Pros and Cons of Living In Tulum Mexico
I have been traveling to Tulum frequently since 2017, and then lived there for 1 year from May 2024-May 2025.
Tulum will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s a unique town. It is certainly not for everyone, but if it’s calling you - I think living there can be a profound experience if you are open-minded, resilient and committed to giving it a proper try.
Pros:
There are a lot of aesthetic apartment buildings that you can rent month to month, without any long term commitment
If you’re from the US, it’s a quick flight back if you need to go for an emergency (Clay’s grandma got sick and he was able to get on a flight that evening and spend time with her before she passed)
Even if you don’t speak Spanish, you can easily get by with English, google translate and like 100 Spanish words in your vocabulary
The laid back culture allows for a lot of freedom of expression. You can really be whoever you want there.
It’s affordable to buy your own scooter ($1,750) or pedal bicycle if you’re living there long enough to justify buying over renting
It hardly rains. The weather is predictably hot and sunny almost every single day.
There’s always something to do - every night of the week from yoga classes to salsa night to live music to rooftop DJs.
You can meet really cool travelers from all over the world.
If you’re a remote worker, there’s so many cafes / coffeeshops that are used to digital nomads who work on their laptops. I never ever felt rushed or intrusive. Businesses are happy to have customers and tables filled - even if you spend $5-10 (which would not be the case at a lot of places in the US).
I personally found time to move very slowly. I called it “Tulum Time.” It was so bizarre how long the days felt - but in the best way. One year there truly felt like 3 years. I was able to be so present, connect with myself and reflect on what I wanted from my life.
There is a really strong energy there if you are able to respect it and tap into it. I had a lot of manifestations come through very quickly when I focused my attention on mindfulness and prayer.
I connected to my feminine energy in a way I never could in the US due to “hustle-culture.”
Cons:
It’s not a very walkable place. The city lacks infrastructure so there are limited sidewalks, walking paths, or street lights.
You can’t drink the tap water so you need to buy jugs of water for cooking and drinking.
There’s a lot of performative spirituality… it’s hard to explain but I felt like I had to be careful who I trusted. So many people claim to be “coaches” or “healers” or “experts” in hypnosis, meditation, reiki, yoga, energy work, etc but once I got to know them, I would be shocked at how much of a “show” their spiritual “personality” was.
Making long term friends can be challenging because it’s so transient. Most people are only there for a few days.
There’s so much litter. This is honestly one of my least favorite aspects. It’s a town that claims to be so “in-tune with nature” yet there’s trash all over the place - even in the nicest areas.
For me, the weather started to be a con because I grew up in a place with true four seasons. I missed things changing, wearing different clothes, and feeling like life moved forward.
I truly feel like I maximized my experience living there. I was all in on the lifestyle, fashion, networking, activities, etc.
This open-mindedness allowed me to met myself in ways that I never would have if I had stayed in my hometown.
I had 5 solid different “eras” of life in Tulum, even in my one year -
June 2024 - I lived in this gorgeous two story loft deep in the jungle. I spent so much time alone. Fasted. Meditated. Reflected.
July and August 2024 - I did a live / work exchange at a yoga resort that was right on the ocean. I got to meet some really incredible hotel guests that I’m friends with to this day.
September 2024 - I lived in an apartment on the northeast side of town that had a gym on site, a shared rooftop pool and big community garden. In hindsight, I think this was my best month because I had a lot of personal development. I was looking and feeling really good.
October 2024 to February 2025 - I moved into a different apartment that was “more aesthetic” and in the “cool neighborhood (La Veleta). I had just bought out my business partners at my clothing store and got back together with Clay so I was flying back to Omaha about every 3 weeks (to work at the shop and see him… plus Thanksgiving and Christmas travels) so I didn’t feel as “present” with my Tulum life as I did previously.
March to May 2025 - Clay moved down to Tulum (from Omaha) so we moved into a bigger apartment - it was absolutely gorgeous. I have no complaints about that unit. It was three stories with two furnished king bedrooms, four bathrooms, a washer & dryer (rare), our own private rooftop and a big kitchen. Even though this was only three months, it felt so long. I basically got pregnant right when Clay moved down (March 8th) and found out super quick (March 25th). We weren’t unhappy with our life in Tulum, but getting pregnant changed our perspective on how we wanted to live and raise a family. As I was coming up on one year there, we quickly agreed that we saw our future as parents elsewhere.
All in all, I have immense gratitude for Tulum. It held me during an emotionally fragile time in my life. I learned a lot. I deepened my spiritual practice. I had more alone time than I’ll probably ever have again. I will always look back on my time there fondly and appreciate for how it shaped me.