From October to March, hundreds of Canadians move to the coasts of the municipality of Progreso, renting beach houses in Chuburná, Chelem, Progreso, Chicxulub, Uaymitún, and Telchac Puerto, where they spend the winter season.
Canadian “Snowbirds” are retirees or semi-retirees who escape the harsh Canadian winters by spending approximately five months in warmer climates, such as Mexico. This term affectionately refers to their migratory pattern, reminiscent of birds flying south for the winter. Typically, these Snowbirds settle in popular Mexican destinations like Progreso, Cancún, and Mérida, enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle and mild weather. This annual migration helps them maintain an active and social life, often participating in local communities and activities. It’s a win-win situation, as they enjoy the sun while Mexico benefits from their economic contributions.
Many Canadian couples, all retired and pensioned, own summer houses in Progreso and Chicxulub, groups gather on the sports fields in the parks of the Benito Juárez neighborhood and the Brisas subdivision in the east of the city, where they play pickleball, a game they say is similar to tennis, except the ball is softer and the court smaller.
Foreigners travel in their vans, others on foot or by bicycle, and some live in Chicxulub and travel by bus or collective taxi. The group of 50 Canadians usually participate in the games in couples (married couples).
They enjoy their stay in the port, and they are a very close-knit foreign community, but many might not return in the next season that starts in October, and they will look for other places, in other coastal states.
The reason, Carlos and Grace explain that Progreso has become a very expensive port as the restaurants on the boardwalk have raised the prices of their menus, which not only affects Canadians but also local tourism, and other port inhabitants.
House rents have also become more expensive, says Grace: before, up to two or three years ago, it was possible to rent a property for US$800 a month, now monthly rentals start at US$1,500. A house on the beachfront rents for US$2,000 a month, a sum that they consider unaffordable for Canadian retirees and pensioners.
There are hundreds of foreign couples who spend six months on the coast of Progreso, there are Canadians who own houses, leave in March or April, and then return in October, the same as others who move to spend two, three, four months or a whole semester.
“Everything has become more expensive in Progreso”
But the threat to foreign tourism, say Grace and Carlos, is that everything is more expensive in Progreso now, restaurants, houses, food, taxis, what affects them most economically is rent, which has skyrocketed in the last five years.
Canadians like Progreso, the ports of Chelem, Chuburná, and Chicxulub, there is tranquility, they live close to each other, they can go out to walk in the streets and beaches, and they meet in businesses that the foreigners themselves have set up in the area.
