I “Moved” to Mexico During the Pandemic
Date of Trip: December 2020
It is not exactly a unique experience that 2020 was a year of change for me. I had been working as a corporate travel agent and was not exactly shocked when I was furloughed as a result of the pandemic and I soon enrolled in grad school to start that fall. As much as I love the travel industry, it was time to move on from it and start something else. Sure enough shortly after starting school that furlough turned into a layoff (also not a surprise), but the thought of returning had not really crossed my mind. The industry, especially corporate travel, will not recover for years and it probably will not return to normal until long after leisure travel has.
I was also ready to move from where I was living. I lived next to my hometown and as much as I do love it, I want to live in a city and decided I would move upon graduation and see where a job landed me. Then I realized why am I waiting until then to move out—I would graduate in May 2021 and I might as well move out, be a nomad for a while and then settle down where a job takes me.
Hence the “moved” to Mexico. I do not really consider it moving when its short term, but I also do not have a home in the US so I am a nomad until I do.
Why Mexico?
Well, the pandemic also in a way decided that. The places that were open to Americans at the point I was planning this were limited and I wanted somewhere that had enough I wanted to see for at least 4-5 months. Luckily, my school is self paced, but there were random zoom meetings I wanted to participate in so I wanted to be in a similar time zone. With those parameters, Mexico was the only option at the time. It also was close so if for whatever reason I needed to get back to the US, it was only a few hours flight away. I had been to Mexico on quick trips and a family cruise when I was really young—but haven’t really experienced it.
So I decided on Mexico and that I would spend a month in a different city—this lined up well with my school schedule for travel times to be between busy periods. Also with the pandemic, I wanted to stay put for longer and not be travelling quickly throughout like I normally have. I decided on the cities Merida, Tulum, Puerto Escondido, and San Miguel de Allende. This would also give half my time on the beach and half my time in cities as my home bases and can explore the areas from there. I booked places on AirBnb, and another plus with “moving” to Mexico is it was cheaper than my rent in California—even in Tulum which is notoriously expensive by Mexico standards.
The initial plan was to come the beginning of January, but I was getting antsy and came the last week of December. My flight was into Cancun and I stayed a few days there before spending a few days in Valladolid and then to my Airbnb in Merida for the month. One positive from this experience is Mexico was always a “one day I’ll get there” country on my list to thoroughly travel, but the pandemic escalated it to the top and I’m glad it did.