What are the best and worst things about living and retiring in Puerto Vallarta?
Armando Contreras - Galvan Real Estate and Services
The best things about living in Puerto Vallarta are that there are no worst things about living here. People here in Puerto Vallarta are really friendly. Even if some of the locals do not speak English, they still do say “hi”, “good morning”, or “good afternoon” and they always have a ready smile. It’s a very friendly town and area in general. It is also very clean. You have everything in Puerto Vallarta – mountains, beach, nature, and...The best things about living in Puerto Vallarta are that there are no worst things about living here. People here in Puerto Vallarta are really friendly. Even if some of the locals do not speak English, they still do say “hi”, “good morning”, or “good afternoon” and they always have a ready smile. It’s a very friendly town and area in general. It is also very clean. You have everything in Puerto Vallarta – mountains, beach, nature, and there are lots of things to do. You can go shopping, hiking, horseback riding, or you can go to the zoo. The most important thing to me about Puerto Vallarta is that it has a worldwide acceptance. You won’t see racism here. I can’t think of any bad thing about Puerto Vallarta. One challenge about living in Puerto Vallarta would be the weather. The weather here changes a lot but of course that is something that we cannot control. When it rains here, it rains a lot and because of that some of the infrastructure may be affected. Some tourists do not like that about Puerto Vallarta. We have some flooding here but it is nothing serious where people get hurt. In some parts of Puerto Vallarta, you have to wait for a few hours before you are able to walk on the streets again without getting your shoes wet.
Puerto Vallarta has mountains as well so you could go hiking in the area. The mountains around here are not very high; they’re about 1,600 meters (over 5,200 feet) high. One of the good things about the mountains in this area is that they change the weather a lot. The biggest hurricane the world has ever known broke up because of those mountains and it didn’t cause any serious damage in Puerto Vallarta at all.
(Coastline of beautiful Costa Careyes near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted January 12, 2016
Barb Goodhart
One of the best things about living in Puerto Vallarta is the lifestyle and lack of pressure. Everyone is laid back and is very friendly. The expats are all here because they love it here and are so helpful with any newcomers. The Mexicans here are wonderful because tourism is the basis of the economy and the more foreigners, the better. As long as you treat the Vallartenses with respect, they go out of their way to help you however they can. I have only...One of the best things about living in Puerto Vallarta is the lifestyle and lack of pressure. Everyone is laid back and is very friendly. The expats are all here because they love it here and are so helpful with any newcomers. The Mexicans here are wonderful because tourism is the basis of the economy and the more foreigners, the better. As long as you treat the Vallartenses with respect, they go out of their way to help you however they can. I have only lived here a few months at this point and I would have say t it is the friendliest place I have ever lived. Everybody greets each other on the street, as is the custom. The cost of living is also much less than living in the States so it is up to you how much money you need to live. If you go to expensive restaurants and shows and buy expensive art and jewelry then maybe it might not be so much less. But if you are frugal, you can live on very little. It is really up to you since the choices are here for you to make. Some of the best dining anywhere is here with some world famous chefs and all types of cuisine. However I had the best hamburger that I've ever tasted in my life just the other night at a little side street food place.
The worst thing about living in Puerto Vallarta is driving. The Mexicans drive very aggressively and seem to do whatever they want regardless of the traffic laws so you must be very alert at all times. It is stressful at first but once you get the hang of it you learn to deal with it. The most interesting thing about this is that the Mexicans are never in a hurry except when they are driving.
The other less desirable issue is the manana philosophy. Many times some Mexicans don't keep appointments or follow through with their commitments but that is because they are trying to please you when they make the original commitment. So if you plan to live in Mexico you have to make peace with that or drive yourself crazy.
(Serenaded by musicians in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted January 18, 2016
Sheryl Novak - SOLutions Mexico Furniture Store
Overlaying all the best things about living or retiring in Puerto Vallarta is the weather. How can you possibly beat this weather? You’re not shoveling snow, scraping ice, or wearing mittens, boots, and anything you can think of that you would need to wear to stay warm if you were in some other place like Canada. Here in Puerto Vallarta, you’re walking around constantly in your flip-flops and shorts. These are also some cost of living savings- it’s just such a...Overlaying all the best things about living or retiring in Puerto Vallarta is the weather. How can you possibly beat this weather? You’re not shoveling snow, scraping ice, or wearing mittens, boots, and anything you can think of that you would need to wear to stay warm if you were in some other place like Canada. Here in Puerto Vallarta, you’re walking around constantly in your flip-flops and shorts. These are also some cost of living savings- it’s just such a laid-back lifestyle. One of the best things about being in Puerto Vallarta is how relaxing and laid-back it is. Puerto Vallarta doesn’t have the hectic pace of a city, so if you’re looking for that New York kind of lifestyle, this is not it. The Puerto Vallarta lifestyle is more get back to nature and the pounding and the rhythm of the waves; to slow down.
