# Moving to Merida



## Jim-M (Aug 13, 2013)

Hi... I'll be moving from the U.S. to Merida in early October. I've never been there. Can anyone recommend a safe and affordable hotel/motel where I can stay while looking for an apartment? Just need something clean and simple, and did I mention affordable?  Would actually prefer being somewhat outside the city center, but any decent neighborhood will be ok. Many thanks.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Jim-M said:


> Hi... I'll be moving from the U.S. to Merida in early October. I've never been there. Can anyone recommend a safe and affordable hotel/motel where I can stay while looking for an apartment? Just need something clean and simple, and did I mention affordable?  Would actually prefer being somewhat outside the city center, but any decent neighborhood will be ok. Many thanks.


:welcome: to the Mexico Forum!

When I see questions such as you've posed I most often wonder what motivates someone to move to a place, particularly one in a foreign country, they've never visited before. 

The first thought popping into my head when reading what you've written is how did the visa application go for you. Mexico adopted new immigration regulations at the end of 2012 and some of the people participating on this forum have been posting about their experiences. Comparisons have been interesting to read. So, how has it gone for you?

I very much enjoy visiting Merida, but I've never lived there. I don't know how I and my body would react to prolonged exposure to the harshest climatic conditions ... since, most of the time, I don't like to use air conditioning. It's a culturally-rich environment, though. No doubt about that.

As for identifying suitable housing which will meet your needs/wants/budget, the best advice I can offer is that you find yourself an inexpensive hotel room, identify the neighborhood you think you will enjoy living and walk the streets of the neighborhood looking for indications of rental possibilities, including interacting/networking with people you meet in the neighborhood(s). So many rentals throughout the country are never advertised in publications but are, instead, rented by word of mouth.

How well do you speak/understand Spanish? The greater proficiency you have the more successful/enjoyable life in Merida will be. You will also probably live less expensively.

There once was an excellent online forum in English for expats in Merida, of which there seem to be many. However, the sponsor/owner of the site discontinued publishing it and i don't know if there's something like a yahoo or google group for the area. There is a forum/web magazine, etc., for the Yucatan at which you might cross-post your questions but my impression has been that this website, expat forum.com does not permit our promoting other sites similar to this one here on these forums. Google something similar to "merida expat forum" to see what results are retuned.

Anyhow, best of luck with the planning ... don't forget to carefully review/understand the immigration regulations ... and feel free to provide whatever additional information you think people here can help you with.


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## Jim-M (Aug 13, 2013)

Thanks Longford... If you're asking what motivated me, it was essentially the possibility of affordable living, warm climate, safe place, culturally rich city, etc. Not an uncommon story, I imagine. I am aware of the basic immigration laws, so my plan is to get a 6 month visa at the border, check the place out for 6 months, and if I like it, and it looks as though I can work out the immigration details, go from there. If not... on to plan B (whatever that is). 

As you suggested, I plan to find an inexpensive hotel and walk around the various neighborhoods to find a decent apartment. So forumites, about that inexpensive hotel... ?????


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Warm climate, eh? Well, most months of the year, Mérida has a very hot and humid climate - is that what you're looking for?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Jim-M said:


> Thanks Longford... If you're asking what motivated me, it was essentially the possibility of affordable living, warm climate, safe place, culturally rich city, etc. Not an uncommon story, I imagine. I am aware of the basic immigration laws, so my plan is to get a 6 month visa at the border, check the place out for 6 months, and if I like it, and it looks as though I can work out the immigration details, go from there. If not... on to plan B (whatever that is).
> 
> As you suggested, I plan to find an inexpensive hotel and walk around the various neighborhoods to find a decent apartment. So forumites, about that inexpensive hotel... ?????


Merida will be warm. I spent a few days there in September and the heat and humidity were significant. 

You said you wanted a hotel outside of Centro, so I didn't suggest this before, but I stayed in a nice hostel right on the central square.
Hostal Zocalo en Merida
Esq. C. 62 y 63 (corner of streets 62 and 63, the streets are numbered: NS even, EW odd)
The cost was $160 pesos/night in 2010. 

Incidentally, just to keep the terminology straight, the 6 month visitor permit is not a visa, just a permit.


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## Jim-M (Aug 13, 2013)

I'll be coming from Florida, so I'm fine with hot and humid. I'm open to suggestions about rigging up some air conditioning, however. I hear there's a dearth of it.


