Quote:
Originally Posted by AussieIrish
Hi there,
My husband and i have just received confirmation that we will be moving to Mexico city in june. We have 4 months to plan our trip but we are totally confused about areas we should research living in etc...
We can stay at a hotel for about 40 days or so. So we will have some time on our hands to look around. My husband will be working at the Airport so we hope to be some what nearby or near a good road to get him there. I know the traffic is terrible!!!
He expects to be driving at least 40 mins each way (on a good day) from what we can make out.
We dont have any children so we dont need to be near an International school.
I would like to live in an area near some expats as I wont be working.
We have not been given our budget yet for housing, so I have no idea what our price range would be.
Also we are weighing up bringing furniture with us, as we have some great pieces. Is it better to start from scratch when there?
Any advice you could give us would be really appreciated.
Thanks
J
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The Aiport is on the East side of town, whereas the expat communities are mostly on the West. I can't think realistically of a single area on the East side that you could live in. My cousin's landlord also use to work near the airport and lived in the same building he did on the west side in Huixquilucan, Estado De Mexico. The area is known more often as Interlomas. To the south of that area is Santa Fe and that has a huge mall and is also a big expat area. If you want to start going a bit east from there, Lomas de Chapultepec (that is getting a bit expensive). Polanco is an area of mostly apartment buildings and high-rises just to the west of downtown and is an area most people stay for business related reasons (hotels). Lots of restaurants and high quality shopping areas (Masaryk Avenue is a somewhat scaled down version of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills). Polanco realistically is about the closest you can get to the airport and still be in what I call a high quality area. Your husband can easily get on the Circuito Interior from their to the airport and back.
There is an area called Del Valle in the south central area that also is close to a major expressway called Viaducto that is a quick drive to the airport, but the problem there is pollution is high. It's practically all high-rises and there's not much to do there unless you are close to Insurgentes Sur. However, it is cheaper than any of the other areas I mentioned in terms of living expenses, but it's not what I'd call a true expat area.
Again, places I would consider would be.
Interlomas
Santa Fe
Lomas de Chapultepec
Polanco
To give you a rough estimate on rents for those areas above. The lowest I've seen go for $800 US a month, but something like what my American cousin had in Interlomas (which was I believe 3 bedrooms/4 bath) was going for $1700 US including the monthly maintenance fee, but that was a few years ago when the economy was better and rents were a bit higher. I think in his building the first few floors with a similar configuration were going for about $1400 with maintenance per month.
Also make sure when you do rents to try to work out a diplomatic clause in case you have to leave. Some landlords are very picky here in DF and like to hold you to the full 12 months.