So You Moved to Mérida in Summer. Bold Choice.
Nobody warned you it would feel like living inside a hair dryer. Here's what we actually learned.
We arrived in Mérida with six suitcases, big dreams, and absolutely zero understanding of what "hot season" actually meant. We thought we knew heat. We did not know heat. Mérida summer is a different creature entirely — somewhere between a sauna, a life lesson, and a personality test you didn't sign up for.
April through June, temperatures sit comfortably between 38 and 42°C (that's 100–108°F for anyone still holding onto Fahrenheit like a security blanket). Humidity climbs. The sun becomes personal. And at some point, you stop questioning why the entire city shuts down between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. — you just join them.
Honest admission: our first week, Jeff tried to run errands at 2 p.m. He came back looking like he'd survived something. He had. We don't talk about it.
Here's what we wish someone had told us before our dignity started melting into the sidewalk.
What Actually Works (Tested at Our Own Expense)
Stop Fighting the Schedule seriously, just stop
The city figured this out centuries before you arrived. Errands before 10 a.m., a slow lunch at home, back outside after 5 p.m. when the air finally exhales. Mérida in the evening is golden — literally and figuratively. The streets come alive, the heat breaks just enough, and you'll wonder why you ever thought noon was a good time to do anything outside.
Ceiling Fans Are Not Optional this is not a negotiation
A quality ceiling fan in every room isn't a comfort upgrade — it's a survival strategy. Run them with the AC and you'll dramatically cut your electricity bill. Run them without AC and you'll at least feel like you're doing something. We have fans installed in every room even outside! Zero regrets.
SPF 50+ Is Your New Personality embrace it
Sunscreen, wide-brim hat, light linen shirt. This is your uniform now. We know you came here for the freedom of a simpler life — this is it. You are a person who reapplies sunscreen at 9 a.m. and feels genuinely good about it. Welcome to the Yucatán.
Agua Fresca Is a Food Group fight us on this
Keep a big jug of it in the fridge at all times — hibiscus, tamarind, cucumber-lime, whatever calls to you. And when a street vendor has cold coconut water, you buy it. You don't ask the price first. You just buy it. Your electrolytes will thank you and your wallet won't notice.
Cenotes Are Cheaper Than Therapy and more effective
A cold plunge in a cenote does something to your nervous system that no amount of air conditioning can replicate. It resets you. Make it a Sunday ritual, not a tourist activity. Go early, bring snacks, stay longer than you planned. This is the move.
🌊 Cenotes Worth the Drive from Mérida
All within easy driving distance. Go early, bring cash, stay as long as possible. These are not tourist checkboxes — they are infrastructure for surviving summer.
Your Colonial House Knows What It's Doing trust the walls
High ceilings, thick stone walls — these homes were engineered for exactly this climate, long before AC existed. Open everything before 8 a.m. to pull in the cool night air, then close it all up by 10. Let the thermal mass do its thing. Your house is smarter than your panic. Trust it.
Summer in Mérida will humble you. It will also teach you more about slowing down, leaning on your surroundings, and doing less — than any wellness retreat you've ever paid too much for.
— Erica & Jeff, This Might Be a Bad Idea
The Part Nobody Puts in the Brochure
Summer is when Mérida stops performing for visitors and just is itself. The tourist crowd thins out. Fruit carts appear on every corner. Neighbors are out at 6 a.m. watering plants and having conversations that have nothing to do with you. Evening walks are cinematic in the best possible way — swallows going crazy overhead, a cold Montejo in hand, the city doing its thing.
You will complain about the heat. That's allowed. Jeff complains about it constantly and has made it something of an art form. But somewhere between the sweating and the schedule adjustment and the third cenote of the summer, something shifts. You stop fighting the place and start fitting into it.
That's the thing about moving abroad nobody really says out loud: adaptation isn't a phase you get through. It's the whole point. The heat just makes sure you can't pretend otherwise.
Was it a bad idea? Ask us in October, when the rains have cleared and the temperature drops to a breezy 28°C and Mérida looks like the best decision we ever made. We'll let you know.
We survived to tell the stories.
Every Wednesday — real expat life in Mérida, marriage under pressure, chaos in progress, and the occasional "what were we thinking?" New episodes weekly. Usually.
Because sometimes the worst ideas make the best stories.
COO, Entrepreneur & Host of This Might Be a Bad Idea
Erica Wright has never been afraid to take a leap. She began her career in Miami in 2006 in direct sales, learning fast how to grow teams, motivate people, and hit ambitious goals. By 2008, she took her first big international risk—moving to England to expand operations across the U.K. There, she managed 25 sales managers and trained staff across 25 offices, opening new locations and proving her ability to scale businesses on a global stage.
In 2014, Erica returned to the U.S. and found her way into real estate. What started as a new chapter quickly grew into a calling. Today she serves as Chief Operating Officer at VRA Realty, where she’s helped the brokerage grow from under 100 agents to a thriving, multi-office firm with an ambitious vision: creating 100 accredited investors through real estate. She also oversees affiliated entities spanning property management, lending, and investment funds, bringing her trademark mix of systems, strategy, and people-first leadership to everything she touches.
Erica’s story doesn’t stop at business. In 2023, she founded Steven’s Wings: Global Youth Adventures in memory of her brother, creating opportunities for underserved youth to travel the world. And in 2025, she and her husband Jeff made their boldest move yet: relocating to Mérida, Mexico with six suitcases and their cat Leo. Their experiences abroad—equal parts adventure, chaos, and questionable decisions—became the inspiration for their podcast This Might Be a Bad Idea, where they share what it really looks like to uproot your life and start fresh.
Whe…Read More
First-Timer's Guide to Cenotes: What to Expect and How to Prepare
