Any opinions on moving to Mazatlan would be welcome!

[wendykain]

Thankyou Phedro!

[HolyMole]

Originally Posted by phredo

An active group ("Activity within 7 days:9 New Members - 2 New Links - 191 New Messages - New Questions") is MazInfo : MazInfo--Discuss Mazatlan, Mexico . Also, regarding climate, Mazatlan tends to be a bit cooler, than some of the places farther down the coast. Still hot and humid in the summer, but in the winter has many days around 75 degrees F. Makes it sometimes a little cool at the beach, but hardly ever too hot.

I agree with phredo.

I've been keeping tabs twice/month on the weather in Zihuatanejo (in Guerrero, 250 km north of Acapulco) and in Mazatlan.....high/low/humidity.....for the past 15 months, and my findings confirm personal observations and what we've heard from others.
(We're considering both areas for permanent retirement, IF we choose to locate on the coast).
Zihua weather seems more stable and predictable....daytime highs averaging 30-33 C, give or take a couple of degrees all year, and lows around 19-22. Humidity relatively high all year round at average 60-65%.
Can't comment on rain amounts, but likely not too much difference between the two.
Mazatlan is much cooler than Zihua during the November-March period, with average highs around 26-28 and lows of 12-14. Sometimes it can be downright cool and we often found ourselves wearing hoodie sweatshirts and jeans in the evenings, especially near the water. During the winter of 07/08 there were 5 or 6 weeks of very cool weather in Mazatlan.....lows down to 6C and daytime highs in the high teens and low 20's. Humidity is much lower in Mazatlan than in Zihua during the winter..... better for sleeping. The air and sunshine in Mazatlan during the winter is wonderful....clear and sharp.....like it is in much of Baja, especially on the Sea of Cortez side ........ whereas Zihua's air is "heavier".
In summer, however, Mazatlan's high and low temperatures equal Zihua's, with humidity that is frequently significantly higher than Zihua's. My tracking confirms stories we've heard that Mazatlan in summer....for 3 or 4 months.... is oppressively hot due to the humidity.
(Oppressive heat/humidity is subjective. Many would say that Zihua is also unbearable for half the year.)
In either location, I'd say that A/C....at least for sleeping during the May-November periuod..... would be a necessity rather than a luxury.

[wendykain]

HolyMole, many thanks. I will take a look at Zihuatanejo. Have you been there yet? Is it as pretty and does it have areas with lots of character as Mazatlan seems to have?
best, Wendy

[f3drivr]

Zihuatanejo sounds nice but does it have the amenities that Mazatlan does? Walmart, Home Depot, Sam's Club etc..

[phredo]

I really like the town of Zihuatanejo. When I was 22, about 40 years ago, I spent 3 months there on my first trip to Mexico, so I feel very nostalgic about it. But, when my wife and I went there about 5 years ago, although I really liked the town, and thought that it had expanded in a pleasant way, we thought the water was a bit dirty. The bay is somewhat enclosed, and we thought too much local runoff was being trapped inside. But I really liked the town. On the other hand, it's a bit far from other places (so is Mazatlan) and rural Guerrero tends to be a bit dangerous (maybe rural Sinaloa, where Maz is, also, up in the mountains, anyway). I think Mazatlan has nicer beaches, as far as cleanliness and temperature goes, but Z. has more of a "south sea paradise" appearance.

I don't know about Walmart, et al. When we were there we didn't have a car, but when we took a taxi to the airport to leave, I realized there were large parts of town that had "slopped out" along the highway, and maybe there are stores like that out there. The main part of town, I suppose you could call it the "old town" (when I was there 40 years ago, Z. consisted of about 10 dirt streets with goats and donkeys wandering around anywhere off the main drag) is picturesque, with streets tending to radiate out a right angles to different parts of the curving bay, following the small river that runs into the bay, and also extending out onto the peninsulas that make up the bay sides. I was only there for a week, so I didn't see too much of it, actually, but overall thought it quite nice.

