We’ve lived as permanent residents of Cabo for over three-and-a-half-years now, meaning this is truly our home. I often get asked what I love most about living in Cabo San Lucas.
My answers have evolved some over the last couple of years. I think this is to be expected. We have gotten much more comfortable here, tuned into the rhythm of daily life in Cabo. The newness has worn off, but our love for this place has not.
What do we love most about living in Cabo? Here are my top 10 reasons in no particular order:
1. The people we’ve met from locals to other expats. I’m not sure what drives the genuinely open, friendly nature of people here but we love it, appreciate it and have made some great new friends.
2. The family-oriented culture. I still remember trying to do an open house on a Sunday shortly after I started in real estate in Cabo. No one showed up. I found out that Sundays are family days here, especially for the locals. When you go to Costco on a Sunday morning, you will see whole families dressed up from church enjoying a “together” outing. And family is not just the mom/dad/kids, but also grandparents and other extended family.
3. The weather (well, maybe not so much in September/early October when the humidity is at a high). At this point, we’re ready for a little cooler air, but other than that, it’s pretty perfect. Sunny, not too hot and breezes from the sea make for great days as well as beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
4. Our home. We love where we bought and feel it is the perfect home for us at this stage of our lives. We enjoy it and entertain fairly often. We love having family and friends come visit.
5. The variety of restaurants from the very high-end to truly affordable, fantastic local spots. It’s an adventure finding new places to go and we also have our favorites that we frequent regularly.
6. The ability to play golf almost 12 months of the year (we stopped in September just because of the humidity). I’m not a good golfer but my hubby and I love playing together. You can’t beat the scenery: ocean and mountain views from every hole. And we end each round with a margarita at the clubhouse. You can’t beat that.
7. The relaxed pace of life. It is slower down here. At first, we found ourselves a little frustrated when we scheduled someone to come service something at our home and they didn’t show up. We would call and hear “mañana.” We now get that things get done on a different schedule. We’ve relaxed, too.
8. Being able to go to the beach any time we want. Every beach in Cabo has to have public access. We are five minutes from one of the most popular beaches in Cabo and all we have to do is pay $40 pesos for all day parking, and we can go for an hour or for the day. It’s a perfect escape that makes us feel like we’re on vacation.
9. The ability to explore and have adventures. We love taking our ATV out and never knowing exactly where we’ll end up. Or finding a new restaurant or a new place to walk (we don’t exactly hike much anymore, but there are plenty of places to do so).
10. The cost-of-living, which for us is definitely lower than our U.S. cost-of-living. Now that being said, it’s truly up to you and how you want to live. We don’t live like we’re on vacation, and that mindset and behavior cuts our costs down dramatically. If you want to watch your budget, it is possible to live well for a lot less than in the States.
The bottom line is that we truly love many things about our life here. This list doesn’t begin to tell the whole story. And while I do travel back to the States to visit family (I try to go at least 2-4 times a year for at least a long weekend), our life is now in Cabo San Lucas and we feel blessed to be here.
