In 2010, we left the United States and retired abroad to Cuenca, Ecuador.
Although we’re fortunate to enjoy a fabulous retirement life abroad, we’ve always wondered if there’s an even better place for us out there.
So, over a decade later, we set off on an adventure that lasted more than two years to explore other potential retirement spots around the globe to find out.
Our journey started in Mexico, a popular spot for American retirees in part due to its proximity to the US, generally lower cost of living, and its warm weather.
While there, we spent two weeks each in Cancún and Playa del Carmen, two of the country’s popular Caribbean vacation spots.
Although we chose tourist-heavy cities, we tried to get a taste of daily life by staying in neighborhoods outside the main vacation and hotel areas.
We were pleasantly surprised by Cancún
Located on the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Cancún is a major tourist destination in Mexico. That said, Cancún has a “hotel zone” along the beach that’s miles away from the city itself.
Most visitors (like us on an anniversary trip years ago) arrive at the airport, take a shuttle to their hotel, and never leave the vicinity before departing for home.
On this trip, though, we rented an Airbnb in a residential section of downtown to attempt to see what it might be like to live there.
We found downtown Cancún to be quite different from the miles of fancy resorts, boutiques, and eateries in the hotel zone.
As we walked around, we passed numerous modest single-family homes and locally owned shops and restaurants. We liked that the downtown had everything we could need for daily life within walking distance.
In addition, the area had some popular American chains, like Walmart, which had a surprisingly impressive selection of affordable products and produce.
Plus, there’s a major international airport just 20 to 30 minutes away from downtown — ideal for American expats who want to visit family back home.
Our apartment was miles from the beach, but an inexpensive bus ride made getting there a snap. However, once we got to the miles of public beaches, we were disappointed to find very few designated access points.
It was harder to enter the beach than we expected, especially since we’d been used to walking from an oceanfront hotel directly onto the sand when we’d stayed in Cancún as tourists. This was definitely a drawback, but not an insurmountable one.
Overall, though, we were pleasantly surprised at how similar downtown Cancún felt to our current neighborhood.
Playa del Carmen seemed to offer the best of both worlds for American expats
Located about an hour south of Cancún is the coastal town of Playa Del Carmen. Unlike Cancún, Playa del Carmen doesn’t have an isolated hotel zone separate from its residential areas.
This city has beaches, the famous 5th Avenue a couple of blocks away, and then local housing and businesses all the way to the major highway that runs from Cancún past Tulum.
I liked that nearby neighborhoods could easily access the beach and popular spots like 5th Avenue. The lively area felt like Mexico’s version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, filled with tourists, vendors, and live music. This was fun, though I worried it could eventually be annoying to navigate while trying to do chores and run errands on a daily basis.
Even so, the area felt overflowing with outstanding food and shopping options.
In addition to local offerings, we found popular American chains like Walmart, Sam’s Club, Office Depot, and many familiar chain restaurants in the area that US expats missing home would surely enjoy.
Although Playa del Carmen doesn’t have its own international airport, the one in Cancún is only about an hour away.
Overall, we can see why retirees would choose either place
It was exciting to see what else is out there for other Americans looking to retire abroad.
We appreciated how Playa del Carmen and Cancún both felt beautiful and walkable, with fairly easy access to airports, which is great for retirees moving away from family.
We can definitely understand why the warm weather, beaches, and other perks would bring expats to either place.
That said, we also realized the area’s generally hotter temperatures weren’t quite an ideal fit for us. For now, we still call Cuenca home.
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