2.2/5
260 reviews
Photo by Laurentiu Morariu via Unsplash

Merida

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safe

speak

good

nightlife

work

stayed

great

restaurants

police

stuff

flat

boring

cheaper

centro

sleepy

safety

mayan

ruins

english

Merida is a very safe city with a strong police presence, making it a comfortable place for both locals and visitors. The cost of rentals is quite affordable compared to other cities in Mexico, though cheaper areas may not be the most desirable. Many people speak English, though some may be hesitant to use it. Internet speeds are reliable, and there are plenty of cafes where remote workers can set up.

In terms of entertainment, Merida offers historical attractions like Mayan ruins, cenotes, and museums, but beyond the tourist spots, the city can feel slow and uneventful. The nightlife is limited, and Sundays tend to be particularly quiet. For those seeking a vibrant social scene, this might not be the best destination. The city is also extremely flat, making it great for cyclists but lacking in scenic variety.

Weather-wise, it stays warm all year, but from March through October, the heat can be oppressive. The beach is about an hour away, making it accessible but not right next door. Overall, Merida is best suited for people who want a quiet, affordable, and very safe place to live, but it may not be the most exciting choice for those who crave nightlife and a busy social scene.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Safe, because it's basically a police state. Two cop cars on every block. After you've done the tourist stuff there really isn't much to do. Almost no nightlife center, flat, no parks, and I have to say it's a very boring city. If you just need a place that is cheaper than Playa Del Carmen and want to rent a house to hole up and work, then Merida might be for you. Personally after a week I found it very boring.

2 years ago

I've stayed in Merida for about 1 month during winter. I really enjoyed the Merida fest which take place during the month of January.
I felt very safe in this city and people are very friendly. There are plenty of cafes in Centro where you can work and the internet is quite good. Overall, it's a great place to be and I would see myself stay for a long time.

2 years ago

I've stayed in Merida for about 10 weeks now. It's a cute sleepy city with a good amount of restaurants and museums/history if you're into that sort of stuff. I cannot speak about the nightlife because I'm here during Covid times and the lockdown is real. The city is flat as a pancake, so if you're into cycling, this is a great city for you. The heat in this city is oppressive starting in March through the end of October. I've asked many locals why they come here and their number one response is safety, this is one of the "sleepy" cities which is where the families of the cartels live and so they've made a pact that no crime will happen here.

4 years ago

I've stayed in Merida about 5 months. Its okay. There is not much to do here other than go to visit ancient Mayan ruins, cenotes, restaurants and a few cantinas. Its a huge police presence and its really safe here. The nightlife is not good here. I would not recommend renting here because they want you to pay your entire lease upfront if you don't have a Mexican who owns property to co-sign for you. Most of the people here are nice. Many of them speak English but won't speak it because they're afraid they wont speak it correctly. Most of the restaurants mainly serve the local Mayan cuisine here but there are other options but it will get expensive. Some of the best food I've had is in Centro but there are many good options around the city. The beach is not far away. Its about a 45 minute drive by Uber or Didi that costs about $130 to $180 pesos. Sundays are quite slowed down here. If you are looking for a slower small town pace, Merida may be the place for you. Otherwise, there is nothing exciting about this place other than the safety here. Its really safe here.

4 years ago

Merida is a great place to work from with lots of people and many whom speak English, in fact I've been back i liked it so much. Rentals are very affordable, some of the cheapest in Mexico, but of course the cheaper it is the area isn't the best. There is much to do here, from heading to the Gulf of Mexico about an hour away, to visiting the ruins. Many, many places to eat and cuisines from around the world and for those who miss shopping at Costco no need to fear one is close by. Drive to Progreso and watch flamingos. Some say it's not safe here but I never had any difficulties and never felt threatened. Transportation is not a problem and is fairly cheap and plentiful

4 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Affordable rentals

✅ Friendly people

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Not much to do

❌ Poor nightlife

❌ Oppressive heat

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Not very safe

❌ Very hot in the summer

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Nomads.com members really didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels

81 27°
warm

84 29°
warm

88 31°
hot

93 34°
hot

90 32°
hot

82 28°
warm

84 29°
warm

Real

80 27°
warm

85 30°
very warm

88 31°
hot

92 34°
hot

91 33°
hot

90 32°
hot

88 31°
hot

82 28°
very warm

85 30°
very warm

Humidity

nice
40%

nice
39%

nice
36%

nice
34%

nice
38%

nice
42%

nice
43%

nice
42%

nice
39%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

dry
23mm

dry
8mm

dry
14mm

dry
27mm

rainy
54mm

rainy
128mm

rainy
97mm

rainy
100mm

rainy
132mm

rainy
93mm

dry
23mm

dry
24mm

Cloud

pockets
35%

pockets
21%

pockets
17%

pockets
21%

pockets
32%

pockets
44%

pockets
33%

pockets
39%

pockets
31%

pockets
27%

pockets
24%

Air quality

okay
62 US AQI

clean
0** US AQI

okay
74 US AQI

okay
71 US AQI

okay
77 US AQI

okay
60 US AQI

okay
52 US AQI

okay
55 US AQI

Sun

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
11 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

Remote workers

900 people

867 people

844 people

725 people

533 people

680 people

300 people

400 people

480 people

564 people

680 people

655 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Merida's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

	Junior Frontend Developer @ Z1 Tech
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	Senior Environment Artist @ Unknown Worlds
	SSA Healthcare Research Analyst @ FiscalNote
	Adult English Language Education Ex... @ Mango Languages
	Infrastructure Architect R01546794 @ Brillio
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	Residential Solar Operations Manage... @ GoodLeap
	Staff Software Engineer AI @ GoodLeap

Help pick the best photos for Merida and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.2/5 (Rank #662) 260 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍3 liked it 👎3 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,544 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 11Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 27°C81°F (feels 30°C86°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 77%
👌 Safety	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Bad
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very low: $704 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Bad
🏥 Hospitals	Bad
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Good
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Mexico
🗓️ Average trip length	11 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	11 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 27°C 81°F + 🥵 Sweaty (77%) = feels 30°C 86°F
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 MXN in USD	USD 4.89
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	MXN 10,000 = USD 489
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	10% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	780,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$8,444 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 46% 👱‍♀️ 54%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 73% 👱‍♀️ 27%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Linio
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Volaris
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Aeromexico

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,544 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$913 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$1,915 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$547 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$933 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,338 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$299 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$44 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$44 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$133 / month
🍛 Dinner	$5
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$3,379 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$7 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$4 / trip