According to International Living, Mexico is not only the nearest destination abroad for U.S. and Canadian expats; it is also one of the most popular.
More than a million expats are estimated to live in Mexico full- or part-time… the largest concentration of North American expats anywhere in the world.
Of course, it helps that Mexico is also one of the largest countries in the Americas, offering just about any climate, geographical landscape, and lifestyle you might want.
As a result, you’ll find expats scattered all over Mexico. But some places have proven to be especially popular, with an appeal that makes them stand out from the crowd.
Here are five Mexico destinations where the living is easy… and any one of them could be your perfect expat home,Plus a few places you may want to cross off your list.
For many North Americans, say “Mexico” and they think of white-sand beaches. That’s not surprising. Mexico has nearly 6,000 miles of coastline, much of it beautiful beach. If you’re looking for a beach lifestyle, Mexico will have you spoiled for choice.
For classic white-sand beaches and turquoise waters, it’s hard to beat Mexico’s Riviera Maya. This 80-mile stretch of coast runs along the Yucatán Peninsula from Cancún to Tulúm. Little beach towns are scattered all along the coast…and one—Playa del Carmen—has grown to become a city.
One of the fastest-growing destinations in Mexico, Playa, as its known locally, offers a laidback beach vibe…and the upper-end shopping and restaurant scene of a larger city.
To enjoy small-town (but upscale) beach life on this coast, head to Tulúm. Once domain of backpacker travelers, today attracts fashionistas and other trendsetters who come to get away from it all.
Today you’ll find rustic, palm-thatched palapas alongside gourmet restaurants here…and a beach that’s considered one of the world’s most beautiful.
Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, has been an international beach resort for more than 50 years. Once a small fishing village, today the greater Vallarta area stretches for nearly 30 miles along the shores of Banderas Bay, one of the world’s largest bays.
This area offers pure First-World living, with shopping, restaurants, and real estate at every price point; an international airport; and a large, international expat community. Beaches and a long pier that borders the city are the principal’s attractive.
But Puerto Vallarta offers so much to do—from zip-lining and horseback riding in the hills, to fine dining and recent film releases in town—that you’ll have plenty to do, even if you never put a toe in the water.
If you want big-city life with the beach a short distance away, there’s Merida. Capital of the Yucatán Peninsula, this city of nearly a million residents lies about half an hour from the Yucatán Gulf Coast. Small villages dot this placid coast. This is where Mérida’s middle-class families have summered for generations.
Today expats have joined them, but many towns still have a family-oriented feel. Don’t look for boutique shopping or dining here, but if you’re seeking a laidback beach life at still-low prices, you can find it here.
Not everyone wants to live on the beach…. If you prefer temperate weather and Spanish-colonial style, then Lake Chapala or San Miguel de Allende, both in central Mexico, may fit the bill. Lake Chapala has an enviably near-perfect climate—spring-like almost all year—and a large, diverse expat community.
And being near Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city, means easy access to its international airport and excellent medical facilities. San Miguel, about three hours north of Mexico City, is a beautifully preserved Spanish-colonial town that offers art galleries, gourmet restaurants, a wealth of arts and crafts, and a large expat community.
No country is perfect, and Mexico has gotten more than its share of knocks. But yes, some parts of Mexico should be avoided, while others are just not worth your time.
Some Mexican states bordering the U.S.—notably Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Chihuahua—have vast, empty interiors where you can be at the mercy of accidents and bad weather. If you’re looking to drive down into central Mexico or farther south (and many expats do), consider checking routes through other Mexican states like Nuevo León, Sonora, and Baja California.
Acapulco was once one of Mexico’s top beach resorts, but age and scattered violence has dimmed the city’s glitter. If you want to stay on the beaches of Acapulco’s home state, Guerrero, head north to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.
Finally, Tabasco may be a famous hot sauce, but the Mexican state is largely humid, low-lying land. It’s the boring, often wet stretch you’ll pass if you’re driving from central Mexico to the Yucatán Peninsula. Tabasco’s capital, Villahermosa, is a major business city, headquarters of Mexico’s oil industry and home to several museums. Take a quick look if you’re inclined…but with so many interesting places both north and south of it, you probably won’t want to linger.
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Showing posts with label Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. Show all posts
Tuesday, 16 May 2017
Sunday, 14 May 2017
MEXICO: Holidaymakers Killed Fuel Tanker Knocks Bus, Medical Tourism A hot Cake Worldwide
At least 24 people are reported to have been killed in Mexico, after a fuel truck crashed into a passenger bus. The vehicles burst into flames, with many of those inside perishing in the blaze.
Authorities said that the crash on Thursday happened on a highway along the Pacific Coast, in the state of Guerrero, near to the border with neighboring Michoacan.