[HolyMole]

Originally Posted by phredo

I really like the town of Zihuatanejo. When I was 22, about 40 years ago, I spent 3 months there on my first trip to Mexico, so I feel very nostalgic about it. But, when my wife and I went there about 5 years ago, although I really liked the town, and thought that it had expanded in a pleasant way, we thought the water was a bit dirty. The bay is somewhat enclosed, and we thought too much local runoff was being trapped inside. But I really liked the town. On the other hand, it's a bit far from other places (so is Mazatlan) and rural Guerrero tends to be a bit dangerous (maybe rural Sinaloa, where Maz is, also, up in the mountains, anyway). I think Mazatlan has nicer beaches, as far as cleanliness and temperature goes, but Z. has more of a "south sea paradise" appearance.

I don't know about Walmart, et al. When we were there we didn't have a car, but when we took a taxi to the airport to leave, I realized there were large parts of town that had "slopped out" along the highway, and maybe there are stores like that out there. The main part of town, I suppose you could call it the "old town" (when I was there 40 years ago, Z. consisted of about 10 dirt streets with goats and donkeys wandering around anywhere off the main drag) is picturesque, with streets tending to radiate out a right angles to different parts of the curving bay, following the small river that runs into the bay, and also extending out onto the peninsulas that make up the bay sides. I was only there for a week, so I didn't see too much of it, actually, but overall thought it quite nice.

This thread inquired about Mazatlan, but I certainly don't mind sharing our experiences in both Mazatlan and Zihuatanejo.
While Guerrero does have its own history of violence, I'm not in a position to compare it to Sinaloa's situation. Folks told us to avoid Culiacan (capital of Sinaloa) because "there are drug dealers on every street corner." Well, we enjoyed Culiacan and haven't had any particular problems in either Mazatlan or Zihuatanejo.....other than our car being stolen in Zihua, but that's another story. We've visited Mazatlan 6 or 7 times over the past 10 years, spending perhaps 10 or 12 weeks cumulatively, and have spent a total of 11 months in Zihua over the last 3 years or so.
Zihua 40 years ago must have been very laidback. The population's now about 85,000 and it has grown very quickly since FONATUR decided about 25 years ago to develop a coconut plantation into the resort area that Ixtapa is today.....all only 5 or 6 km from Zihuatanejo.
I agree that Mazatlan's beaches are beautiful, especially north of the Golden Zone at Los Cerritos. Unfortunately, the beach in the Golden Zone area has eroded over the past 7 or 8 years to the point where it's half the size it was. Ixtapa has one of the best beaches in Mexico, Playa Palmar, maybe 2 or 3 miles long, fronted for maybe half its length by fairly high-end hotels. A 10 minute drive south of Zihua is 16 km long Playa Larga....beautiful and still almost deserted. There are lots of good restaurants in Ixtapa, though they’re being hurt by the all-inclusive hotels. The tourist industry seems to have determined that "all-inclusive" is what tourists want these days.
As a vacation destination, combining Ixtapa's touristy glitz, with Zihuatanejo's very real Mexican small-city amenities, beaches and restaurants so close by, makes it, we think, the best of both worlds. Yes, Zihua's beaches around the Bay have some water quality problems, which enlightened locals are working to address. In that respect, I suppose it's like Acapulco 30 or 40 years ago. Hopefully Zihua will learn from Acapulco's mistakes. At the present time, water quality at La Ropa and Las Gatas, the best beaches on Zihua Bay, are still pretty safe for swimming. Things have not yet progressed to the point where it's too late to save the bay.
Ixtapa depends entirely on the tourist trade and Zihua only to a slightly lesser extent. Zihua’s, however, are generally a different kind of tourist.......folks seeking more than the resort/all-inclusive experience. Zihua has most of the services anyone should need, including the Wal-Mart owned Bodega Aurrera, and a large Comercial Mexicana, affiliated with COSTCO. For other shopping, folks drive the 3 or so hours via an excellent toll road to Morelia, which has all the amenities of any other large city. While I'm sure it's convenient to have a local Wal-Mart Supercenter, Sam's Club and Home Depot, I'm not convinced they are necessities for folks considering full-time retirement. In fact, an argument can be made that we'd like to find a place that doesn't have those bigbox stores.
There are dozens of excellent restaurants in Zihua at all price ranges. With the exception of a few super-luxurious boutique-type hotels, most accomodation in Zihua is in smaller, more people-friendly places. Like many spots in Mexico, including Mazatlan, people tend to come back year after year.
Touch wood, there are still no McDonald’s or Burger Kings in Ixtapa or Zihua. As much as we like Mazatlan.........we’ll be spending a week or so there this fall and again in the spring on our way home.....I have to say that Mazatlan’s Golden Zone, which used to be a fun, funky, laid-back touristy area, feels like it's had the lifeblood sucked right out of it, complete with a McDonald’s stuck right in the middle.....looking very out-of-place......and many of the fun touristy restaurants have been replaced by those ugly, sterile jewellery stores catering to the thousands of cruise ship passengers that descend on Mazatlan like a plague of locusts every second day. And many of the small, people-friendly hotels along the beach in and near the Golden Zone have been torn down, replaced by incredibly ugly highrise (22 stories or more) condominiums. If that’s progress, they can have it.
I should add that Zihuatanejo is a long way south. We figure Mazatlan is a comfortable two day drive from the US border, while Zihua takes another 2 days.

