I too want to relocate to Merida in January! I have the same desire as you to try to find an apartment in Merida proper for about $300.a month and so I am wondering what luck you have found so far in your search? I teach art and Eglish here in Toronto and hope to continue in that vain when I reach Mexico while working on a body of work for gallery shows. Look forward to hearing from you or anyone else in the forum with input….thanks!

Sharon

A few thoughts: First off, there is a website called Yo-Listo ( = “I’m Ready!”) with a Forum where many participants are beach home owners or inhabitants or vacationers in the Progreso area. http://www.yolisto.com/

Beach living anywhere in the world is not the least expensive. Even in Merida – which is a 30-40 min drive from the beach – it may be difficult to find an “American-ready” apt for $300 a month.

Others have found a good solution serving as a house keeper/sitter/caretaker for beach home owners. When the owners come to town for one to two months a year, the caretakers can stay in a hotel or with newly made friends. We know of one person, who went by “Cap’n Bill”, who was successful in that. There may be others.

Rather than paying rent, you’d be living rent-free, in return for taking care of and watching after the house. You’d need to develop your contacts for maintenance items, etc. Depending on the agreement made, you may have to cover utilities or other costs of living there.

Again, Yo Listo may be the best place to look for that type of situation or to explore what solutions the folks who hang out there may have for you.

Living alone as a single female on the beach in an isolated area is not a good proposition anywhere in the world, so a village like Progreso, Chelem, Telchac Puerto is a much better idea, at least from our way of thinking.

Living in the Merida/Progreso area will be much, much less expensive, generally speaking than in the Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum “Maya Riviera” coast.

Finally, maybe taking a vacation to Merida / Progreso would be a good idea to see what the area looks like and whether you’d like living here. If it turns out you don’t like it, at least you had a nice (hopefully!) vacation and experienced a new area of the world. And if you do like it and can make some arrangements, then problem solved.

Best wishes!

So, where to stay? Any more suggestions? I am going to be a lonely backpacker and would like to find a cheap place to stay. Possibly under 50 $?