Cancún vs George Town

Getting around generally means a car, and walkability is patchy outside a few pockets. Anyone expecting the texture of a large Mexican city like Guadalajara will find Cancún quieter and more purpose-built.

Tiny and low-slung, more a strung-out coastal town than a city. Walkability is poor and a car is close to essential, with daily life spread across resorts, plazas and residential pockets rather than a dense centre.

Day-to-day violent crime sits at a moderate level and traffic is reasonably orderly, but petty theft and a thinner sense of safety after dark are worth taking seriously. Quintana Roo has seen security concerns tied to organised crime, and the wider national political stability picture is shaky, which weighs on the overall sense of ease.

Violent crime is rare, walking at night feels comfortable, and the political backdrop is stable under British overseas-territory governance. Roads are calmer and safer than the mainland norm too.

Cancún's local market is narrow, with limited industry depth and little professional or startup momentum. Private clinics and hospitals serve the tourist economy and English is spoken more readily here than in much of Mexico, which smooths the experience for newcomers.

George Town offers a narrow but unusually well-paid local market. Solid for a place this size, with reputable private hospitals and emergency care, and English spoken throughout the system.

Food and nightlife are lively in the way a tourism hub tends to be, with plenty of restaurants, bars and an international crowd that makes settling in socially easy. Cancun splits in two: the hotel zone is kept tidy for visitors while downtown is rougher and grimier.

The food scene is respectable, with good restaurants serving an affluent, international crowd, and the expat community is large and easy to plug into. George Town, in the Cayman Islands, is affluent and immaculately maintained, spotless in the way money buys.