Playa del Carmen Opens First Wheelchair Accessible Beach in Mexico!

Wheelchair accessibility and beaches are not ideas that people would imagine to be very compatible. Yet, a few weeks ago, Playa del Carmen combined innovation, creativity and sound practical thinking to open Mexico’s first wheel-chair accessible beach!

The beach is Fundadores, located right next to the ferry dock in the heart of downtown, which is also one of the widest beaches in the region.

The service offers wheelchairs and walkers specially designed to work on the beach, a wooden board-walk style path going out onto the sand, and accessibility to the beach showers.

Take a look at the pictures:

We’re proud of Playa del Carmen for putting in the effort to make this beautiful beach more accessible and enjoyable for everyone!

Xcalacoco Beach - Perfect Beachfront, Just Out of Town

In this video, you are enjoying relaxation at its best on Xcalacoco beach.  Xcalacoco is located at the north end of Playa del Carmen, forming the beachfront for one of the trendiest up-and-coming areas with new resorts and golf course.  The attraction of the beach speaks for itself; you can enjoy complete relaxation watching the waves of the turquoise Caribbean and the tourists walk by - all relaxed as can be!

If you enjoy walking on the beach, you can walk from Xcalacoco towards the town center passing through a number of Playa del Carmen’s most beautiful beachfront areas, watching the people relax on their lounge chairs sipping cold drinks and enjoying life - the way it was meant to be.

TOPMexicoRealEstate.com; Mexico's Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely

1st Ave. is a Quiet Secret Right in Bustling Heart of Playa del Carmen

Sometimes it happens that if you go right to the heart of it all, to the busiest area with the most action, the most people coming and going you can find a surprisingly quiet corner that no one seems to notice.

In the case of Playa del Carmen, this place is an entire street – 1st Ave.  This quiet street which starts and stops again a couple of times, runs parallel to Fifth Avenue between that bustling, trendy street with all its shops and restaurants and the beach.

In a way, it’s not surprising that this street remains quiet and unknown.  Its basically serves as back access to the restaurants and hotels of Fifth Ave. on one side, and those on the beachfront on the other.  If you walk by and look down, there are a couple of shops and a bar or two, as well as a few nice little hotels, but generally speaking there’s not much of interest.

The Best of Both (or All?) Worlds

Yet, when it comes to the question of finding a Playa del Carmen condo for sale, it doesn’t get much better than 1st Ave.:

• Fifth Ave. with all its shops, dining, boutiques, bars and clubs is on one side
• The world’s most beautiful beaches are on the other (with more restaurants)
• It’s a quiet access street to get to your condo; you can walk out your front door without landing in a crowd (yet, all the action is just around the corner!)
• The street offers driving access (Fifth Avenue does not.)

Best Communities Downtown

1st Ave. couldn’t reasonably be considered a “community” but it runs through many of the best communities downtown.

It starts of right in the heart of it all, in the old downtown, and has a little jog running down towards the beach called “1st St.”  It then runs a few blocks north into Little Italyand finally through the Mamitas Beach community.

At this point the street ends and starts up again in the Coco Beach community (see a nice video of the community here) although at this point the character of the street is quite different and there are several smaller streets running between Fifth and the beach.

Tomorrow, I’ll offer  a peak at some of the many beautiful condos to be found on 1st Ave.

TOP Mexico Real Estate is here; Mexico’s Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely!

Playa del Carmen Real Estate - Could This Be the World’s Best Place to Retire?

There’s a lot talk going around about what the best place to retire in the world is.  Many people claim to have found a definitive answer of the “best city,” or “favorite area” or something similar to that.  While these bold can rarely be backed with solid data, there are some items that almost all retirees would love to see in their lifestyle.  If we look at some of the most important items, we’ll see that  Playa del Carmen real estate  is an excellent choice for retirement, perhaps even the best one – that is, if a retiree is interested in this kind of a lifestyle …

 

Close to Beaches – Residents of Playa del Carmen don’t only live a walk away from a beach, they live a walk away from some of the best beaches to be found, anywhere.  The sand is white and soft.  The water is a bright turquoise and is always warm. A brief look at the  beaches in the Riviera Maya  (the name of area surrounding Playa del Carmen) will show that, besides the fact that it would be difficult to find anything better, there is a good deal of variety in the beach styles, locations and nearby properties.  Good retirement properties both downtown and out in gated communities can be found a walk away from these wonderful beaches!

 

Warm Weather – The weather in Playa del Carmen is warm all year.  While it may get chilly enough during the late evenings in January to put on a sweater (60 is about as low as it gets,) especially if you’re enjoying a late dinner or little snack on the beachfront, daytime is still warm and sunny enough to walk around in shorts and sandals.  The year-round average is 76 degrees.  Seeing an entire day without sunshine is very rare.

Walk-Everywhere Lifestyle – Most retirees are looking for a relaxing place where they can walk to shops, restaurants, bars, galleries, etc. to enjoy their hard-earned leisure time, as well as to supermarkets, banks, clinics, pharmacies and other such services to make taking care of day to day needs simple; after all, what’s more relaxing when you have errands to run than walking 5 minutes to the bank to take care of a payment (for example), then stopping at a nice cafe near the beach on the way home?  Playa del Carmen has a number of great, comfortable gated communities (like Quadra Alea Condos) that offer precisely this kind of comfortable, walk-everywhere lifestyle in the nice north end of downtown.

