Relocating from Abroad?

The central Pacific coast of Mexico, in particular the coastline which straddles the states of Nayarit and Jalisco, runs from Careyes in the south via the growing city of Puerto Vallarta in the Bay of Banderas, up past the word class resort of Punta Mita and new resort and residential community at Litibu on towards the Riviera Nayarit. is currently experiencing an explosion of expansion and development.
Puerto Vallarta enjoys a sunny and warm climate year round. Located on the same latitude as the Hawaiian islands, the high season runs from November to May and is the dry season with an average of temperature from 75 to 85 F (24-30C). The rainy seasons last from mid June until mid November, during which time the temperatures range from the High 80’s to low 90’s F (30-32 C) with high humidity levels. Usually it rains early in the morning and in the late afternoon with sunny days.
The international airport of Puerto Vallarta offers flights to most major cities in the US and Canda and even to selected European cities via European charter companies. The private airport, Aerotron, sees a daily influx of private jets.

Demographics

No longer simply a resort for its retired neighbours from northern countries of America and Canada, Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding areas are now opening up to a more diverse temporary and permanent population.
A younger dynamic workforce of architects, engineers, designers and the like has moved into the area, coming from the interior of Mexico and the large cities such as Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
Professional couples with young families are also moving to the area, both from Mexico, its northern neighbours, as well as from Europe looking to live here full time or at least establish their primary residence here while spending summers travelling abroad.
Living is made easier by recent improvement in services and communications, better highways, bilingual and internationally recognized hospitals, multilingual schools, and world class restaurants and annual festivals.
The advent and the development of the internet has meant that for these new migrants to Mexico’s pacific coast business can be conducted with ease.

VOIP ensures that expensive long distance calls are a thing of the past.

Utilities and Equipment

Electric service is the same as in the U.S.: 110 volt, 60 hertz, AC. Voltage regulators or surge suppressers to protect televisions, stereos, and computers from electrical surges are available locallyS. urge suppressers may not offer adequate protection. Most houses in the Bay are equipped with air conditioning, either central or mini splits.

Food

Puerto Vallarta is home to American chains like Wal-Mart Super Center, Sam’s Club, as well as Mexican chain supercenter-type stores. Some European and commonly American products can be found in these stores.
Frozen foods are readily available, and low-calorie, low-fat products are becoming more widely available as are products such as soya and rice milk and diabetic products. Pasteurized milk (whole and skim), cheeses, and heavy cream may be safely purchased in supermarkets.

Potable Water

Although some hotels and homes have purified drinking water most people prefer to drink bottled and mineral waters, either Mexican brands such as Bonafont or Ciel, or even European brands such as Evian and Perrier which can be found in the supermarkets. In additional “garrafones” of water are delivered daily to homes. Many newer houses have filtration systems for potable water
It is necessary to disinfect fruits and vegetables before eating them. Disinfectant drops and powder are readily available in all local grocery stores.

Supplies and Services

Many people, especially if they are not living here year round choose to have a live in couple to act as housekeeper and handyman/gardener. Many of the larger estate homes have a staff “casita” or small house on the grounds or a service apartment for housing full time staff.
If you prefer to have daily help, maids and gardeners are easily hired, though whether they speak English may be harder to guarantee. Some staff do have experience of working in the United States and so speak English but will command a higher price for their services.

Religion

There are English services offered for most Christian denominations.

Education

Puerto Vallarta has a good number of private schools, many bilingual. The American School offers a coeducational, bilingual program from pre-kindergarten through high school. The British American offers a bilingual program school from kindergarten through grade 12. Other schools to consider are the Colegio de Bucerias or el The Institute Pierre Faure.

Recreation and Social Life

Sports Puerto Vallarta’s climate encourages a wide variety of outdoor sports. Swimming, riding, surfing, kite surfing and biking are popular. There are several world class golf courses, in Banderas Bay. Both private clubs and city recreation facilities offer swimming, tennis, racquetball, squash, basketball, among other sports. For the more adventurous are deep sea fishing, snorkeling, and the Canopy Tours in Las Palmas and el Eden.

Puerto Vallarta is situated in close proximity to many areas worth visiting. The old mining towns of San Sebastian del Oueste and Mascota in the Sierra Madre show another face of Mexico, San Seabsitan being a Unesco World Heritage Site. The state capital of Jalisco is a four hour drive or 2o minute flight away, from where one can make day excursions to the towns of Tonala, and Tlaquepaque for artesan art and crafts, Lake Chapala, and the lakeside village of Ajijic.

Television

Satellite and cable are readily available and offer US and European news channels. (Fox, CNN, BBC, TV5, RAI etc).