Bob Hyde and Trish Youngstrum are the newest members of the TOPMexicoRealEstate team, with a special focus on Mexico golf course real estate. They are also American retirees who have chosen to leave South Florida to enjoy a Playa del Carmen retirement. For this reason they can comment on the advantages of retiring in Playa del Carmen and Mexico in general over one of the favorite retirement destinations within the U.S., and, generally, the benefits that Playa del Carmen offers.
TMRE: Very generally, how would describe your experience being retired in Mexico?
Trish and Bob: We love it! Mexico’s lower cost of living makes possible a retirement lifestyle – in our case right on the Caribbean – that we simply couldn’t enjoy in the US.
TMRE: What first made you interested in living in Mexico?
Trish and Bob: We have a good friend who has traveled extensively in Mexico, loves the country, and decided to make Playa del Carmen his retirement home. He urged us to check it out. We did, and moved here three months later.
TMRE: How would you compare living in Mexico to living in Florida?
Trish and Bob: Florida is a big and diverse place, but we can certainly make comparisons to Miami and Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Two big things…it’s much less expensive and much safer (yes, safer – more on that later) here in Playa del Carmen than in south Florida.
TMRE: How can you compare Playa del Carmen real estate costs to Florida?
Trish and Bob: While the south Florida real estate market seems to have bottomed out and there are still “fire sale†deals available, sales price should not be the only consideration. Fees and property taxes on Playa del Carmen condos for sale are as a rule 90 % less than what you would pay in South Florida. That’s a significant savings over the course of ownership. Here there’s lots of inventory – and lots more on the way – and some really great opportunities to find retirement, second home and investment property bargains.
TMRE: Do you still live in Florida part of the time? Why or why not?
Trish and Bob: No, we like it too much here! We lived a “big city†life in Miami, on the 41st floor of a downtown condo that overlooks American Airlines Arena, the Arscht Center and the cruise ship port. It was a very nice lifestyle, but we enjoy Playa so much more!
TMRE: How would you compare safety?
Trish and Bob: We feel perfectly safe here, much more so than in Miami. There are simply none of the drug related safety issues that plague northern Mexico communities here in Playa. There is a large but non intrusive police presence throughout the community and on the Federal Highway 307 that connects us to the rest of Mexico.
Continued in Part II
Authors Trish Youngstrum & Bob Hyde bring over 50 years’ combined sales experience in the United States, most recently in South Florida. Trish is one of the few Realtors in the US and Mexico to hold the professional designation of Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI) and is a Certified Transnational Property Specialist working with agents and buyers of resort properties from the Americas and Europe. Trish and Bob moved to beautiful Playa del Carmen in 2009 where they now work with TOP Mexico Real Estate. For more information (512)-879-6546 THE www.TOPmexicorealestate.com NETWORK