Jeff,
A little info about lifestyle and Cost of Living here.
FOOD & QUALITY: As far as food goes, GMO hasn't made into the mainstream here yet, veggies are of good quality. Food is about 50% of where I was in the states. My go to is a 4 street taco deal for $2.50. My T-Bones are grass fed, come from a store called Carne Selecta and are $117.00 (pesos) per kilo. That is about $2.88 (US) a pound!
STORES & SHOPPING: Our stores include Sams Club, Costco, Soriana, La Comer. These are all super sized "big box" stores. My favorite is La Comer, it is a cross between Trader Joes and Whole Foods with a big box feel and Target pricing. The produce is amazing and I've found every exotic item there except for Bragg's Nutritional Yeast, lol. We also have a Home Depot, Walmart, and Autozone as well.
MEDICAL & RX: Dr. Consults range in price between $2.00-15.00 per visit. Simple trips for Rx are about $2.00 per visit. A lot of items are OTC here. A good tip would be to stock up your cruising drug box and get meds here. Two weeks ago, I paid $150.00 for 2 Urology visits, lab work, Rx (meds) 2 consults and a follow up.
AIRPORT & AIRLINES: The airport is super close and small enough to get in and out fast. Airlines fly in & out to just about everywhere in the states from here so it is easy to get back for family and also have friends and family drop in as they so often do now. Couldn't get friends to visit me in Idaho the 5 years I lived there, but now I have friends showing up at my door now that I am here, figures.
OUR 'HOOD: We live at Marina Vallarta and it is very first world here. Lots of shopping and restaurants all walking distance. As far as the city goes, this is one of the safest in the country. There are also a lot of ExPats here, so if you miss games or home cooking, you can always stop at one of the American and Canadian owned Sports Bars to get a taste of home.
VETERANS: For Veterans, we have just formed American Legion Post 12. We do work with VA and local vets and VA will cover your costs here. I have just recently been asked to step up as Adjutant for the Post. We have also successfully liaised with the U.S Navy Attache and will be able to receive inbound US Navy and Coast Guard ships and assist with R&R as they come in to port and take some liberty.
BOATING INFO: The bay is huge and protected. Great for folks learning the lines. I enjoy spearfishing and scuba diving and there are some great places just 10 to 20 minutes away. I don't have to wear my 5mm wetsuit like I did in California nor my dry suit like Washington.
BOAT WORK: Some friends at Paradise Village Marina recently did some stainless work on their Island Packet. They had welded SS lifelines and stanchions installed that cost them $3,600.00 US. That would have been in the neighborhood of 8k. We have great independent contractors that do everything from fiberglass to motor work. The downside is availability of specialty items. Some friends looking to replace their dink had to have one shipped in from the US. Granted there are tenders available here at marine shops such as Zaragosas Marine, but the one they wanted was back ordered. So they ordered theirs from the states and then had to pay import fees of a few hundred dollars.
LODGING: I have a friend paying 800 US for a 3/2 with a pool in a downtown location. We are paying $1250.00 for a Condo at the marina. My wife is a professional writer and requires high speed InterWebs. We have had no issue with Zoom calls, streaming videos etc.
OUR PLANS: We plan to live here and use Puerto Vallarta as our "base of operations" for the cruising grounds between Sea of Cortez, Panama and the Carib.
I hope this info helps some of you guys out.
Cheers