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## Jim-M (Aug 13, 2013)

TundraGreen said:


> Merida will be warm. I spent a few days there in September and the heat and humidity were significant.
> 
> You said you wanted a hotel outside of Centro, so I didn't suggest this before, but I stayed in a nice hostel right on the central square.
> Hostal Zocalo en Merida
> ...


Many thanks, TundraGreen! I'll definitely check it out!


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Jim - M; I know you live in Gainesville and as a Mobile boy born and raised on the Alabama Gulf Coast, I know you are not afraid of excessive heat and stifling humidity but just a word of caution. Both Mobile and Gainesville, while suffering from oppressive heat and humidity in summer and especially in the months of August and September usually until at least mid-October, at least have brisk and pleasant autumns and winters and marvelous springs so there is some respite. Also, in places like Gainesville and Mobile, one goes from one´s air conditioned house to one´s air conditioned car to one´s air conditioned Piggy Wiggly supermarket or ´for an ice cold drink at the air conditioned bar or maybe a "picture show" and only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun for more than the brief time it takes to get from the car to the safe air-cooled haven. 

Now, Merida is stiflingly hot and oppressively humid just about all the time with only occasional breaks in the dead of winter. That´s one of the reasons that the city seems almost a ghost town in the middle of the day in many places while drawing people into public squares and markets in the early morning hours or at night when the heat is bearable. However, prople do make adjustments and, as in Europe before air conditioning, people tend to go out in the evenings to get away from their oppressively hot homes and that makes for a lively street scene at least in the historic center. Also, in the heat of summer, anyone who can gets the hell out of the city heading for the cooling breezes of the nearby Gulf Coast.

While air conditioning is not so common in Merida homes, homes they typically have stone walls and floors and are built with an eye toward mitigating the mid-day heat so dwellings there really only need good ceiling fans to stay fairly cool and comfortable. As you look around for a place to rent or buy, keep that in mind and seek out a place that seems to be built for cool comfort.

A few years ago we thought quite seriously of moving to Merida but were only interested in the historic center and were unable to find a place that suited us. We found Merida unpleasantly hot and humid even for former Mobilians. However, some people thrive on heat and humidity and, since you live in Gainesville, a hot, soggy climate is something you are used to and you will not be in for any unpleasant surprises.

Don´t worry about finding inexpensive lodging there while you shop around for a place to live longer term. There are lots of bargain priced hotels even in the historic center and you can find one easily enough when you arrive in the city. As earlier posters have indicated; avoid real estate agents and plan to pound the pavement seeking out districts you like and homes for sale or rent.

Good luck.


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## grotton (Apr 20, 2012)

Merida is hot. And there are a lot of bugs.


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## grotton (Apr 20, 2012)

And spiders. And scorpions.


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## Jim-M (Aug 13, 2013)

TundraGreen said:


> Merida will be warm. I spent a few days there in September and the heat and humidity were significant.
> 
> You said you wanted a hotel outside of Centro, so I didn't suggest this before, but I stayed in a nice hostel right on the central square.
> Hostal Zocalo en Merida
> ...





Hound Dog said:


> Jim - M; I know you live in Gainesville and as a Mobile boy born and raised on the Alabama Gulf Coast, I know you are not afraid of excessive heat and stifling humidity but just a word of caution. Both Mobile and Gainesville, while suffering from oppressive heat and humidity in summer and especially in the months of August and September usually until at least mid-October, at least have brisk and pleasant autumns and winters and marvelous springs so there is some respite. Also, in places like Gainesville and Mobile, one goes from one´s air conditioned house to one´s air conditioned car to one´s air conditioned Piggy Wiggly supermarket or ´for an ice cold drink at the air conditioned bar or maybe a "picture show" and only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun for more than the brief time it takes to get from the car to the safe air-cooled haven.
> 
> Now, Merida is stiflingly hot and oppressively humid just about all the time with only occasional breaks in the dead of winter. That´s one of the reasons that the city seems almost a ghost town in the middle of the day in many places while drawing people into public squares and markets in the early morning hours or at night when the heat is bearable. However, prople do make adjustments and, as in Europe before air conditioning, people tend to go out in the evenings to get away from their oppressively hot homes and that makes for a lively street scene at least in the historic center. Also, in the heat of summer, anyone who can gets the hell out of the city heading for the cooling breezes of the nearby Gulf Coast.
> 
> ...


