Yucatan has led the Mexico Peace Index for 9 consecutive years.
Source: Institute for Economics and Peace, 2026.
The location thesis
Why Yucatan. Why Merida. Why La Perla.
Built on safety, access, healthcare, culture, and the scarcity of a 19-lot enclave inside Country Lakes®.
#1 Mexico Peace Index · 9 consecutive yearsU.S. State Department Level 1 advisoryDirect flights: Houston · Dallas-Fort Worth · CDMX · Monterrey
Last updated: May 2026By Chukum Inmobiliaria, developer of La Perla within Country Lakes. Chukum's founding team brings over 40 years of residential development experience in Mexico City, including projects in San Jeronimo Lidice and Toriello Guerra.
Illustrative scene. Merida historic centre, Yucatan.
Yucatan
A safer state for long-term ownership
Yucatan has led the Mexico Peace Index for nine consecutive years and currently carries the U.S. State Department's lowest travel-advisory level (Level 1). The point is not that Yucatan is risk-free; it is that, within Mexico, it offers an unusually credible setting for repeat use, family visits and long-term patrimonial decisions. The fundamentals are steadier than the usual second-home narrative — a clear benefit, a reduced fear, and a barrier resolved before the conversation about the project even begins. Yucatan's cultural depth is not limited to archaeological sites; it is visible in food, craft, language, architecture and everyday regional identity. Cenotes, biosphere reserves and Maya sites sit within regional day-trip reach.
Recognitions
Merida ranked among Latin America's most attractive secondary cities for investment and quality of life.
Source: Deloitte, 2024.
Yucatan ranks 2nd nationally in public security in IMCO's State Competitiveness Index.
Source: IMCO, 2024.
Merida
A real city with the services long-stay buyers need
Merida turns Yucatan's state-level strength into daily life. It has direct air access to Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Mexico City, Felipe Angeles, Monterrey and Guadalajara, and its airport handled more than 3.5 million passengers in 2025. It has two nationally ranked private hospitals — Star Medica Merida (#15) and Hospital Faro del Mayab (#32) in the 2025 Blutitude national ranking — with Hospital Faro del Mayab ranked #5 nationally in cardiology and heart surgery. Merida has credible private-hospital infrastructure for specialist care, diagnostics, emergency response and many elective procedures. It offers access to UNESCO-listed Maya sites including Chichen Itza and Uxmal, a museum base anchored by the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, and a dining scene that now carries regional credibility — Huniik appears on Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 extended list. The city carries its cultural weight in working institutions — Teatro José Peón Contreras and Centro Cultural Olimpo among them — not as a tourist set-piece. For buyers thinking about a second home or future-retirement base, this is what changes the asset: not the scenery, but the confidence that daily life will still function after the first visit.
La Perla
A boutique enclave inside a larger master-planned setting
La Perla is a 19-lot enclave inside the broader Country Lakes masterplan. It is not a stand-alone parcel trying to sell a promise in isolation. Country Lakes gives La Perla a broader planning context than a stand-alone parcel because it is positioned as a published masterplan with land-use logic and protected reserves. Within that setting, La Perla remains deliberately limited — only 19 lots, including a small number of lakefront opportunities — and every lot owner shares the private lake club. That combination is the resolved barrier: scarcity backed by scale, not a speculative bet.
On site
It becomes clearest on site
The difference between a generic lot and a planned lake-community setting is difficult to capture in a brochure. It becomes clear on site: the scale of the masterplan, the relationship with the lakes, the privacy of La Perla and the structural ceiling of only 19 lots.
Read the full Country Lakes buyer guide →Sources
- Mexico Peace Index — Institute for Economics & Peace
- U.S. State Department · travel advisory level for Mexico
- Merida International Airport — passenger traffic 2025
- Blutitude 2025 — National Hospital Ranking
- UNESCO World Heritage List — Mexico
- Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025
Frequently asked
What buyers ask
Yucatan has led the Mexico Peace Index for nine consecutive years and currently carries the U.S. State Department's lowest travel-advisory level (Level 1). As in any real city, Merida calls for ordinary urban caution; the state environment offers one of the most consistently strong safety profiles in Mexico. For reference, official homicide rates per 100,000 residents in 2024 are approximately: Merida/Yucatan 3, Toronto 3, Miami 9, Mexico City 10, Houston 14, Monterrey/Nuevo Leon 17. Sources: INEGI and SESNSP (Mexico), FBI UCR (United States), Statistics Canada (Canada).
Merida has direct air access to Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Mexico City, Felipe Angeles, Monterrey and Guadalajara. The airport handled more than 3.5 million passengers in 2025. For owners planning to visit several times a year, that connectivity reduces the friction of use.
Yes. Merida does not depend on a resort logic: it combines services, dining with international visibility — Huniik appears on Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 extended list — cultural life, and access to UNESCO-listed Maya sites including Chichen Itza and Uxmal. That makes it credible for long stays, future retirement, or recurring family visits.
Merida has two nationally ranked private hospitals — Star Medica Merida (#15) and Hospital Faro del Mayab (#32) in the 2025 Blutitude national ranking; Faro del Mayab ranked #5 nationally in cardiology and heart surgery. For the most complex cases, Mexico City or Houston may still be the right destination. The point is that Merida offers a credible private-hospital base for daily life and many care needs.
La Perla combines the scale of Country Lakes with the scarcity of a boutique enclave of only 19 lots. Its owners share a private lake club reserved for La Perla, inside a broader masterplan. It is a low-density proposition — not an isolated parcel and not a mass development.
Mérida has a private bilingual school ecosystem serving patrimonial and international families. Specific schools, distances and standing vary; we recommend visiting in person and reviewing options against your family's needs before any decision. We can share specific names and contacts during a private visit.
Both. Mérida is a working city with cultural depth — Teatro José Peón Contreras, Centro Cultural Olimpo, the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, and a dining scene with regional credibility — but it does not carry the density and pace of a primary capital. Country Lakes sits beyond the city's perimeter, offering a quieter setting with the city's services within practical reach.
A typical weekend can combine the lake at home, a day-trip to a cenote or biosphere reserve, breakfast or dinner in Mérida's centro, and the northern coast — Sisal, Chuburná, Progreso — within practical weekend reach. The pace is slower than a resort and richer than a retirement subdivision. Owners often describe a rhythm of unhurried use, not high-traffic vacation.
Related guides
The masterplan
Country Lakes Yucatan: A Buyer's Guide
An overview of the Country Lakes masterplan and where La Perla fits within it.
Country Lakes Yucatan: A Buyer's GuideForeign ownership
Fideicomiso, explained for foreign buyers
How non-Mexican buyers hold full ownership of property in Yucatán.
Fideicomiso, explained for foreign buyersThe private club
The private lake club
The waterfront club at the heart of La Perla, reserved for the nineteen families who own here.
The private lake club