Back in 2001, my husband and I went to an event just north of Playa Del Carmen. At that time, the small beach town south of Tulum on the Yucatan was primarily dirt roads with a few scattered hotels and restaurants. In just 16 years, the town has rapidly expanded. Although it purportedly lost its position as the fastest growing city in Latin America to Tulum in 2012, it was an impressive example of how quickly things can change. With the population changing from 20k to about 200k in 20 years, the town looks completely different than when we first visited. What was a sleepy beach town is now a booming tourist destination. The same is happening to Tulum.
When we started visiting Todos Santos about 6 years ago, while different, it had a similar feel to Playa Del Carmen in 2001. A similar drive from an airport, accessed from a highway, dirt roads, and close to a beautiful beach. However, it still felt more like a town than a tourist destination. The population seemed diverse. Sure there were a fair amount of expats (Canadians, Italians, Americans), but the majority of the population seemed to be Mexican families going about their daily lives: attending school, hanging out in the parks, running businesses, or tending to the agricultural fields. When we were looking for property, our real estate agent mentioned that there has been consistent but very small growth for the past 20 years. Perfect, so we had lots of time to find property. No rush!
As we continued to visit, we started noticing changes. Building activity seemed to be increasing. Stalled projects started up again. And then we saw a sign for a new upcoming development: Tres Santos. Typically, vacation rentals and homes in the area had been marketing to older retirees, but this was different:
“Tres Santos will offer a trio of landscapes—beach, farm and hillside. The choice is yours: with two distinct villages to inhabit and plans for a variety of artisanal homes in both places, you’ll find timeless design, crafted detail, and a holistic and integrated way of life.”
Oh boy. This campaign was obviously marketing to a younger, hipster crowd. Of course, our idea of retiring early wasn’t original, we knew that, but I thought we were a bit ahead of the wave. We figured that young burned-out professionals holding down stressful jobs in start-ups would start looking for a simpler life – especially if that could be funded by the sale of a company or an equity payout (notice that all the pictures in the Tres Santos marketing are of white, young professionals). What we didn’t anticipate is that it would be this soon.
That lit a fire under our booties to buy that property. Do I think the same thing will happen to Pescadero and Todos Santos as Playa Del Carmen and Tulum? For several reasons, no, I don’t think it will become a party destination. The ocean is too rough and there is more art and culture than is typically permitted in crazy party towns. But could it easily become a preferred Mexican hipster expat option? You bet. For now, we are protected from massive expansion by dirt roads, rough ocean and a moderate climate, but we will see what the future holds. I, for one, welcome our new tourist overlords.
