We live in Cancun because, after seventeen years of living and working in Asia, we wanted to get away from those long flights, and painful jet lag that came with making family trips to the U.S. To be nearer the U.S., we focused on Mexico south to Panama. Using the internet we looked at things like health care, general quality of life, and immigration policies. Of the countries we considered, Mexico and Panama came out best, in our estimation. We visited a couple of places in Mexico, then Panama City. (We had ruled out Cancun ahead of time as being "too touristy". Thus, we only scheduled an overnight in Cancun on our travels, just to make a connecting flight.) When it was all said and done, our brief overnight visit to Cancun convinced us we should come back for another look! We're now almost six months into it and liking Cancun better all the time. We wanted to be near the sea, and in Cancun, we've got the Caribbean. We wanted a warm climate, and those of you who live here know we've got that, all right! We wanted to live somewhere that the culture appealed to us and, as we get to know Spanish better, the culture here is appealing to us more and more. We wanted to be reasonably safe (Asia had spoiled us, in this regard) and Cancun is, by reputation, one of the safest big cities in Mexico. (It strikes me as about as safe as I felt in Dallas, Texas, as long as I avoided bad neighborhoods.) We wanted to be near an international airport, and Cancun's is just 30 minutes from the center. We're getting older, so health care was an issue. That requirement caused us to rule out a number of Central American countries, with Panama being the outstanding exception: extremely good, low cost, U.S. standard health care is available there. The level of health care available in Cancun strikes me as reasonable, if not the highest. For example, it is possible to get a cardiac catheterization here- the sine qua non of adequate treatment for a heart attack (Hospital Hospiten, in Cancun, only: next nearest is Merida). Mexico has liberal immigration policies for those who are financially self-sufficient; and, for those who are able to earn a living without displacing a Mexican citizen from a job. It is not particularly expensive to get a visa to live here, long term, and the conditions placed on it are not particularly onerous. (Panama was much more expensive; for example, you were not permitted to apply for a visa yourself, but had to appoint an attorney to act for you, at U.S. 2,500, and up.) We are enjoying that we are only a few hours away from our families- important if you have aging parents, or children to visit. We are enjoying that where we live is attractive to our friends and family, as a vacation destination, meaning we see more of them without being too close. We are enjoying the range of activities available here, and the weather that allows you to do them. We are getting better acquainted with the full range of cultural activities available here. In short, things appear to be working out.... While Mexico is not one of the cheapest, nice places to live in the world, it is not one of the most expensive, either, and we're satisfied, so far, with the overall cost of living, here. We like living abroad, and Mexico has given us just one more option.... What are some of the reasons you chose Cancun?
Our move was part Desire and part necessity The necessity part was that Laura's US visa was expiring at the end of July, so coming back to Mexico for her was really the only option. Coming to Cancun specifically (although we ended up in Playa) was mostly mitigated from my personal wishes, as Laura originally wanted to go to Guadalajara -- and wasn't keen on Cancun. Good thing I changed her mind! My big reasons for wanting to come here, in no particular order: -Becoming truly fluent in Spanish. This is my second time living in Mexico and despite years of studying and living with a partner who speaks very little English, I still haven't reached that goal. Like most things, the last 10% is the hardest :/ -I wanted a slower pace of life with the option to go faster if needed; not a necessity to constantly be moving and shaking. Living in the US in a metro area can be soul crushing. It's actually hard to describe the [seemingly mandatory] hustle and bustle that comes with even the simplest things back in the US. I will never miss that. Living in the rural US might slow things back down a bit, but um yeah, living in the country has all kinds of other downsides. -Getting back to the sea. Maybe the most important factor for me was that I was simply sick of the snow and sub zero temperatures and the lack of the ocean, and at the same time wasn't willing to spend the money necessary to live in LA or Florida again. Here we have the climate of Miami (with warmer winter waters actually!) at a fraction of the cost. In this regard, QRoo hasn't disappointed in the slightest. -And finally, shortly before we came here I was able to finish off my student loans and essentially be totally debt free. Before giving into the debt-heavy culture of the US and taking out a mortgage/new car/whatever I wanted one more adventure. The timing was right job-wise too as I had just started my own virtual business and so a US working location was no longer important. So yeah, necessity and Desire Being in QRoo is actually incredibly different than being in Zacatecas (and obviously the US) and I think it might be the most ideal retirement destination for us. At least, I hope we retire here! Running a business over the internet has proven extremely tricky and often frustrating and I'm not convinced I'd want to start a family here. But most of the time, a morning swim will clear my head and the days just keep ticking away. V: Where did you live in Asia?
V - where in Asia.?I used to live in Thailand and Hong Kong. My husbands job bought us to Cancun from the UK. Tracey
Nice to hear from you guys, this is fun! I felt people would have interesting stories to tell about what led them to choose Cancun (or, as in your case, Coby, Playa). [TraceyUK, and Coby, we lived in Almaty, Kazahkstan; Kunming, China; and, Hanoi, Vietnam. I divided part of the time in China and Vietnam with Bangkok,Thailand- commuting to do a job there. We have a lot of fond memories of each place.]
V there is a fantastic book about expats- written my a female expat who is trailing around the world with her husband. Its called "Diplomatic baggage" and had me rolling with laughter and recognition form page one. Its a delight to read. It starts in Kazahkstan. Tracey
Here's why we live in Cancun: - Agreeable weather - Busy airport with lots of direct flights home - A good economy (for Mexico) - Lots of expats here (nice ones, who put up with my bitching) Here's why I wish we didn't live in Cancun: - People can't put their garbage in the proper receptacle - People lie and think they are being polite - People treat animals like dirt here - People say they love their children but don't put seatbelts on them - There's little to no protection of the environment here - Rule of law is a joke here
RG: The list "Why I wish we didn't live in Cancun" could be made veeery long unfortunately... :? I see Cancun as an adventure, but this is def not the place where we want to settle down for good... Fun for a couple of years, but now I'm aching to just get out and take a breath of fresh air.
RG...One of the main reason I left was that there is/were 2 differnt prices for most everything at the local markets/bars. One if you are Mexican and another, higher if not. Its has if they don't see a non-mexican human being....they just see dollar signs. Glad to be away from there and back in the good ole U.S. of A.
V, i moved there from mexico city because i wanted to be around tourists and speak in english most of the time (being mexican and not knowing many people from other countries made that feeling stronger lol) i always liked english and i think im not THAT bad at it... so thats one of the reasons. i also had the chance to move to 2 other states within mexico: Queretaro and Puebla, but i gotta be honest, i only moved to Cancun because i wanted to party 24/7, which i did. I totally loved Cancun, and would like to live there sometime again... hopefully soon! being back at Mexico City is not cool... at all!
Sory for drifting off thread, but this one needs to be answered. Over and over again, we have found that if you state in Spanish that you are a local and not a tourist you can drive prices down. Aside from the usual Zona Hotelera restaurant discounts, we have found this to be true at Mercado 28, Mercado 23 and many of places we shop for all kinds of supplies, from electrical and hardware items on Lopez Portillo, to little restaurants and food stores all over town and even the ocassional extortionist...I mean transito looking to prey on a tourist, although I recently lost one of those to a hundred peso mordita. If you insist on being an expat with an "everything is better north of the border attitude" you are basically begging to be treated as such. If you embrace the culture, the language and the differences, most of the time your efforts will be recognized. Because I speak New Yorican and give off all kinds of other Yanqui clues (sometimes I think I have "Gringo" written on my forehead) ocassionally I'll have to flash my drivers license. My wife, on the other hand, gets away with it just on the basis of her flawless Spanish. Or maybe it's the way she looks...
