My 5 Reasons for Moving to Puerto Vallarta

Well, hello old friends! The last time we spoke was in September 2022, but with good reason—TinyDog and I made an international move to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

This week marks four full months that I’ve been living in Mexico. Four months since I’ve been on U.S. soil. Four months since I’ve seen my family in person. Four months since I’ve eaten Bojangles. (What I wouldn’t give for some cajun fries and a filet sandwich with extra mayo. *drool*)

It’s taken four months to adjust, come to terms with culture shock—not that it’s gone by a long shot—and roll with the punches that make up daily life in Mexico. It’s why I’m only just now able to sit down and start posting again. 

One of the questions I get asked on the daily by folks here in Vallarta AND in the States is this: Why/how did you choose Puerto Vallarta? The short answer is: Vallarta checked a ton of boxes for me, and it just felt right. Read on for a deeper look into how I decided to relocate to this gorgeous beach town on Banderas Bay.

My Reasons for Choosing Vallarta

1. To live by the beach.

Does North Carolina have beaches? Absolutely. But they’re not tropical, the closest one is a 2.5-hour drive, and we definitely don’t have humpback whales. As a cold-natured person, the year-round warm temps in Vallarta are amazing, but I’ll be honest—I could do without the earthquakes, hurricanes (which we also have in NC), mosquitoes, scorpions, snakes, and other assorted creepy crawlies I have yet to meet. I don’t have my ocean-view condo YET, but I can’t beat a 20-minute walk to the beach.

2. It’s an artsy, spiritual, vibrant town.

I think Puerto Vallarta attracts a certain type of person: a creative free spirit who embraces their spiritual side. I love that the malecón is lined with imaginative statues. I love that every Wednesday during high season, galleries all over town open their doors to the public and artists chat with you about their work. I love that I can attend a cacao ceremony one weekend (more about that in another post), and a shamanic sound bath the next (again, post forthcoming).

3. A slower pace of life.

Here in Puerto Vallarta, you have no choice but to slow down, and one thing this town has given me is an appreciation for the convenience of the U.S. I used to knock out five errands in a day in the States. Here, one trip to the ATM is a 15-minute walk each way from my apartment, then once I withdraw money—disseminated in “big” bills—I have to go somewhere and buy something to break at least one of them so I have smaller denominations to use in and around my neighborhood. A trip to Walmart takes half a day. Nothing and generally no one is ever on-time. But I am SO grateful for the flexibility of my life here.

4. A lower cost of living.

This was a consideration before I moved; watching the dollar go down every day makes me shudder (I never paid attention to its fluctuations before). I knew I wanted to spend less time working a full-time job, and more time on my writing and launching my editing business. One way I keep costs down is by living in a small, local neighborhood where I’m one of two foreigners (the other is Japanese, and I’m not counting the Airbnb guests who come and go). This colonia is away from tourists, but conveniently located near Puerto Vallarta’s gastronomy district, Versalles. Everything around here tends to be markedly cheaper than in expat-filled areas like 5 de Diciembre, Centro, and of course, Zona Romantica.

5. To improve my Spanish and dancing.

No explanation needed! What I WILL say is that because I live in a local neighborhood, I don’t have a choice when it comes to practicing my Spanish. Everyone around me, except for two people, speaks not a lick of English. I’m still far from fluent, but I’m trying my hardest to get there. And when it comes to dancing, there’s a variety of salsa and bachata classes, socials, and live salsa orquestas. There’s one Kizomba class that I know of, and I’ve heard rumors of a Zouk class. Previously, I was taking Cuban salsa classes and a bachata class, but now I’m belly dancing twice a week and still doing bachata on Fridays.

People tell me I’m lucky, or that they wish they could up and move too. My question is: Why can’t you? It’s not like I had millions of dollars in the bank. What I did have was a vision—hazy as it was—a game plan, and I took everything a step at a time. I promise that if I can make it happen, you can too!

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Have you thought about moving abroad? What’s stopping you?
Sound off in the comments.