While the social focus between Mexico and it’s neighbour the U.S is often on Mexican immigrants travelling stateside, Mexico has long since welcomed U.S citizens into it’s growing expat communities. Official numbers of U.S citizens residing permanently in Mexico are hard to find. The U.S State Department estimates the number to be approximately 1 million. On the other hand, Aristoteles Virginndoval Diaz, Governor of Jalisco, suggests those figures to be closer to 2 million. Either way, Mexico has the largest number of U.S migrants than any other country.
The Trump Effect
What we do know that is between 2014 and 2016 the Mexican government issued 72,000 residency permits to U.S citizens. Due to political uncertainty during the U.S elections, the number of U.S citizens applying for residency did drop in 2016.
This doesn’t seem to be a sticking trend however. The growing political fallout since Trump’s inauguration on January 20th 2017 seems only to have encouraged U.S citizens to consider Mexico as an option again.
The Instituto Nacional de Migracion states that, since Trump, the number of U.S arrivals in Mexico that are applying for permanent residency has jumped from 15% in 2016 to 20% so far in 2017.
Pockets of Concentration
The U.S citizens choosing to live in Mexico are heading to a core 5 Mexican states. Jalisco, Mexico City, Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo are welcoming up to 60% of the total U.S expat community. Quintana Roo itself has received a minimum of 2000 applications for residency from U.S citizens since 2014. This number will add to the 7000 U.S expats already residing permanently in the area. A further 4000 residents are residing temporarily.
U.S Expats in Playa Del Carmen
The state of Quintana Roo has it’s own pockets of concentration regarding U.S expats. Among them, Playa Del Carmen is one of the most popular destinations for U.S citizens making the move to Mexico.
Playa Del Carmen is often dubbed the fastest growing city in Latin America. The past decade has seen monumental growth. Due to it’s close proximity to Cozumel, a world-class diving location, Playa Del Carmen has grown from a small fishing village into a resort town. Infrastructure has developed massively over recent years. Mega resorts such as The Fives and private condominiums lure tourists to the Caribbean coast.
Playa Del Carmen Real Estate
Playa Del Carmen and the Riviera Maya as a whole are popular choices for real estate investment. With constant development and a growing demand, purchasing Playa Del Carmen real estate is a sound investment choice. However, a large number of expats choose Playa Del Carmen purely for lifestyle reasons. Considering the current figures, it appears that many more will continue to do so.
The realty market in Playa Del Carmen caters for a wide clientele. It’s true, property prices are not as low as they were before Playa Del Carmen exploded as a world-class tourist destination. However Playa Del Carmen real estate is still very affordable when you consider other beach-front locations in the States or Europe. The real estate market offers everything from luxury condos and beach-front homes to 5 star private rental properties that provide a steady income. Playa Del Carmen real estate is popular due to the variety it offers.
Rising investment and a growing interest from U.S citizens looking to relocate will encourage further development of the Playa Del Carmen real estate market that ensures everybody wins.
