Leaving Merida to live in Playa or Cancun ?

[kathy_caribe]

Originally Posted by mariayucatan

Stuff happens everywhere, its about how we cope with it really and for how long we put up with it too lol

I have had my 4 years of Merida and that will do nicely thank you, Gods waiting room is far too hot and humid

I miss the beaches of the Riviera and the selection of foreigners.

You know you are on a loser when the private school administrator tells you that there are many foreigners in the school, I ask what country are they from and they tell me the DF, I fell over laughing, what chance had we got.

I had one guy ask me where about England was in the world and he was educated.

I need a change, I would like a change, no country, town or city is ideal.

I would go to Akumal or Tulum tomorrow, but I have kids who have needs and are of the age where they want malls and cinemas and friends etc etc

I like Playa in general more than Cancun but I feel Cancun has more going on and I have heard better things about the hospitals there.

Even though I have good health insurance I was not overly impressed with Hospiten in Playa but I wonder if that had more to do with their financial greediness.

All in all I have a big decision to make between the two places and I have a son who doesnt mind if we stay or go BUT I have a 13 year old daughter who is friends with most of Merida and so I have a dilemma on my hands

I think all of you seem great and helpful and I thank you all x

I think Hospiten and the hyperbaric chamber (the clinic we personally go to) are "good enough" but for anything serious we'd be headed to Star Media (Merida) anyway, so there you go. TJ even went to Merida for his chemo (right TJ?).

you have less than a month to decide (right? for school reasons?) - I think for community rather than stuff going on, Playa would fit you better. It sounds from most of your posts that your discontent with Merida is the lack of community. Playa is much smaller than Cancun and there is good and bad with that, but you will DEFINITELY have more community in Playa. The other thing that concerns me about Cancun with older teens is that there is more trouble in Cancun. There are more "important" people to piss off (even unintentionally) and as the kids get older pissing someone off gets more and more serious. I'd rather keep my kids away from that kind of enviroment. There are definitely people to avoid in Playa, but having not lived in Cancun, I can only say it "feels" like it is safer for our expat kids. can you try each for a couple of weeks?

Course, Cancun does have that amazing gym. Ask Kelly about it. Yummy!

[mariayucatan]

My 13 year daughter has told her friends that her mum is thinking of taking her to Cancun to live and they have been horrified.
She has had everybody facebooking her with stories of how dangerous Cancun is.
Here in Merida the locals believe that Cancun is almost as dangerous as the North of Mexico, how true is this ? what exactly is going on over there ?
I do read Sipse news but according to locals here Cancun is on a par with the border towns and is about to get worse ???!!!!
What to believe.........

[Gringation]

Definitely not that dangerous. More dangerous than Merida from what I hear, but so long as you don't get mixed up with the wrong people, it's a safe city.

[TraceyUk]

I would not live here with my family if it was dangerous.

[kathy_caribe]

Definitely more dangerous than Merida but nothing like Monterrey. No narcomantas, no false retenes, no narcobloques but yeah, nothing like Merida.

Sipse won't have as much as Blog del Narco - recent article there about teens in Cancun.

Here is a playa message board if you want to see what the locals have to say Locals Talk - Playa del Carmen & Riviera Maya Forum by In The Roo

I personally would not be moving to Cancun with young teens as an expat. If I had a Mexican family based in Cancun that would be different, also if I were moving to Cancun with young children that would be different and I wouldn't be as concerned.

[V]

Cancun is basically a benign environment, regardless of news reports, which sensationalize everything.

One of my neighbors was arrested on a charge of importation of 55kg of cocaine to the U.S.; another was assassinated, 32 bullet wounds, ostensibly for failing to repay one million USD in personal loans from private individuals: does this affect me? You gotta be kidding!

Keep your nose clean, here, and you live as comfortably as Mother Teresa.
__________________

[Karl]

V.
really intellingent comment. Cancer doesn"t spread either. But you know it all.

4 years college in mexico, 20 plus years in cancun. got out this year.

[mariayucatan]

Karl
Thats quite an ambiguous comment ?
Could you make your reasons a little bit clearer because I dont know what you are referring to.
Thanks

[V]

Keep your nose clean, here, and you live as comfortably as Mother Teresa.

Karl, perhaps you objected to my reference to Mother Teresa, but living here is much like living anywhere in the U.S.: you associate with the wrong crowd, and you can have trouble of all kinds. Don't, and you can live as peacefully as anyone, anywhere.

[Cancunscorpio]

I've been anywhere in Cancun at any given time, at 3 am to 11 pm, at 11 am to 7 pm, just name it, been there alone or with a friend of mine , and never felt any kind of a danger or a threat.
Cancun is very safe, unless you are deeply involved with some kind of a criminal activity, be it drug trade, gun smuggling or anything else.
same applies to basically any country in the world, but at least in Cancun you don't have to figure out if the person standing next to you in the mall/elevator/store/parking lot has a gun, as you have to in Toronto these days...

[Cancunscorpio]

Karl, what was the main reason for you to leave Cancun, if I may ask??

[T.J.]

Kathy - Yes, I had chemo & radiation in Merida and would make the same decision again as opposed to going to the states or doing it here in Cancun. Thank God I don't have to make it though. Life Rocks - GOD IS GREAT.

