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Riviera Nayarit as a retirement option?

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WARunaway
  7/13/2018 21:00 EST

Hello,

I am new to this forum and am looking for shared information and experiences of those living or having lived in the Riviera Nayarit area near Puerto Vallarta.

As a teen I lived in Guadalajara while my Dad went to medical school. It was such a moving experience that as a young adult my husband and I purchased timeshare property in Mexico and spent the last 30 years visiting many areas of Mexico from East to West coast. Now my husband and I are interested in possible early retirement on a budget and are exploring moving to Mexico.

We love the coastal regions, both along the Riviera Maya and Nayarit, but worry about living in the hurricane zone along the East Coast. Does anyone have experiences and/or information that they can share about day to day living in the Nayarit coastal region?

The beauty and vibrancy of the Mexican culture and people is what appeals to us, not the moderization of these beautiful destinations. It would be nice to have both American, Canadian and Mexican neighbors, not a lot of "clubs" and tourist activities, but proximity to local restaurants and market places would be nice.

Feel free to share your thoughts. We will be in the area in October and look forward to looking at the region from more than a visitors perspective.

Thanks!

Cozumeldeb
  7/13/2018 23:00 EST

We bought our home in Cozumel in 2001. So got hit by Wilma in 2005, fully insured went back to GDL to buy more furniture. We've not been hit since Wilma. Check weather history Puerta Vallarta/Cabo have been hit several times in the last few yrs. Have u looked at other options? We love Guanajuato and San Miguel Allende areas, weather in the mountains is near perfect year around. Happy Hunting.

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RVGRINGO
  7/14/2018 11:40 EST

Your comments in the original posting caused me to make a mental leap to Mazatlan. Have your visited there? It would seem to fit your needs to a "T".

wafa
  7/14/2018 12:35 EST

We quite like the little town of Bucerias which is north of Nayarit.

WARunaway
  7/14/2018 13:10 EST

We are considering Mazatlan. Do you have any specifics to share? Also, do you anything about the towns outside PV? Thanks

WARunaway
  7/14/2018 13:14 EST

We love the area near Bucerias! We will be there in October and want to talk to expats and others who have made it their home. Anything you can share would be appreciated. Thanks!

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Cozumeldeb
  7/14/2018 15:58 EST

Just a suggestion, go on state dept travel updates. Mazatlan has a fairly long history of narco problems, at one time cruise ships refused to stop there. It is a beautiful location and have heard its improved some.Sign up for travel updates.

RVGRINGO
  7/14/2018 16:22 EST

I particularly like the slightly more tolerable late summer weather in Mazatlan, and the ambiance of the old town area near the Peralta Opera House, etc. The ability to live outside the tourist zone, and the proximity of the mercado publico and the malecon are big advantages, as is the lower density of expats in any one area.

LeiaRowan
  7/14/2018 17:18 EST

I too was thinking of Mazatlan. See y'all there in November:--)

NA
  7/14/2018 18:13 EST

I am originally from Mazatlan, but I haven’t lived there in 40 years. I retireded 4 months ago and I’m planning on moving back. My family has lived there for over a 100 years and we have never been affected by the narcos. Living in Centro, the Golden Zone, Sabalo or Cerritos, one is pretty safe. Just as in any other city, you know where not to go at night.

larryoinpdx
  7/14/2018 18:55 EST

WARunaway, I live in Mazatlan and it fits all your original criteria - and the rumors of cartel activity have been grossly exaggerated!

I interact with more Canadians and Mexicans than I do Americans - I walk a dog on the beach every morning, and I have met people from near and far in Mexico who come here to vacation - Mazetlecos pride themselves in their friendliness and welcoming outlook, and the local, indigenous cultural activities are pretty much nonstop, although things do slow down in the summer.

This is a working city and the economy is stable as near as I can tell, and you can find very nice, and very economical, housing here if you look - Mazatlan Snowbird Rentals/House Sit on FB is a good place to start.

And the food here - well, the food here has to be experienced. I know there is good food all over Mexico, but this place is astonishing when it comes to food!

I would come to Mazatlan for a couple of weeks and look around if I was you - look at Pacific Pearl online for more information.

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WARunaway
  7/15/2018 13:45 EST

Our primary destination is between Bucerias and La Penita. Does anyone have feedback on what it is like to live in this area?

