SOME FACTS ABOUT LIVING THE DREAM IN MEXICO

Whether your dream is to live a in breathtaking colonial home with tropical gardens, to finally have that place on the beach watching the tides ebb and flow, or a historical hacienda with land  for horses, cattle and crops, the Yucatan is likely to be the place for you!

The Yucatan is full of the gentle Mayan culture, here men stand up when a woman enters the room, still open car doors for her and assist her up steep curbs. It is a land full of art, mayan ruins, underground rivers and cenotes, tropical foliage and pink flamingos.

The reports of violence in Mexico heard on the US and Canadian news is not part of the life here in the Yucatan. The local people are shocked and appalled by it. This is a state where you can walk safely down the street in the dark of night and still feel secure. You can attend the symphony, art festivals or enjoy late night dining with no fears.

Take a look at the map below; look how far Merida is from the unfortunate cities of Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Matamoras. Even Cancun with it's shimmering turquoise waters in 4 hours from us.



Not really sure about where the beach towns are? Once you find Merida on the map above, here is a smaller version showing the most popular beach towns below.

Here the local people are polite and smiling, the local beauty is seductive and the cost of living is amazingly low compared to many beach front towns and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Fresh exotic fruits are picked fresh all year, local seafood can be bought fresh from the boats and don't hesitate to try the Yucatecan specialities, panuchos, salbutes, queso relleno and more. Learn to slow down and enjoy life's' precious minutes. Don't expect things to be done in the same timely manner as north of the border, this is Mexico, savor it!

A local fruit from a cactus this is called "tuna" isn't it beautiful?


Here at the beach we watch dolphins, flamingos and pelicans. This year has been amazing with so many butterflies that it seems they are yellow clouds.
I never seem to have my camera or phone with me to catch shots of anything these days except for the pelicans.
A short ride of 4 hours and you can take a weekend break in the Caribbean!

Cenotes seem to be everywhere that you go, from small ones like this to large ones that many people can swim in at the same time.


Sunrises on the virgin beaches here are quiet and tranquil.


And every evening the sunset provides a unique experience.

Your dogs can still play on the beaches and take walks with you, unlike many other beaches in the world.


Mexico also is the closest retirement haven to the US and Canada, this was very important to me, I needed to know if there were a family emergency that I could be on a plane and back home in less than a day. There is an international airport in Merida (MID) and one in Cancun (CUN).

Many people are worried about living here legally, believe me it is easier to get a resident visa here than most other countries. I lived in Belize and trying to live there legally was a nightmare! Here you fill out a form on line, print out copies of a few things, have your picture taken, go to the local immigration office where they speak English and you are good to go! You can sign up for local health insurance called IMSS for about $300 USD a year.

I will be writing more about visa's, healthcare, senior discounts and more in my next blog so stay tuned! Until then check out our homes for sale and let me know if you have any questions about the customs here, the area, cost of living or anything else!

For now I'm just "Chillin in Chelem."

What's going on in Chelem this Summer?

Over and over again clients and friends ask me what do I do in my free time. First of all, I don't get a lot of free time, owning a company, marketing, managing employees, getting listings and the regular household stuff doesn't allow us to do much. However one of the things that we always try to fit in is the Funky Market at Taco Maya. The owners of Taco Maya, Paul and Carol, were some of the first people that we met when we moved to Chelem, they are great people that we don't get to spend enough time with.

Along with their great restaurant, they started the Funky Market tradition! Both local people from Chelem and Chuburna come as well as artists from Merida and the outlying villages. It is a wonderful mish-mash of art, jewelry, food and more. It also gives us a chance to catch up with some of our friends that we haven't had a chance to see recently.

I have posted pictures before both here and on our Mayan Living SA de CV Facebook page but this time I wanted to give a few of the artists websites and emails. People always ask me who did what and how much it costs and many times I don't remember..........

The first two pictures are of a gentleman who brings assorted flowers and plants into Chelem every Saturday. He has a wonderful selection and great prices starting at less than $2 a piece.








Aren't these painted palm branches that look like birds adorable?
This gentleman makes all kinds of hanging signs, you can tell him what towns you want on them, unfortunately I didn't get his info, but I'm sure that Paul or Carol know how to get up with him.

Some great artwork featuring people and scenes that the artist sees everyday in Merida, this artist speaks perfect English and has a couple of websites, www.spunkyandmondo.com and agustingraphics.com. He also has a Facebook page where he features new work and runs contests, look under agustin art galeria. For locals that are interested his phone number is 999-262-4510
Another talented local artist is Marco Ocaranza, marcoocaranza@hotmail.com, 999-258-1093. Marco works with all types of mediums, he does sand and wax castings, makes custom furniture and sculptures. Marco also works on film sets for the Discovery Channel and and worked on the Mel Gibson movie Apocalypto.

