Some people are born explorers. We dream of traveling the world, even as young children growing up in the rural South. Books were my portal to the world, and I wanted to live in another country.
As an adult, I pursued journalism and later a master's degree in history museum studies and worked at historic sites in New Orleans and the Philadelphia suburbs.
In those jobs, I gave tours, wrote the newsletter and website, and planned educational programs. I enjoyed the work well enough, but it was not a career to satisfy my wanderlust. Around 2004, I discovered copywriting, and I started learning all I could because I saw it as my path to a portable career.
When a 2010 layoff left me questioning my life choices, it pushed me to pursue my freelance writing dreams. By 2017, I'd created a portable writing business and was in a relationship with a freelance marketing consultant. We talked vaguely about leaving the cold Philadelphia winters behind when his kids finished high school, but we had no concrete plans.
When his youngest announced her college plans three states away, it felt like the right time.
But where?
We started by listing our criteria. We wanted a walkable, international community by the ocean with a lower cost of living and a warm climate. We also wanted easy access to our families in the U.S.
Europe appealed, but it was too far, and the visa regulations were complex.
What about Mexico? In 2007, I visited Playa del Carmen with my mom and sisters for ten days. We'd stayed in a little hotel on "La Quinta," a miles-long street lined with hotels, shops, restaurants, and bars. We could walk everywhere, the people were friendly, and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea filled me with joy. That visit made a lasting impression.
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When I suggested Playa del Carmen to my partner Rick, he turned to his keyboard and two minutes later said, "That's viable. There are seven Starbucks and an Apple store."
Those brands promised the infrastructure we needed, and we threw ourselves into online research. We watched YouTube videos, joined Playa del Carmen expat groups on Facebook, and studied Google Maps.
We decided to go for it.
Playa del Carmen, Mexico, is a tropical, walkable, international city by the Caribbean Sea. Only an hour from the Cancun airport, it's easy to get to. As a major tourist destination and digital nomad hub, it has stable internet and other modern conveniences.
Perhaps best of all, Mexico offers U.S. and Canadian residents a generous 180-day tourist visa.
We set about selling or donating 90% of our possessions. It took months, but it was the right choice for us. Paired down to six suitcases and a cat, we boarded our one-way flight from Philadelphia to Cancun, Mexico, on October 29, 2017. Almost seven years later, we're still here and have no plans to leave.
What We Love About Playa del Carmen
Besides its proximity to the sparkling colors of the Caribbean Sea? There's plenty we love about this fast-growing city known as "Playa," or PDC for short.
One, our apartment feels like a treehouse. I'm writing this from our spacious balcony in the palm trees during a summer storm, and the dramatic swaying of the palms reminds me we're in the tropics. The trees are so close I can reach out and touch them. Plus, they provide privacy from the busy city streets. We're in the heart of the tourist zone, but our small building is set off from the street, and people barely notice it when they walk by. It makes for great people-watching from our balcony perch any time of the day or night.
Two, we don't need a car. A beautiful new supermarket opened two blocks away last year, making grocery shopping more convenient. There's also grocery delivery, which we did for years. We can walk to 300 restaurants within a .5-mile radius. We can walk to the dentist, the doctor, and our yoga class—it's all within a few blocks.
Third, it's welcoming.
Situated between Cancun and Tulum, Playa is a winter haven for tens of thousands of Americans and Canadians. They start dribbling in mid-November, and by January, snowbirds pack the beaches and city.
There are many Europeans here, too. Our ever-expanding friend group spans numerous countries and age groups. Everyone's so friendly.
Playa is such a young town (celebrating thirty years old this year) that it makes for fewer people with established roots. Even most Mexicans here have come from other parts of the country. This newness creates a different dynamic than a place that is centuries old. While I miss the beautiful architecture of a colonial city, Playa makes it easy to carve out a spot for yourself. It's easy to show up at one of the numerous Meetups or Tuesday Quiz Nights and make ten new friends by the night's end. You can have as active a social life as you want if you're friendly and leave your apartment.
Fourth, Playa del Carmen is known for outdoor living and water sports. Some of the top attractions include scuba diving, snorkeling, ziplining, Mayan ruins, and exploring cenotes (freshwater underground rivers). With Cozumel and its famed reef just 45 minutes away by Ferry, the area is a mecca for scuba divers.
Travel a short distance out of Playa and down the coast toward Tulum, and you can snorkel with sea turtles. We've even had the opportunity to sit with a sea turtle laying her eggs in the sand under a full moon at a turtle sanctuary.
Finally, besides the tropical climate and our active social life, we appreciate the lower cost of living. Inflation is everywhere, so Playa's not as inexpensive as it was when we first moved here. Between inflation and the strong peso, our expenses are probably about 20% more than in 2017. Yet, it's still cheaper than the Philadelphia suburbs. To give you an idea, when we moved here, one hundred pesos was worth about $5 USD, and for the past year, it's been closer to $6. We keep our expenses low by living in a small, one-bedroom apartment. Our rent is $17,500 pesos a month, about $1000 USD. Our electricity runs around $40 a month a little more in the summer when we run the air conditioning nonstop. If you want a larger, newer condo in our neighborhood, they go for $2000+/month, but that would impact our savings and fun budget, so we stay put.
Our current expenses run around $3000/month. That includes meals out two to three times a week, yoga classes, and monthly massages. Massages run 800 to 1200 pesos, about $40 to $70 USD. A typical dinner for us at a nicer restaurant with wine runs about $70 USD plus tip. Breakfast or lunch is usually around $30 USD.
Our healthcare is far better and more affordable than anything we ever experienced in the U.S. Rick's root canal and crown were $425 USD. He goes to an M.D. who also spent eight years in China studying Chinese Medicine. She provides a unique blend of acupuncture, cupping, herbs, and other Eastern approaches combined with Western medical knowledge. His visits are a full hour, and the fee is around $50 USD.
But it's not all swimming and socializing here in Playa del Carmen.
We maintain regular work schedules, too.
I write and do marketing consulting, mostly for business-to-business tech companies. Some are in the U.S.; some are European. Since I'm self-employed, no one cares where I'm located. Playa del Carmen is EST and CST, which makes it convenient for scheduling calls when needed.
When we first moved, there was an adjustment period I hadn't accounted for. While I'd worked from my home office for years, the move forced me to get far more serious about my marketing. I had fewer referrals coming my way because I didn't bump into people around town, so they weren't thinking of me. I hadn't factored that in. To make up for my business's lag, I launched a serious cold email campaign that helped me strengthen and grow my business.
Three years ago, Rick started consulting with a local nonprofit here in Playa three years ago. The program's mission is to help promising young students graduate high school and continue to university. He's helped the organization grow substantially, and now he oversees their marketing and fundraising.
Why We Stay
Moving to Playa has allowed us to lower our living expenses, have a higher quality of life, and save for retirement. But that's not why we stay. We stay because we love the vibrancy of the city. Playa is primarily a city of transplants, and we have a strong community here. We look out for one another. Then, on any given Tuesday, I can pop down to the Sea for a swim.
We've visited other parts of Mexico, but Playa feels like home.
Get Your Free Mexico Report Today!
Get Your Free Mexico Report Today!
Learn more about Mexico and other countries in our daily postcard e-letter. Simply enter your email address below and we’ll send you a free special report – Mexico: The Perfect Close-to-Home Retirement Haven.
By submitting your email address, you will receive a free subscription to IL Postcards and special offers from International Living and our affiliates. You can unsubscribe at any time, and we encourage you to read more about our Privacy Policy.