On 30 September, we are moving down the street – to a condo! Can you believe it? We have been staying in a beautiful hacienda-style home with a large private pool for the past 7 months (see that video here), and 6 weeks before that in a gated privada across town (see that video here). Now, we are switching it up for our last 6 months in Puerto Morelos. We watched these condos go up 2 years ago and thought – hmmm, we could live there. But, since we weren’t ready to settle and didn’t want an “investment”, we did nothing. Here we are 2 years later and we get to test drive one. It is fresh and modern (something neither of us has ever lived in) and really has everything we need. The best part is the location – which we all know is everything when it comes to real estate. It is a 2 bed, 2 bath with a nice balcony and a community pool and a small doggy park right down the stairs. It is on the second floor (2 flights up here – no ground floor). Our car will be parked directly below us in a covered assigned spot – she will be happy away from the trees! I am sharing a couple photos below. As always, you are welcome to come visit this winter! We have some blackout dates accumulating, so just let us know if you are thinking of the tropics!
Daily life is pretty low-key (not a complaint). We still go out regularly in town (see this video of Sunday Night Dance). We had/have no travel plans for August/September to give the budget a rest. This new condo will also provide some budget relief. We had a very good idea of what it would cost to live here but sometimes unexpected things come up and sometimes prices and/or the peso go up. We are still living very comfortably on a fraction of our previous life and doing very well. We have met so many people recently. Chef Umberto (from Italy) and his wife have a weekly dinner menu they post on WhatsApp and you can order a fresh meal for pick up at the dive shop on Saturday. So far, they have been delicious and have been an affordable restaurant dinner substitution where I still get a little break from the kitchen. They also host a multi-course sit down dinner at one of the beach clubs. We are attending our second one in September and he is preparing the Italian Wedding Menu from their daughter’s wedding – we cannot wait!
We are also loving our pool – cuz – the HEAT (and more importantly, the HUMIDITY)! It is no-joke-summer here! When we planned to move here we knew that winter was perfect and we also knew summer/fall/rainy/hurricane seasons could be a challenge. But if you don’t experience it for yourself, how do you know if you can handle it? So that is what we are doing. I’ll be honest – we are “managing” just fine but there is sweating happening if you poke your head outside; full on swamp-ass if it involves any effort at all. Despite that, we can still see this being our forever home someday. BUT, we also know we want to experience life in central Mexico where the elevation and culture go way up and the humidity and prices drop considerably. Our next stop will be what they call “eternal spring”. A combination of cooler mornings, warm days, lots of sunshine for most of the year and lots of rain for a couple months.
Everyone’s idea of paradise is different. We haven’t decided what ours looks like yet. What do they say – life is the Journey, not the destination? As excited as we are to keep exploring, take the next trip or move…we keep reminding ourselves that every day is to be cherished. We are together and we are blessed.
