We have driven in Cancun for over 25 years; first as touristas for 2-3 weeks a year and now as expats living there, so I cannot speak to driving experiences anywhere but the peninsula and south. In the hotel zone, there are many, many traffic lights, and pedestrian crosswalks. It can be a real nightmare to drive the "Zone" during certain times of the day and on certain days. For the most part, drivers obey the traffic lights. It is mostly the native (Mexican) drivers that yield to pedestrians using the crosswalks. The tourists fly by even if someone has stepped into the crosswalk! And buses pulling in and out of bus stops have the right of way, as they do in the States. I don't think I have ever seen a tourista yield to a bus yet. And we saw a terrible accident where a tourist driving an SUV ran right into the middle of a bus that was pulling out. It was tragic and we saw the tourists being taken into police custody.
Cancun has grown so massive that traffic can be a nightmare simply because of volume. The main hotel road (Kulkekan) is always busy and the traffic lights are completely "uncoordinated" (if you are an American you'll probably understand this.) And if you are taking Kulkekan downtown anytime after 3:00 pm be ready to sit, sit, sit and wait and creep along. Just WAY to many cars for the road. From Pok ta Pok to downtown can take over an hour after 3:00, while it takes just a few minutes during normal traffic times. As far as driving in el centro, it is just a matter of YOU being a good and courteous driver and not expecting the same from anyone else. It isn't so much that they are bad drivers, they just watch out for themselves and not so much for others. So if you are a good defensive driver, and know the correct horn signals, you should be fine. If you get pulled over by the police, it will "cost" you at least $200.00 pesos to avoid having your license and/or license plate taken to the police station, if you catch my drift.
So, in the city, just drive with AWARENESS and you should be fine.
Now, if you are going to drive south towards Playa, you need to be really careful of non Mexican drivers (yes, Americans and Europeans). It seems like they think that since they are in Mexico, driving is a free-for-all and you can make up your own speed limit... just nuts!
So, in the Yucatan peninsula if you just drive defensively, like you have to in the states, you should be fine. The 3 accidents we have seen in the past 2 years were all tourist related.
Monday, April 4, 2016
Cancun ExPat.Com blog post by Terri Lane
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!
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!
Friday, February 12, 2016
Closing In On A Dream
In April of 2013, on one of our usual trips to Cancun, my husband decided to have a look at real estate in the area to get an idea of what was out there and the kind of prices we would be looking at when we decided to buy a place for our retirement.
He started online, simply googled "Cancun real estate". A ton of stuff popped up and he was pretty excited. He was positively overjoyed when he saw listings for some condos that were built about 10 years ago right across the street from our time share. All of the listings were in English and he noticed that one particular company had several of the listings so that is who he called.
The next thing I know, Hubby is telling me we are scheduled to look at 3 condos across the street! I was a bit surprised, but then again, not surprised that out of nowhere we were starting to look at real estate to purchase. DonLee is a former real estate agent himself and has a passion for it. He is easily bored. We were in Cancun for over a month in 2013. It really was the perfect storm. So the next day we walked across the street and met with a nice young man who spoke decent English and he showed us the units. We learned that his father owned the real estate company he worked for and that they had been selling in Cancun for many, many years. We learned that there is not an equivalent to the U.S.'s National Association of REALTORS so I immediately became more cautious about dealing with real estate agents in Mexico. Having said that, I liked the young man who showed us the units, and felt even more comfortable when I met his father, the owner of the real estate company.
So, we have always been familiar with Mexican policies regarding foreigners buying real estate. We knew that if the property was within a certain number of miles of coastline that outright ownership was not possible, it had to be done through a trust. We knew that real estate transactions are required to be closed by an attorney. We knew that getting financing in Mexico as Americans was next to impossible, and getting a loan in the states for Mexican real estate is impossible.
He started online, simply googled "Cancun real estate". A ton of stuff popped up and he was pretty excited. He was positively overjoyed when he saw listings for some condos that were built about 10 years ago right across the street from our time share. All of the listings were in English and he noticed that one particular company had several of the listings so that is who he called.
The next thing I know, Hubby is telling me we are scheduled to look at 3 condos across the street! I was a bit surprised, but then again, not surprised that out of nowhere we were starting to look at real estate to purchase. DonLee is a former real estate agent himself and has a passion for it. He is easily bored. We were in Cancun for over a month in 2013. It really was the perfect storm. So the next day we walked across the street and met with a nice young man who spoke decent English and he showed us the units. We learned that his father owned the real estate company he worked for and that they had been selling in Cancun for many, many years. We learned that there is not an equivalent to the U.S.'s National Association of REALTORS so I immediately became more cautious about dealing with real estate agents in Mexico. Having said that, I liked the young man who showed us the units, and felt even more comfortable when I met his father, the owner of the real estate company.
So, we have always been familiar with Mexican policies regarding foreigners buying real estate. We knew that if the property was within a certain number of miles of coastline that outright ownership was not possible, it had to be done through a trust. We knew that real estate transactions are required to be closed by an attorney. We knew that getting financing in Mexico as Americans was next to impossible, and getting a loan in the states for Mexican real estate is impossible.
Is This Really a Blog? No se!
So going on a year ago, I started my little blog about moving to Cancun from Denver. I made one posting and then life got in the way... So, here I am, disappointed in myself for my lack of progress, but hopeful that as this year progresses I will have more to say and share on the topic of becoming an expat.
