Hi all, my name is Robin and im from the UK and have lived in northern Mexico (Hermosillo, Sonora) now for 8 years. My wife who is from here and I have run our own business repairing computers and game consoles now for the same 8 years, we have 2 young children our son is now 6 and our daughter is just 3 years old. We are looking for a change of life and to start up a new small business idea whic we hope will give us some time to spend with children and as a family. We are looking to live between Playa del carmen and Tulum needs to be near a good Government school, We're looking to rent a house, we need a little land with the house as my wife is a breeder of champion golden retrievers (no not a puppy farm) but we also dont want to pay the earth. yes i know asking alot but we managed to find a place here with a large patio for 5000 pesos a month so i guess there must be a somewhere there. So if anyone could give me some ideas of areas then i would be really greatfull. Many thanks Robin
Welcome to the forum Robbie, from a fellow Brit and father of two young kids too. The area between Playa del Carmen to Tulum is 40-80 miles from where most of us live in Cancun so I'm not sure many of us have any solid info to give, although we do have a few Playa residents that drop in from time to time. My guess is you should be able to find somewhere to rent for 5000 pesos, but it might not be as good as you may be used to - I'd expect prices here to be higher. Have you ruled out Cancun altogether? I think you may find a better choice of accommodation and probably access to better schools. Also a larger population on which to base your business - the area between Playa and Tulum is fairly sparsely populated. How is it up there in Sonora? What's the reason for the change if you don't mind me asking - may be able to help more with suggestions.
Well Sonora is as you might expect is hot with temps in the high 40 and low 50 in the summer (May till the end of September) and it’s the dry heat with no humidity. We live in Hermosillo the capital of Sonora and its changing and not for the better the violence from the border is slowly heading south. 8 years ago the only shooting were the police stopping petty crime and now it’s the narcs. Eight years ago we opened a small business here repairing Xbox’s and other consoles and for a time I was the only person doing it so business was good but when people see you doing well with one business they all want to have a go and then to make sure they get the new clients they cut there price to pointless prices as they have no idea the value of service they are giving. Its probably the same every where one person opens a sushi bar and within a month there are 20 sushi bars all on the same street as not one of them could figure to give each other some space and try the other side of the city. I was born in Stafford but lived in Bournemouth for many years and the one thing I miss out here in the desert is the sea. we visited playa in 2008 and returned again last year and well I guess like the many many people before us we fell in love with the place and now want to relocate, I figured that if we were going to start all over again it may as well be by the sea. As for the new business idea or ideas my wife is a dog lover well in fact that’s an understatement, Her life long dream is to become a recognised champion dog breeder, we own 5 dogs 3 golden retrievers and 2 Chihuahuas. The youngest has just won the title of best pedigree in the state of Sonora and is well on her way to becoming a Mexican champion but to become a registered breeder we need land. She also wants to open a doggie day care centre or hotel as we figured there must be a lot of tourist that travel from the US with there dogs as they don’t like leaving them at home. There are other plans but for right now just need to figure out locations. |To start we just need some where cheap until what ever business gets off the ground then look at buying some cheap land and start building a home of our own.
Robbie: A friendly heads up about dogs: Make sure to really(and I mean REALLY) keep them in a safe way. Theft and especially idiots throwing poisoned treats to other peoples dogs, is unfortunately VERY common here. Regarding renting: It will be harder to find all that for the "same amount" as in the North. You can find great deals, so take your time and be patient, but dont expect to find stuff as cheap as in the North. Hope you settle in well and if anything, dont be a stranger. Ps. When it comes to Xbox consoles - do you also modify them? Ive been looking at chipping ours, but the people Ive asked seem all but confident, haha.
Rawkus thanks for the heads up about the dogs, as for cheaper up north if your paying 30 pesos for a straight asada taco or a 2 bedroomed house for anything around 8500 pesos in a non gated neighbourhood then im not so sure the north is cheap, thats part of the reason we figured well if im going to have to pay alot of cash on renting a house then may as well at least do it in heaven on earth. There are other isues such as the masive lack of water but all of this is better said over a cold beer. As for chipping yes i do chip them in fact i think i was one of the first to start chipping in Sonora as i had direct access to the teams that designed them from my old days back in the UK. I can also get hold of games although we have been warned away from this business down there.
Robbie: My bad, must have thought about Los Cabos and such. Friends that have moved there were chocked at the prices of both accommodation, food and services. Please, be careful with the doggies. Its a sad reality here. Thanks for the answer about chipping - certainly will look into it once you are settled Cheers and welcome!
hahahaha los cabos is well known for it double menus, one for the locals and another for the visiting tourists. i learned that lesson a long time ago i dont wear trainers and white socks or a baseball cap or sun glasses i keep my eyes to the floor and let my wife do all the ordering of what ever it is we want. i once asked for an ventolin inhaler in a all night pharmacy got charged 500 pesos, next day my wife went in an ordered one got the correct price of 200 pesos she then asked why i had been charged 500 the clerk coundnt answer as i still had the reciept she mentioned the words profeco and amazingly its never happened again.
Hi Robbie we are also from the UK- husband is from Stoke (well Newcastle under Lyme) and we have a home in Brighton. We have been here nearly 6 years . Prices here are high compared to other parts of Mexico- schools , rent etc far cheaper in Merida ! We also have lots of friends that are returning to Mexico city becaue its cheaper to live there.Just be careful and do your research .Hope you manage your move and it turns out to be a good decision. Good luck Tracey
Everyone knows what's nice about Cancun and vicinity, so I won't comment further about that: on the negative side- It's hot here, much of the year, so a colonial city could be a better choice for anyone who can't tolerate high temperatures and lots of sun well; even more so for Merida, which is like an oven half the year, and merely hot the rest of the year! Ditto me for the cost of living, which tends to be high here compared to the colonial cities near the center of the country, and most of the rest of the country. Electricity costs being relatively high, the need for air conditioning can push these costs up, too, relative to many colonial cities near the center. We will stay, having settled in, now; but, San Miguel looks mighty good, too: maybe a second home???
Thank you all for the infomation, i guess the bet way to find a house to rent is look online or do you have a local online newspaper that prints up the houes to rent. if so could anyone pass me the links to the pages please. If the only bad thing about Cancun is the heat well i guess its better than sitting the in British weather with its 2 seasons of cold and wet with the odd day of sun but as long as the electric bills dont come in at 7000 pesos a month in the summer like they do here, well i guess it can't be all that bad.
