Saturday, December 8, 2007

Granny gets Granola, Polly wanna Cracker!

New York Times

Merida: Finding a Home (Cheerios Included) in Mexico

Oh NO not another article on expats and Merida. yep.

Here is Kate Murphy's take on Merida with Ellen Fields as her guide. She perpetuates the myth that there is still a bargain to be had. "Most of the plaster buildings in the historic district are from the early 19th century and have high ceilings, Moorish ironwork and colorful, patterned floor tiles called mosaico. They are also bargains, at around $40,000 for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom colonial home."

Then you can file this under Sad but True..."Foreigners have done much to preserve and transform Mérida's historic architecture. "It's kind of an expat hobby," said Werner Gross, who is restoring his second home in Mérida after fixing up and reselling the first. Local laws require that only the exterior of buildings retain their original look. "Behind the facade, you can basically build a brand new house," Mr. Gross said."

Then Ms. Murphy ends her article with this quote, "We're scared too many people will find out about it," Ms. Fields said. "We don't want it to get overrun." Earth to Ellen, then why do you have this blog???

1 comment:

Ellen Fields said...

oh yes, good point. We still don't want the Yucatan to be overrun. What we do want is for the people who do come here to be informed about where they are, to appreciate where they are, and to make this a better place... not to just take advantage of it.
How long ago was that article? And why are you writing about it now? Isn't it time for some major newspaper or travel mag to come to Merida and write something new?