[YaVengo]

If I may, let me jump in here regarding Mazatlan. I must confess to having recently been one of those cruise ship locusts visiting Mazatlan for one day. The parts of Mazatlan we were treated to were very disappointing to someone who had been quite interested in it as a possible retirement destination based one many good things I had read. What we witnessed on our admittedly meager exploration was touts ("Amigo,amigo, what would you like to buy?") as annoying as the jejenes I've heard of. Then there was the omnipresent (at least on our route) graffitti. I get to see enough of that here in the Chicago area. The humidity was pretty oppressive (it was August) but I was expecting that. Now I'm assuming that we were just treated to the "bad" side of Mazatlan and it was only one day. So, if I go there again for a longer visit to check it out, where in Maz would any of you suggest? I guess somewhere the day tourists don't go.

[RVGRINGO]

I think you have just answered your own question. Cruise ship tour schedules are known and the 'vendadores' and time share salesmen come out of the woodwork to meet you. You are also escorted to places where the proprietors make it worthwhile for the guides to deliver you. You also visited at a time of the year when most residents with any resources try to escape to cooler climes.

[wendykain]

Thanks HolyMole, v thorough, much to take on board. V kind of you to take the time, regards Wendy Kain

[HolyMole]

Originally Posted by YaVengo

If I may, let me jump in here regarding Mazatlan. I must confess to having recently been one of those cruise ship locusts visiting Mazatlan for one day. The parts of Mazatlan we were treated to were very disappointing to someone who had been quite interested in it as a possible retirement destination based one many good things I had read. What we witnessed on our admittedly meager exploration was touts ("Amigo,amigo, what would you like to buy?") as annoying as the jejenes I've heard of. Then there was the omnipresent (at least on our route) graffitti. I get to see enough of that here in the Chicago area. The humidity was pretty oppressive (it was August) but I was expecting that. Now I'm assuming that we were just treated to the "bad" side of Mazatlan and it was only one day. So, if I go there again for a longer visit to check it out, where in Maz would any of you suggest? I guess somewhere the day tourists don't go.

Sorry, YaVengo. I guess I was a tad harsh on cruiseship tourists. It must be frustrating for those wishing to see and learn something about the stops on the itinerary, when all the efforts of the onshore folks are directed at separating you from as much of your money as quickly as they can in the short time available to them. Likewise, it's hard to be too harsh on that part of the local economy that depends on cruise ships for its livelihood. However, aside from those directly involved in serving the industry, it's hard to find anyone....residents, expat residents or longer term tourists....who have anything nice to say about cruise ships.

Zihuatanejo has its own battles with "cruzeros". These monsters dominate the relatively small bay....there isn't (yet) a cruise ship pier....and on some days there are two of them out there. Disgorging 2 or 3 thousand passengers at a time into Zihua's small streets and alleys isn't a positive experience.....unless your livelihood depends on them.

Mazatlan is a large city with an economy that doesn't depend solely on the tourist trade. It has its gritty side, to be sure. A short visit of 5 or 6 hours being bussed from the port to the Golden Zone certainly wouldn't offer much of a glimpse. Most gringos reside in pleasant areas 3 or 4 miles north of "Centro", in and around the Golden Zone and north from there, up the beach. The old Centro area is quickly becoming gentrified, with prices increasing accordingly.