The commander of Michoacan State Firemen's Association, Jorge Ostria, told local media that the fuel truck had been carrying 40,000 liters of gasoline when it plowed across the highway into oncoming traffic.
Ostria said the driver of the fuel vehicle had lost control, with the resulting explosion and fire killing most on board the bus.
Eight people, including two children, were treated in hospital for their injuries.
We managed to get to some people, among them children, who we were able to get out of there thanks to the expertise of one of the relatives accompanying the driver, said Ostria.
The crash, in the small town of Feliciano, happened at a busy time on the roads of Mexico, with the roads packed ahead of the Easter holiday period.
According to one report, the passenger vehicle had been hired by a family from Morelia, the capital of Michoacan, who had been heading to a beach resort of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.
Meanwhile, Health tourism is already worth billions of dollars per year and set to grow at up to 25 percent annually over the coming decade, according to a recent study by Visa and Oxford Economics.
Medical tourism has grown into a healthy travel sector as people shop beyond their borders for everything from dental work to plastic surgery.
Thanks to the internet, a growing middle class, often from countries without high-quality healthcare, "know that there are treatments out there for them," said Julie Munro, president of the Medical Travel Quality Alliance, which produces a ranking of the 10 best hospitals for medical tourists.
But medical tourism is not limited to a few countries, nor to people from wealthier nations travelling to less pricey ones.
Countries like the United States, Turkey, Thailand, Singapore, Spain and Germany see both inward and outward flows, as patients dodge waiting lists or hunt for care that is either unavailable or too expensive in their own country.
You have medical tourism, really, globally, said Thomas Boemkes of marketing firm and ITB partner Diversity Tourism. "For example, you have a lot of Germans going to Poland or Croatia doing dental care because it is cheaper.
But also a lot of Russians and Arabians coming to Germany because we have high-quality hospitals and care they don't have in their countries." "We work with travel agencies and offer complete packages" including pick-up from airports, said Jacco Vroegop, head of clinics in Amsterdam and Frankfurt for ophthalmology network Worldeye.
Launched in Turkey before expanding into Germany and, in the future, into the Netherlands, the group says it treats around 50,000 foreign patients from 107 countries each year.
Medical tourism offers range from dental care through to plastic surgery, reproductive medicine, cancer or heart treatments, rehabilitation and preventive examinations.
But Munro warns of a "growing problem" that patients travelling abroad are particularly at risk of "over-diagnosis" aimed at swelling their bills.
Medical tourists are also often concerned with security in destination countries. Worldeye, for example, expects more clients to opt for its sites in Amsterdam or Frankfurt than for Istanbul or Antalya as Turkey struggles with political tensions.
Dubai has made big bets on medical tourism since 2012, concentrating on seven specialities where the city has the capacity take on extra patients without affecting care for locals.
Some 42 treatment centres have been singled out for their focus on taking in foreign patients. "We launched a strategy, a brand, Dubai Health Experience, and a website for all tourists to be able to access official information on where they can be treated, and a mobile app," said Linda Abdulla Ali, a consultant with the city's Medical Tourism Council.
In 2015, 298,000 people travelled to the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates for care, 30 percent of them from other Arab nations. Our objective is to attract half a million medical tourists by 2020, she said.
Other countries, such as Portugal, are just beginning to dip their toes into the market. We're still preparing our strategy, starting the promotion all over the world, said Joaquim Cunha of Health Cluster Portugal.
The group plans an offer based on a modern park of private hospitals, Cunha said. We don't think that for medical tourism purposes we can use the public hospitals, he added.
Health tourism is already worth billions of dollars per year and set to grow at up to 25 percent annually over the coming decade, according to a recent study by Visa and Oxford Economics.
Medical tourism has grown into a healthy travel sector as people shop beyond their borders for everything from dental work to plastic surgery.
Thanks to the internet, a growing middle class, often from countries without high-quality healthcare, know that there are treatments out there for them said Julie Munro, president of the Medical Travel Quality Alliance, which produces a ranking of the 10 best hospitals for medical tourists.
But medical tourism is not limited to a few countries, nor to people from wealthier nations travelling to less pricey ones. Countries like the United States, Turkey, Thailand, Singapore, Spain and Germany see both inward and outward flows, as patients dodge waiting lists or hunt for care that is either unavailable or too expensive in their own country.
You have medical tourism, really, globally, said Thomas Boemkes of marketing firm and ITB partner Diversity Tourism.For example, you have a lot of Germans going to Poland or Croatia doing dental care because it is cheaper.
But also a lot of Russians and Arabians coming to Germany because we have high-quality hospitals and care they don't have in their countries.
