MexicoTopic Title: Favorite places in Mexico to relocate?
Author footsoldier
Date Posted: 1/5/2014 11:37 AM
Hi everyone, how do Morelia and Guanajuato compare in terms of 1) climate, 2) infrastructure, 3) cost of living, and possibly 4) safety? I prefer cool and dry weather, and urban amenities without hustle bustle. Thanks for any input.
Author suspirar
Date Posted: 5/15/2010 11:21 PM
I liked Cuernavaca quite a bit. It's nice and warm. There are restaurants for all budgets.
1 hour west of Puebla is the city of Atlixco. It is reasonably warm, in contrast to Puebla.
Author dmexx
Date Posted: 5/12/2010 11:42 PM
If climate is of principal interest, follow the 6,000 ft rule. Give or take some, that is about the altitude you need to be at for a nice temperate climate.
Chapala and Cuernavaca are good examples of this. Xalapa gets overlooked.
If you want a city, rule out Chapala (it's only a pueblo) unless you are willing to drive an hour to Guadalajara. Once there, traffic is extremely congested, but there is everything you could need.
Author Mac539
Date Posted: 3/2/2010 3:22 PM
You have to decide if you want to live with Americans or in Mexican communities. If you want the American enclave type thing, these forums are fine. If you want something more adventurous, you need to get out and drive. A lot. Over a course of 4 weeks I put 6000 klics on a car doing just that.
Author suspirar
Date Posted: 3/1/2010 9:41 PM
Yesterday I visited the zócalo and centro of Puebla, Puebla. It was gorgeous, with Spanish-style colonial buildings of different colors, with their balconies.
Maybe I just happened to be there on an exceptionally nice day. The sky was blue with clouds that turned a lovely pink after the sun set. Around 3 p.m., the temperature was perfect, and there was a dry breeze. It was a wonderful experience (except for sitting on wet gum on the bus ride to the CAPU bus terminal, and ruining my pants). However, around 5 p.m., the temperature started dropping. After 6 p.m., it was so cold! However, someone from New Mexico´s highlands might be able to withstand the cold. I´ve been watching Puebla´s forecasts, and daily lows tend to be around 4 Celsius.
Outside of Puebla´s centro, you won´t find those pretty colonial townhomes.
Puebla is surprisingly dry. On the bus headed east out of Puebla, we passed through some flat valleys of dusty farmland, and some places with Joshua "trees". There were a few forests, but other places resembled desert; I wasn´t expecting that. The land still had an enchanting quality.
Now I am in Xalapa, Veracruz. What a surprise!...I never imagined that Mexico would have a big green-colored city like Jalapa, surrounded by pine trees.
Author suspirar
Date Posted: 1/20/2010 10:31 PM
Colima, Colima, Mexico is pretty darned hot right now at an altitude of 550 meters above sea level, and it´s January! Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, at an elevation of 1507 msnm, was a little too chilly for me yesterday, but at least I was able think more nimbly, unlike in Colima, where it was too hot to react to things.
Author RVGRINGO
Date Posted: 1/18/2010 6:40 PM
Sure. Take a look at Chapala and Ajijic or Jocotopec; all on Lake Chapala, a half hour from the Guadalajara International Airport, an hour from Guadalajara Centro and 4-5 hours by car or bus from beach resorts on the Pacific Coast from Puerto Vallarta to Manzanillo, Melaque and Barra de Navidad; or, 7 hours to Mazatlan for those winter beach vacations. Lake Chapala may have the best combination of climate and convenient access (720 miles to the border on excellent toll roads) of any place on the planet, not just Mexico. That's why we live here, plus the advantage of very friendly folks and just enough expats to support an imported grocery store with those things you just can't live without.
Author clee
Date Posted: 1/18/2010 6:15 PM
Thanks,
My husband is not a fan of humidity ... so right on the coast year-round is probably out.
Any ideas?
Author RVGRINGO
Date Posted: 1/18/2010 10:01 AM
There is a culinary arts school near Ajijic, on Lake Chapala, and I have a friend who volunteers there. The students are trained bilingually, I think.
To do something like that, or to open a business, you will need to qualify for special permission on your visa, which can take some time.
You will also want to consider the fact that few expats can tolerate living on the coasts for more than six months, due to the oppessive heat and humidity of the other six months. So, consider year round climate and the cost of electricity to run AC, which can get very, very expensive.
Author clee
Date Posted: 1/17/2010 10:29 PM
Zihuatenejo, PV, Akumal, Mexico City ... also the usual beach resort vacations.
I have no desire to join a huge expat community.... buy a condo. or timeshare. My interests are more in line with gardening, teaching culinary arts (at college level as I do now), hiking, maybe having a small business. Thanks.
Author RVGRINGO
Date Posted: 1/16/2010 9:17 PM
Were your trips to Mexico as a tourist to the usual tourist destination resort areas on the beach and in the winter? If so, there is a lot more of Mexico for you to explore. You should probably begin by reading previous postings on this forum, expat.com or any of the several other fora that are frequented by expats in Mexico. There are thousands upon thousands of us, with concentrations at Lake Chapala, San Miguel de Allende, Queretero, Guanajuato, etc. etc.
