moved to Cancun one month ago.

What has changed?

I visited with a native Mexican and we were both dismayed. It was not the charming city he remembered from several years ago, or the city I thought was charming, 1 1/2 years ago. It was dirty, lots of graffiti and some parts were in obvious decline. We were there 8 days, so we really looked around. A local we met said yes it has been rough because it is on the fringe of some gang dominated areas. I hope it recovers, but for now it is not on my what if list any longer.

I was through el centro a block from the cathedral a couple of weeks ago on the way to Star Medica and the next day to my friend's store in a quiet residential area.  I can't say I noticed anything different from a couple of years ago.  8 days would definitely make a difference in what one saw.  Sorry to hear your report.

I cant compare it with yesteryear but as far as Im concerned this is it for me,as Gudgrief has said in the past each to his own but i love this place it has the right mix of everything.There are many quaint places that are nice to visit but not to live in full time.Im staying put.

That is sort of the plan, Travelight - Spend the 6th months to a year as a tourist, and when I find a place that meets my needs, do the visa thing. Killing two birds with one stone (the stone of time), so to speak.

It will be interesting to see how I find population of Mexican cities to feel compared to other cities I've lived in. I mean I grew up in L.A. (over3 million), which was way too big for me, followed by Osaka (just under 3 million) which felt much bigger and more hectic.  After that I lived in Portland, OR (around 500,000 at the time), then Toyama Japan (about 400,000), but Toyama felt like a small country town. Now I am in Winston-Salem (about 250,000), and yet it doesn't feel much different from Portland in terms of how big it feels.  I understand your point about a place having some depth (or would that be breadth?), SB. Gotta find the place that works for you.  I mean people rave about Portland, but it got on my nerves - maybe all those people raving about it was the reason LOL. Liked Seattle much better. Bellingham, which was much much smaller, I liked even more than that. Funny how cities and towns can affect people differently.

mexican mail sometimes get burned in a pile out behind the post office or somesuch or you may see it in a couple of years, never use mexican mail.

I'm familiar with Seattle, Bellingham and Portland. If you like Seattle you may like Guadalajara. Same sort of one way streets , modern and big like Seattle. No ocean though.  Are Oceans a priority ?  It looks like fairly big cities are.

No, I am not much on oceans to be honest. I want to keep humidity out of the mix as much as possible. I find summers here, where it does get pretty humid, to be time wasted as it is just too wet to function.

Seattle has a nice vibe to it, though it is a fairly big (and very very expensive) place. Bellingham was comfortable - maybe a tad too small and local-ish - also sort of far from the rest of the world.

this isnt some mysterious situation, it is common info.  use google to search and look at how horrendously bad the mexican postal system is.  The USPO had a service to scan and e-mail mail, noy sure if they still do or not.  There are private firms that will scan and e-mail it.  Couriers are far the more reliable way to go.  Trying to compare the USPO to Mexican mail system is ridiculous.

http://www.postalconsumers.org/postal_f … omex.shtml

South of Mexico City and most of the beaches is where you'll find the most humidity.
Thanks to climate change, even desert Saltillo gets humid.  But Monterrey 30 mi and 3-4,000 feet lower get to be a steam bath.

Wunderground.com may be helpful locating places with lower humidity.  It has extensive history on the larger cities.  Not so much on smaller places.

I I guess that means that no, you have not had direct experience yourself.

And as for U.S. postal issues being ridiculous . http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/05/07/ … ered-mail/   ( one of several) .

This is what Google says http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/05/07/ … ered-mail/

I live here, and have had a lot of experience sending things in Mexico, and from Mexico to the U.S., and vis versa. The border slows things down but if you have a valid address things get there. Somethings in one or two days. I can only tell you what I have observed myself over 4 years. I could find nothing supporting the rumor you heard.

If humidity bothers you stay clear of the coasts especially on the gulf side,Its all about altitude.Although even places at altitude in the state of Veracruz are affected by humidity,mold and damp etc.The Mexican postal service,what can you say.I recieved a letter from India in three weeks,letters from the states take usually two months.I have been waiting on a letter from England for almost three months now.Just let any institutions you have dealings with that you may not recieved their Mail for up to three months if at all

Well beach areas are hot and humid, so you might want to look in more central areas. Start, perhaps by visiting San Miguel and branch out. I suspect You will find it a bit too pricey, but it might be a good starting point. If you liked beach areas I would suggest Chetumal , but it is more isolated, even though it might be much cooler, and more economical than many other beach areas.

