After getting advice from friends here and experiencing living both further away and closer to areas and amenities, I thought I would share my findings with you as far as the neighborhoods you may be interested in living in here in the beautiful city of Merida.
Now I think it's important to note that all over the city there are empty, discarded houses right next to updated, fancy ones. You can have a boarded up place overgrown with weeds and debris and right next door have a beautifully painted home with a manicured yard. You can see broken up sidewalks and piles of rubble and one street over have beautifully maintained streets and walkways. At first we were a bit worried when we came down to visit. The first few days though, we got used to it and realized that's just how it is. You aren't in the ghetto, that's just Mexico. A lot come in(in Centro esp.) and update the older homes that have been here forever. Also, what you see on the outside can be deceiving. It may not look like much on the street, but once you walk in you could have high ceilings, 2 stories, beautiful pool and yard in the back. So don't make a quick judgement. Give it a chance.
Throughout the city of Merida there are Colonias. You can usually see which Colonia you are in by looking at the street signs. They will have the Calle(street)number and below it will say Montebello, Montes De Ame, Itzimna, etc. These help with directions as a lot of streets can have the same numbers.
There are also Privadas(a couple examples below), which are gated communities with usually a guard at the entrance who monitors who comes and goes. They generally have a little playground inside and some areas to walk around, and even a recreation area and tennis courts.
So as you are looking at different rentals you can take note of which Colonia you are in. So keep a look out! Now let's discuss a few of the Colonias and areas of Merida.
Centro- This is a popular area for many expats to want to be. We wanted it at first as well. We have friends who live there and find it convenient for them. You have access to a lot within walking distance. Paseo de Montejo is a popular strip for visitors and locals alike. You have a main tree-lined street with monuments around each round-about.
You have shops, restaurants, and groceries galore and the homes are charming and unique. There are a few things to note though. Generally the homes here are older and their plumbing and such reflect that. We stayed in a charming place one block off of Paseo and it was very convenient. It had gorgeous flooring and original, unique architecture.
But it's important to note that the doors and windows were not sealed and, though pretty, the windows and doors would always have a draft to let bugs and mosquitoes in. The water pressure was low and the hot water was almost non-existent. Now, there are updates that can be done to mediate these problems so if it's important to you, it's worth asking the questions. Toilet paper cannot be flushed in a lot of these older homes so that's a good questions to ask as well. The rentals in this area, because of the demand, are more expensive and you may not get everything you are looking for. Also, because of the older style, the layout may not be what you need. For us, we would like to have our children's bedrooms on the same level and in the same building as us. A lot of these older homes have a "maid's room" which is a bedroom separate from the rest of the home. Since our children are younger, this didn't work for us. I could just imagine my kiddo coming to me in the middle of the night and falling in the pool or something.
A lot of our friends and people we have met that live here are single and enjoy it very much. They don't own a car and walk everywhere. For us, we now own a car, and walking everywhere isn't always feasible with 2 small children in 100+ weather with bags of groceries in tow.
Caucel- This Colonia is located on the Western side of Merida. It's outside the Periferico(main highway around the city). Homes around here price-wise are very reasonable. A lot of the homes have similar layouts but are also different in their own way. This area is close to a shopping area with banks, Walmart, Chedraui, restaurants, and the zoo(it's free!). It's' about 20 min from Centro. We considered this area but it was hard for us to find a 4 bedroom home. Most seemed to be 3 bedrooms. A lot of the homes we saw here were on the smaller side as well.
Las Americas- Now first thought for us was-is this where all the expats live? We didn't want to seclude ourselves and only be in an area where it was all English speakers and no locals. However, there aren't really any areas where expats congregate. Expats are spread all over and mingled in with the locals. Las Americas is almost it's own city. It's located North of Merida, outside the periferico. Restaurants and shopping centers are conveniently located here. I saw several rentals that appealed to us and were a reasonable cost. Within it's Colonia is everything you could need and you wouldn't even have to venture out if you didn't want to. We were told by our realtor that we didn't want to live here because it floods like crazy when it rains a lot. We were also told by another family that it just depends on the house. Each house is it's own thing. They lived in Las Americas and in their rental they said every time it rained the walls would "sweat" and get moldy. EEK. They also said that other homes would be perfectly fine and never had issues. Since it's hard to determine whether a home would do that, BEFORE we moved in, we decided we'll just visit the cool places in Las Americas.
Tixcacal- We were here for a bit before we moved into our current rental and considered living in this area as well. It is located South-West of the city center and outside the Periferico. It's located in a quiet area with a couple of little shops. It's closer to the airport and easy access to the highway. The place we stayed was in a privada. It was and older area and we felt a bit secluded from everything, which was good and bad. The area was quiet and quaint but we had to drive about 20-30 min to get where we needed to go. The grocery stores which I regularly visit were about 25 min away. The homes here are less expensive and are also smaller than we needed. Nothing really is available to get delivered here, so if that's something you want, take note. Ultimately it just wouldn't have worked for us.
Montes De Ame- This Colonia is located North of Centro within the Periferico. It's got some really pretty homes. All the homes around here have a perimeter fence with automatic gates and the majority are larger homes. It's close to a couple of malls, Home Depot, Costco, and Chedraui. It's close to a lot of mom and pop shops and restaurants. You can get a lot delivered here, whether it be groceries or restaurants. Generally this area is a little more expensive and you might pay more for the convenience of location than the home itself.
Conkal- This area is North-East of the city center and looks to be a more up and coming neighborhood. It's a drive but there are a lot of newer homes in privadas and they seem to be built well. There are some shopping centers that are there currently and a lot in the works. I am unsure if you can get deliveries there but if you don't mind the drive, the homes are reasonably priced and could eventually be a wonderful place to be.
Santa Gertrudis Copo- This is the area we ended up in. It's North of the city center and just outside of the Periferico. There are several Privadas around here and we are in one as well. We are close to a place called City Center(Shopping area with banks and little shops), Walmart, and La Isla Mall is right down the road. I think this is one of the newest malls and it has some great shops and restaurants, a pretty man-made lake where you can water ski and just a generally nice area to spend the day. It's about 10 min from Costco and Selecto Chedraui. Getting to the other side of the Periferico is a little frustrating sometimes because it can get backed up at the round-about. You can get deliveries here whether it be groceries or food. So far I think it's a great first place for our family to be in. When our year is up we will see what we end up doing but for right now we are pretty happy and comfortable.
A quick note on North vs. South. South has always generally been the less affluent neighborhoods and North, the opposite. We have friends in both areas and they have told us that in the South things are generally cheaper bill wise. Electricity, water, gas, are all cheaper in the South and in the North things are more. You have less privadas and not as "popular" stores. Nothing wrong with either area and checking out both areas is a great idea and can give you many options for your move!
So there you have it! Now these, of course, are only a few of the many areas you can choose to be your home. Just be sure and ask as many questions as possible(even if you feel they are dumb) that way you can end up somewhere that works for you and your family.
~Bee
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