We work with travel agencies and offer complete packages including pick-up from airports, said Jacco Vroegop, head of clinics in Amsterdam and Frankfurt for ophthalmology network Worldeye.
Launched in Turkey before expanding into Germany and, in the future, into the Netherlands, the group says it treats around 50,000 foreign patients from 107 countries each year.
Medical tourism offers range from dental care through to plastic surgery, reproductive medicine, cancer or heart treatments, rehabilitation and preventive examinations.
But Munro warns of a "growing problem" that patients travelling abroad are particularly at risk of "over-diagnosis" aimed at swelling their bills.
Medical tourists are also often concerned with security in destination countries. Worldeye, for example, expects more clients to opt for its sites in Amsterdam or Frankfurt than for Istanbul or Antalya as Turkey struggles with political tensions.
Dubai has made big bets on medical tourism since 2012, concentrating on seven specialities where the city has the capacity take on extra patients without affecting care for locals.
Some 42 treatment centres have been singled out for their focus on taking in foreign patients. We launched a strategy, a brand, Dubai Health Experience, and a website for all tourists to be able to access official information on where they can be treated, and a mobile app, said Linda Abdulla Ali, a consultant with the city's Medical Tourism Council.
In 2015, 298,000 people travelled to the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates for care, 30 percent of them from other Arab nations.Our objective is to attract half a million medical tourists by 2020, she said.
Other countries, such as Portugal, are just beginning to dip their toes into the market. We're still preparing our strategy, starting the promotion all over the world, said Joaquim Cunha of Health Cluster Portugal.
The group plans an offer based on "a modern park of private hospitals," Cunha said. We don't think that for medical tourism purposes we can use the public hospitals, he added.
Ranking of the 10 best hospitals for medical tourists 2017
1. Germany, Hamburg: Asklepios Klinik Barmbek
2. Lebanon, Beirut: Clemenceau Medical Center
3. India, Bagalore: Fortis Hospital Bannerghatta
4. Singapore: Gleneagles Hospital
5. Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur: Prince Court Medical Center
6. Canada, Toronto: Shouldice Hospital
7. Jordan, Amman: The Speciality Hospital
8. Thailand, Bangkok: Samitivej Hospital
9. Mexico, Monterrey: Christus Muguerza Super Speciality Hospital
10. Turkey, Istanbul: Anadolu Medical Center
Authorities said that the crash on Thursday happened on a highway along the Pacific Coast, in the state of Guerrero, near to the border with neighboring Michoacan.
The commander of Michoacan State Firemen's Association, Jorge Ostria, told local media that the fuel truck had been carrying 40,000 liters of gasoline when it plowed across the highway into oncoming traffic.
Ostria said the driver of the fuel vehicle had lost control, with the resulting explosion and fire killing most on board the bus.
Eight people, including two children, were treated in hospital for their injuries.
We managed to get to some people, among them children, who we were able to get out of there thanks to the expertise of one of the relatives accompanying the driver, said Ostria.
The crash, in the small town of Feliciano, happened at a busy time on the roads of Mexico, with the roads packed ahead of the Easter holiday period.
According to one report, the passenger vehicle had been hired by a family from Morelia, the capital of Michoacan, who had been heading to a beach resort of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.
Meanwhile, Health tourism is already worth billions of dollars per year and set to grow at up to 25 percent annually over the coming decade, according to a recent study by Visa and Oxford Economics.
Medical tourism has grown into a healthy travel sector as people shop beyond their borders for everything from dental work to plastic surgery.
Thanks to the internet, a growing middle class, often from countries without high-quality healthcare, "know that there are treatments out there for them," said Julie Munro, president of the Medical Travel Quality Alliance, which produces a ranking of the 10 best hospitals for medical tourists.
But medical tourism is not limited to a few countries, nor to people from wealthier nations travelling to less pricey ones.
Countries like the United States, Turkey, Thailand, Singapore, Spain and Germany see both inward and outward flows, as patients dodge waiting lists or hunt for care that is either unavailable or too expensive in their own country.
You have medical tourism, really, globally, said Thomas Boemkes of marketing firm and ITB partner Diversity Tourism. "For example, you have a lot of Germans going to Poland or Croatia doing dental care because it is cheaper.
But also a lot of Russians and Arabians coming to Germany because we have high-quality hospitals and care they don't have in their countries." "We work with travel agencies and offer complete packages" including pick-up from airports, said Jacco Vroegop, head of clinics in Amsterdam and Frankfurt for ophthalmology network Worldeye.
Launched in Turkey before expanding into Germany and, in the future, into the Netherlands, the group says it treats around 50,000 foreign patients from 107 countries each year.
Medical tourism offers range from dental care through to plastic surgery, reproductive medicine, cancer or heart treatments, rehabilitation and preventive examinations.
