# Cancun as a place to live



## pravchaw (Feb 12, 2017)

Hello folks,
I am a recently retired Canadian thinking of moving to Cancun for a few months every year. I'd like to hear from folks who live or have lived in Cancun. I have visited the city several times but only in the winter. 
Thanks in advance.


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## pravchaw (Feb 12, 2017)

Why would you "personally attack"?


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Most folks that land in Cancun follow it with " and getting out ASAP", unless you are going to work there or are working there I can not think of any good reason why someone would want to live there with so many nice towns around...Google Bacalar for example...


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## pravchaw (Feb 12, 2017)

I guess I was thinking of the infrastructure. At a minimum I need good internet as I am investor/speculator. I did hear of Bacalar when I was last in Cancun. Would like to learn more.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

pravchaw said:


> Hello folks,
> I am a recently retired


"" I am investor/speculator""

I hope your doing that investing and speculating back in Canada, many go broke in Mexico..


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I have lived in Cancun a year and a half. Internet is fine. It's not "Flash Boys" fast, just decent broadband. But I think you can get the same quality all up and down the Mayan Riviera.

What I'm not finding in Cancun is an expat community. When my lease runs out at the end of year 2 I may try moving down to Playa Del Carmin, there are supposed to be more expats down there.


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## pravchaw (Feb 12, 2017)

Interesting. What area do you live in Cancun?


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## pravchaw (Feb 12, 2017)

chicois8 said:


> "" I am investor/speculator""
> 
> I hope your doing that investing and speculating back in Canada, many go broke in Mexico..


Yes, mostly developed liquid markets like US, Canada, UK, Australia, India. I have not looked at Mexico market seriously yet as I have a bit of a language barrier. I think I have one mexican stock - Cemex.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

eastwind said:


> I have lived in Cancun a year and a half. Internet is fine. It's not "Flash Boys" fast, just decent broadband. But I think you can get the same quality all up and down the Mayan Riviera.
> 
> What I'm not finding in Cancun is an expat community. When my lease runs out at the end of year 2 I may try moving down to Playa Del Carmin, there are supposed to be more expats down there.


Apart from decent broadband, what do you like about living in Cancun?


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

We like Cancun a lot and have spent many weekends there as it is an hour direct flight out of Miami. I'm not sure we would move there at this point - maybe. If you would like to live in Miami - and we did - it is very similar to living in Cancun. I don't think we would ever move to Playa del Carmen. The last time we were in Tulum the streets were still dirt. I think it has grown since. We REALLY liked the stretch of beachfront between Puerto Aventuras and Tulum.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

pravchaw said:


> Yes, mostly developed liquid markets like US, Canada, UK, Australia, India. I have not looked at Mexico market seriously yet as I have a bit of a language barrier. I think I have one mexican stock - Cemex.



Me Coca Cola, every time I pass an OXXO or see someone drinking a coke I think Cha-Ching.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

I have had an account with GBM HomeBroker for maybe the last four years. I have never executed a trade. I started doing our 2018 FBARs yesterday and I have found that the little RSA dongle I need to access my account expired in July 2017. I put a LOT of time into finding the cheapest way to invest in Mexican stocks - and by far GBM had the best rates - but their commissions are scaled by the size of the TRANSACTION - the lowest tier 0.25% for < 1,000,000 pesos. That is like $130 USD for each side of the trade. That is a far cry from $8 in the US and probably a lot more even that a full service broker in the US.


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## pravchaw (Feb 12, 2017)

Airport & good telecom infrastructure is the a big reason, I am considering Cancun.

International airport. With several direct flights between Toronto and Cancun I can be home in 5 hours. 
I will need to be home at least once a month if not more to tend to family, stuff, etc. Also freezing my butt in :canada: for a few days would help me appreciate the weather down south better. Perhaps some kind folks can suggest some options (i.e. communities around Cancun etc.) to explore. I would like to rent for a couple of years before I would consider buying.


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## pravchaw (Feb 12, 2017)

lat19n said:


> probably a lot more even that a full service broker in the US.


You can keep your a/c in the US. I pay less the $2 a trade with Interactive Broker. They can access most market in the world from a single a/c. The only problem is that you will have to pay taxes on your earnings as the a/c is reported.


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## pravchaw (Feb 12, 2017)

chicois8 said:


> Me Coca Cola, every time I pass an OXXO or see someone drinking a coke I think Cha-Ching.


I noticed that particularly with the native (maya) population. Many of them are obviously obese with the sugar etc. I bet diabetes is a real problem.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

pravchaw said:


> You can keep your a/c in the US. I pay less the $2 a trade with Interactive Broker. They can access most market in the world from a single a/c. The only problem is that you will have to pay taxes on your earnings as the a/c is reported.


Ah - but then you are buying an ADR and not really a 'Mexican stock'.

btw - if you like Canadians - look into the Ixtapa or Manzanillo areas


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## pravchaw (Feb 12, 2017)

lat19n said:


> Ah - but then you are buying an ADR and not really a 'Mexican stock'.
> 
> btw - if you like Canadians - look into the Ixtapa or Manzanillo areas


You can trade at the local exchanges in local currency with Interactive Broker so you don't have to buy/sell ADR's. The host country will still deducts taxes on dividends. Mexico deducts just 5% from Canada/US investors under NAFTA - US deducts 15%. The problem is really researching the stocks if the financial reports are in spanish. 

