Life in the Caymans

[Mr Magoo]

Ciudad del carmen dedicated to the oil industry. So eat your heart out there. Better options are Merida if you can stand the climate or Querataro 2 hrs north of MX city. Campeche is nice but i think you will get bored pretty quickly there. Gringos love to live in San Miguel de Allende. Tulum is like CDP: not nice anymore (if it ever was). Choose a small beach town on the pacific around Huatulco for example.

 

[Suzy Emerald]

Cozumel is small and just fun for diving. For the rest no reason to be there.

 

[Praetorian]

i mean theres little to argue about this. Id recommend not drawing attention to yourself / dealing with drugs in PDC.
There're other places 'nearby' with a better crime situation.

Downside is that PDC feels like being in Miami somewhat and a lot of people like that.
Not so much in Merida/Campeche/Ciudad del Carmen.

Id avoid Tulum like the plague.



I like the place but it can get quite boring after some time.

Problem i think most people will realize AFTER moving to PDC is the following:

1. Everyone sees you as a walking ATM, local people just want to f**k you even if you're a resident. So expect a lot of scammers and hustlers trying to take your money.
2. Government in Quintana Roo is corrupt as hell, even worse so than other mexican regions. I've seen people getting jailed for overstaying their visa.
3. Requirements for residency are increasing year after year.
4. A lot of the infrastructure is missing as this region runs solely on tourism and nothing else.
5. Cost of living is getting higher as more and more folks with dirty money and no where else to go move in.
6. Crime is getting worse, inflation is hitting the place too and the first target for local people is expats with money.

At this point i'd go to Panama, sure there's crime and poverty there too but it's no where near as volatile as Mexico.

 

[TheCryptoAnt]

Problem i think most people will realize AFTER moving to PDC is the following:

1. Everyone sees you as a walking ATM, local people just want to **** you even if you're a resident. So expect a lot of scammers and hustlers trying to take your money.
2. Government in Quintana Roo is corrupt as hell, even worse so than other mexican regions. I've seen people getting jailed for overstaying their visa.
3. Requirements for residency are increasing year after year.
4. A lot of the infrastructure is missing as this region runs solely on tourism and nothing else.
5. Cost of living is getting higher as more and more folks with dirty money and no where else to go move in.
6. Crime is getting worse, inflation is hitting the place too and the first target for local people is expats with money.

At this point i'd go to Panama, sure there's crime and poverty there too but it's no where near as volatile as Mexico.

1. Yeah, theres no way to escape that unless you speak Spanish without a gringo accent.
2. Yes but that can be beneficial depending on what is it that you do. In my case I choose to not deal with the government at all.
3. I got the permanent for $20k and it never expires. The temporary is easy to get tho.
4. Indeed but that mostly affects locals and poor expats.
5. Same as 4 imo.
6. This is a strong yeah, crime is indeed getting worst. Id recommend anyone going there to not dress flashy and preferably live in Playacar as there's security and a fence.

Never tried Panama, any recommendations? Ive read the government canceled the friendly nations visa

EDIT TO ADD:
Avoid 5th av at all cost

 

[JackAlabama]

1. Yeah, theres no way to escape that unless you speak Spanish without a gringo accent.
2. Yes but that can be beneficial depending on what is it that you do. In my case I choose to not deal with the government at all.
3. I got the permanent for $20k and it never expires. The temporary is easy to get tho.
4. Indeed but that mostly affects locals and poor expats.
5. Same as 4 imo.
6. This is a strong yeah, crime is indeed getting worst. Id recommend anyone going there to not dress flashy and preferably live in Playacar as there's security and a fence.

Never tried Panama, any recommendations? Ive read the government canceled the friendly nations visa

It is not cancelled per se, just made much more expensive and you need to invest 200k$.
Alternatively, you get an employment contract from a local company.

 

[Mr Magoo]

problems mentioned above are similar for most 3rd world countries. Corruption is indeed high in every state in mexico, same as crime and cartels have also infested the long regarded safe southeast. How easy the (permanent) residency is to get varies from state to state. Ready that there is now an influx from foreigners in Mexico city who work remote and want cheaper cost of living. Tourist regions at the coast are to be avoided although they look attractive. PDC is dangerous as are other places like Tulum on the mx carib coast. As foreigner better keep a low profile

 

[Praetorian]

1. Yeah, theres no way to escape that unless you speak Spanish without a gringo accent.
2. Yes but that can be beneficial depending on what is it that you do. In my case I choose to not deal with the government at all.
3. I got the permanent for $20k and it never expires. The temporary is easy to get tho.
4. Indeed but that mostly affects locals and poor expats.
5. Same as 4 imo.
6. This is a strong yeah, crime is indeed getting worst. Id recommend anyone going there to not dress flashy and preferably live in Playacar as there's security and a fence.

Never tried Panama, any recommendations? Ive read the government canceled the friendly nations visa

EDIT TO ADD:
Avoid 5th av at all cost

JackAlabama answered the friend nations visa question above, however regarding Panama i really enjoyed my time there.

It's not an "in your face" ghetto like PDC can be, as if you avoid the bad neighborhoods you'll be fine. If you avoid trouble with local folks chances of them bothering you are low too. I never had issues when i was in Panama city and never felt the need for a gated community while in PDC it's probably a must if you are considered wealthy.(I've been to PDC many times and every night i was hearing of some expats getting scammed or robbed nearby lol).

Mexico is definitely not something people should avoid however, i heard good things about Cabo, Guadalajara, Queretaro and Monterrey. The economy there is much more diversified and the local governments isn't trying to nickel and dime tourists as much as in Quintana Roo. I've seen lots of expats move there and the corruption/crime was a lot less hardcore than in Cancun/PDC. It was also much cheaper depending on the city. Only issue is that there's a growing anti-american sentiment after the recent surge of californian liberal refugees escaping the state they turned into a shithole so they could enjoy the low cost of living. As a result even Mexico City rent is going up considerably apparently. Past a certain point the cost of living would offset any advantages you'd get from moving there, as many better jurisdictions would be more appropriate at that point.