Thanks Hound Dog. Good to know about those heat-friendly homes.


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## Marishka (Feb 1, 2009)

Jim-M said:


> I'll be coming from Florida, so I'm fine with hot and humid. I'm open to suggestions about rigging up some air conditioning, however. I hear there's a dearth of it.


Jim, if you're wondering just how hot and humid Merida is, you might want to read this post.

Good luck with your move!


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## Jim-M (Aug 13, 2013)

Marishka said:


> Jim, if you're wondering just how hot and humid Merida is, you might want to read this post.
> 
> Good luck with your move!


Thanks Marishka. I actually like humidity, but if it's as extreme as everyone on this forum has mentioned, I might just have to spend a bit less time in my body.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Jim-M said:


> Thanks Marishka. I actually like humidity, but if it's as extreme as everyone on this forum has mentioned, I might just have to spend a bit less time in my body.


Last year in July I spent 2 weeks in the Yucatan Peninsula and have spent a dozen vacations in Florida and both are about the same, at least in my experience. People with uncontrollable high blood pressure and/or carrying excess weight around feel the heat much more than those who do not. Also dressing correctly and keeping in the shade is important. Florida might even be a bit more uncomfortable if not near the ocean. The large shade trees everywhere in the Yucatan Peninsula are a blessing.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

[_QUOTE=AlanMexicali;1376305]Last year in July I spent 2 weeks in the Yucatan Peninsula and have spent a dozen vacations in Florida and both are about the same, at least in my experience. People with uncontrollable high blood pressure and/or carrying excess weight around feel the heat much more than those who do not. Also dressing correctly and keeping in the shade is important. Florida might even be a bit more uncomfortable if not near the ocean. The large shade trees everywhere in the Yucatan Peninsula are a blessing.[/QUOTE]_

For instance, one needs different clothing in Alan´s high desert San Luis Potosí, especially in the brisk winters, than in Merida.

I am reminded of the years we lived in North Beach in San Francisco just up from Fisherman´s Wharf. We used to like to walk down to Fisherman´s Wharf on the bay in August and observe the tourists from the hot and humid Eastern U.S. freezing their butts off in their bermuda shorts and T-Shirts while waiting in line for the ferry to Alcatraz as that icy wind off of the cold Pacific whipped through the Golden Gate and, despite often brilliant sunshine, nearly froze them on the spot. Their anticipated relief when aboard the ferry was not forthcoming as the boat plowed into the bay headed toward the island and encountered the even colder windy fog bank zooming by at water level on its way to Berkeley and the East Bay hills. 

Dress lightly in Merida and all of Yucatan for that matter. However, if you plan to motor up to the Chiapas, Veracruz or Oaxaca Highlands from there, bring a sweater.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Hound Dog.

Also many inexperienced visitors to a hot climate need to follow a few rules. I have spent much time in Mexicali and know a few things they forget to do which makes the heat much more uncomfortable beside shade and correct clothing. 

Dehydration! Whether you perceive you loose fluids or not is very uncomfortable.

In Mexicali you sweat and when you breath you exhale moisture. The sweating might not be as noticeable as in a humid heat but happens rapidly even if you don´t see much sweat pouring out of yourself in the desert. When you shower a few times a day the salt [sweat that evaporates rapidly in the dry heat and leaves sodium behind] coming from your hair and brow stings your eyes. That being the case drinking about a gallon of water along with your normal drinks daily keeps you hydrated correctly and eating salty things also as your sodium levels are important to feel right.

Tourists who do not force these 2 items on themselves get an ugly feeling and have problems later. Dehydration and sodium deficiency take about 4 hours to correct, if you even know why you started feeling poorly.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Our tolerance for extreme climatic conditions changes as we age, or as the condition of our health changes. In the late 1990s Chicago experienced a spell of 100+ days, up to, I'm thinking ... 105. People in the city for any length of time are accustsomed to hot/humid weather in the Summer. That year was different, though. About 1,100 people died as the result of the heat ... many because they were improperly hydrated, their bodies overheated (due to lack of air conditioning) and many died as the result of medications they were taking turned toxic when their body temperatures reached an extremely high level. So preparation, acclimation and proper diets (including water) are important for us all. 

Speaking of Mexicali: As a young man of 18 or 19 I participated in a march on foot from Coachella to Calexico. No hat. No sunblock. Mostly short-sleeved shirts. Mostly no hat. And at one point I thought I would die; I was in bed for several days as the result of being badly burned. Just goes to show you ... theire's a fool born every minute (or less)!