Marco made the screen in this shot
One of my favorites from Agustin, so typical of any street here in the Yucatan.
One of our urban legends in the area is the Chicxulub Crater, the story goes that many years ago a meteorite struck the Mexican coastline in Chicxulub and resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs. This talented gentleman from Virginia makes stunning necklaces and phone chains from the crater stones. For more information on his work contact him at malcommassey@hotmail.com Originally from Virginia Beach he is loving living in Chelem!

Our dear friends, Jeff and Nancy, always show up with their wonderful homemade hot sauce, stunning mobiles made from natural materials such as sea glass, bamboo and shells, along with wonderful breads and goodies that taste just like home except better! We use their hot sauce on everything.

Another one of my favorites is Rosalba Peraza, she and her boyfriend make beautiful jewelry, do stunning wall murals and more.
I love the little flip flop earrings and have bought some in all colors from Rosy. Her contact info is royal.23@hotmail.com
Here is our shining Star of Chelm, she and her husband brought lovely hand painted conch shells, banana nut bread, pumpkin bread and apple bread pudding muffins, seems that they were trying to sabotage my diet!
Another fabulous artist Pamela Benjamin had divine stained glass and jewelry. Pamela does custom glass windows, panels and cabinet doors. She has stained glass classes and glass jewelry making classes. Pamela is a member of the Stained Glass Art Guild in Florida. Her contact info is stained_glassandmore@yahoo.com and local number is 999-143-3441.

Check out her beautiful work:




I LOVE this one!
Joan Paci was there with wrapped wire jewelry, homemade postcards and oilcloth tableclothes and aprons.

I didn't get a chance to talk with this gentleman, but his stuff is really cool!
Lovely handmade jewelry from Caravana
Beautifully cut and painted gourds and windchimes.
I know that I missed quite a few of the vendors but will try to make up for it the next time!
So, if you have been thinking about moving to the beach but were afraid that it would be too tranquil for you, believe me it's not! We have great restaurants, local shopping, art fairs, Funky Markets, karaoke and much more.

Don't forget to check out all of our listings on our website and if you have any questions about the area and living here give us a call or drop us an email. The team at Mayan Living is here to help you before, during and after the sale. This is Yucatan living at it's best!

Until later, we are just "Chillin in Chelem." ;-)

HIDDEN GEM CARIBBEAN STYLE!

For the past couple of months we have been traveling back and forth from Chelem to the Caribbean side of the Yucatan. As those of you who follow this blog know we used to live in both Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel. Times changed and both places got too busy for our laid-back life style. We eventually found our little piece of paradise in the state of Yucatan in a small town named Chelem. However, I must say that there is a piece of me that is still in love with the Caribbean, just not the tourist scene.

About a month ago we went to visit a friend who kept telling us we would love where he lived. He lives in a small community of about 200 homes, these homes were originally built for Mexicans but only a few had sold. Then an enterprising gringo developer came along and marketed them to those who live North of the Border. The houses sold like hotcakes, some people buying 3 or 4 of them for investment purposes. Now almost the entire community is gringos, most of them coming for 4-5 months in the winter while a few stay year round. We were totally intrigued with what we saw. These cute little homes were originally only about 807 sq feet, however, owners have added on terraces, back porches and built 2nd stories. The BEST thing is that you are only a 7 minute walk to one of the most beautiful beaches that I have EVER seen! Directly across the highway is a virgin beach, lined with palm trees, it is an environmentally protected area and turtle reserve. The days that we went it was deserted, only Doug and I and the turtles!

If you want to live a life like the picture below, keep reading..................

This is what the homes originally looked like when sold:

Then, new owners starting coming in and fixing them up, bit by bit

A great guy from North Carolina bought this one and added the tiled and covered front porch
I love this door!
Tiled back sitting area with garden and outside shower

He put the house on the market for $100,000 sold it in 3 months and is now working on building this one, right across the street, it has a circular upstairs master with gorgeous views

Two houses down from him is another cutie
I love the artwork on the front porch!

This is what the homes at the end of the street look like!


This development only has 4 streets, this is one street back
Some of the 2 story homes are really pretty snazzy looking for something that started out as a government project


This is one of my favorites, it reminds me of a southern plantation, and is kitty-cornered across the street from one that we might buy.
There are also 2 cenottes on the property and both toucans and spider monkeys have been spotted.



Another view of the gorgeous beach!
Long story short, Doug and I are in the negotiation process of buying one of these great little vacation homes. They are still reasonably priced and have a million dollar beach across the street! We will not sell our house in Chelem, we love it here and love our friends, but, this will give us the best of both worlds. We are currently in process of listing some of these homes, if you are interested, just give us a call on our US land line: 302-200-0461, Mexican Cell: (011-521) 999-178-3606 or email us: yucatansandman@gmail.com Actually Doug is meeting with the owner of a great one now! Keep checking our website, from the homepage click the listing tab and then Caribbean. Mayan Living is expanding our services throughout the Yucatan peninsula and training new agents as we speak! Let us help you find your dream home in all parts of the Yucatan today!