In her recent newsletter, Amy Jones, a native Texan now living in Yucatán, draws a powerful parallel between Texan pride and “Yucateco” identity. Her perspective offers insight into the current friction between locals and swaggering foreigners in Mérida — and she doesn’t mention politics or tariffs. “If you are in the U.S., you are probably…
The legendary American chef champions technique over Instagram hype in Yucatán’s evolving food scene
A certified personal trainer, vegan activist, and professional dancer/choreographer, JJ is a definite “it girl” of hip-hop dance cardio workouts.
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” —Tim Cahill As an expat, it’s all about finding your tribe. It might feel like you’ve got two left feet and stepped into a salsa class for the first time. You might step on a few toes initially, but you’ll find your rhythm with time….
While we wrap our heads around the loss of one of Mérida’s most influential foreign residents, we learn more about where she has been and where she’s going.
It doesn’t matter if the baggage you carry is Louis Vuitton, it still shows up in a U-Haul, says Mérida resident Brian D. Mahan, a California native who helps people work through emotional setbacks.
A collaboration between the city and the U.S. consulate has resulted in an office to help expats settle in. The Oficina Municipal de Atención al Migrante — or The Municipal Office for Migrant Assistance — was formally presented with a ceremony Tuesday night at the Olimpo Cultural Center. Yucatán Magazine provided translation and interpretation services for the…
I first met Kimberly Davin-DeGraff several years ago after she had established a Facebook group called “Yucatán Giving.” Also known as Kimmy Suki, the central-California native has a gift for rallying the community to help people in need. Someone needs a wheelchair? A refrigerator? Medical assistance? Kimberly would manage to match that person with someone…
Tonya and Ebony moved with their families to Mérida, Mexico, to uncover their family’s history and heal after the passing of their mother, Patsy. The result: a fresh, new business, fittingly called Patsy’s Daughters Moved Abroad. It was Patsy who inspired Tonya and Ebony to seek a new life in another country. The first in…
Tatiana Echeverría Delgado studied economics in her native Cuba but says she was always an artist at heart. She and her husband, Urbi Álvarez Blanco, made their living as artisans in the city of Santa Clara but wanted to offer their child a better life than the Communist island could offer. “Living under a totalitarian…
My mother and I are talking about how much life has changed in the 47 years since she moved to Yucatán. “I’ve come a long way since North Vancouver,” she says. “My city is a cosmopolitan hub now, but in the 1970s, North Van was a pretty small place.” In 1976, Joanna van der Gracht…
Mérida was second only to Mexico’s capital for expats and digital nomads, a new best-cities survey concludes. That means the “White City” scored higher than some better-known locales. The International Citizens Group survey found Mérida to be both walkable and cycling-friendly. “Excellent, reliable healthcare” and “reasonable cost of living” were a draw. Yucatán’s capital was…
Bloomberg has named Mexico City one of the world’s six best places to be a young expat whose location is independent. Some would call such a vast megalopolis an unlikely choice, but here’s why it made the list. For workers, the oldest capital in the Americas has been rapidly gaining attention as a center of…
There are a lot of foreigners making Yucatán their home. When the pandemic stopped worldwide travel one couple picked a home, bought it, and started renovating it to retire into. Christopher and Nancy started a worldwide tour back in 2016 and came to Mexico on their first stop. First going to Playa del Carmen and…
The expat backlash is here. It hit a crescendo in late July, and for wanderlust types who have found their home-from-home abroad, it’s time to take stock of what happened, and why. In contrast with retirees moving south of the border for a relaxed lifestyle and cultural immersion, a new breed of arrivals appears frankly…
David and Travis were inspired by all those online videos coming from expats in Mérida. So naturally, they came to Mérida and started a YouTube channel. Fans followed quickly. After living in a tiny apartment in North Hollywood, California, “We were radicalized on YouTube,” David recalls. He and Travis first considered leaving Los Angeles for…
David Heath, for whom I had the pleasure of shepherding his numerous late-in-life books, died this week. He was 79 years old and ailing, yet his death came as a shock. David, known to readers as DG Heath, was a steadfast member of the Mérida Writers Group, honing his craft that began with letters to…
Several members of Mérida’s international community participated in a focus group to discuss the potential for a project described as a “culinary corridor” along Calle 47 east of the Remate.
The number of United States and Canadian citizens who have decided to live temporarily or permanently in Yucatán increases 3.5% every year. That’s the conclusion from Antonio Osorio Acevedo, director of the Mérida market research firm Información Sistemática de la Península. The normal reasons apply: Many of them are retirees who are impressed by Yucatán’s…
International residents in Progreso are coming to the aid of the port city’s stray animals.
Maybe now that 20 years have passed, I could bring myself to visit the memorial where the Twin Towers used to be. The visit, however, would not be practical. I’m far from Manhattan these days. I’m in Mérida, Yucatán — along with several other people who lost their taste for living in the crossroads of…
Has the coronavirus pandemic dampened the future of expat living? Maybe not. Three-quarters of people who moved to another country for business or cultural pursuits — including 70% in Mexico — say they are confident about continuing to live abroad, according to an Aetna International survey. Aetna found that seven in 10 people whose plans to…
Actress Rose McGowan is possibly the Yucatán Peninsula’s most famous new foreign resident. McGowan is living in Tulum, and loving it, according to the New York Post and the Daily Mail. “I just got my permanent residency card from Mexico, and I’m so grateful to have it. This is a really healing land here and…
Lea Garza can really belt out a tune. She sings well enough, in fact, to have recently won a national contest after covering Demi Lovato’s “Stone Cold.” And the 12-year-old Merida girl sung it with the conviction, emotion and power of a young woman closer to 20. And the lyrics rang true: Stone cold, stone…
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