Placencia vs Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido is a small-town surf play with a big-city price tag waiting to happen: a 1-bedroom outside the center runs $825/mo while the same place in the center costs $385/mo, a gap that tells you exactly where the real market lives. The budget tier lands at $884/mo all-in, and with internet at $37/mo and 65 Mbps, remote work is genuinely viable, though a local net salary of $330/mo means you are not competing with locals for housing. An 88/100 expat score and 90/100 FIRE score are earned, but the retiree score of 75/100 and a $3,738/mo income floor for the Temporary Resident Visa should give fixed-income retirees pause. Come for Zicatela and La Punta, stay if your income is remote and in dollars, and do not expect the center's cheap rents to survive the next wave.

Safety-sensitive retirees should pause: a 46.6 safety index and a significant safety index gap may signal real risk. But budget-conscious Americans willing to navigate that tradeoff get low rent (a one-bedroom city-center apartment averages $659.65\/mo), a large expat network, and an easy $3,738/mo income visa path to permanent residency.