RVGRINGO
  7/15/2018 15:51 EST

Boring in both places, but for different reasons. One has too many expats, and the other is very poor in everything but evening mosquitoes.

longtimelurker
  7/15/2018 16:31 EST

Even though I never lived there, I love the Riviera Nayarit. If I didn't pick the Riviera Maya that was my 2nd choice. I went there quite a bit in my RV when I lived Lakeside. La Penita and Rincon Guayabitos are my favorites. The bay is good for swimming. Guayabitos has quite a few restaurants and clubs. Plenty of fresh fish available. Close to PV for all the conveniences of NOB. Check out Los Ayala.

kikipt
  7/15/2018 19:24 EST

larryo - we considered Mazatlán as well. The malecon was wonderful and the people were very friendly, though it didn't have the sorts of cultural activities we were seeking. But I have to agree about the food. El Presidio is possibly the best restaurant we have eaten at anywhere in Mexico - and we have eaten at lots of world-class restaurants here!

Dharmagranny
  7/19/2018 07:12 EST

Cartel country. We lived south of Bucerias a few miles in Flamingos in a condo. We looked down on a fraccionamiento (subdivision) of houses that were middle level cartel people. One time, two houses away from our gate, there was a party. Gunshots accompanied loud music at about 3 am. The Federales (federal police) arrived and it quieted down for a few minutes, then there was a burst of machine gun fire. Everything got really quiet for a while except for the sirens on the two Federales' vehicles. We moved out a month later after noticing that the security gate to the fraccionamiento was often backed up by Federales, and our own compound's security gate started working only one day at a time. Every day the repair people came, every night the gate broke and was standing wide open. The Orquideas condo owners failed to provide any round the clock administrative or security presence. My advice about anywhere in Nayarit would be to avoid it because the drug war is ramping up between the Nayarit and the Jalisco cartels. Anywhere near Bucerias, draw a 100 mile perimeter circle and go beyond that. Mazatlan is also cartel country, BTW.

giershift43
  7/19/2018 07:47 EST

The book dreamland describes Nayarit as the hub of black haroine. It is not cartel but racheros and lots of them working to sell black tar heroin in the states. Read “Dreamland” a book on the opioid epidemic for a history of this notarious location .

Dharmagranny
  7/20/2018 09:27 EST

I have seen this in Jalisco and Nayarit, the rancheros being the big distributors.

giershift43
  7/20/2018 11:33 EST

DreamLand is the title of a book on the Opiod epidemic. It describes at some length the boys from Xalisco rachos. it also explains the role of American Pharmaceutical companies that wrongly informed physicians that Oxycotin was not addictive and supported the development of pain clinics in Portsmouth Ohio. Since I live in Ohio, the whole thing is close to home.

IAM
  9/23/2018 23:59 EST

I’ve lived in Puerto Vallarta’s residential area for almost 2 years…visited for 10 days, returned home and retired 3 months later to move here. During my visit I hired a local cab drive to use his personal car to take me to many surrounding areas, such as Bucerias, San Sebastian, Moscota, El Tuito, Nayarit, Los Palmas and Mismaloya to name a few. The people are so warm and friendly…very helpful, too.
Now I can use the local bus to go to Mismaloya/beach area for 8 pesos/old bus 10 pesos new a/c bus (about 20 mins from Romantic Zone or Centro area). Bucerias/beach area 22/32 pesos (about 25 mins from Marina/Fluvial area).
It rains mostly during evenings mid June – September. Nights December – April are perfect…maybe a sweater at night.
The mountains protect the area from major storms. I was going to move to Florida, but Hurricane Mathew danced across the area, which was Melbourne, so here I am. Researching shows:
Puerto Vallarta really has no hurricane season per se, this is because of its location in the middle of the Banderas Bay that is also surrounded on all sides by mountains, sometimes hurricanes pass through the area and the city is a bit affected by them, but mostly on the sidelines. Now, that doesn't mean that PV is in some way magically free from hurricanes, as some liked to believe.
Let me know if you need any additional info...would love to meet up with you guys…I have snowbird friends from Canada returning in October…lol.
https://www.puertovallarta.net/
https://www.vallartatribune.com/
https://www.expatsinvallarta.com/

NilesS
  9/30/2018 02:44 EST

2 things: If I'm not mistaken, Nayarit is under a current State Department warning of do not travel. Also, the jejenes (sand flies) are legendary.

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