Untitled
PUERTO VALLARTA WAS BETTER BEFORE….
Or was it?
I hear this ALL the time.
“Puerto Vallarta isn’t what it used to be.”
And depending on the subject they’re talking about, I might actually agree with parts of what they’re saying.
But there’s a question nobody ever seems to ask:
Which Puerto Vallarta do you want back?
The Puerto Vallarta from the 1970s?
The 1990s?
2005?
2015?
Because something funny happens when we talk about places we love.
We remember the cheap tacos.
The empty beaches.
The little restaurants nobody knew about.
The streets before the traffic.
The neighborhood before the condo building went up.
We remember discovering something that still felt a little secret.
What we tend to forget is everything that WASN’T there yet.
Puerto Vallarta has changed enormously.
Some of those changes have made it better.
Some have made it worse.
And some are probably a matter of who you ask.
That’s the part I think gets lost.
YES, I understand the people who miss the old Vallarta.
There was less traffic.
Housing was dramatically less expensive.
Some neighborhoods felt more Mexican and less developed.
There were fewer massive buildings.
Places that are packed today once felt almost undiscovered.
And there is something special about remembering Puerto Vallarta before everybody else seemed to discover Puerto Vallarta too.
I understand that.
But nostalgia has a funny way of editing things.
It keeps the sunsets and deletes the inconveniences. 😂
Because while we were busy losing certain things, we were gaining others.
The restaurant scene today is incredible.
Neighborhoods that many visitors once barely explored are now destinations of their own.
Versalles might be one of the best examples.
Years ago, most tourists weren’t saying, “We HAVE to spend an evening in Versalles.”
Today?
People are building entire nights around eating there.
There are more businesses, more services and far more choices than there used to be.
There are people living and working here today who probably never would have considered Puerto Vallarta 20 years ago.
And the city has become a much more international place.
Whether you consider all of that good or bad probably depends on what you valued about Vallarta in the first place.
And THIS is where I think the conversation gets more interesting.
Maybe Puerto Vallarta wasn’t simply “better before.”
Maybe certain THINGS were better before.
That’s different.
Affordability?
Absolutely worth talking about.
Traffic?
Nobody is going to convince me that sitting on Francisco Villa is one of the great benefits of progress. 😂
Overdevelopment?
There are places where I absolutely think we need to be asking whether enough is enough.
Infrastructure?
It needs to keep up with the growth.
Cleanliness?
We can do better.
Protecting the mountains, beaches, rivers, jungle and bay?
That shouldn’t even be controversial.
And affordability for the people who actually live and work here may be one of the biggest challenges Puerto Vallarta faces as it continues growing.
But there is another piece of this that I think matters just as much.
Protecting the Mexican culture.
And protecting the small, locally owned businesses that give this city so much of its identity.
Because when people say they love Puerto Vallarta, what exactly do they love?
The food.
The people.
The neighborhood restaurants.
The taco stands.
The little shops.
The mercados.
The artists.
The family-run businesses.
The people who have been serving locals and visitors for years.
That is Puerto Vallarta too.
And if those businesses get pushed out one by one because rents are too high, costs become impossible, or everything starts catering only to the highest-spending visitor, then eventually we end up with a version of Vallarta that looks beautiful but could be almost anywhere.
That would be a huge loss.
Growth should not mean erasing the people and culture that made the place special in the first place.
And maybe we also need to change the way we talk about prices.
Yes, some places have become expensive.
Very expensive.
But instead of spending ALL of our time complaining about the restaurant charging 400 pesos for something that used to cost 150, maybe we should spend a little more time celebrating the places that are still keeping their prices reasonable.
Because they are still here.
The taco stand that still gives you an amazing meal without making you question your life choices.
The family restaurant that somehow still keeps prices fair.
The neighborhood café.
The little local bar.
The shop where the owner still knows half the people walking through the door.
Those places deserve attention too.
A LOT of them still exist.
And instead of only talking about how expensive Puerto Vallarta has become, maybe we should be saying:
“Hey, THIS place is still doing it right.”
Because every time we support one of those businesses, we are doing more than saving a few pesos.
We are helping keep a small business alive.
We are supporting a Mexican family.
We are helping preserve part of the culture and economy that makes Puerto Vallarta feel like Puerto Vallarta.
That matters.
And I think sometimes we forget that WE are part of this too.
It isn’t only about developers.
It isn’t only about government.
It isn’t only about tourism.
If we want local businesses to survive, we actually have to use them.
If we want Mexican culture protected, we need to respect it and support the people who are creating it and maintaining it.
If we want reasonable prices to continue, we should celebrate the businesses that are still offering them instead of only giving attention to the places charging the most.
Maybe instead of constantly posting about everything that has become expensive, we should start posting more about the places that haven’t.
I actually think THAT could help.
And I don’t want to fall into the trap where every crane becomes proof that Vallarta has been ruined and every new restaurant somehow represents the death of Mexican culture.
Cities evolve.
People move.
Neighborhoods change.
Businesses open.
Businesses disappear.
Buildings go up.
And eventually the place you discovered becomes somebody else’s discovery too.
That can be uncomfortable.
But it doesn’t automatically make what comes next worse.
The real question is whether Puerto Vallarta can grow WITHOUT losing the things that made it special in the first place.
Can we have development without destroying every view?
Can neighborhoods improve without becoming unaffordable to the people who already live there?
Can tourism continue growing without overwhelming infrastructure?
Can we welcome investment while still protecting Mexican culture and locally owned businesses?
Can we build more while protecting the environment around us?
Can we become more international without becoming generic?
THAT is the conversation I think is worth having.
Because I don’t want Puerto Vallarta frozen in time.
But I don’t want progress to mean replacing everything that was already good either.
And maybe that is where both sides of this argument are actually closer than they think.
The people complaining about change usually aren’t saying they want worse restaurants, fewer services or fewer opportunities.
They are afraid of losing something they loved.
And the people excited about Puerto Vallarta’s future aren’t necessarily asking for another high-rise on every available piece of land.
Most of us probably want some combination of both.
Keep the character.
Protect the Mexican identity.
Support the small local businesses.
Protect the environment.
Make the city function better.
Let neighborhoods evolve.
Create opportunities.
Keep some things affordable.
And for the love of God, let’s figure out the traffic. 😂
So I’m genuinely curious.
Not:
“Was Puerto Vallarta better before?”
That’s too easy.
Tell me this instead:
What is ONE thing about the old Puerto Vallarta that you genuinely wish we could bring back?
AND…
What is ONE thing about Puerto Vallarta today that you think is actually better?
You have to give me one of each.
No “everything was better in 1987” loophole. 😂
And if you know a locally owned restaurant, taco stand, shop, café or small business that is STILL offering great value and keeping prices reasonable, tag them too.
Maybe instead of only complaining about what got expensive, we can help celebrate the places that didn’t.
Now THAT would be a useful Puerto Vallarta conversation.
Will Hutt
The PV Insider
@BeachPleasePVR
Comments