CancúnTom's Mexico
Photographic Adventures in Paradise
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We have been living in Cancun for 3 1/2 years now. We moved here permanently after we both retired from our jobs in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We had vacationed in Cancun repeatedly since 2001 so we knew the area. The attractions here are many: The weather, the culture, clean air, the wonderful Caribbean sea, and many interesting things to do and see. We chose to live in the city as opposed to the famous Hotel Zone because we wanted a more authentic cultural experience by living right in the city among our Mexican neighbors.
Bienvienido A Cancun
Cancun is a big, small city with most of the conveniences that we were accustomed to in the USA. We live in an area called SM18. Our home is within walking distance to all the major stores and businesses. By car or taxi no more than 5 minutes . Cancun also has a fantastic public transportation system. We can walk to Walmart, Sams Club, Costco, City Club, the beautiful, modern, amazing Plaza Las Americas, the local “Triple-A” baseball park and soccer stadium and many restaurants. In Plaza Las Americas there is a wonderful VIP movie theater featuring leather recliners, each w/ a personal table and lamp. Push a button and the wait staff will bring you a menu and serve you beer, wine, hard and soft drinks from the bar, (often there is a 2 for 1 special) …………..and food that includes everything from freshly made popcorn to sushi, pizza, and sandwiches. The price of admission is approx. $6 USD.
Our friends Wendy & Bert @ the VIP Cinema-Cancun
By car it’s a quick ride over to Home Depot, Grease Monkey, Superama, Mega, and AutoZone. The Mexican government has greatly improved their immigration facility and it’s pretty much a no hassle visit or two to apply for or renew your papers.
We’ve made new friends and enjoy a very active, rich social life here. Susie belongs to the International Women’s Club (IWC) and that has been a source of many of our new friendships. Cancun is a melting pot of many nationalities and we have friends from many countries of the world. For example, last Thanksgiving we hosted a dinner and our guests were from Mexico, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Costa Rica and, of course, America.
Thanksgiving Dinner 2010
The Mexican people are hospitable, warm, welcoming, and fun loving. Life here is much more relaxed than in our former home. We find our neighborhood to be safe and have not had any incidents in the time that we have lived here. All of our neighbors are friendly and most of them also speak English. Suzie takes weekly Spanish lessons and is well on her way to being fluent. We really enjoy our life here. We have good warm weather all year long. We take most of our meals outside on our covered patio even all through Dec., Jan, Feb & so on. These facts really solidified our decision to live here as the right one.
Our covered patio
My wife and I are certified scuba divers and we can go on dives all year round in the crystal clear waters off of Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Moreles, and Isla Mujeres. The fishing,boating and snorkeling are also fantastic here. We take Art lessons and are learning how to paint in oil on canvas. In addition, we are slowly eating our way through the hundreds of restaurants in the area and posting reviews about them on our web site.
Suzie swimming with a dolphin
We have a maid once a week and a gardening service twice per month. Luxuries we could not have back in the USA.
We do have concerns during the hurricane season. But unlike most parts of the USA we do not experience sudden unexpected natural calamities. If anything good can be said about getting hit with a hurricane it is that you have about a week to prepare for it. This year we watched in horror all the floods, fires, droughts, tornado’s, tsunami’s, and earthquakes that have affected the USA, New Zealand, & Japan. Most of these come suddenly with little or no warning. I’ll stick with the hurricane risk until further notice.
We can enjoy the warm clear waters of Cancun all year round and take advantage of sailing and swimming every chance we get.
Pirate Tom & Suzie on a catamaran Caribbean cruise off Cancun
We feel very fortunate to live and love Cancun which we now call our Home.
Thanks for the post. I can attest to what these folks are saying. Having lived in Puerto Vallarta in the past few years I returned to the US in 2010. I am still wondering why I ever did it. I am now relocating back to Mexico but am choosing Cancun. Simply put, the beaches on the Yucatan are some of the best in the country. Add to that the convenience to the US east coast and you really have an ideal destination. Actually..I can’t wait.
Tom : thanks for the info on the health insurance…
Jeremy, Sorry for the long wait for a reply. We brought one dog down with us and you must comply with Mexican regulations to do so. If you follow a link on my website to “ROLLY” you will find all the info you need there. As usual if you do have pre existings then you can still get covered but must wait out a period of time for those issues to be covered. We had a couple but it was no problem at all.
Peter, I have no knowledge if that is true of not. We use Bupa which is a British company that provides International coverage at a reasonable cost. Service has been great too and we can recommend them.
Tom : Thank you very much for your reply to the question of immigration !! I also saw your reply to someone’s question on health care, my understanding is that some of the US health care insurance companies are starting to cover certain services by mexican health care provider, do you know anything about that ??? thanks for your feedback…
Richard, sounds like you neeed a furnished place. I would suggest that you go to http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/living-cancun-riviera-maya/ and keep looking at the living in Cancun and the Rivera Maya section everyday and see what people have to offer. I also know that Nancy and Andy have several vacation condos available and I can put you in touch in them. They are located over by where the pirate boats dock.
Tom, thanks for all the great info you provide. We are interested in spending a winter in Cancun, Dec thru March. Do you have any suggestions regarding rentals, and what pricing is?
Hi Tom, we met you at Barlito’s 2 weeks ago, we were the couple from Streamwood. This was really good info, and enjoyed the history. We trying to learn all we can about retiring in Mexico, that’s our dream, and the time is getting closer. Thanks for all your great posts!
Peter, Thanks for leaving a reply. We are American Citizens and we are living here on what is called an FM3-Retired status. Next year we will convert to a FM2, and eventually to immigrante’ status. If we want to…. eventually we could become Mexican Citizens,while retaining our US Citizenship. If you don’t work here then you don’t pay taxes here. With the US you never can get away from paying your taxes from, income, investments. and other means of earning a buck no matter where you live. If you go way back in my postings on this blog you can most likely find answers to many of your questions. If not then ask away! I’ll try my best to answer them.
Tom & Suzie : I envy your retirement !! Just wondering if you are living down there as an american citizen or with a mexican status, if so, what does it take to become a mexican citizen and how is the taxe issue come into play etc… Thanks
You are living my dream! I hope someday hubby and I will live in Cancun. He just needs to retire. Thanks for all your great posts!
I run a Senior Home health care company here in Sarasota where we provide not only a service but companionship. This is a great article and another reason why I’m in this profession.
Thanks for the info Tom!
by the way, I love your backyard.
Thank you for your history and the health insurance question. From that I assume you simply buy your own insurance, do they cover pre-existing issues? You brought at least one dog down, how was that done, and how do you see the vet care situation?
Judy, We have an international health insurance policy. The company is British with offices in Miami. It is called Bupa. It’s good everywhere. The policy also provides us with emergency medical evacuation to any hospital in the USA that we would choose to go to in the event of a major health event.
Hi Tom, I love reading your posts. How do you handle health care especially since most American health insurances don’t cover expenses out of the country (i.e., Medicare).
You guys are livin’ the dream……good for both of you….
Great little history. Really happy for you and can totally “get” your vibe. Hope to repeat your journey before too long!