In 2019, Mérida received an average of 35 monthly inquiries about long-term residence from other cities in Mexico and abroad. In 2025, that figure exceeds 400. The shift is not gradual — it is a break. Something happened in Yucatán that turned it from a well-known tourist destination into the first choice for relocation among families seeking quality of life and certainty for their wealth.
Safety as the foundation, not a bonus
Numbeo, the most widely consulted quality-of-life data platform in the world, ranked Mérida in 2025 as the second-safest city on the planet — ahead of Tokyo, Vienna, and Zurich on some metrics. This is not tourism rhetoric: it is a structural fact that changes the risk calculus for anyone considering a move.
For families with children, safety is not a luxury — it is the minimum condition. And when that condition is combined with top-tier services, a manageable climate, and a cost of living below that of the major metropolises, the argument becomes hard to refute.
What people bring when they arrive
The profile of those moving their wealth to Yucatán has changed over the past five years. It is no longer only the American retiree seeking warm weather and low costs — it is also the 45-year-old professional from Mexico City or Monterrey who worked a decade in hybrid mode and now wants to anchor their family in a place where the children can bike to school.
The most cited reasons for choosing Mérida:
- Safety — the lowest levels of violence in the country
- Cuisine — Yucatecan cooking, declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation
- Connectivity — direct flights to Mexico City, Miami, Houston, Dallas, and soon Amsterdam
- Community — a city on a human scale where you know your neighbors
- Healthcare — international-standard hospitals (Star Médica, CMER, Médica del Norte)
- Education — university campuses of UNAM, ITESM, and international universities
- The sea — 12 minutes from Progreso, 35 from Celestún
Country Lakes in that story
Country Lakes exists precisely at the intersection of all those factors. It is not just a premium residential development — it is the answer to the question of how to live in Yucatán without giving anything up. The golf course, the lakes, the clubhouse, the sports club, the walkable town center: all of it is designed so there is no reason to leave unless you want to.
“Home-destination is not a marketing concept — it is the literal description of what we want to build. A place you arrive at and never want to leave.” — Boma Desarrollos
Whoever buys at Country Lakes is not buying square meters in a city they already like. They are buying the possibility that this city, and this way of life, become their whole life. That carries a value the price-per-square-meter comparisons do not capture — but which anyone who lives it understands perfectly.