# Where oh where to live in Mexico



## cowichangang (Aug 11, 2012)

Since so many on here seem to be dead against condo's, I won't mention that a condo seemed like the natural way for us to go if moving to Mexico and wanting to live by the beach, without having the work of maintaining a house, and what other choices are there that would offer that lifestyle without breaking the bank? Like a lot Canadian west coasters, ( BC'ers), if we choose Mexico, we would prefer to live on the Pacific side of Mexico so its easier for us and family/friends to get back and forth to BC. But we just can't decide on where. Both Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan seem to offer what we want, as in their size, which usually means good medical system, lots of shopping choices, more chance of locals speaking at least some English due to the number of tourists and expats. We have been to both, and find the weather about as good as it gets from our perspective, and Yes we know about the high heat and humidity, but it doesn't bother us. Anyone one have any pro's and con's between the two area's or maybe somewhere else, and why.? Not Cabo though, too much of a party town from what we have seen, and not Acapulco, for various reasons. Gracias


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Of the two places, I prefer Puerto Vallarta for a short beach visit and eating out. However, for living, I really think I would choose Mazatlan. 
If you are renting a condo, go for it. However, I would not buy one anywhere and expect it to be maintained, or even occupied forever. Many are abandoned in several countries. Maintenance fees can escalate out of control, and you have no control at all.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

cowichangang said:


> Since so many on here seem to be dead against condo's, I won't mention that a condo seemed like the natural way for us to go if moving to Mexico and wanting to live by the beach, without having the work of maintaining a house, and what other choices are there that would offer that lifestyle without breaking the bank? Like a lot Canadian west coasters, ( BC'ers), if we choose Mexico, we would prefer to live on the Pacific side of Mexico so its easier for us and family/friends to get back and forth to BC. But we just can't decide on where. Both Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan seem to offer what we want, as in their size, which usually means good medical system, lots of shopping choices, more chance of locals speaking at least some English due to the number of tourists and expats. We have been to both, and find the weather about as good as it gets from our perspective, and Yes we know about the high heat and humidity, but it doesn't bother us. Anyone one have any pro's and con's between the two area's or maybe somewhere else, and why.? Not Cabo though, too much of a party town from what we have seen, and not Acapulco, for various reasons. Gracias


I prefer Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta. It just seems less obnoxiously commercial than Nuevo Vallarta. There are also lots of smaller places you might consider: Barra de Navidad, Melaque and La Manzanilla (north of Manzanillo), Bucerias and Sayulita (north of PV). All have local Canadian populations and relatively convenient access to medical and shopping though probably not as convenient as the bigger cities.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

cowichangang said:


> Since so many on here seem to be dead against condo's, I won't mention that a condo seemed like the natural way for us to go if moving to Mexico and wanting to live by the beach, without having the work of maintaining a house, and what other choices are there that would offer that lifestyle without breaking the bank? Like a lot Canadian west coasters, ( BC'ers), if we choose Mexico, we would prefer to live on the Pacific side of Mexico so its easier for us and family/friends to get back and forth to BC. But we just can't decide on where. Both Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan seem to offer what we want, as in their size, which usually means good medical system, lots of shopping choices, more chance of locals speaking at least some English due to the number of tourists and expats. We have been to both, and find the weather about as good as it gets from our perspective, and Yes we know about the high heat and humidity, but it doesn't bother us. Anyone one have any pro's and con's between the two area's or maybe somewhere else, and why.? Not Cabo though, too much of a party town from what we have seen, and not Acapulco, for various reasons. Gracias


You mention preferring a condo as a solution "without having the work of maintaining a house".