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Longford said:


> Our tolerance for extreme climatic conditions changes as we age, or as the condition of our health changes. In the late 1990s Chicago experienced a spell of 100+ days, up to, I'm thinking ... 105. People in the city for any length of time are accustsomed to hot/humid weather in the Summer. That year was different, though. About 1,100 people died as the result of the heat ... many because they were improperly hydrated, their bodies overheated (due to lack of air conditioning) and many died as the result of medications they were taking turned toxic when their body temperatures reached an extremely high level. So preparation, acclimation and proper diets (including water) are important for us all.
> 
> Speaking of Mexicali: As a young man of 18 or 19 I participated in a march on foot from Coachella to Calexico. No hat. No sunblock. Mostly short-sleeved shirts. Mostly no hat. And at one point I thought I would die; I was in bed for several days as the result of being badly burned. Just goes to show you ... theire's a fool born every minute (or less)!


My first 2 week stay in San Diego on summer break I fell asleep on the beach after driving from Eagle Pass Tx. in one shot with a friend and experienced sun stroke/sun poisoning and was in bed for 3 days and had large blisters on my back and legs. Not one person woke us up. We were asleep all day in swim trunks. The headache was very intense.


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## Marishka (Feb 1, 2009)

Jim-M said:


> Thanks Marishka. I actually like humidity, but if it's as extreme as everyone on this forum has mentioned, I might just have to spend a bit less time in my body.


Perpetual travelers Paul and Vicki Terhorst also enjoy that kind of climate. It works out great for them because they go to places with a hot, humid climate during the low season, get great deals on hotels, and practically have the place all to themselves.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

HOW TO BECOME AN ALCOHOLIC
Live in an extremely hot and humid tropical climate with cheap booze
Listen to an air conditioner day and night
Listen to the pounding surf until you are insane; you cannot turn that off .... ever!
You know you have succeeded when you pour perfectly good booze in your crotch for the cooling effect.


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## PanamaJack (Apr 1, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> HOW TO BECOME AN ALCOHOLIC
> Live in an extremely hot and humid tropical climate with cheap booze
> Listen to an air conditioner day and night
> Listen to the pounding surf until you are insane; you cannot turn that off .... ever!
> You know you have succeeded when you pour perfectly good booze in your crotch for the cooling effect.


RV I know what you mean, but the pounding surf does not apply here since Merida is 40 km from the nearest port, unless you put a huge conch shell up to your ear, then you might hear the surf. 

Is this from personal experience????


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## fjack1415 (Nov 4, 2011)

I live in Puerto Vallarta and am (almost!!! used to the hot and humid summers here (typically 33°C) but I am right next to the beach and I have a pool on the roof. When I catch the temp postings on TV I notice that Merida is often even hotter than PV. But I understand that Merida has a large expat community. So there must be something very nice about the place!! Definitely would like to visit there some day.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Does Jim-M realize that the 180 day FMM is not a visa; only a visitor permit, which cannot be renewed or changed to another immigration document in Mexico? One must leave Mexico and apply for a residence visa at the Mexican Consulate closest to his home address. There are financial requirements for these visas, Jim. Have you looked into that before making your exploratory trip?


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## starkweather (Aug 22, 2013)

*bad bugs*

In Merida? I imagine more in the countryside.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

There is dengue in Merida, a friend of mine got it recently, otherwise I would imagine that they have the bugs everyone else does and there are fumigators for that,

Merida is a really nice city that is hard not to enjoy. Too hot and humid for us especially in the summer but I think it is one of the nicest city in Mexico.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


RVGRINGO said:



HOW TO BECOME AN ALCOHOLIC
Live in an extremely hot and humid tropical climate with cheap booze
Listen to an air conditioner day and night
Listen to the pounding surf until you are insane; you cannot turn that off .... ever!
You know you have succeeded when you pour perfectly good booze in your crotch for the cooling effect.

Click to expand...

