In recent years, the center of Mérida has become the fashionable place to live. Every year hundreds of foreigners, mainly Americans and Canadians, come to live in this area of the city. But is it really worth living downtown?
Advantages of living in the center of Mérida:
Higher quality of services
Living in the center means having all the services close to your home and having all the city’s leisure activities just one step away. Having all the services at hand will help you enormously in your daily life.
To give an example, internet services are faster and more stable than in other parts of the city, just as the electricity supply is much more reliable in the central neighborhoods of Mérida than on the outskirts of the city.
Better access to public transportation
Living in the center allows you to move anywhere in the city with ease, since all public transportation buses arrive and depart from the center of Mérida. This will help you reduce transportation costs and travel times.
This year, Mérida launched a new public transportation system with new buses that have air conditioning, USB charging connections and internet access. This new transportation system called “Va y Vén”
Quality of life
Living in the center allows you to a more active life, if you choose alternative methods of transportation such as walking or cycling, in fact, it is very safe to travel by bicycle through the streets of the center, but you have to be careful to respect the traffic signs and everything will be fine. A couple of years ago, almost all of Mérida’s main avenues were implemented a special lane for bicycles.
Living in the center also allows you to access a greater cultural and entertainment offer, as well as work and social opportunities.
Access to entertainment
Living in the center offers you a wide variety of options for fun, such as museums, theaters, cinemas, restaurants, bars, parks, and all kinds of events that you can walk to.
Security
It is already well known that Mérida is the safest city in Mexico, in fact, the downtown area has the largest police presence in the city, so on that side you can feel safe.
But there are also disadvantages of living in the center of Mérida.
Noise
Living in the city downtown means being exposed to high levels of noise, caused by traffic, construction, and especially bars, canteens and parties. In fact, for some years now the inhabitants of this area of the city (especially American foreigners) have organized to complain against the noise caused by entertainment establishments. In fact, the pressure was so great that the city of Mérida modified and reinforced the laws against noise.
However, there are still many places in the center that generate a lot of noise late at night. So, if you are thinking about living in downtown, be careful not to be near a nightclub or a main avenue.
Pollution
Living in the city center means breathing not-so-clean air due to polluting gas emissions from vehicles, which by the way Mérida has the largest vehicle fleet in Mexico, with 1 car for every 2 inhabitants. Also, in the case of Mérida, some streets are not so clean, the sidewalks in many cases are in very poor condition or destroyed, most of the streets have many potholes, bumps and in several areas during the rainy season they flood a lot.
High prices
Living in the center of Mérida means paying more for rent or buying a home, especially if you are a foreigner.
Difficulty parking
If you have a car entails a bit of problems parking your car, since most of the houses in this area do not have a garage, so you will have to park on the street, if there is space, or pay a pension to store your car overnight, which will bring an extra cost to your monthly expenses.
Like everything, living in the center of a city has its pros and cons, however, I believe that the advantages are more valuable, since they will help us maintain a more entertaining and educational life living in Merida.