# Ciudad del Carmen



## mariadiamante

Hello out there. I'm moving to Ciudad del Carmen in a few weeks and want to ease my transition as much as possible. I will need to find a place to live, a good bike shop, bike trails and maybe even a good brew pup if possible. Anybody know anything about any of the colonias in CdelC?


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## Tucson

mariadiamante said:


> Hello out there. I'm moving to Ciudad del Carmen in a few weeks and want to ease my transition as much as possible. I will need to find a place to live, a good bike shop, bike trails and maybe even a good brew pup if possible. Anybody know anything about any of the colonias in CdelC?


Hola Maria,

I've read many similar inquiries "re: how to find a place to live" where it has been avised to try VRBO* (vacation rentals by owner) or Craig's List. It's a start. You also might try searching for property managers in Ciudad del Carmen, although I did not find any, either (just real estate for sale). SOmetimes a realtor will have some rentals they manage or know who does, or who will rent out their home or condo. At least you'd have a good opportunity to find many with places to rent. 

Perhaps you can also take a look at TripAdvisor; I've just noticed that they have a forum of sorts for your target city. 

We make our other home near Playa del Carmen and we have some local forums there, but that is quite a ways away from your new home. 

Also try inquiring on the Yolisto forum. It's centered a little more towards Merida but they have always been so very helpful with truly constructive suggestions.

* NOTE: one of this forum's moderators cautioned others against using abbreviations in place of the full words, although everyone knows what VRBO means it is still an abbreviation.


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## Isla Verde

Tucson said:


> Hola Maria,
> 
> I've read many similar inquiries "re: how to find a place to live" where it has been avised to try VRBO* (vacation rentals by owner) or Craig's List. It's a start. You also might try searching for property managers in Ciudad del Carmen, although I did not find any, either (just real estate for sale). SOmetimes a realtor will have some rentals they manage or know who does, or who will rent out their home or condo. At least you'd have a good opportunity to find many with places to rent.
> 
> Perhaps you can also take a look at TripAdvisor; I've just noticed that they have a forum of sorts for your target city.
> 
> We make our other home near Playa del Carmen and we have some local forums there, but that is quite a ways away from your new home.
> 
> Also try inquiring on the Yolisto forum. It's centered a little more towards Merida but they have always been so very helpful with truly constructive suggestions.
> 
> * NOTE: one of this forum's moderators cautioned others against using abbreviations in place of the full words, although everyone knows what VRBO means it is still an abbreviation.


I am that moderator. I was just following the forum rules I was asked to enforce when I took on this volunteer responsibility. Standard abbreviations are OK, text speak is not. If you want to use a non-standard abbreviation, like VRBO, then it is wise to provide an explanation, as you just did in your post. The rules exist to make the forum accessible to everyone, not to annoy those fond of writing in text speak and other deformations of our native tongue!


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## chicois8

Are you speaking Playa del Carmen or about C.del Carmen on Isla del Carmen? If so I would just go there,get a hotel then look around for a longer term apartment........


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## Hound Dog

Tucson informs us that everyone knows what VRBO means but I, a resident of Mexico for the past 12 plus years did not know what that meant so I must be unique in that regard. I do know, however, that CdelC does not mean Playa del Carmen and CdelC and PdlelC are very different places. Perhaps simply spelling out the name would not be so burdensome. 

Around Lake Chapala, many expats have an annoying habit of abbreviating the sonorous, beautiful and historic Arabic based name of Guadalajara as "Guad" - an especially ugly sound that thuds on the brain. Many expats in the historic city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas like to call it "San Cris" failing to honor the great Frey Bartolome de Las Casas, famous for his support of the indigenous of the Jovel Valley and other places, for whom the town is named. Better than "Ciudad Vicioso" as it used to be called a few centuries ago.


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## Tucson

Hound Dog said:


> Tucson informs us that everyone knows what VRBO means but I, a resident of Mexico for the past 12 plus years did not know what that meant so I must be unique in that regard. I do know, however, that CdelC does not mean Playa del Carmen and CdelC and PdlelC are very different places. Perhaps simply spelling out the name would not be so burdensome.
> 
> PdlelC? Abbreviations can get confusing! I'll have to look that one up. Meanwhile, :focus:


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## Longford

:welcome: to the Mexico Forum!

