I'm hearing this from a lot of folks out there. Where is Mazatlan? I'm attaching a map hopefully you will be able to pull it up. http://www.maps-of-mexico.com/
Mazatlan is directly east of Cabo San Lucas. In fact there is a 15 hour ferry/cargo boat that runs between Cabo & Mazatlan several times a week.
There are 3 main areas of Mazatlan I can write about. El Centro, Malecon/Boardwalk, and the Golden Zon
e. El Centro/Downtown (where we have been living). This is the old historical area and south side of town. There lots of businesses, museums, plazas/town squares, restaurants, the Mercado and tons of history. The majority of the buildings in this area are 100+ years old and the sidewalks are treacherous. People congregate at the plazas in the mornings for coffee and chat before heading to work. We find this area extremely easy to get around without a car since everything is within walking distance. Sundays is our quiet day due to businesses being closed and fewer people in the area. The beach on the south side is not as happening as that on the north but the sunsets are very nice and there's enough going . El Centro is the less expensive of the 3 locations.
e. El Centro/Downtown (where we have been living). This is the old historical area and south side of town. There lots of businesses, museums, plazas/town squares, restaurants, the Mercado and tons of history. The majority of the buildings in this area are 100+ years old and the sidewalks are treacherous. People congregate at the plazas in the mornings for coffee and chat before heading to work. We find this area extremely easy to get around without a car since everything is within walking distance. Sundays is our quiet day due to businesses being closed and fewer people in the area. The beach on the south side is not as happening as that on the north but the sunsets are very nice and there's enough going . El Centro is the less expensive of the 3 locations.
Malecon/Boardwalk area. This is the main road traveled. It stretches around 8 miles. 2 lanes of traffic running south and 2 lanes of traffic running north. In between is a median of parallel parking. The beach and seawall are on one side of the road while restaurants, clubs and hotels are on the other side. The Malecon is a very active area for the fitness enthusiasts. People are running, walking, or rollerblading at all hours of the night. The baseball stadium is nearby. On the weekends younger crowds hang out in the medians and tailgate. I'm guessing they are jump starting their party before hitting the clubs. The beach along this stretch is nice and Sunday's it filled with families enjoying their time together. Great people watching at all times.The Golden Zone. This is the major "resort" area. Lots of tourists. Lots of souvenir shops & restaurants and new construction. The beaches in this area are very nice but full of vendors selling "silver", sarongs, wooden trinkets, cowboy hats and so many other things. Here you can rent jet skis, go out on a catamaran, and parasail. Most resorts are private and you cannot use the palapas on the beach but there are some restaurants that have similar set up for your use. Primarily English is spoken and with that you are bombarded with Time Share presentations. I'm sure you can guess this is the more expensive area of the 3 but all in all...Maz is fairly inexpensive. This community also homes a lot of expats living in condos. This area is nice and all, but to me it's like living back in the states and too commercialized.
This is our first time to visit Mazatlan and we've really enjoyed it. We've found that there are lots of folks that visit here from California, Minnesota, Oregon and Canadians.
So what is so special about this place that makes Americans & Canadians want to retire here? There a large number of Ex-Pats (ex patriots) living here and some have been here a long time.
- Mazatlan's cost of living & medical is still very inexpensive.
- Safety.
- Great medical facilities. They have a hospital care, ambulance service and English speaking doctors.
- Shopping & Mega Grocery stores. Wal-mart, Sam's, Office Depot, Home Depot just to name a few. Nothing 3rd world about this city.
- Excellent bus service. Why bother with a car unless you just have to have one. Plus the taxis here are cheap for those wondering what to do about groceries.
- Strong Expat community. They have an organization here called "Friends of Mexico". They meet for a breakfast buffet once a month to discuss all the activities taking place in the city. They even have their own publishing for an English newspaper. Tons of networking going on here. Lots of charitable organizations for those wanting to give back to the community. We attended one of their meeting to see what it was all about and they do a good job keeping the information flowing.
- You can be as active as you want in Maz. There's golfing, fishing, bowling, baseball games, charities and organizations to be involved in. Stay in shape...The Malecon, gyms, yoga and Pilate's are offered.
So can see the attraction to Mazatlan.
Take care everyone. Hope all is going well.
Lots of love - Bonnie & Bob
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