Retirement Villas

By: Jim Scherrer

Cote d'Azur, the word tends to conjure up images of pleasant scenery, serenity and calm of relaxation, even in Paradise. By definition, Riviera is an Italian word for the origin of the Middle Ages to the coast of Liguria. The two divisions of the original Riviera, both bordering the Ligurian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, are the Italian Riviera and the Cote d'Azur. The two retirees Riviera would be wonderful if you have seriously deep pockets, do not mind the 10 hour flight transatlantic and possible language barriers when you're there!

Today the term is generally applied in the world to a dozen hot coastal areas popular with tourists. Mexico is blessed with two of these regions, the Riviera Maya and the Mexican Riviera.

The Riviera Maya is composed of 80 miles along the Caribbean coast packing along the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It includes the resort towns of Isla Mujeres, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Tulum. This region is a unique area to visit its warm climate, sandy beaches, historic or archaeological sites, which may be a different matter when it comes to retirement. The average daily temperature for the season of "high" from November to May along the Riviera Maya is 77 ° F but you can count on an average monthly rainfall during this season of more than 3 inches. In addition, the Yucatan region is threatened by hurricanes off the Caribbean Sea almost every year in Playa del Carmen and Chetumal is virtually eliminated several years ago and devastated Cancun in 2005. The topography of the entire Yucatan Peninsula is mostly flat, with elevation changes of less than 500 feet which makes it impossible to retirement communities picturesque mountainside. The result is a flat topography in great beaches and shallow waters that attract the young generation for the holiday break and other holidays with a very active nightlife.

The Mexican Riviera consists of more than 1,000 miles off the Pacific Ocean west of Mexico that stretches all the way from Ensenada in Baja California, Puerto Escondido and Huatulco in Oaxaca state. With the mountains of the Sierra Madre running virtually any distance, the coastline is considered one of the most picturesque in the world. First dubbed the Riviera Mexican American cruise industry, today this magnificent coastline cruise destination is the fourth most popular in the world with about 300 cruises a year. The problem is that about 90% of this magnificent land is classified as ejido land and is not available for purchase by foreigners. This land was given to citizens of Mexico after the Mexican revolution for farming or work and has not yet been regulated or privatized. The small fraction of land that has been privatized can be found in and around the resorts along the Mexican Riviera where foreigners can buy property and hold title as a escritura, 50 years into a trust bank. Consequently, almost all retirement communities along the Mexican Riviera are located in the cities of Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Vallarta, Manzanillo, Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo, Acapulco, Puerto Escondido and Huatulco.

In considering retirement, we'll take a look at the stations along the Cote d'Azur.

Located just 70 miles south of U.S. border, Ensenada, known as the Cinderella of the Pacific, is a very useful player in most western cities in the U.S. and really not far from the western Canada. Ensenada now has a population of 450,000 inhabitants of which about 20,000 are American retirees from the North. With good weather and hills, the region of Ensenada has become the world class wine region ..