With approximately 1.6 million U.S. citizens calling Mexico home, many expats are currently sheltering in place as widespread unrest grips parts of the country.
Jalisco State—which includes expat havens Puerto Vallarta, Chapala, and Guadalajara—are currently experiencing waves of violence in the aftermath of the killing of drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes and eight cartel members during a military operation.
Unrest was reported in at least seven states: Jalisco, Michoacán, Colima, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, Baja California, and Aguascalientes.
“Due to ongoing security operations & related road blockages & criminal activity, U.S. citizens in a number of locations in Mexico are urged to shelter in place, as U.S. government staff in several locations are doing and will continue to do on Feb. 23,” the U.S. Department of State: Consular Affairs wrote on Facebook.
“In Puerto Vallarta, residents reported the city under siege,” says Mexico News Daily. “The sound of gunshots and thick columns of black smoke rising over the city as more than 10 vehicles and several businesses were set on fire in various points. Prison breaks were also reported.”
“You can’t plan for this,” Lief Simon, co-founder of expat advice site Live and Invest Overseas, tells Realtor.com®. “A massive event can happen at any time, anywhere in the world. This is an unprecedented event in a major expat country.”
Americans in popular expat haven Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta, a stunning coastal city in Western Mexico, has surged in expat popularity in recent years.
In the first half of 2022 alone, 1,515 Americans were granted residency to live in Jalisco, mainly in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, and Chapala, according to Mexico News Daily, citing an Interior Ministry migration report.
While Mexico City is the most popular city for U.S. expats, Jalisco comes in second, according to Mexico News Daily.
According to various news outlets, the area has roughly 15,000 to 20,000 expats, most from the U.S., Canada, and Europe, living in it.
“That number sounds very low to me,” Alvaro Orozco, a real estate agent based in The Woodlands, TX, who promotes properties in the area, tells Realtor.com. “If you go there, you see so many Americans.”
“It’s hard to put a specific number to it, as many are snowbirds who come down for just the winter,” says Simon. “During those busy months, there are probably about 40,000 to 50,000 expats here.
“It is a popular place for Americans to retire to in Mexico.”
Living in Puerto Vallarta
Orozco, who lived in the beach town for almost three years, tells Realtor.com: “It’s normally very safe. You can leave your car doors open.”
He says that properties on the coastline can fetch as much as $5 million, with gated communities that feel “as safe, or even safer, than the U.S.”
“Who knows what will happen,” he says of the potential fallout for local real estate. Cartel unrest “has happened before, but this one is bigger and getting a lot more press because of U.S. involvement. Hopefully, it doesn’t last long.”
He says no one who had planned a house tour has canceled—but no one is booking anything for this week either.
Meanwhile, those living there are having mixed experiences.
“We are here now in Nuevo [Vallarta, a gated community] and feel safe,” wrote Lorinda Nelson on Facebook. “Things are returning to normal and despite the news, civilians and tourists were never threatened.”
However, on the Puerto Vallarta Expat Network on Facebook, which has 35,000 members, a man asking for advice on buying a condo was mocked.
“Your timing is so wrong!” replied one member.
“You might want to rethink that,” advised another.
“Lil tone deaf today. Here is the view from our pool,” said Victoria Andrich, who posted a picture of thick black smoke rising from the street outside the pool area.
Normally, the city is a colorful town bustling with locals, expats, and tourists.
“What started as a fishing village in the state of Jalisco is now a colorful resort town with world-class spas, a vibrant lifestyle, and picturesque beaches,” says Live and Invest Overseas.
The city boasts wellness centers, many U.S. stores, golf courses, communities with all-inclusive amenities, top medical facilities and pharmacies, and plenty of English speakers.
Public transportation is said to be excellent, with many ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft. Puerto Vallarta is also famous for its thriving turtle population.
Well-known communities for expats include Marina Vallarta, a luxury residential and resort community; Old Vallarta (known as the “romantic zone”); and Los Arcos Marine Park on Banderas Bay.
But even before the current unrest, some expats didn’t feel quite safe in the area.
“I don’t feel 100% safe returning home on foot at night (after 11 p.m.) and I don’t like that there are some parts of the country I can’t visit due to cartel activity,” said a Chilean expat in nearby Guadalajara, according to expat site InterNations.
And on the Puerto Vallarta section of Live and Invest Overseas, the blog cautions expats to avoid back streets and less busy areas at night, stick to bottled water, refuse drinks from strangers, watch out for scams, and avoid unmarked taxi cabs.
“Obviously, you have to have common sense,” says Orozco. “To know where to go and where not go, and at what times.”
But expats who have made it their home and have no intention to leave are confident the unrest will soon blow over.
“Life will continue and people will still move there,” said one on Facebook.
