i can do stars if u or anyone else wants that

So what do you guys think is the best way to go about this?

Would you recommend taking a 3 day scouting trip to secure a place, then returning home to finish packing/subletting apt or would you just do all that first, then just show up, get a hotel for a couple of days, and do all the house hunting and then go straight into moving in?

Also, how did you pay for the initial rental costs since you didn't have a bank account yet?

Thats the way, I will do it when I come down in January. Will take a hotel for the first week.

I think you can set up a bank acount while you are hunting for houses. How long does it take to open a bank acount for an foreigner?

www.playa.info - Playa del Carmen, Mexico's virtual guidebook written by locals

you can just walk in to the bancomer preferred customer office on tenth and open a bank account took about an hour

This is another place I am considering moving to to join or start a poker house in January. Anyone interested?

I am interested for sure.

Depending on what time you were thinking I'll be ready to go down there in Feb. I check this thread daily and get inspired/excited every time I read thru it.

I would get in contact with a realtor before you get here, so you are ready to look at places upon arrival.

No need for a scouting trip (and the price of an extra roundtrip) unless you are worried you might not like it, get homesick or whatever. Very reasonable concerns

They have currency conversion booths literally everywhere (you will get a worse exchange rate at these places than a bank, but it will do for a couple days)

Everywhere will take USD as well, but again, that will be a bigger vig than anything (I think restaurants are currently giving 11-1, when rate is 13.5 or so) The walmart gives really good rates for USD I believe

Also most places take credit cards, some type of extra fee is associated with that, I don't know exactly what and I'm sure it varies depending on card

You were refering to rent specifically I guess....Everyone will take USD, it's prefered I'm sure.

It's different from case to case, a friend of mine has a locked in peso/month rate, my rent is quoted in USD with the option to pay in pesos at a rate locked in 2 days before he collects.

I'm not sure whats better, when I first got here in Aug the exchange was 10.5-1 now it's 13.5-1 so my rent has kinda gone up quite a bit while people paying pesos have saved money.

Yeah, that answers my question completely. Thanks alot noseeds. If this ends up happening, I'll have to buy you some drinks for your help.

Also, did you just pay for your first months rent + security, or how did that go? And, how long did you look before you found a place? These are general questions that anyone should feel free to answer if they are open to it.

I paid 1st month +security (1 month rent) and I pay month to month, landlord swings by on the same day to collect.

Again, this will probably very from landlord to landlord. 1 dude paid upfront for 6 months rent etc

I met up with my realtor the day I got here (the site I posted little bit ago is his, but I'm not sure he is the best, very nice guy though and easy to work with)

He showed me 3 or 4 places and then 3 more the next day. I picked my favorite and moved in that day, signed some lease that probably has no legal bearing what so ever (my land lord is fond of saying "it's mexico")

Hej guys,

I planned to fly to PDC in January, but I am thinking about going within the next few days in order to setup a house or condo for january.

I am 23 from germany and easy going, nonsmoker. I was wondering if someone would be interested in renting out a room for 4-14 days. Dont want to go in a hotel to much, because need a place to grind, while I am looking for a flat. I dont bank too much on internet in a hotel, though. Of course I wouldn't try to bother you at all and do all the thing in order to get a house or condo, on my own.

Let me know if you can make an offer. Would be great!

How is the internet down there as far as speed? Here in West coast mexico they have telnor that has a 15mb connection. Do they have that, or similar speeds there? More interested in this for gaming than poker as poker doesnt require hardly any bandwidth.

I dont know what mine is advertised at because i didnt set it up and i dont pay the bill, but i usually get 7-10mbps with cablemas.

bumpking has a sick setup I believe (did he post about it itt?) I think its on the expensive side but guessing the company he uses gets that connection

Where exactly is this location Ponder? Do they have someone who speaks fluent english to make this easy?

walking south on 10th past constituyentes its on right hand side just past 14th i think...but you cant miss it... Just bring a recentish utility bill(doesnt have to be in your name) and your passport and your good to go

They will speak english thats what they mean by preferred customers lol and if yall didnt know you get to take the fast line in the bank too which if youve been to the bank that could save a ton of time hehe

its here http://maps.google.com.mx/maps?q=ban...,300.85,,0,8.4

Moving to playa del carmen in late feb/ early march.

For anyone interested in rooming, I've found a few ridiculous 2 bdrm beachfront penthouses for roughly 1100 usd per person.

I had planned on a porto playa studio for 1400 but, for anyone who has done a little research, you will find that the best deals come with multiple bdrm rentals.

The bottom line can also be negotiated depending on length of contract and whether we can lock payment in with pesos

PM me and I'll shoot you the links. I'll also check back here.

You have too few posts to be pmed. Send me an email with your info because thats right about the same time I wanna move down there.

Weak. Can't email you either.

jstock224@hotmail.com- for James and anyone else.

If there's enough interest, 3-5 bdrms can get all inclusive deals for 800-1200 a month with certain oceanfronts.

heh, just saw this thread. didn't realize people were starting to move down here. i've been living here since sep 2009 full time, and coming here on and off since 2004.

until 2 weeks ago i lived at 28th and the beach (mamitas). i just moved to playacar. i never thought i would move out here. gated golf course communities don't really appeal to me. but i have a dog and various other factors made it difficult to find a place this time around. a brand new condo in playacar ended up being the best option.

i live with my gf and don't go out much anymore. also, i lived 200 ft from mamitas for 2+ years, and went to the beach exactly zero times. so, at this point, location is not as much of a priority for me. so far, i'm still car-less. finding taxis in playacar has been easy so far, but my place is right on the main road (and very close to a taxi stand). taxis are more expensive to/from/inside-of playacar, which means every one-way trip is 40 pesos (~$3) vs 20 pesos in centro. it was nice being within a block or two of starbucks, bars, restaurants, etc. but, really, i wasn't even getting out of the house for those things very often. so my life in playacar is more or less the same as my life was in town. but if you're new to playa and single and want to explore and be more conveniently located, the ideal location to live is definitely between 16th st and 42nd st, and between 5th ave (or at least 10th ave) and the beach. 38th st is completely comfortable now...plenty of restaurants, nice new condos, etc. past that, there are some nice new building at 40th, 42nd, but you've still got dirt roads, a little quiet for walking around after dark, etc (i'd move there in a heartbeat though if i got the right price in something like the building "deva"). on the other side, anything south of 16th is either right in the middle of the 12th st party cluster****, or going further south just more of an older part of town that is not really desirable to live in. there's a building called "magia" 1 block south of constituyentes on 1st ave which is def worth looking at. there are some decent buildings 1-4 blocks west of 10th ave between 8th st and 38th st, and it's fine to consider those options if you want to try to pay a little less and be a little bit of a walk from 5th / the beach.

to answer another question i saw in the thread: pummarola is def still open on 24th between 5th and 10th, and it's def highly recommended italian & pizza.

-tex
alprazolam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alprazolam

this is very good advice for anyone moving down here.