 

Friendly Neighborhood Lifestyle – Retirees want to know their neighbors, chat with people on the street, enjoy a drink with other Americans and Canadians at their condo poolside.  Playa del Carmen not only has a significant expat community (some estimates say as much as 15,000) but it is a friendly community where people not only say “hi” but stop and chat, join you for a coffee.  The local Mexican people are also very friendly; many speak English and love to hear the stories of those newly arriving to their country.

Low Cost of Living – Playa del Carmen is a place where both real estate and the cost of day to day life is low.  Excellent condos in nice locations can be found for just about any budget.  For those who enjoy larger spaces with a good number of onsite amenities within their complex, beautiful luxury condos can be found for a surprisingly low price per square foot.  The cost of living is also low.  For less than $2000 USD per month, a retired couple can live very comfortably with plenty to go around for travel and those little treats people don’t like to give up. Of course, it’s entirely possible to live comfortably on a good deal less …

Excellent, Affordable Healthcare – Healthcare is important for retirees.  Playa del Carmen is home to a state-of-the-art private hospital and some excellent little clinics.  Prices are surprisingly low for top-of-the-line medical service (typically between 50 and 70 % less).  There is also a public insurance system which has a nice new hospital; a flat fee of about $350 USD per year covers all check-ups, procedures, prescription medication (in and out of hospital), basic dental work and even glasses.  There are more line-ups and paperwork involved (unheard of in the private system) but those who use it feel the service covers their needs.

While it may be difficult to say beyond a doubt which retirement haven is the best or favorite, Playa del Carmen is certainly an excellent candidate.  Most importantly than worldwide rankings or what international newspapers is that retirement here is excellent, it’s affordable, and the average retiree can see their dreams come true here.

TOP Mexico Real Estate; Mexico’s Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely!

Coralline in Playa del Carmen - Homes and Condos for Sale

Playa del Carmen Community Spotlight - Zazil Ha - Part 2: Excellent Location, Great Property Prices!

An example of the new condos appearing in Zazil-Ha

In yesterday’s postI introduced a little-known community at the north end of downtown Playa, Zazil-Ha.  What makes this quiet, residential neighborhood worth noting are two points:

it’s close to everything (downtown, Little Italy, the beach, Fifth Avenue, supermarkets, etc.)
real estate is very well priced
So, today I’m going to bring a few nice, well-priced Playa del Carmen condos for sale from Zazil-Ha into the spotlight.

1. Studio Condo near Fifth Ave. – $53,000 USD

This nice studio is located just off the corner of 10th Ave, the main traffic street heading downtown, and a very, very short block away from Fifth with all it’s restaurants, cafes and shops.  The beach is a 10 minute walk.  The price and location combined make this studio an excellent opportunity for investors or even vacationers who looking for a cozy little place to stay while visiting Playa.

2. Spacious, 3-bedroom Condo – $185,000 USD

Finding a 3-bedroom condo downtown is difficult in the first place, and unheard of at this price; yet, as I’ve said already, this location is only a short walk from downtown and the beach.  Besides the condo’s nice, European-style balcony (see the picture at the top of this post), the rooftop terrace offers beautiful views of the town and the Caribbean.

3. Oceanview Penthouse – $199,000 USD

Wow! A penthouse in Playa for only $199,000 USD?!? This 2-bedroom penthouse is right on Fifth Avenue, where Zazil-Ha meets the Coco Beach community; the dining, nightlife and culture of Fifth is at the doorstep!  It includes balconies and walk-in closets for both bedrooms, as well as an en suite for the master bedroom.  The rooftop terrace offers views of the beach and Caribbean Sea, which is only a 5 minute walk away!  HOA fees are very low, at approx. $120 USD/month.

There are a handful of other properties available; as I said yesterday, I suspect that in the near future there will be a good deal more of nice, new condos showing up in Zazil-Ha; however, by that time, this stretch of Fifth Avenue will probably also be one of the trendiest in town, and the culture of Little Italy will begin to overflow into this community. That also means it’s a lot less likely that prices will be this low!

Doug Morgan was born in Dayton, Ohio and went to college at Buckeye State. Moving to Louisiana after college, he became President of his New York Stock Exchange company at the age of 28. His later career shifted to Florida and the investment business, where he was a financial advisor and branch manager for over 30 years. He bought his first condominium in Mexico in 2008 (from Top Mexico Real Estate), initially as a vacation home, but a year later he retired and moved full time to Playa del Carmen. Contact Doug at (512) 879-6546.

Tulum homes for sale; Video Interview About Constructing your own Mexican Dream Home in the Jungle

The dream of living in Mexico is alive and very strong for millions of Canadians and Americans.   Tulum is one of those locations that sparks the imagination with its’ incredible post card perfect beaches and their green lush jungles.   Many people fall in love with the beaches and then begin searching for Tulum homes for sale.  But being the little village is so small…the Tulum real estate market has more land than finished homes for choosing.

So there is plenty of land, on the south side, on the road to Coba, land in the downtown section and projects such as Aldea Zama whose infrastructure has been professionally laid out.    But people worry about the thought of taking on a construction project way down south in another country, in another language, in another business environment.   That is why TOP Mexico real estate wanted to chat with a few contractors from the zone.  We know of many homes, gorgeous homes that have been built by Americans and Canadians from long distance…and they were successes!

Take a look at the video below to see this beautiful home in the middle of the Mexican jungle… don’t feel you need to buy cookie cutter homes down in Tulum or in Mexico,  let your imagination run,  put your dreams down on paper and we can introduce you to contractors who can get the job done.