moving to veracruz/mexico

Hi there, We do not lived in Veracruz, but we have been there visiting, city is beutifull, people is very nice and friendly, but veracruz Port is very expensive, I know from some people that prices has skyrocket, I have a friend that works in Coldwell Banker as Agent in Veracruz maybe you should check their web page.

We live in Merida, weather is as warm as in Veracruz, but here prices are more affordable. I recomend you to check some realstate web pages and compare prices on properties, before you move. Beaches in Veracruz are dark, i don't know why, if you like snorkeling you may look for a place with clear sandy beaches.

Just for your information I would provide some web pages about yucatan area, if you are interested feel free to keep in touch.

Before we move here, we talk with different realstate companies in the area, so far we have been working with coldwell banker guys, they are very reliable, plus we had some funny stories with non certify agents.

Greetings from merida.

www.yucatantoday.comwww.coldwellbanker.com.mx
Martha Stewart Show broadcast on 2nd of January 2009 "Martha in mexico" is very informative.

Dear Palmtree22,
    I am a new member of the forum also. I was born in Tampa, and years later went back for college. I noticed that we are a year apart in age, I was born in 49. I too am retired with a pension and a sudden need to have a great adventure.
   I have always loved Mexico and the Mexican people. I have lived for many years in California, Arizona, and now I am in Colorado, and I really love it here, but I am ready to GO.
    My tentative plan is to take a vacation to the Guadalajara area, make arrangements to rent longterm somewhere, and then just do it. Sometimes all processes leading to such a move seem very daunting, but then I read in the forum that people do it all the time.
     I was thinking that I would have to leave everything behind and start over, because it was just to compicated and expensive to ship or drive household goods, especially way down in Merida.
But I guess it can be done.
   Anyway, I am very excited and eager to start a new life.

Dear Palmtree22,
    I will be going down in the fall to San Miguel De Allende by way of Guadalajara and Lake Chapala. I really hope you keep blogging as I am pretty much in the same boat as to lack of information first hand. I know there are a lot of people on this forum to get some ideas. I was in Merida once about 25 years ago. It was very quiet with a slow pace and beautiful beaches.
Things are different now, but I am sure the beautiful beaches and friendly locals are still there. I do remember going to beach clubs in the late afternoon when the fishing boats came in and you could get fresh fish, have it cooked for you, and beer cost 25 cents a bottle.
   But that was then. I bought books on the area I am interested in moving to that were written by expats, but then I noticed that the publication date was 1999, and well, that is 10 years old. That is why I have joined this forum. There are so many things I have questions about.

Hi all,

I am a retiree living in Mexico and have visited all the areas mentioned in this thread.

Veracruz and Merida are both beautiful cities with friendly people.  I will say though that any place in the South of Mexico can get hot and muggy and it would be best to take a look-see trip at the hottest time of the year.

I was in Veracruz and Merida in December and the weather was good, highs in the 90's.  Everyone was laid back and friendly and it was easy to mingle with the folks on the main squares and markets.  a very pleasant experience all around.

I suggest checking this blog...
http://www.vivaveracruz.com/forum
also....
http://mexicomystic.wordpress.com
---------------------
join my chat group at...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TlaxcalaTourism/
............................
ask questions....get answers...... enjoy mexico

Saw your article about planning on moving to Veracruz. My first thought was why there? With your love of SCUBA, I am a PADI Dive Master/Master Diver, why the Gulf when a few more miles will get you to the Caribbean and spectacular diving. My wife and I are moving to Mexico soon but we spend a lot of time in the Yucatan and Quintana Roo driving the area in a rental from the Cancun Airport. Check out Ixcalak/Mahahual/Banco Chinchorro for Meso American Reef diving/snorkeling not to mention some easily accessible ruins. For driving, the best advice is, be off the roads by 4:00Pm, don't drive at night and not for personal safety but road hazards in the form of humans, animals and Topes

I live in Xalapa which is around 80 km from Veracruz and I can't imagine that anyone would think that Veracruz is an expensive place. Of course, if you engage a high-end real estate agent, the prices will be higher. There are two items that might discourage you from the area. One is that the waters of the Gulf near the state of Veracruz are cloudy due to the number of rivers flowing in the gulf. Second, you have to visit Veracruz, the port, in July when the temperature is in the high 90's and so is the humidity. Merida, in the summer, is the same, but nearer to the Caribbean and the clearer waters. For scuba diving, I recommend Cozumel.

ladybug18:  If you are in need of info regarding SMA I maybe of help as I live here, but have limited experience: Only 5 months so far.