But Munro warns of a "growing problem" that patients travelling abroad are particularly at risk of "over-diagnosis" aimed at swelling their bills.
Medical tourists are also often concerned with security in destination countries. Worldeye, for example, expects more clients to opt for its sites in Amsterdam or Frankfurt than for Istanbul or Antalya as Turkey struggles with political tensions.
Dubai has made big bets on medical tourism since 2012, concentrating on seven specialities where the city has the capacity take on extra patients without affecting care for locals.
Some 42 treatment centres have been singled out for their focus on taking in foreign patients. "We launched a strategy, a brand, Dubai Health Experience, and a website for all tourists to be able to access official information on where they can be treated, and a mobile app," said Linda Abdulla Ali, a consultant with the city's Medical Tourism Council.
In 2015, 298,000 people travelled to the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates for care, 30 percent of them from other Arab nations. Our objective is to attract half a million medical tourists by 2020, she said.
Other countries, such as Portugal, are just beginning to dip their toes into the market. We're still preparing our strategy, starting the promotion all over the world, said Joaquim Cunha of Health Cluster Portugal.
The group plans an offer based on a modern park of private hospitals, Cunha said. We don't think that for medical tourism purposes we can use the public hospitals, he added.
Health tourism is already worth billions of dollars per year and set to grow at up to 25 percent annually over the coming decade, according to a recent study by Visa and Oxford Economics.
Medical tourism has grown into a healthy travel sector as people shop beyond their borders for everything from dental work to plastic surgery.
Thanks to the internet, a growing middle class, often from countries without high-quality healthcare, know that there are treatments out there for them said Julie Munro, president of the Medical Travel Quality Alliance, which produces a ranking of the 10 best hospitals for medical tourists.
But medical tourism is not limited to a few countries, nor to people from wealthier nations travelling to less pricey ones. Countries like the United States, Turkey, Thailand, Singapore, Spain and Germany see both inward and outward flows, as patients dodge waiting lists or hunt for care that is either unavailable or too expensive in their own country.
You have medical tourism, really, globally, said Thomas Boemkes of marketing firm and ITB partner Diversity Tourism.For example, you have a lot of Germans going to Poland or Croatia doing dental care because it is cheaper.
But also a lot of Russians and Arabians coming to Germany because we have high-quality hospitals and care they don't have in their countries.
We work with travel agencies and offer complete packages including pick-up from airports, said Jacco Vroegop, head of clinics in Amsterdam and Frankfurt for ophthalmology network Worldeye.
Launched in Turkey before expanding into Germany and, in the future, into the Netherlands, the group says it treats around 50,000 foreign patients from 107 countries each year.
Medical tourism offers range from dental care through to plastic surgery, reproductive medicine, cancer or heart treatments, rehabilitation and preventive examinations.
But Munro warns of a "growing problem" that patients travelling abroad are particularly at risk of "over-diagnosis" aimed at swelling their bills.
Medical tourists are also often concerned with security in destination countries. Worldeye, for example, expects more clients to opt for its sites in Amsterdam or Frankfurt than for Istanbul or Antalya as Turkey struggles with political tensions.
Dubai has made big bets on medical tourism since 2012, concentrating on seven specialities where the city has the capacity take on extra patients without affecting care for locals.
Some 42 treatment centres have been singled out for their focus on taking in foreign patients. We launched a strategy, a brand, Dubai Health Experience, and a website for all tourists to be able to access official information on where they can be treated, and a mobile app, said Linda Abdulla Ali, a consultant with the city's Medical Tourism Council.
In 2015, 298,000 people travelled to the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates for care, 30 percent of them from other Arab nations.Our objective is to attract half a million medical tourists by 2020, she said.
Other countries, such as Portugal, are just beginning to dip their toes into the market. We're still preparing our strategy, starting the promotion all over the world, said Joaquim Cunha of Health Cluster Portugal.
The group plans an offer based on "a modern park of private hospitals," Cunha said. We don't think that for medical tourism purposes we can use the public hospitals, he added.
Ranking of the 10 best hospitals for medical tourists 2017
1. Germany, Hamburg: Asklepios Klinik Barmbek
2. Lebanon, Beirut: Clemenceau Medical Center
3. India, Bagalore: Fortis Hospital Bannerghatta
4. Singapore: Gleneagles Hospital
5. Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur: Prince Court Medical Center
6. Canada, Toronto: Shouldice Hospital
7. Jordan, Amman: The Speciality Hospital
8. Thailand, Bangkok: Samitivej Hospital
9. Mexico, Monterrey: Christus Muguerza Super Speciality Hospital
10. Turkey, Istanbul: Anadolu Medical Center
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