We met up with our realtor, David Hoffman of Tropicasa Realty https://tropicasa.com I mentioned previously that we had seen a few episodes of House Hunters International that featured couples looking for property in Puerto Vallarta with David serving as their realtor. He agreed to meet us at our condo with the purpose of driving us around PV so we could see something outside of the Romantic Zone. Note: If the Romantic Zone was in our price range, we’d probably look no further. Unfortunately, our requirements (2-3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom, water view, and nothing under 1,000 sq feet) made it unlikely that we’d be buying in the Romantic Zone. Most of the properties are 1BR, 1BR, and tend to be on the small side as there is still a huge demand for vacation rentals. David was punctual (which is always a plus where I’m concerned!). He gave as a little of his background and how he settled in PV after a business career in the Los Angeles area. He has been in PV so long that he frequently makes “We” statements when hilighting things about the city. PV has clearly endeared itself to him and he is proud to call PV his home. Driving around PV was a needed experience because we got the opportunity to see the good, and the bad. While there are many beautiful sites, there are also areas that are blighted and clearly where the poorer residents reside. It’s not hard to have guilt pangs when pondering how the migrations of U.S. and Canadian citizens is driving up prices and pushing out locals. Yes, gentrification is definitely a problem here. I don’t know if there’s any sense of resentment setting in though. I think it’s a love hate relationship. PV’s economy is definitely thriving on the influx of “Gringos” – but who’s benefitting the most? After spending about an hour driving around with David, we made our way back to the condo since it was my birthday, we had plans to go our for dinner. We agreed to meet up again the following day in order to actually view some listings. While there is a Mexican MLS in PV, seeing properties doesn’t work the way it does in the U.S. You have to make an appointment with the listing agent. There are no lock boxes with which agents can let themselves and their clients in for showings. We decided to have dinner at Asador La Vaca Argentina https://lavaca-argentina.com/ which if you haven’t guessed, is a nice steak restaurant located in the Hotel Zone. It’s aptly named because you can find all of the main hotels and resorts there. It’s also where a very nice mall (Galerias Vallarta Shopping Mall) is located as well. We didn’t go to mall as we figured a mall is a mall. Dinner was great and the portions were huge! We had leftovers to take back to the condo.