MND Where to live in Mexico 2024 guide: Mexico City

This sherry has researched more than two dozen locations for viable, sustainable offshore living across a wide range of physical and cultural spaces. It was no coincidence that Latin America’s “Gran Manzana” (Mexico City) was saved for last. As the creator of this series, I needed to do some thinking, writing about other potential Mexican hotspots in preparation for my article this week. Despite this buffer, should I write about a place that is embraced and praised for all its “culture” and “diversity”? Or should I fall into the “Gringo Go Home” narrative that foreigners (especially Americans) should pack up and go back to their original Starbucks?

And while there are some nice aspects of this publication, I hesitate to tell you about living in one of the most complex neighborhood landscapes in this hemisphere. local reporters We live daily lives in this exciting mass of humanity.

In the words of Brit, Kate Simon, one of my favorite travel writers, “One moment it’s a pile of garbage, the next moment it’s the garden of Eden.” This sentiment was certainly true a generation ago, when Mexico City was presented to the world as an apocalyptic landscape. uneven spread. It still is, but the 16 districts and more than 1,800 neighborhoods are arguably better governed than before.

Before you decide to live here, you should ask yourself these questions honestly:

Could you live and recreate some months above 7,000 feet with inverted layer smoke? Could you embrace public transport mobility and casually rub shoulders and other parts of your body with complete strangers? Will you accept the flood of urban, external stimuli with little chance of finding fluent English speakers? Will your curiosity be enough motivation to get out of everything comfortable? colony Do you settle into pockets of human expression across 3,000 square kilometers of spread? Of course, before there is a serious risk of earthquake. The last serious incident was in 2017 and evacuation alarms remain a common occurrence.

If you live in Mexico and hope to claim to “know” your adopted nation, you should really spend some time here. Unfortunately, most foreigners and almost all of my lakeside expat friends and acquaintances did not make the effort. I suspect this is true for my fellow countrymen and women along the coastline who live a “real” Mexican existence without feeling the need to know the city that is the cornerstone of economic, cultural, political, and “everything Mexico.” Seeing ancient buildings, ruins and ruins requires more than a four-day escort. mercados or the double-decker red bus “highlights” the tour to show what an alternative CDMX is most fascinating urban area you will probably experience. That’s before we even start talking about food.

Anyone who claims to dislike it has either only attempted to drive by, glancing from afar, or has not been exposed to the spaces and microspaces that challenge and compensate for the city’s glaring urban challenges, whether traffic or politics. protests, seasonally poor air quality, tarpaulin settlements, or citizens’ indifference to what is crumbling around them. There are deeply fascinating, often hidden, treasures of creativity and artistic enthusiasm in each of the four areas targeted in our rankings.

Tell me you can’t walk and marvel at the murals of the Centro Histórico and Diego Rivera National Palace, or have a shrugged-off white-linen lunch at the San Angel Inn, or wander the Museo de Arte Popular past Miguel Covarrubias’ monumental building. Gaze nonchalantly at the mural map of Mexico or see the sunken stone baths used by Mexican royalty in Chapultepec Park, and don’t surrender to the magnificence of this seven-thousand-foot-high, volcano-riddled, ancient lake bed that has witnessed more history, triumphs and tragedies than anywhere else on the continent.

Areas of the city are unlike anything most North Americans could imagine. Even in the 1950s, Mexico City was home to three million residents (22 million today in the metro area, nearly a fifth of all Mexicans), 16 of them dotted with a huge, flat valley floor.This Century satellite “pueblos,” with dusty dirt roads connecting to the capital’s government buildings, elite colonial residences, and a grid-like central city center. As the city expanded, small towns were swallowed and often destroyed. Some areas survived, however, and as a result today’s Mexico City feels more like a riot of competing small towns than a coherent city.

Condesa, Polanco and La Roma

What can be said about the “Immigrant triangle” in western Mexico City that hasn’t already been said? There’s art, culture, parks, history, Michelin-starred restaurants, architecture and probably the highest standard of living in all of Mexico.. There’s easy access to the rest of the city, there are plenty of metro stops, and Benito Juarez International Airport is close enough to catch your flight even in bad traffic.

san angel

Where is the southern part of the city colony life takes its deepest breath. It’s greener, a little lower elevation, more residential, and further away from the crowded center of the city and the industrial north. Places like San Angel CoyoacanAnd Chimalistac is a very nice but undiscovered plant.

San Ángel is a picturesque village that somehow retains the atmosphere of a remote mountain refuge. In colonial days, this was the residential area of ​​the city’s aristocrats. Its winding cobblestone streets, ostentatious mansions with thick walls, and small plazas and parks make San Ángel a pleasant place to get away from the noise of the city. The beautiful Plaza San Jacinto is a square that invites relaxation and reflection, especially in the middle of the week, except on weekends when visiting the famous Bazar del Sabado, Mexico City’s favorite weekend “artistic” venue.

Coyoacan

Coyoacán is located about a mile east of San Angel and is also a nod to Mexico City’s colonial days. After the conquest, it almost replaced Tenochtitlan as the location of the new capital. Coyoacán is larger and more bohemian, with a young intellectual structure. And of course, there’s the magnificent UNAM, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and worth a visit for its early urban planning, striking architecture, murals, Olympic and Azteca stadiums, and green spaces.

Santa Fe

Built on a municipal garbage dump, modern Santa Fé is the business center of the 21st century capital. Living here is sometimes more like Singapore or Hong Kong than Mexico; tall, modern blocks, filled with every comfort you could want, perfectly shaped parks and, more recently, modern transport links to the city centre. Despite this, it is still some distance from the heart of the “real” Mexico City and lacks much of the culture that makes the capital a truly magical place. Traffic can be a nightmare; This is a remarkable warning considering that it can be up to 3 hours away from the airport during rush hour.

All this wonder and diversity comes with a disclaimer from our resident “colonia-ista” Bethany Platanella: “If you plan to visit as many alcadías as possible, please do your due diligence before you go! Iztapalapa, Xochimilco, Tlalpan and Cuauhtémoc Some parts of ‘are unsafe and should be avoided, especially at night. We recommend taking a guided tour whenever possible.’

Finally, as if all this wasn’t enough, Mexico City is an excellent base for exploring the surrounding states of Hidalgo, Puebla, Mexico, Morelos and other states. Within two hours by bus or car, urban disturbances fade away as rural Central Mexico emerges into a mosaic of colonial towns, little-visited ancient ruins, Spanish-inspired cities, mountain forests and lush subtropical valleys. So, for urban enthusiasts, Mexico City can be the perfect place to “dig in,” while “going out” offers the “real Mexico” escapes of a lifetime.

Ratings

You can find a full breakdown of our rating system here.

What did we do right? What do you disagree with? Let us know in the comments.

You can see more Here’s the Where to Live in Mexico 2024 series, which includes ratings for Yucatán, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, the Baja California peninsula, Jalisco, Guanajuato, the trio of Northern and Central Pacific coastal cities, and the three major Bajío metropolitan areas.

Writer Greg Custer He lives in Mexico. He has worked in international tourism for more than 40 years, teaching travel advisors around the world about Mexico and other Latin American destinations. Helping people explore Mexico for living www.mexicoforliving.com.