Gonzo - I too wonder why Scorpio moved away, yet continues to bash Cancun.

V - We are on the same page. Don't mess with the drug biz, prostitution biz, make/sell bootleg DVDs, don't smuggle aliens, etc and life is good and without incidents. I have never felt unsafe here, day or night. Life goes on.

gbchayctca - I think that it is fair to say that you interact with the Mayan culture far more than most ex-pats. Personally, I love Valladolid; it is my go to weekend getaway place from time to time. But you are far more knowledgable than I will ever be about how folks "really" live in Yucatan. Orphans in Bonfil though, that I can speak to. And I try to let my actions do my talking on that subject.

Without trying to answer for Karl, and I have been friends with him and his lovely wife for years, I think it was just time for a change for them. We all get worn out from time to time with the idiosyncrosies of this culture and lifestyle, but it is largely tolerable at the worst. Still fun to bitch and vent about it though, and I do my share of that. But, if we get fed up, we can leave. Maybe Karl & Dee Dee got to that point. Or they got tired of me beating them in pool.

[Kathleen-MD]

I you ar looking for a nice and quiet house with good schools to rent, I have one for you to rent. I can send you pictures if you like. The house is in Cancun on the water with a pool. You look right across from Isla Mujeres. Contact me if you need any more information
gokmgrove@aol.com

[kgunn]

Only two months in, so take it for what it's worth, we are enjoying Cancun. Certainly some issues (namely power/water outages), but nothing major.

It is me, my husband, and our 7-year-old triplets (along with two cats). They will go to Diuni in the fall (our son is autistic and they already have hired a bilingual teacher just for him).

We live in the Malecon Americas towers, which makes it very convenient to just about anything we would want. We can take the grocery cart from Chedraui through the mall and right to our door--cannot say how nice this is. The view from our terrace is to die for, looking out at the lagoon and the hotel zone.

If we need something, it is within walking distance or a short bus/taxi ride away. Speaking of transportation, we just now got a car (mainly for trips to school and back), but didn't miss/need one much at all. We rented a car to head over Chitzen Itza, Tulum, Merida and some other sites. Also headed over to Isla Mujeres for a couple of day trips as well.

For the beach, we hop on the R27 and head over to the Hotel Zone and go to either Playa Chac Mool or Playa Caracol. Very nice, not so many tourists, and safer swimming conditions (especially Caracol).

Restaurants are everywhere and if you move away from the tourist traps, there are some real gems. Both inexpensive and excellent.

For us, and we are lucky to be in a good financial position--Cancun is great. We can live better here for half the price compared to where we lived in the states. Electronics and toys are about the only things that cost more than what we could get in Florida (clothing is priced about the same).

Internet is not quite as good as what we had before and getting it installed was a bit of a nightmare. One thing is that we take it all in stride, sure there are hiccups. But you get that just about everywhere in some form.

The weather is better than Merida as long as there is a seabreeze. The last three weeks have been hot, but not as much as what we went through in Florida every summer.

Another great thing about Cancun is the airport. Extremely convenient to get in/out of and offers so many destinations. This was one of the key decisions in making our move here. I'm a financial consultant and make trips occasionally to the States and Europe, so having a good airport is critical for me. There are cultural aspects lacking in Cancun, but we can jump on a plane and head out for quick fix if needed!

My biggest complaint I have thus far about living in Cancun is the lack of crosswalks. Reminds us of Rome in regard to the way people drive and tempt fate crossing the roads.

We've lived in Germany, Norway, France, and Spain. Also have been fortunate to travel extensively around the globe. So we knew (fairly well) what to expect when we moved here. Still learning the ropes and making new discoveries, but loving it all the way.

Hope this helps!

[mariayucatan]

@KGUNN, thanks for that info, it would be nice if you could update us all every now and then to let us know how things proceed, thank you

[davisod]

Thanks for one of the most interesting dialogues I've ever read in over 5 years here!! BTW, T.J., I'm SO glad you're fully recovered! Two words: Puerto Morelos. We have a winter-condo there, beach is safe, it's miles long for walking and with great snorkeling on the reef, there's restaurants galore, very friendly expats and locals, plentiful taxis, airport under 20 minutes away, and both Cancun and Playa with their malls, hospitals, schools, etc. are a half hour, and less than $2 U.S., from us. It sort of has that Akumal, Tulum, Cozumel, Isla M. feel. It rocks with a strong, artsy, tourist biz in winter. (However, it's so dead the rest of the year that it's jokingly referred to as Muerto Morelos.)

[kathy_caribe]

Maria - I know you were concerned about medical facilities - my son recently developed sudden chest pain with intermittent radiation to the shoulder. long story short, after 1 bad doc I found a good doc (cardiologist) who dx'd a pneumothorax and placed a chest tube and he is now hospitalized at Costamed until his lung inflates and can prove itself (stay inflated). So far, we're very happy with the care received (other than the 1st bad DX doc, who I suspected had not DXd correctly and thus had her refer me to the cardiologist who did the correct DX and chest tube placement.).

[mariayucatan]

Kathy, really sorry to hear about your son, do you have a diagnosis for him yet ? where is costamed ? let me know how he gets on please x