’s to remember:

Mike’s is the antidote to overcurated travel.

You descend the mountain with the same feeling I had back in ’88:
I can’t believe this place exists… and I’m really glad it does.

The road out is the same.
The mountains are the same.
And Mike’s Sky Ranch is still exactly where it shouldn’t be, which is exactly why it belongs.

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The CRIT system stands as one of the most inspiring, transformative networks in Mexico, a nationwide effort dedicated to giving children with disabilities, autism, or cancer a real chance at a fuller, more independent life. For decades, these centers have combined medical expertise with human warmth, offering structured rehabilitation while wrapping entire families in support, guidance, and hope. With 24 Rehabilitation Centers, a specialized Autism Center, and a world-class Oncology Hospital, CRIT has become a lifeline for thousands of families who often have nowhere else to turn.

And now, something historic is happening right here in our backyard:

CRIT Los Cabos will be inaugurated in San Jose del Cabo, on November 25, 2025, opening its doors to children and families in January 2026.

For a region growing as fast as ours, with families from across Baja Sur and beyond, this center will be a game-changer. Local families who used to travel long distances for therapy will finally have access to world-class care close to home.

Now, speaking personally, when you look closely at what CRIT actually does, you can’t help but feel moved. Their model is family-centered, organized, and deeply humane. Every child goes through evaluations, tailored therapies, emotional support, and long-term planning. Kids receive around 80 therapeutic services per year, ranging from physical and occupational therapy to language development, psychology, neurology, and social-integration work. And the results are powerful: children gaining mobility, communication, confidence, and independence.

For parents, the impact is just as profound. CRIT gives families structure where there was confusion, direction where there was fear, and emotional relief where there was exhaustion. It’s not just treatment, it’s a full ecosystem that lifts entire households.

More than 840,000 people have already benefited from the CRIT system, and year after year, thousands of children are able to improve, attend school, participate in daily life, and dream with fewer limits.

And for families with special-needs children, especially now in Los Cabos, this kind of support isn’t simply helpful;

it’s invaluable.

CRIT doesn’t just change medical outcomes.

It changes futures.

Numbers speak, but in this case, the gaps speak louder. Every one of them is a life improved.

1. Finishing the Last Mile (Literally)

The new access road is only partially paved. If you’ve lived here long enough, you know how bottlenecks like that can undermine even the best projects.

2. Recruiting Talent

Building is one thing; staffing is another. Specialized therapists aren’t easy to find, and competition for talent is high in Los Cabos.

3. Operational Stability

CRIT is privately funded but relies heavily on ongoing donations. Fiscal health must match physical infrastructure.

Re-hook:
A building is easy to inaugurate. Maintaining a mission is the real work.

I’ve always believed that infrastructure isn’t just roads and bridges. It’s anything that expands opportunity. CRIT Los Cabos does exactly that. It makes Los Cabos a place not just for visitors, but for families building their lives here with dignity.

You can chart tourism, FDI, or construction cranes, but sometimes the most important project in the state is quietly rising behind a baseball field in San José del Cabo.

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