Copywriting Makes My Tropical Life Possible

I live in a vacation paradise three blocks from the Caribbean Sea. In our vibrant international city by the sea, my partner and I enjoy an active social life of rooftop gatherings, sampling new restaurants, and swimming in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.

It's a far cry from our former life in the Philadelphia suburbs. There's no snow, no commute, and a lot more fun in the sun.

We moved to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in 2017 with our portable careers. For me, it's copywriting, and he's a marketing consultant. When I first discovered copywriting in the early 2000s, I made it my mission to learn as much as I could.

Now, I run my writing business from anywhere with an internet connection.

I start my day sipping coffee on our spacious balcony, peeking through the surrounding palm trees. We live on a side street just off the busy pedestrian thoroughfare known as "La Quinta" or "The 5th." Because we live in the heart of the tourist zone, the street traffic can be entertaining. Once, I saw a unicyclist riding down the brick-lined road. More often, vacationers carry backpack chairs on their way to the beach while mopeds veer around them.

We often spot familiar faces, too. Friends pass by coming from the laundry or supermarket. There's the "snowbird" who heralds the arrival of the winter tourist season when spotted emerging from the complex across the street. We don't know him, but he's here three to four months a year, and you can set your watch by his morning coffee run.

As I sip my coffee, I think about my day's agenda.

I might be researching a new article or in deep work writing mode. I'll answer emails and social media and maybe tinker with a new project.

If it's a Tuesday or Thursday, I'll take a mid-day break for a lunchtime yoga class. On other days, I might take a "sea" break for a walk to the white sand beach and dip my toes in the cool turquoise water.

Walking to the beach in the middle of my workday is always a funny contrast.

At my computer, I'm thinking and writing about client work. But when I slip into my flip-flops and stroll the three blocks to the beach, it quickly goes from quiet to party town. Lining the two blocks to the beach are dive shops, bikini shops, and bars offering two-for-one margaritas. Sidewalk massage ladies call to passersby offering massage, and vacationers in various states of beach attire head both ways, carrying Styrofoam coolers from a nearby convenience store.

In the evenings, my partner and I might visit friends on a rooftop overlooking the Caribbean Sea, where the affable bartender Guillermo makes a tasty margarita. Or we opt for dinner at one of the dozens of restaurants within walking distance of our downtown apartment.

On other nights, we might cook at home just as we did back in the Philadelphia suburbs. It's not a stretch to say we've settled in and are accustomed to the palm trees, palapa roofs, and outdoor lifestyle these days.

Occasionally, we indulge in excursions like snorkeling, visiting one of the many natural freshwater pools known as cenotes, or even hopping on the ferry for the 45-minute crossing to Cozumel. The island of Cozumel is a popular cruise destination, and we've had a few opportunities to pop over to the island and spend the day with friends and family when they visit via cruise ship.

When we listed our criteria for our warm-weather beach destination back in March 2017, we knew we wanted amenities. High-speed WiFi was a non-negotiable—after all, we'd still work. We wanted a walkable urban and international environment where we wouldn't need a car, and there would be people from around the world.

We also wanted an accessible international airport to make it easy to visit families stateside.

We found it all and much more in Playa del Carmen (PDC). Located an hour between Cancun and Tulum, PDC is a young town celebrating 30 years this year. That's right, there's no beautiful colonial architecture here, but it is one of the fastest-growing cities in Latin America. Twenty years ago, PDC was a sleepy fishing village, and as of 2024, the population is around 400,000, and cranes dot the skyline for new condo projects.

Because it's so new, most people here come from somewhere else—including Mexicans. This lack of deep roots makes for a friendly, vibrant environment, and it's easy to meet people from a range of places.

There are endless gatherings every day of the week for every age group. There are rooftop meetups, salsa dancing, Tuesday Quiz Night, shared Costco trips to Cancun, pool parties, and potlucks. You can participate as much or as little as you like. One expat friend moved here from New Jersey several years ago and laughs at how she was concerned she'd be lonely. She had no idea the social life that awaited her once she started meeting people.

Another friend says she went to a book club gathering and joined a Costco run, and her social life was set.

We still don't have a car and don't plan to get one. We walk nearly everywhere, and when we want a car to go to Sam's Club or take visitors around, renting one or taking a taxi is easy.

We're fortunate to have been able to design a life other people dream about. Copywriting made it possible.