Living in Playa Del Carmen – Expat Life

This winter we will be living in Playa del Carmen, Mexico! We chose to live in Playa del Carmen Mexico for a number of reasons, most importantly the beach! However, there’s a lot more to Playa del Carmen than just the beach.

It also has a fun up and coming ex-pat community, tons of great food, and fun bars. The whole area around Playa del Carmen is full of cool and interesting things to do. There are tons of day trips from Playa del Carmen to keep us busy while we are living in Playa del Carmen!

Jump to Information on Playa del Carmen

• Our apartment where we will be living in Playa del Carmen:
• What’s It Like Living In Playa del Carmen
• Expats In Playa del Carmen Groups
• Finding An apartment In Playa Del Carmen
• Best Areas For Living In Playa Del Carmen
• Rental Agents In Playa del Carmen
• Cost Of Apartments In Playa del Carmen
• Cost Of Living In Playa del Carmen 2016

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Our apartment where we will be living in Playa del Carmen:

• Apartment Cost: 17,000 pesos per month (peak season – 4 month rental)
• 2 Bedroom, 1 Bath, 495 sqft (46 sqm)

Take a video tour of our apartment in Playa del Carmen and a little bit of info on the city and the rental market in Playa del Carmen.

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What’s It Like Living In Playa del Carmen

The first thought that comes to everyone’s mind when talking about living in Playa del Carmen, or Mexico in general, is safety. I can say with confidence Playa del Carmen is safer than a lot of U.S. cities.

Hannah walks around the town by herself and we walk late at night without worry. I am sure you could get yourself into trouble if you are looking for it, but I think that would be true anywhere in the world.

We lived in Playa del Carmen for five months and settled into the lifestyle. We have found our favorite taco place, the best cafe, and our place on the beach.

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Ex-pats In Playa del Carmen Groups

There is a community of a couple of hundred people from around the world that are now living in Playa del Carmen either long-term or permanently. There are long-term groups for ex-pats in Playa del Carmen and there are a few meet-ups every month.

For info on ex-pats living in Playa del Carmen check out these  groups:

• Expats & Locals in Playa – https://www.facebook.com/groups/592977594057555/
• Digital Nomads in Playa – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1608835499405356/
• Expats Markets in Playa – https://www.facebook.com/groups/736991133019423/

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Finding An Apartment In Playa Del Carmen

One of the most difficult things about living in Playa del Carmen is actually finding a place to live. Playa del Carmen is growing very quickly and the rental market is a bit difficult to navigate. There has been a recent trend to rent apartments on Airbnb, putting a big strain on monthly or long-term rentals. This is especially the case in the peak months of December-April.

We began our search by hitting the streets and calling the numbers listed on an apartment building for rent signs. We quickly came to learn that most of these signs are just always up and don’t necessarily correspond with an apartment that is actually for rent. Some do, but the majority of the 50+ we called had apartments but were not that specific apartments. Another issue is that about half the numbers we called were Spanish speaking only and our Spanish is ok, but not great. This made some of the finer points of the apartment details tricky.

On top of some of these issues, we had rental agents try to change prices on us, change contract lengths, and just about everything else. The best advice I could give to someone trying to find an apartment in Playa del Carmen is to arrive before the high season and plan to take it immediately. Just about everyone wants at least a 6-month lease and even more, want a year. Also, no one will rent to you more than 15 days before the move-in date.

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Best Areas For Living In Playa Del Carmen

As a general guide, most ex-pats in Playa del Carmen look for apartments in the main area of Playa Centro. This is the main part of town with lots of restaurants, shops, and nightlife. The best area to live in Playa del Carmen is between Juarez Ave on the south, up to calle 46th (CTM) on the north, and from the beach back to the highway. This square is the main area of Playa del Carmen, and where you want to be when living in Playa del Carmen.

Related Article: Ultimate Playa del Carmen Guide

There are other areas of town, but most choose to live in this area. Playacar is another popular area of Playa del Carmen. This is where the resorts typically are.

Playacar is also where you will find some nice apartments and luxury private homes/condos. Playacar is a fully gated community with guards at every entrance. This is a nice area, the only problem is that you are further removed from the main Playa Centro and it would be hard to live here without a bike, or car.

Related Article: The Best Restaurants in Playa del Carmen

We suggest coming to Playa del Carmen for a few days and staying in a vacation rental like our favorite Elements Playa del Carmen. Wander around the city and get a feel for the different parts of the city and decide what fits your lifestyle the best.

That is exactly what we did. We came in October and January and made the final move a week after our January visit with our “stuff.”

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Rental Agents In Playa del Carmen

One of the easiest ways to find a place if you are planning on living in Playa del Carmen is to use a rental agent. The rental agent will get a commission from the property owner (usually, sometimes the renter) to find renters for apartments or apartments for renters. They basically broker the lease for clients who may be out of the country or the city.

There are many rental agents in the city and they all seem to have only a limited supply of properties. This is much different than other cities we have used agents. Two agents, we have worked with and can recommend:

• Chris
• Natalia

Facebook groups to find apartments in Playa del Carmen:

• Rentas in Playa
• Rentas y ventas Playa del Carmen

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Cost Of Apartments In Playa del Carmen

The cost of the apartment largely depends on the time of year and how long the lease will be for. Many people will only rent 6 months – a year. Others will only do nightly and weekly rentals.

• Studio in Playa Centro – 5,000-10,000
• 1 Bedroom in Playa Centro – 7,500-12,000
• 2 Bedroom in Playa Centro: 9,000-16,000

Note: When signing a lease there will almost always be a contract fee. It’s claimed that it’s a lawyer fee, but it just seems like a scam. Unfortunately, every apartment seems to have this and it costs between 1500-2500 pesos to sign your lease.

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Cost Of Living In Playa del Carmen 2020

Playa del Carmen has several major shopping centers including a Walmart, Sam’s Club, and other major Mexican grocery chains. There isn’t much you can’t find in town while living in Playa del Carmen. Below is a list of current prices for common items. Below is a list of common items to judge what the cost of living is like in Playa del Carmen.

Prices in Mexican Pesos. Current exchange rates are between 18.5-19.0 pesos per $1 USD.

• $55 – 500g Chicken Breast (1.1 lbs)
• $22 – 2lt of soft drink (coke/diet coke)
• $9- chobani greek yogurt cup
• $14- Kraft mac n cheese
• $50- frozen pizza
• $15- 1kg of fresh oranges (2.2lbs)
• $32- Baby spinach ready to eat bag
• $150 – Sim Card for smartphone
• $300/350/400 – for 2gb/3gb/4gb of prepaid internet, voice can be added for $1mxp/min

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