_We had the interesting experience in the 1980s of living directly on a 30 foot cliff overlooking the wild Pacific in an area known as Devil´s Slide just south of San Francisco and the pounding surf was incessant, sometimes more intense than at other times but always and forever mercilessly pounding. It was a mesmerizing environment over an important marine reserve (The Fitzgerald Marine Reserve) which meant that the area was dotted with incredible protected tide pools with an abundance of all sorts of marine life in crystal clear tide pools so a walk on the various beaches was always a naturalists dream. When the sun was shining there in between spells of the famous all-encompassing coastal fogs in that area, this was one great place to live amongst beautifully contorted, windblown coastal cypress forests and deserted cliffside hiking trails. What made this experience even more ethereal was the fact that the Northern California coast is not developed as the Southern California coast is because the often cold and foggy climate there on a wild, cold and dangerous open sea is not conducive to tourist or residential development so we just about had the place to ourselves and a few hardy souls enamored of the wild coast. An eccentric lot to put it mildly. 

Bear in mind that, when we lived on that coast, we were both working so, during week days, we were off to San Francisco or Oakland to work in the pleasant, calm sunshine in those places only returning to the sea after work so we were able to periodically escape what RV calls (accurately) the pounding surf and, believe me it pounded without mercy which created an almost dreamlike feeling of isolation even though houses were built quite close to each other and I mean that in a good sense.

Because of that ten year experience back in the 1980s, we visited two isolated coastal spots in Mexico within the past few years seeking, perhaps, to duplicate that experience in this country on a warm sea and, thus, looked at houses in the tiny, isolated communities of Playa Ventura, Guerrero on the Costa Chica about four hours south of Acaplulco and Xcalak, Quintana Roo just north of the Belize border on a peninsula that becomes the famed Cay Ambergris over the Belize line.

These two areas in Guerrero and Quintana Roo could not be more different from each other. The pounding surf applies in spades to Playa Ventura where the home we looked at was directly on the open Pacific with its incessant wild surf meeting huge rocks right if front of the house sending plumes of sea foam high into the air. Quite a show and, for a short while, hypnotic and enticing and made even more so by the almost total isolation of the village of Playa Ventura on the already isolated Costa Chica with the two nearest towns, Marquelia and Copala, both small and each a good thirty minutes away over lonely roads, the only alternatives for grocery shopping. Well, that huge and unforgiving surf plus the mind-altering isolation of the village made more intense by the overwhelming presence of the ocean, was a bit too much for us and we were out of there the next day in a flash welcoming the urban glitter of Acapulco up the coast and the impossibly congested cliffside town of Taxco far inland where we spent the next night. 

Xcalak was another matter altogether. Also very isolated and showing the intense damage of a hurricane of a while back that had nearly wiped the town form the face of the earth, but no pounding surf, in fact, just the opposite. Absolutely calm and pristine, crystal clear waters filled with coral and protected form the open sea by a coral reef famous for diving and fishing opportunities. The isolation and disconcerting quiet of this place at least a couple of hours from any other place in which humans congregated and even further away from any real hospital or self-respecting physician or one of the much loathed big box stores we all love to hate until there are none to be found induced, in me at least, a feeling of dread bordering on depression. To make matters even worse, expat homeowners, having been sucked into building there themselves, were asking outrageous prices for the butt-ugly seaside mansions they had constructed there typically filled with bunk beds on the hurricane-prone Caribbean in, literally, the middle of nowhere. After a couple of days we were out of there as well, not stopping for hours until we had reached Lake Bacalar - also an isolated place where hours can seem weeks but that´s another story and many people like that sort of isolation.

In Xcalak, considering the prices expat homeowners were asking for these huge beach homes there, I became intrigued by the question as to what one does on a typical day there; that is, when the entire day is not devoted to finding a box store in distant Chetumal to re-supply the larder. I inquired of a local I met in a local bar there, a bar normally empty except when fishernmen fly in and stay at the adjacent hotel to go fishing, get drunk and whore around. "Well", he told me, " first we get up and, after a couple of beers or shots of tequila or rum to get the blood flowing, we either go snorkeling on the reef or deep sea fishing or just laze around the house and then about noon or so we get loaded on some firewater and pass out about mid-afternoon and maybe wake up for dinner or maybe not and then it´s tomorrow and we repeat the process." 

Ajijic and San Cristóbal never looked better.


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## EktunHa (Sep 30, 2013)

citlali said:


> There is dengue in Merida, a friend of mine got it recently, otherwise I would imagine that they have the bugs everyone else does and there are fumigators for that,
> 
> Merida is a really nice city that is hard not to enjoy. Too hot and humid for us especially in the summer but I think it is one of the nicest city in Mexico.


I hear the artist community is vibrant in Merida. Certainly the architecture is very inspiring, from what I've seen online anyway.