I doubt there's much of an expat presence in Cuidad del Carmen. Those who are there are probably working for Pemex, which has off-shore rigs nearby. I've only been through there several times, myself. Online ads isn't where you're going to find what you're looking for. The best and maybe only source of informatlion is going to come when you're there wandering about. Can you speak and understand Spanish? The earlier suggestion to find yourself a hotel room and use it as a base until you're better acquainted is sound. Are you retiring there, or working there? I'm supposing you've already begun the immigration process to obtain a visa in the category which applies to you. Best of luck with the transition and please do keep us informed of your move and aboout your new community.


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## Hound Dog

I´m not sure but there may be quite a few expats in Ciudad de Carmen, Campeche but working for Pemex and related oil idustry enterprises, not retirees or vacationers. I am also not sure of this but do not be surprised if the rental housing market is tight and, perhaps, relatively expensive because of demand from the work force there.

I´m glad you brought this up as, this winter, on our planned auto trip around the Yucatan Peninsula from our home in the Chiapas Highlands and I´ve decided to modify our journey to include a drive from our home in San Cristóbal de Las Casas to Villahermosa via Palenque and then through Ciudad del Carmen and up to Campeche City, Mérida, across to Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo and back to San Cristóbal via Calakmul and Escárcega. Photos of the beaches at Ciudad del Carmen depict them as pleasant off-white beaches with an aquamarine Gulf and the drive up the coast between there and Champoton looks interesting. You can find some pretty inexpensive beach front properties there but don´t be surprised if the water is polluted and you´rs looking out at an oil rig which, by the way, can enhance the deep sea fishing experience. 

After I have done this trip, I´ll publish my travelogue on the Expat Forum.


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## Longford

Ciudad del Carmen is a good-sized city of probably 225,000 people. I found it a bit industrial for the coast, but seeing that it plays a supportive role for off-shore drilling, freight and related businesses ... that's understandable. I've known expats who've gone to teach English there, at the Pemex offices. There's an international airport there, also. It's a good spot from which to explore a region which, for the most part, seems overlooked by too many foreign tourists.


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## ElPaso2012

Isla Verde said:


> I am that moderator. I was just following the forum rules I was asked to enforce when I took on this volunteer responsibility. Standard abbreviations are OK, text speak is not. If you want to use a non-standard abbreviation, like VRBO, then it is wise to provide an explanation, as you just did in your post. The rules exist to make the forum accessible to everyone, not to annoy those fond of writing in text speak and other deformations of our native tongue!


Wow, I could not agree more. A lot of abbreviations makes the forum look like some kind of secret club that only the cool members know how to read. I have no idea what VRBO means, for instance, and no one is going to make me feel that I "should" know. Standard English works great in every case, though.


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## Isla Verde

ElPaso2012 said:


> Wow, I could not agree more. A lot of abbreviations makes the forum look like some kind of secret club that only the cool members know how to read. I have no idea what VRBO means, for instance, and no one is going to make me feel that I "should" know. Standard English works great in every case, though.


Couldn't agree with you more!


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## RVGRINGO

We should also realize that many, reading or posting here, are not native English speakers or American English speakers. Even that difference can cause difficulties, as can a cultural divide which, added to the language differences, makes idioms, acronyms and abbreviations quite unintelligible.
Then, there is a whole generation which does not understand inuendo, euphamisms, or other forms of speach, any more than we geriatrics can understand their rapid fire texting speech and whole paragraphs containing *you know* and *like* to the exclusion of substance.
OK, I am turning off my computer now.


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## Isla Verde

RVGRINGO said:


> We should also realize that many, reading or posting here, are not native English speakers or American English speakers. Even that difference can cause difficulties, as can a cultural divide which, added to the language differences, makes idioms, acronyms and abbreviations quite unintelligible.
> Then, there is a whole generation which does not understand inuendo, euphamisms, or other forms of speach, any more than we geriatrics can understand their rapid fire texting speech and whole paragraphs containing *you know* and *like* to the exclusion of substance.
> OK, I am turning off my computer now.


Me too - I'm off to the Anthropology Museum to look at something not displayed on a screen!


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## Longford

Well, it's going to be a huge challenge for the participants and Moderators to handle the no abbreviations matter. So many people use them everyday here on the forum, instinctively. I understand the issue of some people who may not understand what they mean. And I understand that some people are living now as they lived a couple of decades ago, and reluctant to keep up with the cultural changes. All this can be carried to the silly level, on abbrevations. In the environment in which I work we oftentimes define a term the first time and then use the abbreviated version throughout the remainder of the discussion. Example: Distrito Federal ("DF"), or north of the border ("NOB"), Guadalajara ("GDL"), San Miguel de Allende ("SMA"), etc. If people posting would do that then there should be no confusion. Except for the perpetually confused!


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