I will be visiting Mexico City (to visit a friend), Guanajuato, SMA, Dolores Hidalgo, and Zacatecas . . . and maybe some other spots if I can fit them in for my first outing  next month. Should be a good start.

I already gave you a link as to how bad mail service is and here is another. 
http://www.economist.com/node/5664823

there is only one automated mail sorting machine in all of Mexico

I ran business for 30 years in the states,i dealt with the usps daily in both domestic and International services,it is a fantastic mail service.If a customer told me he had not recieved or recieved late an invoice,he was lying100% of the time.Mexico is in parts a nice country with nice people but in a lot of areas it is a total disaster.The mail service is one of those areas.Some folks try to blame other countrys for Mexicos short comings ,mostly foriegners.While Mexicans themselves will be the first to tell you that the problem with México,is that Its run by Mexicans.

When in Dolores Hidalgo make sure you try the shrimp ice cream,also there is a place that bbq's racks of ribs outside by the street,you cant miss it.its a nice place to spend a day

Shrimp ice cream is exactly the one I wanted to try, SB. It sounded weird when I first heard about it, but somehow it also sounded as if it might be good. (Former first lady Dolly Madison's favorite ice cream flavor was oyster, I remembered, though that sounds much less enticing than shrimp haha).  The rib place I did not know about, but it sounds great.

If you are flexible take short trips to  Merida and Campeche to see if you would prefer either. Merida is four hours by bus (ADO) and Campeche two hours beyond.

From your conversation I suspect you will prefer Campeche. Merida is large (around 800,000) and Campeche approximately 300,000.

If you decide to visit Campeche email me.
<s.one67@yahoo.com>

Regards

I'd be curious to know more about Morelia and why it's gone down.  I thought it was a lovely city - was there last summer.

From what the locals were saying it seems to have some gang activity near by. If you stay on the main street it isn't so noticeable. On the streets near hotels the driving can be quite aggressive now, making it a little scary to cross the street. The people are not as warm and friendly as they were and graffiti can be see on many streets beyond the main street, If you remain on the main street where the tourists come you might not notice it so much., but if you walk beyond it should be obvious.

Previously the city seemed warm ,quaint and pleasant.  Now it feels unstable and less secure. some buildings not far from the main square are abandoned looking. Lets just say , we were   there 8 days and walked around a lot. My companion is a native and he was stunned. He asked taxi drivers , people at the hotels and some business people what happened. They basically said it changed, that they were too close to current gang activities, and it has changed the atmosphere.

As you may know acapulco was considered a wonderful town then it drew gang attention and became a place you don't visit, now it is moving steadily back to a place worth seeing.

Wow - so sorry to hear that about such a lovely town - but I had heard some things, too and this confirms it.

I just came from merida. the locals say it is one of the safest places to live in mexico.
I stayed at hostal hermita. check their website. it is a brand new hostal. the private room was new. they just built it few months ago. properties are cheap. some houses around merida city look abandoned. they just do not want to put money in them. they wait for foreigners to buy them "as is". buy one and make it a hostal. people all over the world go there to check the ruins. it was low season but I met lots of Europeans, south americans and few americans. they are buiding new houses all over. they are designed by arquitects.

ed, you are aware that Jimk and I are talking about Morelia not Merida right ?

It's also worth noting that with old buildings in more historic towns, the law is such that you can not rebuild unless the building has fallen apart. So it's not about letting the building decline so you can attract sales to tourists. You can't make changes or rebuild in some buildings unless the old building is in pretty bad shape.

In Morelia it's more of a loss of business.

Merida is a  large city that is a capital, and it's fairly safe, that's true. Lots of housing and hotels there.

Hi. I live in San Luis Potosi, MX.  I have a few questions about Playa Del Carmen. My questions are 1. What is the typical rent of a one  bedroom apartment in an okay neighborhood. I pay $4,800 pesos now. 2. Is there a Home Depo, Walmart, Cineapolis in town or does one have to go to Cancun? 3. Does the town have a library that is easy to get to?  4. is it easy or difficult to ride a mountain bike in the town? 5.  Is there a sail boat club one can join and then rent a boat as the mood strikes or do you have to own your own? 6. are there private gyms or hotel gyms that have locker rooms. What I mean is that one of the things I miss most about the states is gyms with locker rooms. Here in SLP one has to change in the bathroom into workout clothes and the walk across the gym to where lockers are out in the middle of the hall.

