I have been to almost all of the vacations spots on the pacific coast of Mexico, some of them quite a few times. I agree the others about the Canadians in Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta, many times they are dominant tourist. While I like the Canadians they seem to tip so poorly that I get treated like a rock star for tipping high by American standards (usually 25% because so many of the service workers are awesome and I feel I have to make up for the Canadians). As far as Manzanillo, that would not be a vacation choice of mine again, it’s like going to Long Beach. It’s one of, if not the biggest commercial ports in Mexico. If you were looking to work in international trade, sure, but not for a retiree or a vacation. Puerto Vallarta seems to have the most ex-patriots in Latin America behind Costa Rica and Belize. I have relatives that have owned a second home there for twenty years with no problems and they probably spend four months a year there. P.V. even has a newspaper in English that caters to all the Americans. Personally ZIHUATANEJO is my favorite for a many reasons but it is on the sleepy side, depends what you are looking for. If there wasn’t so many things here I would miss I could probably be happy there.

Mexico has a long way to go before I am willing to invest there, things are too trendy, subject to local politics and marketing. Acapulco is a prime example, it was nice thirty years ago and it has gone downhill over the last decade, I see it starting to happen in other coastal towns in mexico while others spring up or improve, the money moves. Not to be ethnocentric, but American coastal towns are more stable as an investment, Imperial Beach and Oceanside will allways be Imperial Beach and Oceanside. Del Mar, La Jolla and Carlsbad will always be Del Mar, La Jolla and Carlsbad. Their stability and place in the pecking order have not changed in my lifetime. Oceanside may improve and increase in price but you can bet they won’t pass Del Mar in mere decades, I don’t think in my lifetime anyone will say “Del mar and La Jolla used to be nice but now it is such a ghetto.” When buying real estate you can’t have complete stability but you look at historical trends and try for what stability you can find.