A look at places such as Vancouver Canada, Miami Florida, and downtown San Diego’s luxury developments and cost of living compared to Baja’s Palacio del Mar.
 Luxury can be found with any landscape as a background, it all depends on the individual’s preferences, extravagance and needs. Granite countertops, high ceiling windows, hardwood floors, concierge service spacious closets among other details give luxury residences the finishing touches.
Every luxury development offers a certain combination of amenities which sets them apart from the rest, some of which now seem to be standard are: pool whether it be infinity or indoor, workout facilities, event rooms, steam room and Jacuzzis. In addition to these, Palacio currently offers several other amenities resulting in a combination not easily found elsewhere: tennis and basketball courts, full service spa, business center, game room, movie theater, lobby library, bistro, convenience store and beach access and best of all, a shuttle that will pick you up from San Diego airport, drive you to Ensenada, take you grocery shopping and even drive you to Tijuana.
Several luxury developments in Vancouver such as The Qube and Harbourside Park, present fewer amenities than Palacio, though they offer storage; with Harbourside Park also having guest suites. The Beach Club, in Miami Florida, has cabanas, event catering and beach and poolside service. The Metropolitan, Park Place, Meridian, and Electra in downtown San Diego offer fewer amenities than Palacio but with different combinations, as an example they may have a movie theater but no tennis courts. Every development will have a different view for their resident to enjoy, in downtown San Diego there is the bay, Petco Park or street view, Vancouver has the marina, the Pacific and probably a view of the mountains depending on preference and location, Miami has also street view and the Atlantic; Palacio offers the majestic Pacific with beautiful sunsets telling the coming of the end of the day.
With out considering the amenities and taking into account that the residences’ interior are very much the same materials (i.e. granite, hardwood, etc), all we are left with is floor space with which to compare. While Palacio del Mar gives you floor plans of little over 2000 to 2800 sq ft starting at $350k, many of Vancouver condos’ square footage is considerably less than 2000 sq ft with a price tag of $700k for less than 1000 sq ft to over 1.5M for 1500 sq ft, to well more than 3M for more than 2000 sq ft ; now looking at Miami and their levels of luxury (from inexpensive to moderate to expensive) the same space Palacio offers can cost anywhere from 1M to well over 6M. Downtown San Diego is no different, with a price tag of just below 1M to around 3M.
Home Owner Association (HOA) fees are also something to consider; while in San Diego condos have HOA fees ranging from $700 to over $1100, in Miami they can be $0.6 to more than $1.0 per sq ft; as a contrast, Vancouver’s fees are around $400 to $600; whereas in Palacio the are $435. As far as taxes go, Miami comes in as the highest with 2% of the purchase price, San Diego is approximately 1.2%, in Vancouver however is on average less then 1% ( 0.5%) and in Mexico property taxes are 1%. Even though property taxes in Vancouver may be less than half than what they are in Mexico, you will still end up paying less taxes than in Vancouver given that ultimately the purchase prices in Palacio is considerably lower.
Something more to consider is cost of living, although it varies for individual cases, it is a rough estimate indicating highest and lowest figures taking into account all four locations: groceries (for a small family) can have a monthly cost of $500 in Baja to less than $800 in San Diego (both of which can be considerably lower for bargain hunters), gas is currently $2.60 per gallon in Baja with the highest being Vancouver with a cost of $4.46 per gallon; health care premiums for individuals can be about $2000 in Mexico (much lower for government health care) and around $3000 or higher depending on the policy or deductible in the US (also varying in each state); recreation and entertainment: $2.70 in Baja for a movie ticket vs up to $13 in Vancouver, golfing in Baja starts at about $40 compared to about 200-300 San Diego. These are just a few examples that can give an idea on what the cost of living is in Baja compared to Miami, San Diego and Vancouver.
Weather wise, San Diego and Rosarito have very similar conditions, temperature ranging from 50–68 °F in winter and 73–80 °F in the summer, Miami’s average temperature goes from 69 – 83 °F, where as Vancouver’s temperatures rage from 5°F to 95°F with snow in December and January. Warm weather with a fresh sea breeze and no hurricanes or tropical storms to worry about are a definite a plus for Baja.
As far as activities are concerned, each location has its own particular theme; it all depends on individual preferences. Surfing, camping, dinning, hiking, culture, night life, shopping and getting pampered are found in al four cities, Rosarito has years round events including lobster, wine and taco festivals, among others such as beach side opera an many dance and musical recitals, which present residents and visitors with Mexican culture. One significant difference that Palacio has to Vancouver, San Diego and Miami, is that is not located is a major metropolitan area; located a few minutes away from downtown Rosarito, is far enough away to be a quiet getaway with the advantage of being a short drive away from Guadalupe Valley.
The reality of Palacio del Mar is that luxury living does not have to have a heavy price tag; serenity, security and entertainment can be wrapped up in the beautiful package that is Baja bringing the same level of comfort you can fine in any other place. |