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“We’re Just a Stone’s Throw Across the Gulf of Mexico”
MERIDA IN THE NEWS: Read this MARCH, 2011 Article from the WASHINGTON POST:
HOME TO 10,000 AMERICANS & CANADIANS!
SAFETY and MEDICAL CARE: 2 huge reasons American and Canadian residents live here. Gringos like us come from all over the States and Canada: Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Colorado, Georgia, Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the U.S. Mid-West States – just to name a few areas.
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Of course many of you already know where we are located and have traveled here before. But for those of you who require a geography refresher you will want to press on – after all, we’re the best kept secret in the Western Hemisphere!
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CAN YOU BELIEVE?
Merida is light years safer than Canada and the U.S.
Merida is statistically THE safest city in North America. READ ON. Merida, with a greater metropolitan area of more than 1- million residents, had less than one murder per month in 2009 making it MUCH SAFER than ANY U.S. CITY with a population of 250,000 and up. Fellow Americans, how does your home city compare to Merida?
And what about Canadian cities such as CALGARY (24 murders and a similar size metro population); WINNIPEG (28 murders and an even smaller population); and of course, TORONTO (61 murders).
Sort of puts safe travel to Merida, Yucatan in proper perspective, doesn’t it?
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INTERNATIONAL LIVING MAGAZINE recommends Merida, Yucatan
. . . as one of the best places in the world for Safety, Quality Medical Care, a 2nd home, permanent residency, or for retirement.
(In fact, the American publisher/owner was so impressed by the high quality of life, he and his family moved here permanently!)
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Yucatan is the state and Merida is its capital – Merida features an international airport with the most convenient access by way of Houston or Miami airports. Merida’s closest familiar neighbor is Cancun – a quick flight, a fast and modern toll road drive, or a 1st class luxury bus ride to Merida. Select shuttle service is also available from Cancun.
The 200-mile wide Yucatan Peninsula sticks out like the thumb on your left hand, jutting out into the Caribbean on one side; Gulf of Mexico on the other; and the Caribbean Islands just across the Yucatan Channel.
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SAFETY PRIORITY #1: What do these 3 places have in common?
* DISNEYWORLD
* PEORIA, ILLINOIS
* MERIDA, YUCATAN
Each is safely located about 1300 miles driving distance from the Mexican border! In fact, Merida and Yucatan are so far from the border that Merida is on the exact line of longitude as - New Orleans!
Hot Springs, Arkansas, Pensacola, & even Atlanta, & Nashville, Tennessee are ALL CLOSER to Matamoros, Juarez, and Tijuana than Merida, Yucatan!
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 Located on the wide Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, Merida, with a metropolitan area population of more than 1 million, is the capital of the state of Yucatan, and celebrates as both a Contemporary AND Historical City.
Modern / Cosmopolitan City:
- A Regional Medical destination for many nations
- Wi-Fi in all its dozens of public parks
- Big box stores like Sam’s Club, Home Depot, Sears
- 12 Universities including research, medical, veterinary schools
- Mega-screen malls featuring English-language films & U.S restaurants
- Art premieres and exhibits of world famous artists
- International concerts, stars, and dance
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DID YOU KNOW?
Merida was chosen in 2000 as the FIRST city in the Western Hemisphere to be designated as “America’s Culture Capital” by the American Capital of Culture Initiative.
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AND Historical City:
- Ancient Mayan ruins and archeology museums
- 400-year old Spanish colonial architecture
- Centuries-old opera house - the oldest in the New World
- Generations of enchanting customs and traditions
- Site of the Chixulub Meteor which ended the dinosaur era and created myriads of underground rivers, lakes, cenotes, and caves
ONCE UPON A TIME WE WERE ALL SPRING-BREAKERS!
Cancun is our most familiar neighbor here on the Yucatan Peninsula – we in Merida are 200 miles inland - far from the madding crowd. Most Americans and Canadians know this tropical peninsula for the many holiday destinations and the beach all-inclusive resorts of the Riviera Maya – like Playa del Carmen and Tulum. Or maybe you are planning or have taken a cruise with a port-of-call in Progreso, Cozumel, or Mahahual. Or visited the pyramids of Chichen-Itza - ALL YUCATAN.
