Spent some time in Mexico City about 5 years ago. It was definitely a step down in terms of general civilization (buildings and infrastructure were more worn and maintained to a lower standard, you couldn't drink the water without filtering it, less variety in food at the grocery store), and even nice parts of the city houses and businesses had fences, reinforced gates, and razor wire covering every surface someone might feasibly jump over.

Watching the Federal Police just casually drive around the city in armored vehicles with machine guns mounted in the back was kinda cool though. And foreign nationals are prohibited by law from engaging in political activity, and they will deport you for that shit.

Of course the US is trending that way, so I'd say if you want to live in Mexico just live in the US for another 5-10 years. Except where Mexico's cost of living was relatively low, ours will continue to be high. And to the extent Feds will be driving around in armored vehicles, they won't be on my side. And our politics are wholly determined by foreign nationals nowadays.

Hmm, not as clear cut an answer as I thought it'd be when I started typing this...