Do any of you live in Tulum?

[audrey]

Hi everyone- There is soo much good info here I am wondering if any of you posting live in Tulum? I have been there many times as a tourist but now I am thinking about relocating with my husband and one year old daughter there or near there, however it has been about 5 years since I have been and I understand lots has changed. We are headed down to check it out in about 3 weeks but have a limited time to research etc.

If anyone could help me with some ?'s I would soo aprreciate it!!

Are there long term houses for rent in or around Tulum and if so where?
Is there a community of english speakers?
Is there a feeling of a kid friendly environment?
Where would you like to live that is anywhere between Playa and Tulum or around there?

Thanks so much for starting this forum and keeping it active- I have read lots of posts and it has been very helpful!!

Audrey

[AdGuy]

Hi Audrey,

Welcome to the board. How cool that you're considering moving down to Tulum! :cool: Many of the folks who read and post on this board "love" this great spot but do not "live" there. The only person that comes to mind is James (who lives in PDC) who runs this board.

Perhaps others can respond to your questions on long-term rentals and kid-friendly environments. Have you lived outside the U.S. before? Depending on your experience and your ability to adapt to rustic environments, you may find PDC more to your liking (more conveniences, a stronger English environment, etc.).

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[Ginger]

My family and I drove down to Playa a couple of years ago to spend some time living there. Unfortunately, after a few months we had to return home suddenly due to a health issue with one of my children.

I'm glad you are going to do something you've dreamed of...that's exactly what we did, follow a dream we had. We will never regret it...it was a highlight of ours and our children's lives, for sure.

A few things, though. Living there is TOTALLY and COMPLETELY different than vacationing there. You have to keep in mind you are in a different culture. Things are done differently, you have to get used to that, get used to the driving, simple tasks such as getting a phone line can be long and arduous affairs, the language barrier. All of these things are tolerable and barely noticable when on a two week vacation. But as time passes, often they can frustrate even the calmest person.

Not sure what you mean by kid-friendly. mexico has kids like any other country, and they love their kids like we do. My kids loved living there. There are many private english-speaking schools in Playa, one in Puerto Aventuras. Nanny's are also available for hire, much more inexpensive than here at home.

There are many expat communities as well, in Playa, Paamul, Puerta Aventuras, Akumal, I'm not as sure about Tulum.

As far as rental housing for long term, you'll find that anywhere I listed above, I'm sure teh same goes for Tulum. However in my experience, this is not something that can really be arranged or finalized until you arrive. We drove there and rented a hotel for a few weeks while we found an apartment. You just have to go on foot, contact local rental/real estate agencies, look for 'Se Renta' signs in windows, read the local papers, etc.

Also remember that your visitor's visa only lasts 6 months and you need to ask them to post it for 180 days when you enter. They may only give you 30, and you'll have to renew it after that. If you want to stay longer than 6 months you'll have to apply for an FM3

Hope some of this helps!

[Userbe3231@aol.com]

Well we think we are buying in Tulum a Townhouse. Its certainly a life learning process. We are going down to see our new place at Thanksgiving, and then again to stay there in December. I will keep everybody posted of what happens so maybe it is easier for the next people who want to live iin Tulum.
Andy

[Jessie James]

When we spent a few days in Puerto Morelos we chatted with some kids from the states that live there now. One was saying that he and his family are going back to the states and he was bummed out about it. Seemed to me to be a destination for living for longer periods for gringos and less touristy. I hope to live in Playa myself some day. I love both Tulum and Puerto Morelos, but I would imagine I'd prefer to live in Playa being it's more lively so to say and then visit the other towns whenever I felt like it...