What's it like to live in Puerto Vallarta? How’s the lifestyle?

If you’re not living in the Puerto Vallarta area, you’re missing out!
 
I live in Sayulita, a very small town about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta, where there is a wonderful mix of local Mexicans and as well as American, Canadian, European expats. It’s a great balance between what’s familiar and what’s new. I can eat Mexican food one day or I can have a hamburger the next. That’s really comfortable for somebody who wants a foreign experience...

If you’re not living in the Puerto Vallarta area, you’re missing out!
 
I live in Sayulita, a very small town about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta, where there is a wonderful mix of local Mexicans and as well as American, Canadian, European expats. It’s a great balance between what’s familiar and what’s new. I can eat Mexican food one day or I can have a hamburger the next. That’s really comfortable for somebody who wants a foreign experience but doesn’t want to feel like they are in a distant far away land because at some point living abroad you can feel very isolated and homesick.  Here in the Puerto Vallarta area, you can speak English or Spanish; whichever you feel comfortable with. It’s obviously very beautiful here. It’s sunny almost every day, we have tropical, beautiful birds, and whales breaching; it’s a very beautiful lifestyle. 
 
Every day I come to the office I give thanks. I have an open-air office looking out onto a lush garden.  I often think about my friends from school who are probably in some cubicle somewhere, with neon lights flashing as they stare into a huge computer screen.   The lifestyle here doesn’t even compare.
 
Also, I’ve got a great nanny who washes and cares for my baby as if she were her own daughter. That sort of intimacy you don’t find in the States, so that’s really nice. It’s nice and wonderful being able to walk everywhere. You walk a lot more than you would in other places where you would need to get in the car to go anywhere. Here it’s almost a nuisance to drive anywhere.
 
If you were deciding between a place like Sayulita, which is a small town, or Puerto Vallarta, which is a big city, you have to weigh the plusses and minuses.  In Sayulita, it’s wonderful to walk places and see people you know, but at the same time when you walk places you see people you know! This dynamic can get old or it can be really great and refreshing. It just depends on the day or the person.
 
The entitlement that many Americans have when they come to a foreign country and realize that it’s not like where they’re from and they think it should be like where they’re from can get old. It can be kind of frustrating as a fellow American to hear people complaining about this new place where they’re just visitors and they’ve lost focus of the positive things of living here and the benefits that they’re receiving. I would encourage people to not get caught up in that, not to just pass your time with fellow Americans or Canadians. It’s really important to push yourself outside of your comfort level to know the Mexicans, to know your neighbors, to know the people who are working with you or serving you and to gain another perspective on your life.
 
I would really encourage people who are looking to move here or who do live here to constantly re-evaluate and to remind themselves that this is not where they’re from. There are always things that can be improved upon. I’m not saying that this place is perfect, but I encourage people to just to keep in mind that there was something that initially brought them here or drew them in and they should work to hold on to that or to find more things that can keep them positive about life.

 
One of the biggest positive things about living in Sayulita is that it is a very beautiful environment—the landscape, the lush jungle, the beautiful blue ocean, and all the wildlife that encompasses that.  These are huge plusses and huge draws for people to come to this area. It’s a huge blessing that every day you can see and you can feel and embrace.  You see it in the variety of fruits you get to eat and the different vegetables that are at the market.
 
Another major plus is the kindness of the people who you meet here, even though, initially, you might feel like there’s a little bit of a distance.  The people are the second main reason why the lifestyle here is so great. You have wonderful Mexican people who are very caring and very embracing and really add a lot of love and richness and laughter to your life.
 
Also, there are wonderful expats who are here who want to be here, who appreciate the lifestyle that this area has to offer, and you find that common ground. Many of us have very diverse backgrounds and it’s a really nice melting pot of those backgrounds and those experiences, so it’s really special. There are really special relationships that you can form down here.
 
The third point, particularly in this area north of Puerto Vallarta is that there’s a lot of opportunity in this area and there’s a lot of change that’s happening right now as far as development, infrastructure, and services. It feels really unique and special to be a part of that, to be working in that and forging a new destiny for this area. It’s really a unique opportunity for this part of the world.

 

( Villa Amor, Sayulita, Puerto Vallarta area, Mexico, pictured.)

One of the reasons I came to Puerto Vallarta is because things are calm and laid back. When I was trying to decide where to live for the rest of my life, I couldn't decide between the mountains and the ocean. Puerto Vallarta has both. We have the mountains behind us and the ocean in front of us. There are beautiful sunrises in the morning coming over the mountains and beautiful sunsets every evening. 
 
I hear people talking about how the weather is changing everywhere...

One of the reasons I came to Puerto Vallarta is because things are calm and laid back. When I was trying to decide where to live for the rest of my life, I couldn't decide between the mountains and the ocean. Puerto Vallarta has both. We have the mountains behind us and the ocean in front of us. There are beautiful sunrises in the morning coming over the mountains and beautiful sunsets every evening. 
 
I hear people talking about how the weather is changing everywhere else. The weather is pretty much the same in Puerto Vallarta almost all of the time. 
 
In the summer time, it gets a little bit warmer and humid in Puerto Vallarta and it's sunny almost every day. Some people would go away from August to September because although the temperature doesn't get really hot, the humidity goes up. The constant breeze that we usually have in Puerto Vallarta slows down during those months and it gets a little bit overwhelming. 

 

 
People would start arriving in Puerto Vallarta in late October through December and stay until May, some even until June. Then they head back to the States, Canada, or wherever they're from. Other people who live in Puerto Vallarta year-round may take some time off in the summer and get out when it's really hot. In that time of the year, if you have air conditioning, the heat is manageable and nice. The rest of the year is what all of us call "paradise". 
 
In addition to the weather, Puerto Vallarta has very friendly people. There is also easy access to different activities and amenities in Puerto Vallarta such as shopping malls, movie theaters, ecological activities, and tours. There is also a botanical garden in Puerto Vallarta. 
 
Foreigners who come to Puerto Vallarta appreciate the local people and the culture so much that they want to give back. There are a lot of different groups in our community and altruistic activities that people get involved in. There are people in Puerto Vallarta living below the poverty line who are the ones receiving most of the help. 
 
I'm involved in four different community groups. The naval vessels and Coast Guard would help bring things in for us to donate to these community groups. The locals themselves would assist the expats to help build, repair, and paint schools and other buildings such as children's homes. I am also part of a group providing physical therapy services and medical treatment at no cost to the community. Another group would provide tutoring and mentoring to children. Other groups receiving help are senior citizens and single mothers. 
 
Generally, people come to Puerto Vallarta to just lay back and enjoy the palm trees, coconuts, and the margaritas. There is a party every night, everywhere. Hotels often shoot up fireworks. There's plenty of excitement. 
 
There are a lot of other things to do in the daytime, too. The roads in Puerto Vallarta are being upgraded and the local government has built bike paths and places to run. There are local parks. Puerto Vallarta is great starting point if you want to explore the other parts of Mexico because there are a lot of places to explore throughout Mexico.  

 

(Casa Velas Hotel, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, picture. )