Explosion in the cost of housing, crime, extreme weather due to climate change: Quebecers looking for a corner of the country where to spend the winter in the warmth come up against a series of obstacles. Since the pandemic, overheating real estate and the rising cost of living have hit the preferred destinations of snowbirds.
Thousands of retirees and workers are desperately looking for a sunny destination to spend the winter months. It’s not just Florida that’s testing the patience — and the wallet — of people allergic to snow and cold, found The duty.
Odette Perron and Robert Lecompte have been renting an apartment in Puerto Vallarta, on the west coast of Mexico, for six years. The retired couple did not go there this winter. “We needed a break. It’s gentrifying to such an extent that it doesn’t make sense,” says the international trade specialist, who has traveled all his life.
In the wake of the pandemic, housing prices have skyrocketed in Puerto Vallarta. The couple paid $350 a month to rent their apartment in 2016. The bill jumped 57% to $550. And in more touristy areas, the rent reaches $2,500 per month. Unheard of in this once affordable city compared to destinations like Florida.
“Mexicans make easy money. They take advantage of it, ”says Robert Lecompte. Discouraged by the explosion in the cost of living in their Mexican retirement, the retiree and his wife spent the winter in Thailand, in the seaside resort of Hua Hin, south of Bangkok.
The couple from Varennes, near Longueuil, loved their stay in Asia. The rent is comparable to that of Puerto Vallarta, but the rest of the expenses seem derisory. A restaurant dinner for two is $8. A nice hotel room for getaways, under $35 per night (breakfast included).
“The plane trip is long, but it’s worth the trip. In addition, you never feel in danger in Thailand,” says Odette Perron.
Asia’s sense of safety is an advantage over Puerto Vallarta, where petty crimes like purse theft are becoming more common, the couple report. And the sewer systems are poorly adapted to the torrential rains caused by climate change. During heavy rains, the streets fill with foul water up to mid-calf, explains Robert Lecompte.
The couple will return to Puerto Vallarta for at least the next two winters, until their long-term lease expires. They enjoy the mild climate and social life with their friends snowbirds from Quebec and elsewhere. But they are thinking about the future of their winter plans.
A paradise lost
The real estate overheating is also hitting the east coast of Mexico. Renting a two-bedroom apartment can easily cost a whopping $5,000 per month in the small town of Puerto Morelos, near Cancun. “It was truly paradise on earth, but things have changed,” said a Quebec retiree who asked to remain anonymous.
Some small houses on a human scale of the past are now in the shade of tall buildings, laments this accustomed to the Mexican sun. Red algae also become more present. Armed violence between drug traffickers also claims victims, both among tourists and the local population.
A couple from Quebec recently sold their apartment in Puerto Morelos after 10 winters enjoying the Mexican sun. “Remote maintenance of a condo is complicated. We realized that strangers slept with us in our absence. The companies that do the maintenance are not always reliable. »
“It’s getting harder and harder to find a place to winter. We no longer know where to go, ”laments a retiree. Costa Rica and Panama are too expensive for him. Belize seems less safe than before. And the consumerist madness of Florida, with its shopping centers and highways as far as the eye can see, does not interest this retiree in search of calm and simplicity.
Rents out of control
Michel Bourgeois, who lived in Florida for 17 years, also had enough of the Sunshine State. He moved to Arizona three years ago. “At the end, I was no longer capable of Florida. There are too many people, too many cars, and it’s me, myself and I. It doesn’t stop talking about money,” says the native Quebecer.
He found his paradise in Mesa, Arizona — one of the fastest growing areas in the United States. The influx of Californians, who have sold their homes at high prices in the wake of the pandemic, has caused the real estate market in the region to explode.
“There is no control over the price of rents. There is overbidding even in rental housing. The owners rent to the highest bidders,” says Michel Bourgeois. Drinking water is also becoming extremely rare because of the unbridled development of residential complexes.
This massage therapist, who is approaching retirement age, loves his life near the desert and the mountains. However, he too is caught up in the rising cost of living: “I don’t know how people on low wages manage to make ends meet. Everyone will become homeless if this continues. »
Before prices spiked due to the pandemic, he bought a two-bedroom, two-bathroom mobile home for $18,000. A bargain unimaginable today. However, he must rent the land, and the bill has increased by 20% in three years, to reach $900 per month. Electricity and groceries also cost almost 10% more than last year.
This is the price to pay to do without the Quebec winter (even if the nights are cold between December and March in Arizona). “Anyway, life is made expensive everywhere, even in Quebec,” says Michel Bourgeois.