There is a lot of scuba diving and snorkeling in SMA?

rovtype wrote:

Saw your article about planning on moving to Veracruz. My first thought was why there? With your love of SCUBA, I am a PADI Dive Master/Master Diver, why the Gulf when a few more miles will get you to the Caribbean and spectacular diving. My wife and I are moving to Mexico soon but we spend a lot of time in the Yucatan and Quintana Roo driving the area in a rental from the Cancun Airport. Check out Ixcalak/Mahahual/Banco Chinchorro for Meso American Reef diving/snorkeling not to mention some easily accessible ruins. For driving, the best advice is, be off the roads by 4:00Pm, don't drive at night and not for personal safety but road hazards in the form of humans, animals and Topes

Hi to all, just to let you know you are replying to items that are over 7 years old.

I would suggest to the few ressources of this site to remove any discussions that are inactive for more than 1 year  (6 months would even be better).

Adios, GyC.

Mexicogc,

Yeah I noticed that also, but then there are those who express and interest in that area, so I thought it might be useful to new people exploring the site, and thinking about moving there. I will bring you idea up with the admin team.

You are right. I was replying to very old stuff. Perhaps the creators of the site might consider putting the date in a darker color so as it is more noticeable.

joaquinx wrote:

There is a lot of scuba diving and snorkeling in SMA?

If you are referring to my post, obviously there is no scuba diving or snorkeling in SMA.

As a newbie I actually appreciate older posts becoming active again.  A lot of the info, other than maybe cost of living, is still relevant.  This is one I saved just a couple days ago because of the new activity and advice.

mexicogc wrote:

I would suggest to the few ressources of this site to remove any discussions that are inactive for more than 1 year  (6 months would even be better).

Hi everyone,

hope you are well ; removing inactive threads is pretty uncommon on forums, for several reasons :

- it cannot be automated as many threads are still containing valuable information which can surely help readers

- it would be a massively loss in terms of search engine optimization (we call it organic traffic) and audience : old threads are well indexed on Google and many visitors are landing on the website through inactive discussion.

You'll notice that when a discussion has been inactive for > 12 months, we add a small message at the bottom of the thread, which suggests to start a new topic e.g. on this thread : https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=180978 - maybe we should just review this message or make it more visible ?

Please let me know what you think

Thanks

julien

Yopu might just boldface the post date the same way you do the poasters handle.

By the way, the timestamp on this post is one hour later than the actual time here.

Think serendipity. You never know where you can learn something new. Remember, you don't have to read all the posts.

Veracruz has had many problems in the last few years with the drugs / narcos ,the last govenor and his friends was/is  on the run......in jail ,not sure.
Might not be the easiest place to settle : I did it in 99 for 6 years,and in reality no one speaks english
nor are they oriented to receive outsiders.
This is one of the largest ports in Mexico ,so ,the water is polluted from the spills ,and dumping.  The beaches really not very interesting.
AS far as driving car into the northern states of Mexico ,alone and not being able to communicate ,can be a risk!
You probably cannot get much info regarding Veracruz because no one wants to talk about all that has been happening in that state,nor do they advertise it!
There are other places in Mexico......something to think about!

Rosalyn Dumont wrote:

You probably cannot get much info regarding Veracruz because no one wants to talk about all that has been happening in that state,nor do they advertise it!

Whoa! At least two posters on this thread live in the state of Veracruz.

joaquinx wrote:

Rosalyn Dumont wrote:

You probably cannot get much info regarding Veracruz because no one wants to talk about all that has been happening in that state,nor do they advertise it!

Whoa! At least two posters on this thread live in the state of Veracruz.

There's Google and Wikipedia and the Mexican Tourism agency which does have a website.  Most of what I learned about Veracruz to start came from Googling.

There is even a video on Netflix about the problems in that area. It's in Spanish, but still the information is out there.

Have you thought if the yucatan coast, it is very safe.  It is near Merida, the second safest large city in the world.

Rosalyn Dumont wrote:

Veracruz has had many problems in the last few years with the drugs / narcos ,the last govenor and his friends was/is  on the run......in jail ,not sure.
Might not be the easiest place to settle : I did it in 99 for 6 years,and in reality no one speaks english
nor are they oriented to receive outsiders.
This is one of the largest ports in Mexico ,so ,the water is polluted from the spills ,and dumping.  The beaches really not very interesting.
AS far as driving car into the northern states of Mexico ,alone and not being able to communicate ,can be a risk!
You probably cannot get much info regarding Veracruz because no one wants to talk about all that has been happening in that state,nor do they advertise it!
There are other places in Mexico......something to think about!

For me, none of those problems have made an impact on my peaceful and comfortable living here.
People joke about the last governor's foibles.  The joke is that this one got caught before he could get out of the country.