Hi again! In a reply today, someone wrote ''Cancun is a pretty expensive city." I know the Coast is more costly than interland Yucatan Peninsula, but can you please compare cost of living between Cancun, and Playa. (I know imported goods are costlier;price comparisons on lodging,utility bills and groceries are what matter) Also, in Cancun has anyone seen ATM's machines that give out $US bills? Gracias!
I've never lived in Playa, but from what I've seen, rent and groceries in PDC seem to be very similar to Cancun prices.
When people say Cancun is expensive, it's because like me, I make less a day working here then I did an hour back in the US. And for me, my rent isn't expensive by no means, but it sure isn't in line with my salary. It's all relative really. I have a friend, Mexican, that just moved from CUN to PDC and he says it's a lot cheaper.
I'd have thought there isn't a great deal of difference between Cancun and PDC. I don't have any facts to back that up but it's just a general feeling I get, after all they are only 40 miles apart. Personally, I do find Cancun expensive even though I make a pretty good living by most standards. I'm currently in the UK and our weekly grocery shop is about half the price, free healthcare, free schooling. I think as a single you can live cheaply in Cancun, but as a family it's definitely not cheap. I honestly don't know how Mexican families on regular wages manage. Oh, and the ATM at the convenience store next to Temptation (Km 3.5) offers Dollars as an option.
The only interesting tidbit I can offer on this is that, in PDC, if you shop very near to 5th street, your prices are, let's say $5 us for a "whatsit." But, if you go 4-5 blocks off of 5th street, the whatsit will only cost you $3. The decrease continues as you get farther from the center, touristy part of town, decreasing ever more slowly until they no longer sell whatsits there at all. Shopping for anything in Cancun seems like one big-ass 5th street to me in comparison. That being said, we've never intentionally went well off the beaten path to shop for whatsits, either.
Prices drop in Cancun, too, as you get further from the main thoroughfares, but I agree with Steve that it´s not particularly cheap to live here. Things that are cheaper are petrol, property taxes, healthcare- if you find IMSS acceptable, costing only a few hundred dollars per year for a family, for full coverage- and, perhaps, fresh fruits and vegetables.
However used cars prices in which to use the cheap petrol are ridiculously high, and the petrol is of a low grade. Property taxes actually get you nothing or very little. And IMMS healthcare isn't worth a whole lot really. :wink3: Where you save in comparison to UK is actually buying a house. House prices in the UK in my are anyway are still very high compared to here, although the quality is much better and the roads and services are of a much much better standard. - so I guess it's all relative. :huh: Florida - that's the place to be right now - 1 low sales tax, no income tax, stupidly low house prices and a great standard of living!
Thanks! Some went off topic, but Gracias for your insights. I simply needed to know food and rent+utility bills.