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## Jim-M (Aug 13, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> Does Jim-M realize that the 180 day FMM is not a visa; only a visitor permit, which cannot be renewed or changed to another immigration document in Mexico? One must leave Mexico and apply for a residence visa at the Mexican Consulate closest to his home address. There are financial requirements for these visas, Jim. Have you looked into that before making your exploratory trip?


Yes, I've done my homework. Thanks for the heads-up, though. Might be living in 6 month chunks for awhile.


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## abscissa (Apr 5, 2010)

Jim don't let all these west coasters put you off .. on moving Merida.. LOL The hottest months are May & June and if you need a break head for the beach in Progreso 30 mins away .. there's a hostel there too owned by the same people .. I think it's around 200 peso a day now. I'm from the great white north and I don't mind the humidity and heat at all .. but I dress for it. Low season it in the winter in this area .. all the Meridian head for the beach in the summer. 

YoListo is a better forum for that area 

Oh and the west coast doesn't have any town like Media culture or vib that I've even seen


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## Alicat50 (Jan 16, 2014)

TundraGreen said:


> Merida will be warm. I spent a few days there in September and the heat and humidity were significant.
> 
> You said you wanted a hotel outside of Centro, so I didn't suggest this before, but I stayed in a nice hostel right on the central square.
> Hostal Zocalo en Merida
> ...


Hello,
I'm new to this forum and interested in Merida, possibly long term. We live in Arizona and we are used to the heat, but how does 115 degrees in Phoenix compare to the heat and humidity in Merida. Where do you suggest I post to just get those living in Merida or interested? On a personal level I love old and historical and urban. I am a seasoned commercial property manager and wondering if I could expect any work to be offered there? In other words, I would love to chat with expats living there and others who know more than I do right now. Thank you for reading and possibly offering your suggestions,
Ali and Martin'


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

After reading a few of the above posts (especially Hound Dog's), the Lake Chapala area looks mighty good. Nice weather, beautiful scenery and above all.......things to do and places to go. I love to look at those beautiful historical buildings in some parts of Mexico and isolated coastal villages have their charms, but what makes all the difference is the "dailiness" of either the extremes of weather or any other downside of the place, like isolation or a non-stop pounding surf. Turning into an habitual drunk is a sorry solution, IMHO.

A friend once made the observation that many people are living their lives as though they were in a movie: the "historical" settings, the "quaintness" of the environment, etc., even the "differentness" of the local population. It makes me wonder if people have always done that, or whether this is largely a recent phenomena, largely influenced by the pervasive nature of the media.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

[[_I]QUOTE=lagoloo;2868481]After reading a few of the above posts (especially Hound Dog's), the Lake Chapala area looks mighty good. Nice weather, beautiful scenery and above all.......things to do and places to go. I love to look at those beautiful historical buildings in some parts of Mexico and isolated coastal villages have their charms, but what makes all the difference is the "dailiness" of either the extremes of weather or any other downside of the place, like isolation or a non-stop pounding surf. Turning into an habitual drunk is a sorry solution, IMHO.

A friend once made the observation that many people are living their lives as though they were in a movie: the "historical" settings, the "quaintness" of the environment, etc., even the "differentness" of the local population. It makes me wonder if people have always done that, or whether this is largely a recent phenomena, largely influenced by the pervasive nature of the media.[/QUOTE]_[/I]

Funny you should mention my post lagoloo. We just arrived in Chiapas , after a long and, at times, arduous drive through Veracruz State, last night where we maintain a residence in San Crist[obal de Las Casas and damn was it cold and wet. This morning, however, we awoke to a brilliant cold crisp high mountain day here in the Jovel Valley at 7,000 feet and it was worth the journey even though the climate at Lake Chapala is far more pleasant in general if one is seeking almost constant days of moderate temperatures and sunshine. The Jovel Valley is subject to abrupt climate changes and, at times, copious rains and flooding but each place has its charms and distractions so we seek variety and it seems we have achieved that. 

Both the Chapala and San Cristobal small urban zones offer urban amenities and Cosmopolitan ambience beyond expectations for small cities and that makes both of them fun. People thinking of moving to Latin America need to remember that small, rural towns can be murderously boring and unwelcoming whether in Mexico, the U.S., or Europe as well as anywhere on earth so watch out for seeking isolation you may regret have found, folks.

By the way, Merida is a great town with a miserable climate. The choice is yours.


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