I want to say thanks to anyone who answers in advance. Debating moving to PDC or Santiago, Chili. I speak intermediate level Spanish. Thanks.Craig

The reasons

I can fill you in on the Gym situation all be it not in Playa del Carmen but I have been to or visited a lot of gym's in different cities.Sport City is a national chain which is up to American standards,it will cost you $1200 a month and locker rental is extra.Your only chance in finding what your looking for is with the larger chain brands.

I'm late to this party, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents...
We have been living in Cancun for 2 years now. My hubby is here year round and I get down at least once a month (yay for cheap fares).

Santander has been great for our bank. We have timed our deposits well when the exchange rate is in our favor. It was much easier getting our cell phone as well. Without a Mexican bank account, Telcel would have required a hefty deposit. So we have great cell coverage and now we can call and text to the US and Canada for free! You can always get a cheap burner phone without the visa, but you don't get the good deals at all. 

If you are going to live here full time, it is worth it to get your residency visa. Yes it is a pain in the ass to do it. They require financials, and lots of other stuff to prove that we aren't going to be on welfare here, and it is not a fast process, but in our opinion it is WELL worth it. We get discounts when we eat at restaraunts, discounts and many stores and it was much easier getting our satallite, telephone and internet. We know quite a few expats that just use their Mexican friends to sign up for all of that. They also have their vehicles in their Mexican friend's name... I love my Mexican friends but don't want to burden them with any of that. So to have the car in our name and to get a license the residency visa is a must.

If you don't want/need a car, have no interest in owning the place in which you live, and don't want a Mexican cell phone, then just do the 180 day visa that you receive when visiting as a tourista. You must leave Mexico for a period of time but can come right back (not sure how many days are required). Like everyone else has said, in Cancun there is always at least one person that speaks English. That being said, we have found that even though we are FAR from fluent (basically beginners) in Spanish, it is far better to at least try to speak in Spanish than just to expect that someone can speak English. Just like in the States, where we believe that if you live in the States you should be able to speak English, we find the same attitude that if you want to live in Mexico you should be able to speak Spanish. Completely fair, in my opinion.

As far as how much you receive from Social Security, if you are applying for residency, they simply want to verify what you recieve. If you are not applying then it doesn't matter at all.

There are areas of El Centro that are absolutely beautiful, wonderful neighborhoods that are quiet and there is great access to all amenities. It sounds like Bassman11 is maybe living over by palapa park? That area of downtown is very busy and noisy, but there are many, many other parts of downtown that are not so. Maybe you should rent a bike and start exploring, so that you can find more areas that are less populated? Just a suggestion.

I wish you all the best in your adventure!

It is commonly thought that you must leave México before the 180 days on a tourist Visa.This is not true at least on the mx Guat border.just ask the inm agent on the mx side for another 180 pay your 300 or so pesos in the same place and your good to go.No need to enter Guat at all

Yes,stay in Tapachula if you like.There are two border crossings.Ciudad Hidalgo is the big one and is fairly hectic,Talismán is the other it is much more relaxed.both can be reached by taxi from tapachula

I strongly advise the talismán border post.I know beyond a shadow of a doubt They will take care of you There.ps dont ever offer an inm agent a tip.Just tell them the truth,that you just want another 180 days.

I was specifically talking about the Mx and Guat borderI thought I made that clear in my post.Im not married to a Mexican and when i go on Visa runs i go alone.I ask for another 180 days and They give it to me.That is not just some sort of personal favor, that applys to everyone.I feel as though Im forced to repeat what i have posted earlier for clarity sake."at the talismán inm office all people on a tourist Visa can get another 180 dAys by asking for it.There is no need to leave México.

No you don't have to repeat yourself, I was just making sure that others reading the post wouldn't get the wrong idea about borders. What I said, just like what you said applies to your experience and my experience.

I got the impression from other posts that your girlfriend was your wife, my mistake. I imagine your Spanish is fluent which helps you also. I can speak Spanish but I am not native fluent.

For sure it helps to be fluente in Spanish,Its for that reason I found out There is no need to leave México to get another 180 days.Now,Thats not saying you have to have an advanced level of Spanish to get the 180 without leaving at the talismán border.A smile and a few words will be enough to get you another 180 without entering Guat at the talisman inm office

I had something similar with BoA. Sent replacement card via FedEx. Mexpost has become slow. Three years ago it took 2 weeks from Vegas to Campeche. Now it is 6 weeks.