Short story: US ex-pat shares what really happened in Mexico during the pandemic 10 Images

Cost of Living — Rents — Safety -Fears and Acceptance

My $400 a month studio in Mismaloya, Mexico Seven miles outside of Old-Town Puerto Vallarta — The rents have increased greatly. This is where I took my first fiction writing class online.

I want to share with you the bare truth about what happened in Mexico during the pandemic and how I formed a bond with a city that was once the murder capital of the world.

The first time I arrived in Acapulco, I had lived in the Puerto Vallarta area for almost seven years. During this time, I traveled Mexico extensively on the Pacific West coast. Now it was time to see for myself what all the fuss was about in Acapulco. I knew that Americans were frightened to go there, but I also knew the Mexican people, especially from Mexico City, went there every holiday and on the weekends for parties. In other words, the only visitors in Acapulco were from Europe, Canada and the Mexican people from different parts of Mexico. I knew this was true because I watched the Airbnb site and saw that primary properties were rented each weekend. So, I knew that the news was saying one thing and the facts were somewhere in between.

View from my $220 a month accommodation in Acapulco — The main church in the Square

The first time I arrived I stayed for three months. I lived in an older apartment building, two blocks up from…