Moving to Merida!

Chelbelskie wrote:

Hello all!

My husband and I are moving to Merida in April. We are both young and don't have children so we decided to go ahead and do the things we always wanted to do - like move somewhere beautiful and finally become bilingual! We have good working Spanish but we are excited to improve.

I am so excited but also very scared. I have done a good bit of research and read a lot of forums, and everyone seems to just adore Merida - except for the heat! Since we are coming from Arizona, I am hopeful that we will be able to handle it.

My major worries are about finding a house with a yard for my dog, finding work (I have a freelance job I can do from home but my passion is teaching English), and getting around without a car. We live pretty simply now and plan to to do the same in Merida.

Oh, my husband also plans to drive down from Arizona and along the coast, while I will fly and meet him in Merida. Does anyone know how safe it is to drive that route at this time?

Any insights are much appreciated!

You should be fine in Merida,
It's a good sized  city with housing available from what I have seen. So finding a house where you can have a dog should not be a problem.  If your husband is driving down, I would recommend just coming down through Sonora and crossing at Nogales, then cutting over to beach areas  after Puebla. I have made the trip many times. None of the border towns are places to stay for more than a day. A safe trip should be your primary objective. Don't drive at night. Get checked in somewhere well before dark. I usually went from Nogales to Hermosillo, stayed overnight there then moved down and east Once he passes Veracruz any risk should be pretty much over. From there to Merida should be a easy trip.

When I say easy I mean greatly reduced  risk. The roads may be another thing. Stick to the federal toll roads, they are generally safer and in better shape. Speed bumps are sometimes marked and sometimes not . Potholes are not. Allow time to adjust for them.

I do not recommend driving down the coast on either side of the country, that's something you can selectively explore when you are more familiar.  Now you need good safe roads.  You will need to pay for an import stamp for the car and Mexican insurance.

Buena suerte

Muchas gracias for the suggestion! I appreciate it very much! Do you know if driving with a dog will be ok - as in, will hotels have any issue with this?

Chelbelskie wrote:

Muchas gracias for the suggestion! I appreciate it very much! Do you know if driving with a dog will be ok - as in, will hotels have any issue with this?

If it were me, I would check hotels out using booking.com. That way you can screen for things like allowing pets. Others may respond who have had that experience. Like the U.S. many hotels do not allow pets, but some do.https://www.tripping.com has a pet hotel guide.

Buena suerte

Thank you!

I highly recommend Merida. I from Canada living in north Merida. Many affordable places to rent here long term. It only maybe get hot in downtown on a summer day with no wind. We are 20 min to the beach also.