Puerto Vallarta ,Acapulco or Mazatlan

Answering the question which is "most economical" is like saying, "Mirror, mirror ... on the wall." Each of us will apply different filters on the way to making that determination. Why not tell us how much you want to spend on housing, food, etc.? What's your monthly budget? Low and high.

There are many possible "fits" for you along the Pacific Coast and I believe each will offer its distinct, local culture. How good is your Spanish? Can you effectively communicate speaking and listening to Spanish? Or are you looking for someplace where enough other expats will be present and you can interact in English?

Even the most heavily touristed destinations along the Pacific Coast will offer housing in a broad range of prices. Your personal standards, likes, dislikes, wants, etc. ... will determine what you will pay, for everything.

In addition to Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco ... the ossibilities should probably include:

Manzanillo
Zihuatanejo
Puerto Escondido
and there are many coastal towns in-between

LW

LW asks 'how good is your Spanish?' Well, if he's looking for an 'apartemento', probably not very good.

With all the recent shoot outs there and some l9 dead I think the count was I think a p lace can be had for cheap as now not many headed to a war zone. Ready the Mexico Daily News

Acapulco has lost all it's charm years ago !
For me Puerto Vallarta is Toronto with sunshine.
Once you've been to the Old Town in Mazatlan, the Gold coast and done the malecon there isn't much left.

ElPelon : Definition and origin of APARTAMENTO !!!

From French appartement, Italian appartamento, Spanish/Portuguese apartamento

@4, well ... as we said in the horse racing industry .... "there are horses for courses." Not everyone likes the same paths. Puerto Vallarta is certainly a strong contender for expats who don't speak Spanish ... particularly Canadians (widely referred to in Mexico as "los codos").About "apartamento": the most often description of an "apartment" I've seen and heard in Mexico .. is "departamento". But, yes, one can also see the occasional reference to "apartamento."

LW

Indeed, all the classifieds you'll see in Mexico use 'departamento'. If you want to rent a 'departamento' in Guatemala however, you'd end up with an entire state.

Out of the 3 cities you mentioned PV and Acapulco are the most expensive with Mazatlan the least expensive because of competition, lots of competition, in fact there is a thread on Trip Advisor now with the title " why is Mazatlan so cheap" go over and look it up.....

This past March I rented a simple room for one with bath and fan at a casa de huespedes (no cooking facilties) in the centro of Acapulco and paid 100 MXN per night. But I noticed the local newspapers were devoting a lot of ink to the murder count each day. Not the safest city in Mexico at the moment. And little culture, although I did find an old Diego Rivera mosaic on the wall of a private property up above La Quebrada.

For comparison I paid 150 MXN in Puerto Escondido, but a newer room and digital TV.

We that was a wonderful find. Did you photograph it and can maybe show it to rest of us.?