One thing to keep in mind is that labor is much cheaper in Mexico than north of the border. It is not very expensive to hire people to work on a house. It might be cheaper and less trouble to have a house and just hire someone when it needs work, than to pay condo fees and have to deal with or depend on the condo association for everything.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

We have friends who had a condo on the beach down south and they found out that the manager was renting the condo here and there and would keep the money and then you have people who do not pay their share and then and then,, Owning a condo is not trouble free.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

That list of_ Barra de Navidad, Melaque and La Manzanilla _ is a good one but you won't find any Condos. Manzanillo has lots of beach condos and is not as touristy as those 2 you mentioned. Could be considerably cheaper as well.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I think that it boils down to this: If you are looking for *a place to vacation*, go to a vacation resort destination and put up with the other tourists, hawkers, time-share salesmen and high prices designed especially for the ignorant. Little or no Spanish needed. However, if you are looking for *a place to live*, choose a place, with or without other expats, where normal people live all year. Some Spanish will make life much more enjoyable.
We live in our own home, on a normal street, in Chapala, an area that does have other expats, and the best climate you can imagine. When we want a beach break, we drive a few hours and stay a few days, but only in the tolerable season at the coast.


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## cowichangang (Aug 11, 2012)

sparks said:


> That list of_ Barra de Navidad, Melaque and La Manzanilla _ is a good one but you won't find any Condos. Manzanillo has lots of beach condos and is not as touristy as those 2 you mentioned. Could be considerably cheaper as well.


I know several people who winter in Melaque and I often read a Barra-Melaque forum, but probably not allowed to mention the name on here, but I think you (Sparks) are a regular poster on there, so should know which one (TZ) I am talking about. And not to offend anyone who does live there, but from what I have read on that forum, from pictures I have seen, and from what I have heard about it, it's not the kind of place for us. Has the underpants lady been around lately :laugh: 
still waiting to see a picture. Manzanillo has been mentioned on here before and might look into it.


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## kcowan (Jul 24, 2010)

If I were you, I would spend a few months renting in both Mazatlan and PV. My friend from Vancouver retired from Canada and lived full-time in Ajijic. After 5 years, they decided to try the coast and did Manz, PV and Maz, selecting Maz. Always renting.

After renting for 5 years in Maz they finally bought a condo there. Two years ago they came to PV and said they were impressed with what had happened in PV. But we stayed with them in 2008 when we were moving down, and we could understand why they picked Maz.

He has a big concern that the new bridge is making it easier for gangs to come to Maz. Flying from Vancouver to PV is the easiest. So if visiting with relatives and friends is important then PV wins hands down.

But we stayed at Playa Bonito in Maz and it was fantastic.


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

kcowan said:


> He has a big concern that the new bridge is making it easier for gangs to come to Maz. .


Where is the "new" bridge? is it where there never was a bridge, or does it replace an old bridge?, if so, why would it make it easier for gangs or do they just not like using old bridges. I think if they can build tunnels under the U.S/ Mexico border, lack of a bridge isn't whats keeping them, away, not that they are not there already, after all, they recently captured "El Chapo" living in Maz..


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## kcowan (Jul 24, 2010)

gringotim said:


> Where is the "new" bridge? is it where there never was a bridge, or does it replace an old bridge?, if so, why would it make it easier for gangs or do they just not like using old bridges. I think if they can build tunnels under the U.S/ Mexico border, lack of a bridge isn't whats keeping them, away, not that they are not there already, after all, they recently captured "El Chapo" living in Maz..






[Deleted] It reduces the time to get to Maz by 2 hours. That concerns local residents. I know a local resident. He told me about their concerns. 

(But then you seem to have an alternative agenda?)
http://geo-mexico.com/?p=10053


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

gringotim said:


> Where is the "new" bridge? is it where there never was a bridge, or does it replace an old bridge?, if so, why would it make it easier for gangs or do they just not like using old bridges. I think if they can build tunnels under the U.S/ Mexico border, lack of a bridge isn't whats keeping them, away, not that they are not there already, after all, they recently captured "El Chapo" living in Maz..