Pacific coast is not really that well connected with Toronto as CUN.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

pravchaw said:


> I noticed that particularly with the native (maya) population. Many of them are obviously obese with the sugar etc. I bet diabetes is a real problem.


Mexico is the number 1 in the world in new cases of diabetes but coke is not the only problem, with beans, rice, pan dice and a couple dozen tortillas a day Mexico is king of the carbs........not to mention agua fresca, beer and of course sugar cane sticks..........


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

chicois8 said:


> . . . with beans, rice, pan *dice* and a couple dozen tortillas a day . . .


Pan *dulce*?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> Pan *dulce*?


Mexico has its own set of junk food (botanas) chicharron, nachos, chilaquiles. Then you add to that all the US junk food chains present in Mexico, Coke, Pepsi, MacDonalds, KFC, Burger King, etc. It really doesn't surprise me that they are competing with the US for highest percentage of overweight and obese people.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Isla Verde said:


> Apart from decent broadband, what do you like about living in Cancun?


What I wanted when I contemplated a move was to live on the beach, with a view of the water from my condo. I spend a few hours a day on the computer reading financial news, analysis, investment information, etc, and other news that could affect my investments. I can do that anywhere in the world, but I wanted to be able to look up from my screen and out the window and see the ocean. I got that, exactly. I had to pay up for it, I'm paying a lot in rent, maybe more than half my budget. Everything else is cheap.

The other thing I needed was direct flights to Washington DC because I have an aged parent that I wanted to visit several times a year. I didn't want to be hours away from an airport and I didn't want to have to change planes on the way home if I could avoid it. What I'm paying in rent for a luxury condo (with pool, gym & 24 hr security) is less than what a decent 2 BR would cost in the DC suburbs.

The security situation on the west coast, and the necessity to change planes in Mexico City if I lived in say Oaxaca, made the Mayan Riviera a logical pick. I started with Cancun because I'd been there before and knew my way around a little. I've never been to Playa Del Carmin, but I think I should explore there a little for year 3. 

I thought when I started that I might get enough of the ocean view eventually, and be happy enough to move to a cheaper place in town that would cost 1/4 as much. Not yet, I still love the view, and will happily pay up for an on-the-beach condo in PDC if I can find one, as long as it's not a lot more than I'm paying now.

The blue ocean is just beautiful. I'm on the 3rd floor and the palm trees around the pool are getting high enough that I see the tops of them too. The beach is pristine when I go down there for a walk (not as often as I figured, just looking seems to be enough). I should walk on the beach and swim in the pool more for exercise, but I just poke away on my computer....

One thing I really don't like about Mexico is I'm putting on weight. I'm getting more exercise than the US because I walk to the bus then walk around town, but the diet... it's just hard to get enough safe fruits and vegetables eating out like I do. Tacos and burgers...


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Isla Verde said:


> Pan *dulce*?


Love that spell check,LOL


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Oh yeah, the weather, that's another thing I like. I hate the cold. I've acclimated to Cancun in a year and a half, and now even 69F with a light wind feels chilly. The summer humidity is very high, but I grew up in DC which is just as bad in the summer, and mostly I just stay inside with the AC on or on the beach during the day in the summertime. 

The condo requires me to leave the AC on all the time. There's a 2" air flow area between the cement ceiling and the gypsum board ceiling hung below it. If I try to run AC part time and open up the apartment to the outside part time, when the air is flowing through it brings in a lot of moisture into the apartment in the summer when it's humid. When the ac goes back on, all that moisture condenses up in the ceiling due to the way the aircon airflow works. Then it drips down onto the gypsum board, and that gets wet and caves in. Happened once last summer. Problem is also exacerbated by the AC itself dripping condensation (the AC fan is up in the ceiling cavity) So everybody in the condo is supposed to run AC full time to keep the temperature of the whole building constant to keep this from happening, according to the apartment manager. Crazy system. What they need is electric dehumidifiers built into the AC system.

But my electric bill was only US$60 or so for 2 months during the summer, so I just play along and enjoy the aircon full time, all year.

So I love the cancun weather, except for the humidity, but I can live with the humidity due to profligate AC use.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I like the bus system in Cancun. I don't need to own a car or drive, and I pay just US$30/month for bus trips, and a few bucks more for the occasional cab ride. 30 pesos plus I give 20 pesos tip for cab rides in town, and I only do a couple per month.

That's not counting 500 pesos cab to the airport and 700 back when I travel - I count that as cost of travel. I could get to the airport by bus but it's a lot of hassle (Bus to ADO station, bus to airport at the wrong terminal, bus between terminals, all lugging luggage - forget it, I don't do it that often, I'll just contribute to the local economy and pay the cab. Traveling is tiring enough as it is).


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## beachseeker (Oct 22, 2015)

pravchaw said:


> Hello folks,
> I am a recently retired Canadian thinking of moving to Cancun for a few months every year. I'd like to hear from folks who live or have lived in Cancun. I have visited the city several times but only in the winter.
> Thanks in advance.


Hello,
Fellow Canuck, Cancun I would not personally live in. Nothing much going on besides the resort life. Granted it has some of my favourite beaches in MX. Safety has also been an issue recently. I live in Merida and spend a lot of time over in Riviera Maya as my girlfriend lives in PDC. Have you considered Merida to live? There are also very affordable ocean front rentals on the beaches here


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