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Merida is an easy – AND SHORT - flight from most U.S. and Canadian cities, Merida is roughly 700 miles south of Houston; the same distance southwest of Miami, and about the same number of miles from Tampa.
WHO DAT!? GO SAINTS GO!
New Orleans and Merida have been SISTER CITIES for over 2 decades and renewed their economic-cultural agreement in 2009. Merida even officially celebrated the Saints victory in the 2010 Super Bowl. Carried here on U.S. network, the game was also broadcast on a huge theater screen at one of the many mega-movie theater mall complexes.
Saints fans here, Americans & Meridanos alike, reveled in the Saints’ victory.
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For centuries the distinctive geography of Yucatan kept the Peninsula culturally similar to Europe, the Caribbean and Central America, and New Orleans. Examples include Merida’s luxuriant main boulevard, the Paseo de Montejo with its many stately mansions, inspired by the French Champs Elysees.
DID YOU KNOW?
The magnificent Mayan archeological site of Chichen-Itza, the Athens of the Ancient New World, was recently proclaimed one of the New 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD.
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Yucatecan cuisine is a fusion of its Mayan, Caribbean, and European heritage represented in its signature dishes. For example, as in the Caribbean, tamales and several other delicious dishes here are wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks. And while all the cuisine here is not necessarily spicy, Yucatan is home to the hottest pepper in the Western Hemisphere, the habanero, which even has an appellation designation (DOC) similar to wine regions. This is also where mole’ – an original chocolate recipe - was created centuries ago and handed down through generations by family cooks.
Elton John, Sarah Brightman, Placido Domingo, Picasso, Dali, Goya
As the CULTURAL CENTER OF THE CARIBBEAN & GULF, Merida, Yucatan emerged centuries ago as a cultural crossroads city. Symphony orchestra, opera, ballet, and popular musical artists (Elton John performed at Easter, 2010) are the norm here. Boasting dozens of museums, art exhibits and galleries, historic structures, extraordinary colonial architecture, Merida is the gateway to the Mayan archeological heartland, making Yucatan a most desirable cultural destination.
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Many parts of Merida with its iron lace balconies will remind you of the French Quarter in New Orleans (As you know, French Quarter architecture is nearly all Spanish). And it is Yucatan’s coastal waters where the most infamous American pirate of his time, Jean Lafitte, often found sanctuary. Historic ties between Merida and New Orleans (approximately the same line of longitude) led to a cultural-economic Sister City agreement in 1990 which was renewed in the fall of 2009. Merida even officially celebrated the Saints victory in the 2010 Super Bowl.
CAN YOU BELIEVE . . .
Merida, Yucatan is only a 600-700 mile flight across the Gulf of Mexico from New Orleans, Houston, Tampa, and Miami.
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At one time Yucatan actually declared its independence for several years. It is definitely far away from Mexico City and the rest of the country - in so many ways. Today, Merida, remains statistically one of the safest cities in all of North America, and is light years away from the perils that plague other metropolitan centers in the Western Hemisphere (including those in the U.S. and Canada).
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Merida is certainly not without its own urban challenges - particularly an ongoing population mini-explosion fueled by migration from within Mexico’s borders and to a lesser – but growing - extent, more Canadians and Americans discovering its many benefits including MEDICAL TRAVEL. Still, Merida is one of the few North American cities where you can still walk the streets at night safely.
Especially desirable is strolling the Paseo de Montejo, a tree-lined expansive boulevard patterned after the Champs Elysees. With its wide sidewalks and outdoor art exhibits, one is not only reminded of Paris but of New Orleans’ St. Charles Avenue. Beautiful mansions, most of which are now museums, restaurants, reception halls, and hotels, have dominated the Paseo de Montejo since the late 1800s. Hacienda owners, mindful of their European architectural heritage, decided to cash in on their new wealth and competed to see who could construct the most glorious residence for all to see.
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