There is a new highway between Durango and Mazatlan. It cut the driving time between those two cities from something like 6 hours to about 2-1/2 hours. A highlight of the new highway is the Puente Baluarte, the highest cable-stayed bridge in the world.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

cowichangang said:


> And not to offend anyone who does live there, but from what I have read on that forum, from pictures I have seen, and from what I have heard about it, it's not the kind of place for us. Has the underpants lady been around lately ..... still waiting to see a picture. Manzanillo has been mentioned on here before and might look into it.


I wouldn't let the underpants lady keep you away .... but would be interesting to know what else turned you off to the Barra/Melaque area. I like small, less cement that heats up in the sun and an easy drive to fancier shopping if you need it.

Actually quite attractive area and more close by


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## cowichangang (Aug 11, 2012)

sparks said:


> I wouldn't let the underpants lady keep you away .... but would be interesting to know what else turned you off to the Barra/Melaque area. I like small, less cement that heats up in the sun and an easy drive to fancier shopping if you need it. Actually quite attractive area and more close by


 Underpants lady isn't what would be keeping us away, but she sounds like Bigfoot, people say they see her around , but no one would ever supply a picture
And since you did ask, that area is just too small, which in return means its lacking the amenities, shopping, and things to do to keep us busy, that we would find in larger cities etc, we don't drink or like to sit in bars, which from alot of the postings on TZ seems to be a favourite pastime of a lot of expats living there, which is fine if you are into that, just we are not. I don't post on there as I don't think I have anything in common with most of the posters on there, and to be honest, most of the posts on there would be best suited for Facebook, not really my idea of what a forum should be, like ExpatForum is, (for the most part). Although they did clean house a while back which did make it abit better. We started reading TZ a few years ago when some friends went down for the winter, and noticed there are lots of threads regarding breakins, robberies, thefts, shady people seen prowling neighbourhoods, crooked cops etc etc. And questions about how to improve security, where to buy alarms, window bars, barbed wire and so on. And if I believe what most people on THIS forum say, I should listen to what people who live in a place say over hearsay from those that have never even been there or what I read or hear in the media, and looking at pictures, especially of the beach, its just not what we are looking for. Just like some on here prefer inland over coastal, we prefer larger over smaller. I feel if theres more for the young to do as far as work opportunities etc in bigger cities, they are less likely to resort to crime like in smaller places.


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

cowichangang said:


> ......Although they did clean house a while back which did make it abit better. We started reading TZ a few years ago when some friends went down for the winter, and noticed there are lots of threads regarding breakins, robberies, thefts, shady people seen prowling neighbourhoods, crooked cops etc etc. And questions about how to improve security, where to buy alarms, window bars, barbed wire and so on. And if I believe what most people on THIS forum say, I should listen to what people who live in a place say


Not that Barra or Melaque would be our choice either, but keep in mind that only a very small % of expats will post on forums no matter where they live. But I will say that most of the postings on TZ do seem to be from a small group who use it more like Facebook or Twitter, (sorry Sparks:gossipand doesn't offer much discussion for those interested in moving there. I know at least 11 people from my area that winter there every year, and everyone of them says, it's a nice place to visit, but........ , Sorry again Sparks.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

I agree the quality of TZ is real poor except for some public service notices. It could be a lot more informational and less chatter. Then when November comes around the ****** restaurants open and they start Spamming for business. Poor moderation

But I like the area !!


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## gringotim (Jan 5, 2011)

sparks said:


> I agree the quality of TZ is real poor except for some public service notices. It could be a lot more informational and less chatter. Then when November comes around the ****** restaurants open and they start Spamming for business. Poor moderation
> But I like the area !!


There's moderation???? But out of curiosity, do you know the year round expat population of the Barra Melaque area?


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

gringotim said:


> There's moderation???? But out of curiosity, do you know the year round expat population of the Barra Melaque area?


There's moderation .... but when you let non-paying for advertising restaurants dominate a message board .... it's poor moderation

I used to know and hang out with many year round people. But they die, move away, turn out to be jerks .... or just have different interests. I don't enjoy going to a ****** bar or restaurant just to run into another ******. Mostly my Mexican neighbors anymore


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