The relaxed lifestyle is also what can drive you crazy, because, for example, when you want things done for your home, it’s not going to happen in 24 hours, in a week, or in a month. Owning a business in Puerto Vallarta has really opened my eyes to how caught up we get into having things done perfectly, and being meticulous about how things are done.
When you come to live in Puerto Vallarta, you learn a different culture, one in which it’s laid-back, and it’s also about not everything being perfect. The culture here is about just getting things done, and enjoying it.
I have friends who come to Puerto Vallarta and ask me, “Can you please let me know when the delivery guy is going to come? I’d like him to come here Tuesday between 3 and 4 in the afternoon,” and I chuckle and say, “I can’t even tell you if they’re going to be here this week, never mind tell you that they can be here on a certain day between two particular hours. It will happen when it happens, and not a moment sooner.” You see stress on people’s faces when they’re trying to understand how to live here and they don’t relax and just let it happen.
For people who can’t let go, living in Puerto Vallarta can be a struggle. You can’t control things here, which really teaches you that you can’t control life. You can only control how you react to it. So, to summarize, the best part of living in Puerto Vallarta is how relaxed it is, and the worst thing about living in Puerto Vallarta is how relaxed it is.
(Pictured: Sheryl Novak and friend Dave Petrishen from Winnipeg.)
Posted January 28, 2017
Ron Morgan - Ron Morgan Properties
One of the best things about living and retiring in Puerto Vallarta is the cost of living, which is very inexpensive. You can buy a beachfront condo for US $210,000. We sold one last week that has two bedrooms and two baths. I don't know of anywhere on the continent on the East or West Coast where you can do that in an area that has medical services, food services, and all other services required to live comfortably at 10% of what you would spend...
One of the best things about living and retiring in Puerto Vallarta is the cost of living, which is very inexpensive. You can buy a beachfront condo for US $210,000. We sold one last week that has two bedrooms and two baths. I don't know of anywhere on the continent on the East or West Coast where you can do that in an area that has medical services, food services, and all other services required to live comfortably at 10% of what you would spend within the US.
The cab service is great here in Puerto Vallarta. There are lots of taxis and the cost is very inexpensive. You can go anywhere in the Romantic Zone area where we are now out toward the marina for from 50 to 100 pesos (US $2.60 to $5.20). In Puerto Vallarta, you would never pay $100 for a cab ride like you do in the US. That's what I pay to go from LAX Airport to Doheny in Beverly Hills. That just doesn't happen here in Puerto Vallarta.
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Most of the food in Puerto Vallarta is grown within 50 miles. We don't eat canned or frozen food. There are very little food products that have any ingredient supplementation of any kind and are natural so our diets are much better.
My close friends who are in the States all live in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood, and around that area in LA. By the time we park the car, got the four tickets for the movies, and each get a Coke and popcorn, we have spent over $135.
The last time I was in Los Angeles, I drove to see an old client of mine. I was in Beverly Hills on Doheny and I decided to drive myself to Long Beach. On the GPS, it was 18 miles. My friend who lives in LA let me borrow a car and driver and the driver said, "Do you want me to take you?" And I said, "No, I know where it is and it's just 18 miles." So I took one of the cars and drove myself. It took me three-and-a-half hours on the freeway to go 18 miles. People do that all day long in LA
I find it shocking when I go to LA because that the living expenses are so high. We buy a bag of fruits in the grocery store in Puerto Vallarta for about $4 to $5. I go to the Pavilions in West Hollywood and the same grocery items would cost around $35.
In Puerto Vallarta, we don't wait for anything, don't have traffic issues, and don't make reservations in the restaurants, except maybe during Christmas and New Year's. Living in Puerto Vallarta is a totally different lifestyle. You don't drive for hours and don't carpool.
The worst thing in Puerto Vallarta is the public transportation. It's excessive, loud, and pollutes the area. The buses are too old and large for the streets and they should be replaced by smaller people movers.
The bus system has been a consistent problem because there are two different bus unions and they have hard stances on issues. As with the unions in the US, the unions here in Puerto Vallarta are very strong and important politically. One issue is that the buses keep on plying the roads whether they have passengers or not. It is a necessary evil, but it's very disjointed. However, there will be changes over the next three or four years with fewer buses and updates to more modern facilities.
(Condo open to the Pacific Ocean, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted May 16, 2017