Cathy U. Says:
I want to spend a few months per year in Mexico. Can you recommend a beach community on the west or east coast that’s safe and where we won’t need to drive? Our budget is $3,000 per month.
IL Mexico Correspondent Bel Woodhouse Says:
Hi Cathy,
There are several beautiful walkable towns and cities close to the beach both on the east and the west coast of Mexico where you don’t need a car for your stay.
To help you decide, first I would recommend spending ten minutes reading the Mexico section of our newly-revamped website, which will help you narrow down the location you want to stay.
With a monthly budget of $3,000 you’ll find a nice place to rent and will be able to eat out regularly and travel around locally.
I live in the Riviera Maya and this region is safe and has a lot of great beach town options—Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos, Tulum, Isla Mujeres, or Cozumel—with plenty to do in those locations.
For the west coast, you may want to check out Baja, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerta Vallarta—all of which have large expat communities, a lot of friendly English-speaking locals and fun in the sun.
All of these locations are beautiful, so you may want to stay in more than one. Staying for a month in one, then a month in another will help you decide which fits best.
Every place will have a lot of options through AirBnB which is very popular in Mexico and quite often you get a reduced rate (up to 30% off in some cases) when booking for a month so that’s also worth checking out.
I hope you have fun deciding, it’s a beautiful country and no matter which of the suggestions above you pick, you’ll have a wonderful time.
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