Researching Playa del Carmen - Part II - Medical and Dental Services, Internet Access and Phone Service, and Transportation

4)     Medical and Dental

During our research and decision to relocate to Playa del Carmen, Mexico we had planned on seeing our current health care provider and dentist once a year, when we returned to the States during the summer months.  But in reality, you never know when the need will arise for health care or dental services.  So now the challenge was to identify a medical doctor, hospital (in the event of an emergency) and a dentist.  These providers would have to be able to speak English (since we can't speak a word of Spanish) and come highly recommended by the expat community.

After researching and reading several forums and blogs, we found several mentions of reputable health care

providers in the area, along with dentists and a local hospital that would meet our needs.  And an added benefit we found throughout our research was cost of services.  Cost of services is much less in Mexico than in the U.S.  For example, on a recent forum thread a member shared that he needed to have dental work done that would cost $5,500 in the U.S. Through recommendations from other forum members, he found a local dentist that did the work for $1,600. What a difference in price! The member was extremely happy with his experience and posted his before and after pictures.  What a great testimony for the dentist, who now has even more new clients.  Nothing like word-of-mouth marketing.

Needless to say, our fear about being able to find quality health care or dental care while living in Mexico has been put to rest.

5)      Internet and Phone 

Whew!  This is a big issue for us.  If we have to, we can live without a phone, but we can't live without high-speed internet.  We know that for some people, it would be the other way around, but not for us. We are tech junkies and just can't imagine ourselves without being connected to the World Wide Web.   Turns out, we don't have to settle on one or the other.  Both are readily available throughout PDC.  You just have to determine what is available in the area you select to live.

Our research shows several people are using services like MagicJack, Vonage or NetTalk.  In addition to their smart phones, pre-paid cell phones and local land-lines.  There are also a number of apps that people are using to stay connected: Tango, WhatsApp and Viber are just a few.

The local utilities companies are: Cablemas for cable and Internet; Telmex for local phone service and Internet and Telcel; Moviestar and Nextel for cell service. Once we relocate, we will determine what works best for us.

6)     Transportation

Everything we've read indicated the same thing.  You don't need a car in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  It's basically a walking community with an abundance of public transportation if you need it.  This was important to us since we do not plan on bringing either of our cars with us.  Local buses, regional buses, private transportation companies, bicycles, and YES...the local taxi service.

Now, we have to tell you about the local taxi service.  Keep in mind that this is just from online research and reading forums and blogs; not from personal experience.  But basically, the local taxi service has had some problems with following the rate sheet rules. There is a rate sheet that shows the cost to take you from point A to point B, and each and every taxi driver is issued the same rate sheet.  Reading through some of the forums, it is obvious that some of the taxi drivers feel that there should be two rate sheets.  One for locals and one for tourists...hence lies the problem.

Apparently, some of the drivers are overcharging and being very assertive about collecting.  For example, if you enter a cab without confirming what you think the price is (based on the rate sheet), upon exiting the cab, the driver will tell you a price that you had not expected. After all, you are looking at the price sheet and you know the cost is less than what the driver is saying.  So you give the driver what the cost IS and he proceeds to get out of the cab, follow you, all the while yelling at you to pay more. In reading through some of the posts, it can be very intimidating.  Some people pay more, others do not.  Some people say confirm the price before you get in the cab. Others say you don't need to confirm the price because the prices are already set based on the rate sheet.  I guess we will see when we get there.  It's just nice to know up front how things are done.

So there you have it.  Our top 6 concerns.  We'll continue to research and share information.  It's a
wonderful and fascinating process learning about another country.  And as we have already mentioned, visiting a place is not like living in that place.  So you know what?  We may just have to plan a short trip just to see for ourselves if Playa del Carmen, Mexico is the place.

Stay tuned...and thanks for following our journey!