The Best Place in the World to Retire

It’s Puerto Vallarta and the neighboring Riviera Nayarit on Mexico’s glorious Pacific Coast boasting the most varied and comfortable lifestyles and some of the most attractive retirement and second home values available anywhere. High-quality houses, villas and condos with great views, amenities and neighbors, the kinds of places you might expect to find along American coasts but at prices that haven’t been seen there in years.

On the Caribbean coast of Mexico around Cancun, prices in the developed areas have outpaced the quality of the available lifestyle. If you go to more remote areas that are more affordable, what you find is pretty adventuresome and not so much upscale or even comfortable. That’s why the #1 beach lifestyle choice in Mexico is the Pacific Coast around Puerto Vallarta and the emerging Riviera Nayarit.

The better you get to know this region, the easier it is to understand why so many expats, from North America and beyond, are increasingly seeking out this part of Mexico for both part- and full-time living. In a total population area of approximately 350,000, there are approximately 50,000 expats living here.

In this region, especially in Puerto Vallarta, you can get along just fine speaking English. As a result of decades spent cultivating the local tourist economy, English is widely spoken here.  At the same time, expats are guests in Mexico and obviously some Spanish can be picked up just living here and local Mexicans naturally appreciate expats making that effort. Puerto Vallarta is a cosmopolitan resort town, small but rich with culture, romance and first world shopping. There are six first-class hospitals and approximately 1,800 physicians including almost every specialty.

Maybe that’s part of the reason why AARP in 2010 named Puerto Vallarta the best place to retire in the world saying “It’s a combination of first-class urban amenities, charming palm-fringed villages and without the serious crime that blights some other parts of the country. You’d think you’re back in the States, but at a steep discount”.

Just a two- or three-hour flight from many U.S. cities to it’s totally modern international airport , Puerto Vallarta is one overseas retirement haven where you don’t ever have to feel isolated or alone. Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit are home to one of the world’s largest established expat communities which are addressed by ExPats in Vallarta. You’ll never have to look far to find new friends and groups to get involved with, both expats and welcoming local Mexicans.

The broader Puerto Vallarta area boasts seriously developed infrastructure, making for comfortable, even easy living. Yet it still manages to retain its classic Mexican feel expats typically come to Mexico seeking. Its beaches are some of the finest on the Pacific coast. Accordingly, Puerto Vallarta isn’t the cheapest retirement choice in the world or even  in Mexico because this isn’t primitive, way ahead of the curve, developing-world living. It’s developed and nice.

Old Puerto Vallarta and, the Zona Romantica are the heart Puerto Vallarta. The cobblestone streets are lined with statues, historic buildings and home to the landmark Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is a taste of the real Mexico you will never find somewhere like, say, Cancun. The nightlife is lively with dozens of restaurants, nightclubs, sports bars, and cantinas. Down on the beach is the famed Malecon, a brand new beachfront boardwalk. Transportation is not a worry in this area. Few locals in this neighborhood have cars, and you could get by without one. Conveniently located markets and stores make it easy to handle daily life.

The area south of Centro to Mismaloya and even a bit further south has a distinct non-urban feel and is situated between the Bay and the jungle rising into the Sierra Madre mountains. Only a short distance south is the upscale Conchas Chinas area of condos and homes built for views on the mountain slopes. This shore is dotted with condo projects some very upscale, residential housing neighborhoods and a few hotels including the Intercontinental Vallarta.

In 1963, Night of the Iguana brought Puerto Vallarta to the attention of North American audience’s big time. Shot around Mismaloya, director John Huston came to Puerto Vallarta with Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr and Richard Burton, who brought his new love Elizabeth Taylor, making newspapers around the world. Huston bought now-famous property on the south shore, Burton and Taylor each bought houses across the street from each other and Huston’s cook Archie stayed on to open a still-popular restaurant. Puerto Vallarta held a huge memorial on the Malecon for their adopted daughter Elizabeth Taylor when she passed away a couple years ago.

Just north of Centro is the Hotel Zone which, begun in the 70’s, includes many modern high-rise condo projects and hotels like the Sheraton (some hotels like Sunset Plaza are brand new) and shopping centers while only a few blocks inland are residential streets of houses and condos. Also a bit inland is this area is the new Costco and Ford and VW dealerships.

Near the airport is upscale Marina Vallarta, relatively new and a city within a city including high-rise hotels like Marriott, Westin, Velas Vallarta and Comfort Inn, many condo projects, a 450 boat marina surrounded by condos, shops and restaurants, numerous auto dealerships, other restaurants, two new hospitals, Plaza Marina with it’s super market, shops, offices, banks and brokerage houses, the new Galleria Mall,  Walmart and Sam’s Club as well as the cruise ship terminal and a golf course with winding residential streets surrounding it.

Just past Home Depot, the Toyota dealership and across the Ameca River in the neighboring State of Nayarit is Nuevo Vallarta. This is a fully developed area, with many condos, resorts and beach hotels like Hard Rock and Paradise Village Resort all with beautiful beaches. Activities include several golf courses, three marinas, whale watching, parasailing and horseback riding and camping and a new Walmart. There is also a new hospital as part of the Paradise Village complex which also includes Paradise Plaza mall.

Further north along the Bay are the villages of Bucerias and La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and the upscale Punta de Mita featuring Four Seasons and St Regis resorts and golf courses. This area of the Bay is more sparsely developed but includes many condo projects along the beach as well as the attractive village of Bucerias with many beachfront restaurants and a new Nissan dealership.

North past Punta de Mita outside the Bay of Banderas along the Pacific coast , development lessens dramatically. Two villages of note are Sayulita, a classic Mexican surfing spot with many restaurants, bars, shops and hotels and San Francisco (locally San Pancho).