Researching Playa del Carmen - Part I - Mexican Legal System, Prescription Medication and Housing

You can't begin to imagine the different paths our research took us.  The more we researched and read information, the more we continued to have questions.  There are so many things that have to be considered when exploring the option of living in another country.  In this post (Research Part I), we'll attempt to give an overview of some of the main questions we had and what our research found.


1)     The legal system in Mexico

We had read so many forums and blogs that focused on the Mexican legal system, we really wanted to know just how different their laws are from ours.  Please keep in mind that we are law-abiding people; and we wanted to keep it that way.

We learned that some of the legal rights and protections U.S citizens have at home, don't apply in Mexico.  And, the Mexican legal system is based on "Napoleonic Code of 1804".  This means their law is based on text of actual laws, codes and statutes, versus prior court decisions. Finally, Mexican law finds that you are "guilty until proven innocent".

Researching the legal system of any country prior to going; whether to visit or live, is something we strongly encourage.

Helpful resources: Mexican Legal System;  Focus on Mexico; U.S. Consulate

2)     Prescription Medication

Refilling a prescription for medication is something we just didn't really think about or consider a big deal.  Why would we?  You take your meds, your prescriptions get low, you call your pharmacy or go online to their website, order your refills, and done!  But not in Mexico.  The process is different.

First, prescription medications here in the U.S., may not need a prescription in Mexico, or may be considered illegal.   Second, bringing a signed prescription from your health care provider here in the U.S. to a Mexican health care provider does not amount to a hill of beans. Third, be prepared to go to a Mexican doctor if you need prescription medication.

We actually contacted our insurance company and requested a list of health care providers in Playa del Carmen.  Once we relocate, we will need to contact a provider immediately to continue our medication.  The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk (COFEPRIS) is the governing body for pharmaceuticals in Mexico.

Helpful resource: The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk (COFEPRIS)

3)     Housing

This area of our research has caused the most stress. Visiting a place is not the same as living there.  Think about it.  When you go on vacation, you and your honey are walking hand-in-hand, happy about being on vacation, smiling and laughing without a care in the world, walking around with the "locals", shopping, eating at a local restaurant, taking excursions, etc, etc, etc. Do you or have you ever really noticed housing?

And when we say housing, we mean; local grocery stores, post offices, banks, salons, schools, local chambers of commerce and visitor bureaus, hospitals, churches, fire departments, libraries, gas stations, parks, movie theaters, houses, barber shops, apartments, condos, shopping malls; the list is endless.  The answer for us is NO, not really.  Even if we notice some of these things, it's not at the level of consciousness that is needed to help make a decision regarding living there.

So we had to really get serious and research the community we were interested in. Looking at websites for housing and the local community, reading blogs and forums, searching for rental agents and real estate agents (and researching them), scheduling phone appointments, emailing back and forth,  It goes on and on.  We decided to rent long-term (6 months to a year...or longer), to give ourselves time to experience our new country and learn about the different communities before we purchase a home.  Our massive hunt for a rental agent paid off when we found Gabi of Playa Rentals.  We contacted Gabi via email and explained our situation.  After several emails, she recommended a telephone conference.  With the three of us on the phone, it was obvious why her name had come up so many times during our research.  Simply put...she is the best!

Gabi spent several minutes speaking with us about our needs and our budget.  She had us look at her website while we were talking so that we could show her the type of accommodations we were looking for.  It was very important to us that our agent understood what we wanted.  Making an international move did not afford us the luxury of flying back and forth to Playa del Carmen to find a place.  We really had to put our hopes and trust in her judgement and understanding of our needs. She also spoke with us about electric, gas, and the water system.  Things that are different than what we are accustomed.  Gabi assured us not to worry.  And just to put any of our anxiety to rest, within a couple of days, Gabi emailed us photos of a property that hit the nail on the head. She had, in essence, let us know, that she knew what we wanted, and that she would get it for us. What a relief.  She promised to continue to send us information to keep us in the loop.  We promised to continue to do our research.

We researched so much we finally put together a check-list of preferences for our potential home and community.   A list of must-haves and a list of nice-to-haves. And, once we actually get to Playa del Carmen and start looking at accommodations, we will use this list to guide our search.  It's a great way to stay focused (in the middle of all the excitement of moving to Mexico) and make sure we don't miss anything that's really important to our comfort and transition.

You can never be too prepared or thorough.

Thank you for reading Research Part I.  Part II will cover other areas of research on Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya.