Playa del Carmen’s Price Tag: What the Retirement Experts Don’t Tell You About Paradise

Debunking International Living’s $2,200 / month budget…again

A lot of people, like me, follow International Living. They tout the lower cost of living in beautiful locations.

This year, they released their cost of living for Playa del Carmen, where I live.

They claim that a couple can live here for USD 2,200 which is complete nonsense.

Ask anyone, and you’ll see that you’ll be paying double.

It stinks for those on a fixed income or for those searching for paradise on a shoestring. This lie is dangerous because it sets people up for failure and self-blame.

And before you ask, I have no idea how Mexicans survive here. I’m glad the peso is so strong. It is a small blessing for the citizens.

Don’t get me wrong. I love living in Playa del Carmen.

Between a Canadian winter and Playa, I’ll pick the beach any day. But dollar for dollar? I think North America is cheaper in many places.

Let me share the REAL costs of living in paradise.

Housing

International Living says a couple can live in PDC for USD 1,200.

Let’s be honest here. Most people are renting short-term through Airbnb and VRBO.

Searching for a 2-bedroom apartment on Airbnb with an upper limit of $1,200/month, you’ll get 0 hits for a 3-month stint starting in March.

Here’s what I got when I filtered by 1-bedroom units. There are 12 units. Most of them are studios.

I don’t know about you, but I do not want to spend six months a year stuffed into a studio with my husband and two chihuahuas.

The condo we are staying at is a 1 bed/1 bath apartment I found through a rental agency for USD 2K per month. That’s excluding utilities, but it’s in an excellent location.

One essential factor for housing is the duration of your stay. Short-term is generally defined as anything less than six months. For longer term stays you can get an annual lease through an agent. The rent prices are lower, but if you want to be under $2K you need to be further away. You’d need a bike, car, or scooter to get around. Alternatively, you’d need to stay in a studio apartment to cut costs.

Utilities

International Living mentions that utilities will cost you $55/month. That rate covers electricity and the Internet.

Per the breakdown, if the couple pays $21/month for internet, that leaves $34/month for electricity.

I call bullshit.

I don’t know anyone who pays $34 for AC. EVER.

The last two winters have been very warm, but the summer of 2023 was a real scorcher.

It was so hot that my friend’s outdoor decorations melted like wax. AC for a 2-bedroom condo ran around $150/month. Our friends with a villa spent about $400/month.

Though I haven’t had a bill yet for the electricity, after asking around, I expect the bill to come in around $75/month (winter). That is by running the AC for a few hours a day using the dry setting, which is more cost-effective.

Averaging the winter ($75) and summer prices ($150) over the year works out to $113/month.

Groceries

According to International Living, groceries for two people will run you $350 per month. That works out to $87.50 per week.

I track every dollar we spend.

For January 2024, I spent $761 on groceries. My husband was here for one week. The rest of the month, I was alone. When he’s here, I expect our groceries to run $1,000 or more.

You’ll hear plenty of ex-pats remark that the cost of groceries is higher here than in Canada, the US, or Europe.

Because groceries are so expensive, I’ve switched to a plant-based diet to reduce costs.

This coming month, I plan to price shop at the local markets. I’ve heard it’s more economical, but you can also get ripped off.

A note about alcohol

We have reduced alcohol intake over the last 24 months. Though beer and coolers are very affordable from convenience stores, wine is surprisingly costly. In Canada, I can buy a decent bottle of wine for around USD 11, but here you’d be hard-pressed to find anything but the cheapest quality for that price.

If you are a moderate to heavy drinker, you need to consider what this extra cost is going to run you each month and factor this into your budget. I say this because every time I go to the grocery store, I see tourist carts loaded with booze.

Entertainment

International Living says $250 will set you up for a month of entertainment.

For January, I spent $652 dining out which includes tips. We did have family down the first week of January so that was the most expensive week.

Every week, I join an expat dinner. I usually have one drink and a meal. You’d be hard-pressed to find a decent margarita for less than $10. A simple meal (burger and fries) will run you $16.

You can dine cheaper by going further away from the tourist zones. Certainly, if you go to a very simple taco stand, you can find the ubiquitous $2 tacos. Four tacos, a drink, and a tip will still run you $11. But that’s a dingy taco stand. There’s no seating.

My point is that if you expect to find deals in Playa, you won’t. Most North Americans like a sit-down experience with service. You won’t find that for less than $30 per person, and that’s for a simple meal, one drink, and a tip.

When you get to know the long-term expat residents, you’ll see that many don’t drink much. The days of luxurious (and cheap) dining including cocktails, appetizers, a meal, and dessert are long gone.

Only the tourists spend like that, and I’m sure they have sticker shock when they realize what they are paying.

Medical

According to International Living, monthly medical coverage for a couple is $150.

In 2023, I needed full medical coverage for my husband and me as we had no coverage in Canada. At the time I was 48 and my husband was 51. The cost per month was $374.

This year, we have coverage in Canada, so we only need emergency coverage while in Mexico. The cost per month for me is $73.93. Since my husband is traveling back and forth to Canada, we didn’t get him insurance. If I wanted to add him to our plan it would be $115.92. My rate is a bit cheaper because I’m still under 50.

For both of us, we’d be looking at $189.85. That’s using Safety Wing. This coverage is for emergencies only. For any other health issues, we’d need to pay out of pocket.

I would love to know how the couple referenced in the article (presumably in their 60s) can get coverage for $150.

Sounds suspicious to me.

Transport

International Living says monthly transport is $60-$75.

I can tell you that a taxi from Cancun airport to PDC starts at $120, but the ADO bus is much cheaper.

For January, we took two taxis which cost us $35. We walk everywhere else.

The missing parts

I track my spending down to the dollar, and I know there are already a few categories unaccounted for in the International Living budget.

1. Travel to your home country

Almost everyone travels back home at least once per year. This means you need to account for the monthly average of your annual ticket back. For us, we’d be looking at $1500 (for two people, round trip).

Distributed over a year, that’s still an additional $125 not accounted for in the budget.

2. Pets

PDC is a very dog-friendly community. Many people travel back and forth with their pets. You have to account for their food costs as you are prohibited from bringing pet food into Mexico.

Though vet care is excellent, it is increasing in price too.

In January, I needed to take my 15-year-old dog to the vet. Factoring in their monthly food, the vet, and medications, that was $319.

3. Beauty

Many of the long-term residents here get regular manicures, pedicures, and hair treatments. Color and cut will run you $300. A mani/pedi will be $60, not including tips.

4. Shopping

I didn’t buy a single thing in January. Nothing. If you like to shop, you need to factor that into your budget.

5. Visa costs

If you plan to stay here longer than six months, you need to factor in the legal costs for your residency visa.

My husband and I just completed our three-year renewal, and that set us back $2,000. As an expected monthly cost, that’s $166/month.

The elephant in the room

The elephant in the room is the strength of the Mexican peso. In January 2023, you got 19 pesos per USD. Today, you’d get 17 if you’re lucky. That means that over one year, on a $4,000 / month budget, you lost about $433 / month in purchasing power.

That’s an 11% cost increase which doesn’t include the exorbitant food and rent costs.

Wrap up

If we look at the total spending in PDC, you can see that the actual cost of living here is more than double what International Living is promoting.

Chart created by author

Though it’s a great beach town to live in, if you are renting, you cannot survive here on $2,200/month.

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