Hello everyone, Me and My Fiance are currently in Canada together, he (mexican citizen) and I are seriously considering moving back to Mexico to settle down within the next 3-5 years. From his point of view, I know he misses his family, his culture, family and friends, the way people interact with one another, as do I. I have also spent longer amounts of time in Mexico over the years (3-6 months each time) I was curious to see to the people who have gone over to live permanently, how has it been for you in the long-term? What are your likes/dislikes about living there? I speak spanish pretty well but am still learning.. anywho, any input/insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank You Kindly
Perhaps you need to give people more than a few hours to answer. They aren't just sitting there waiting to answer your questions LOL. I'm sure someone will answer when they have time.
@mc1234: There are several threads on the subject of moving to Cancun. These have been filled with info, as time passes. I suggest you read through them, and then ask any questions you might have. Here is one on the visas: http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/living-cancun-riviera-maya/9686-what-do-i-need-fmt-fm-2-fm-3-a.html Local services: http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/living-cancun-riviera-maya/60-local-services.html Steve linked to a few other websites as well on this thread: http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/living-cancun-riviera-maya/15769-guides-living-mexico.html Here is one that can help you when getting used to the place(even though you have experienced the country before): http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/living-cancun-riviera-maya/528-top-ten-tips-happy-life-latam.html Just browse through the forum and try the search function when logged in. I find pretty much 90% of the info I need on here. If something isnt covered, I create a new thread. Please feel free to add stuff that we have overlooked. Being new to the area, you might notice stuff that we havent ever heard of. Best of luck and dont hesitate to PM if there is anything I/we can help you with. Ps. Please, PLEASE PM me if you happen to stumble upon a place that sells at least decent "fish ´n´chips"!!
Rawkus gave some great info, but I'll go ahead and answer the question in a very general way. I really love living in Cancun, but I've found *most* people need to be here for a year or two before they really start to like it. Maybe it's culture shock... at any rate, most people don't want to leave after they get over the one-year slump. I love the laid-back lifestyle, the cheap and convenient public transportation, the nightlife, the beaches, the cheap movie theaters, all the things to do and see, and the people. I don't like the shopping (or lack thereof), the paperwork, the driving, the bad streets and sidewalks, and the general lack of organization.
Haha, sorry guys I don't want to be the newbie that makes the senior members of the forum answer the same old question My Apologies! Thanks for your insight Gringation
Welcome to the forum! We are a friendly bunch really, it's just that we do get asked very general questions a lot There's around 2,500 threads in this sub forum with 24,000 posts, my advice would be to read through several pages or more and you'll get a great insight into the issues and feelings of expats who live here. But to try and answer your question: We have been here for 7+ years now. Personally, it was great to start with - like a vacation, but you soon realise that living here long term is not a vacation at all. Those that treat it like that don't last long and despite the weather and the beaches you have to want to be here for other reasons to stay. For me, I change my mind every other day as to whether we stay or leave. I miss so much from home. That said, home for me (UK) is a lot further than Canada so it's not so easy or cheap to get back regularly. I like the weather (except when it's too hot), the beautiful beaches and scenery and the opportunity for my kids to grow up bilingually in a safe environment. I also love meeting tourists through my job and helping them have a great vacation which helps promote Cancun as a tourist destination. My old day job I just met angry people, now I just meet happy people. I've also met some great expat friends here, but you do have to choose your expat friends carefully. I hate everything else, especially the food.
Thanks for the reply Steve, and thanks for the welcome as well! Interesting perspective that you have. I also love that in the future my children would be able to grow up in a safe, bilingual environment. Right now I am in Canada, and I miss Mexico terribly. I'll tell you a few of the reasons ( maybe it will help you feel a little less homesick!) - the people (at least where I live) are not very friendly. Everyone here is too cold for our liking.. When you walk down the streets, people just look down or away from you.. as if you were going to hurt them?! Not the best environment, and we live in a good area of the Greater Toronto Area! - There is nothing very exciting to do here, Obviously the UK it is a little different because you have access to the rest of Europe! But for us, not soo much.. usually shopping, which we aren't too interested in, not the best. - People are very superficial here, not to say that some aren't there in Cancun, but I think in general people are much less superficial in Mexico - You need a car to go everywhere. Where we live is a new development outside of Toronto, you can't even go to a store without hopping in your car, and if you want that type of pedestrian lifestyle in Ontario, you have to move to Toronto, which we wouldn't want to do for a variety of reasons!! haha. - Of course the weather is an obvious one. It gets cold, really cold and with this weather you really almost cant or don't want to do anything. Putting layers of clothing on, pre-starting your car for 5 minutes and shivering the whole way there just for some milk?? No bueno! lol - Our future kids. I met my Fiance when he was 21 years old, and I can honestly tell you that he was/is more responsible at that age than most people are here when they are 30. He was born with values that simply just don't exist here. I see the same type of admirable qualities among his friends/family in Mexico. - The food (!!!!) I find myself constantly craving all sorts of Mexican food! We have finally found some decent tortillas, but oaxaca cheese (my favourite) and other essentials for Mexican food are very hard to come across and of course the fresh juice available around every corner, non existant in Canada There are more reasons but these are the one's I will post for now because this post is getting too long!! BUUTT, for conversation sake, Here our the reasons we wouldn't want to move to Cancun: - My family, whom I adore, naturally. - Treatment of animals - The corruption/violence (not so much in Cancun, but Mexico as a whole) - The streets and lack of organization - Doing paperwork there (which I have done a lot of in Mexico, however we have always gotten service in most cases faster than it was here so I don't know anymore!!) We got the paperwork for my fiance's hacienda, driver's license renewal and his ID as well, all done pretty fast (but I am sure we will experience this is the near future!) And that's all I can think of as of right now. The reason I asked my original question is because I wanted to see what day to day things you have grown to dislike about living there, of course no place can be a permanent vacation, there are pro's and con's in every situation, just have to weigh them out!! Thanks again everyone!
Family is the tough one I think, but what a great excuse for them to come visit you. Animals: It's true that animals are treated badly here by many. That wont change whether you come or stay though, and if you were to come there are many charities where you could help out and make a difference. Rawkus could tell you more about those. Corruption/Violence: Two different things but often go hand in hand. There is corruption here but it's unlikely to affect the regular person directly to any significant degree. Violence likewise, others may disagree but I always feel that if you don't go looking for trouble, trouble wont coming looking for you. In almost every incident of serious violence, when the story comes out it's bad guys against bad guys. Staying out of and away from certain things eliminates 99% of the risk. I mentioned "safe" in my reply above, and that may seem contradictory in light of Mexico's current problems, but what I meant was safe in regards to random assaults and anti social behaviour, safer for kids in that attitudes of adolescents towards smoking, alcohol and underage sex seem to be much more on the lines of what a parent would want - all very unlike parts of the UK. Streets and lack of organisation: Organisation seems certainly better than it was 7 years ago. Streets are still poorly maintained though. Paperwork: Again getting better, but still a long way to go.
