Where to Choose to Live in Yucatan, Mexico
Tough decision! Do I want to live in El Centro, in Merida in general, in a country village, or do I want to live on the beach?
Choosing any still requires a lot of decisions, research, and knowledge. Our first recommendation, come on down and rent. Spend time where you think you’d like to live and during the time you’d think you’d like to live here.
Although Yucatan doesn’t have seasons as we know it, it still has seasons. Merida has hot, dry and humid/ rainy seasons. Villages have the same.
The beach can be drastically different! Yes it can be hot, dry and sometimes humid and rainy but the usual Northeast winds make it much more agreeable but you have to consider possible hurricanes and winter’s “Nortes”.
Hurricanes
I owned a house and 60 meters of beachfront property in San Bruno during the 1980’s and early 90’s. During that time we had many hurricanes that passed well off shore and made for great body surfing. In 1988 Hurricane Gilbert hit the eastern shores of Yucatan and reemerged with its eye over our house in San Bruno. Although it collapsed our porch and blew out our doors and windows, it could have been much worse.
We often see conversations on the web about hurricane insurance but if your house is of solid construction I personally would question the expense of paying for it as compared to just dealing with the cost when the occasion occurs. As always it’s a crap shoot. The cost of paying each year for hurricane insurance vs. saving the money each year and covering the costs of damage is questionable. Again this has more to do with your house foundation and construction. Have a GOOD inspection done prior to deciding this!
Yucatan has a zoning requirement for new construction on the beach that requires basically open construction at ground level in case of hurricanes. A great idea but I doubt my worn out knees could live with it. I prefer looking for a well made beach house with deep foundations.
Nortes/Northern Storms
During the winter, Nortes come and go. Being from Michigan these are a joke! These Nortes are basically Nothern winds that blow off of the Gulf. Imagine living on the beach and having to live with a Norte that blows off of the Gulf and can drop the temperature as low as in the upper 50’s for 1-2-3 whole days! Tough stuff. You may have to actually break out your fall/spring ware for a day or two! Things could be worse. You could be retired in Florida when it can hit the 30’s.
Enough said but it is something to consider. The seas around Yucatan in the winter are not those of the summer. In the summer the Gulf is as clear and beautiful as the Caribbean but in the winter it can be like living in Florida. Either way is better and much cheaper.
Nortes and Erosion
I’ll start back to 1975. My ex-wife’s Uncle, Tio Miix, owned a house on the beach in Chelem, a quaint little house on the beach. During the summer it was our only escape from the heat of Merida and living/visiting the Colonia de Aleman on the North/Northeast of Merida. Custom was to simply show up on Saturday or Sunday and enjoy the day. This custom supplied undue stress on many a housewife receiving expected yet unexpected guest. Noting the stress on Tia Ana formulated my insistence amongst our friends that visited us in San Bruno on our sand road and miles from anywhere that they bring food since we had nowhere to run out and get something.
Chelem, at this time, was experiencing change. In 1975, the beaches were ample and beautiful. My first experience with tropical beach heaven. Uncle Miix was upset about the pier being extended in Progreso but my Spanish was not good enough to understand the problem but I did enjoy the beach in front of his house.
Within the next year or so, and with my Spanish improving, I grew to understand his concern. The extension of the pier in Progreso was accelerating the erosion of the beaches. In 1988, the passing of Hurricane Gilbert left the beaches of Chelem totally eroded and an ocean going ship beached within arm’s reach of Tio Miix’s front porch.
The erosion west of Progreso’s pier continues to this day. While following many websites on line, and the beach restoration projects that have been undertaken, none have held up, to date, to a strong Norte. Waves continue lapping at the foundations of many a house in Chelem and there appears no respite to Mother Nature’s force.
The Ebb and Flow of Mother Nature
The current of the Yucatan Channel is from the Caribbean east to the west into the Gulf of Mexico hence the beautiful waters of summer. It is not until the winter that the current pushes to the north during winter that the Gulf waters enter Yucatan’s northern coast. The Nortes can leave the waters murky and the Nortes can leave several yards of seaweed along the shore. While visiting a friend’s house in December there was 15 feet of seaweed in the water along the shore and we decided to fill our friend’s pool rather than venture into the water.
The largest shock, through these years, is the slow erosion that has occurred. My former house in San Bruno that had several hundreds of yards had been reduced to one hundred and my friend’s house that we used to drive past, east of Chicxulub, in our jeep had barely enough beach to drive by if it was legal any more. Driving on the beach is not permitted due to the turtle nesting. A good thing!
Case in Point
The east to west flow of the Yucatan Channel is gradually eroding the shores of the north shores of Yucatan.
I’m sure I’ll get flack from the blogs on Yucatan but this is the truth but this is not a reason to avoid the Yucatan coast! Bottom line there are some factors to consider.
- If interested in beachfront property buy well west of the pier in Progreso. There is a reason why beachfront property in this area is cheaper than other areas. Buy further west in Chuburna or even further west to escape the erosion issues of the pier or simply buy a second row house and wait for it to become a front row house. Many second row houses in San Crisanto to the east are now first row houses but still have ruins left of the first row houses.
- Consider buying property around the western tip of Yucatan near Sisal as this area seems to be increasing in beach area and its value will only increase as the eventual airport in Honucma is developed.
- Buy a well built house well back from the beach.
- If you purchase land on the beach, build to the furthest back part as possible. This can be less than desirable since the cooling winds come from the northeast and can be blocked by the house/building next door.
- Build following the new zoning law that requires an elevated construction thereby enjoying the safety from hurricanes and the cooling winds in an elevated home but still build as far back as possible. You don’t need the stress of an encroaching sea during your retirement.
- Watch out for jetties! Any house you look at, look to the east! If people are building jetties you should avoid these houses! I first saw these things in Chelem/Chuburna very shortly after the extension of the Progreso pier. They seemed like a solution to the erosion problem. In actuality they tend to hold the beach on the western side of your property but if someone builds one to your east/right side it tends to increase the erosion on that side. Case in point! A hundred yards east of my friend’s house someone/the owner built an extensive jetty of wooden poles and stone. It saved what was left of his beach in front of his house but beyond the jetty, to the west, erosion is so bad, that as of December 2011, it had exposed his house’s foundation and it is now in peril of collapsing.
I am not trying to scare you off from buying here. As always or anywhere knowledge goes along ways.
More to follow!
Be the first to comment
