This online magazine is for expatriates who are living, working and playing in Yucatan, but especially for those who are discovering this unique location as a possible destination for retirement, starting a new business or owning a second home. Yucatan Living is also a favorite resource for people who prefer to explore this region and its special culture beyond what most tourist websites and guidebooks usually recommend.
As our readership has grown, so has the feedback, which helps us to publish articles specifically of interest for the growing number of people choosing to expatriate to Yucatan.
Yucatan Living covers practical subjects like the immigration process in Merida. We publish local color stories that reveal the variety of lifestyle choices available to new arrivals. We interview expatriates who already live and work in the area to tell how they made a success of moving here. Of course, we also research local services and offer insight into the common problems people face while adapting to a new culture and language.
The Yucatan Living Team
"Working Gringos" Ellen and James Fields, originally from California, are now residents of Merida. They call themselves dot-bomb refugees because the technology and market crash of 2001, not to mention the events following September 11th, forced them to explore their mid-life crisis by seeking opportunity far beyond their corporate comfort zone. They arrived in Yucatan as green as any gringo ever was, and have been atoning in public through this website. You can read their expatriate interview for the details.
"The Amazing" Beatriz Echeverría is a Meridana and student of anthropology and English, attending the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She hopes one day to teach. Meanwhile, she happens to be the brazo derecho (right arm) of Yucatan Living, providing translation and careful research of local facts and resources, as well as running the front office. She used to work for a... ummm... shall we say, "difficult" expatriate who owned a hotel in Merida, which may explain why her blood pressure is much improved recently.
Carol "Khaki" Scott is our Events and News writer. She is from Louisiana and writes about both Louisiana and Yucatan. She has lived in Yucatan on the beach and in a small village. In addition to her 26-year career as a thesis and dissertation editor, Khaki also writes for Associated Content, Boots-n-All and About.com. She continues to declare that writing about Louisiana and Yucatan is writing about the same place. When asked "Why Yucatan?" Khaki quickly replies: "Because my grandmother said that there is no excuse for anyone not living as graciously as their circumstances will allow." According to Khaki, this leaves only one place on Earth as an acceptable place to live: Estado de Yucatan!
Joseph "Big Bear" Sabido is a photographer, researcher and software engineer. He is also a bilingual, life-long resident of Merida, Yucatan. Joseph is the technical wizard here at Yucatan Living, but also a walking encyclopedia of history, culture and other facts about Merida and its people. Among his many talents, he is the only Yucatan native we've met who is taller than all of us.
A very special gracias to Marko Jokic for the new look and additional photography, as well as to all the local expatriates who contribute their experiences and insights to Yucatan Living.
If you already live in Yucatan or if you are a Yucateco living abroad and would like to contribute to this website, please contact us at info@yucatanliving.com.