Since my last posting, my husband received his "Temporary Visa" which is a visa that lasts for 1 year and must be renewed each year. It is the first step in getting permanent residency, and it was the second time hubby had to go through the process after his first card was stolen when his man purse was stolen while he was in Playa del Carmen. It is a long story, but sufficed to say, we are not huge fans of Playa. It is a great shopping hub, but for us, that is about it. It is also where we catch the Cozumel ferry. It is definitely a tourist trap, and because he was behaving like a tourista while he was down there, he was more susceptible to thievery.
So, he now has his "green card" and has been deep in thought as to what he might enjoy as far as employment. He has received a few offers, and even worked for a time share company down in Playa, but was very discouraged by the dishonesty of the company for which he worked and quit after just a few weeks. The money was great, but not worth the feeling of being dishonest with people. So his search continues.
Since my last posting, my husband received his "Temporary Visa" which is a visa that lasts for 1 year and must be renewed each year. It is the first step in getting permanent residency, and it was the second time hubby had to go through the process after his first card was stolen when his man purse was stolen while he was in Playa del Carmen. It is a long story, but sufficed to say, we are not huge fans of Playa. It is a great shopping hub, but for us, that is about it. It is also where we catch the Cozumel ferry. It is definitely a tourist trap, and because he was behaving like a tourista while he was down there, he was more susceptible to thievery.
So, he now has his "green card" and has been deep in thought as to what he might enjoy as far as employment. He has received a few offers, and even worked for a time share company down in Playa, but was very discouraged by the dishonesty of the company for which he worked and quit after just a few weeks. The money was great, but not worth the feeling of being dishonest with people. So his search continues.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Here Goes!
Hola! My name is Terri and I wanted to start this blog for various reasons. I want to have a diary of our adventures in moving to Cancun, Mexico, and I wanted to be able to share it with others who have or may in the future, move to our beloved second home.
My hubby DonLee, is now down there full time (lucky guy!) and when I am able to retire in a few years, I will join him. For now, I get down there about once a month and every few months am able to stay for a few weeks at a time. It may not seem ideal, but so far it is working out ok for us!
In 1987 DonLee lived in Cancun for a short time while selling time shares. He fell in love with Cancun and determined that he would return someday, on a permanent basis. We met in 1989 and married in 1992 and my first time in Cancun was on our honeymoon, at the very time share place where DonLee had worked and it took just a couple of days for me to fall for Cancun as hard as he did!
For the next 20 years, we traveled there every year, eventually including our two young sons in our adventures. Our boys loved Cancun so much that they wanted to move down there right away, but we are not wealthy people and couldn't leave our work in the states with no prospects in Mexico. So we just went down as often as possible, spending up to a month at a time at our timeshare.
In April of 2013, while we were down in Cancun, DonLee got a wild hair and started looking at places for sale on the block that our time share is located. Within a few days, we were looking at places and had fallen in love with a couple of condos located right across the street from our time share! The next thing we knew we were submitting offers and ended up closing on our little piece of paradise in July of 2013.
To say that this was spur of the moment might be true only in the sense that we had not planned on looking to buy a place for a few years since I cannot retire yet. So while it was quite a surprise to our friends and family that we had found and purchased our retirement home, it was only surprising to DonLee and me that we had found such a perfect place to live in such a short amount of time.
So, after we closed on our condo, I headed back to Colorado and DonLee started the remodel that we needed to get done before we moved in. He did a wonderful job, and has created a beautiful home for us that we still kind of pinch ourselves about.
So that is the very general introduction to my blog. I am still working out how I want this blog to look and feel and how stuff I put in here should be organized, so I thank you for your patience and I hope that in the months to come my blog can be a resource for folks whether they are just heading to Cancun for a vacation or if they are considering "The Big Move".
Hablo muy poco español, y estoy tratando de aprender lo más rápido que puedo! Es muy difícil para este viejo cerebro. ;-)
My hubby DonLee, is now down there full time (lucky guy!) and when I am able to retire in a few years, I will join him. For now, I get down there about once a month and every few months am able to stay for a few weeks at a time. It may not seem ideal, but so far it is working out ok for us!
In 1987 DonLee lived in Cancun for a short time while selling time shares. He fell in love with Cancun and determined that he would return someday, on a permanent basis. We met in 1989 and married in 1992 and my first time in Cancun was on our honeymoon, at the very time share place where DonLee had worked and it took just a couple of days for me to fall for Cancun as hard as he did!
For the next 20 years, we traveled there every year, eventually including our two young sons in our adventures. Our boys loved Cancun so much that they wanted to move down there right away, but we are not wealthy people and couldn't leave our work in the states with no prospects in Mexico. So we just went down as often as possible, spending up to a month at a time at our timeshare.
In April of 2013, while we were down in Cancun, DonLee got a wild hair and started looking at places for sale on the block that our time share is located. Within a few days, we were looking at places and had fallen in love with a couple of condos located right across the street from our time share! The next thing we knew we were submitting offers and ended up closing on our little piece of paradise in July of 2013.
To say that this was spur of the moment might be true only in the sense that we had not planned on looking to buy a place for a few years since I cannot retire yet. So while it was quite a surprise to our friends and family that we had found and purchased our retirement home, it was only surprising to DonLee and me that we had found such a perfect place to live in such a short amount of time.
So, after we closed on our condo, I headed back to Colorado and DonLee started the remodel that we needed to get done before we moved in. He did a wonderful job, and has created a beautiful home for us that we still kind of pinch ourselves about.
So that is the very general introduction to my blog. I am still working out how I want this blog to look and feel and how stuff I put in here should be organized, so I thank you for your patience and I hope that in the months to come my blog can be a resource for folks whether they are just heading to Cancun for a vacation or if they are considering "The Big Move".
Hablo muy poco español, y estoy tratando de aprender lo más rápido que puedo! Es muy difícil para este viejo cerebro. ;-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)