Job Discussion Forums

[night_owl]

I'm looking for a furnished apartment with a kitchen in Mexico (or Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Lima... anywhere in LA) for $100-$200 per month. I don't expect anything swanky, just a decent place would be great.

I've seen some posters write that they've survived in nice digs for as little as $100 a month! Where do I call to reserve a room?

[Ben Round de Bloc]

I don't know what it's like in all the areas you've mentioned. I think it would take quite the Latin American traveler to have covered that much territory. However, I can share with you what it's like here in the city where I live.

$100 - $250 USD per month is the common range for small furnished apartments here. However, anything much below $200 USD per month can get you into something rather shabby. Be prepared to sign at least a 6-month lease. With some apartments, some of the extras (gas, electricity, water) are included, while in other cases not. Expect to put down quite a lot to start with: first and last months' rent, security deposit, and in some cases an additional fee for a lawyer to put his stamp of legality or something on the lease.

The most standard way to go about finding an apartment if you want to be as economical as possible is to find a cheap hotel or bed and breakfast upon arrival to the city, give yourself at least a week there, and start looking immediately. Ads in the local newspaper and word of mouth, especially from other foreigners and/or teachers, are two of the best sources. In this city if you aren't relatively fluent in Spanish, it can be difficult. Most landlords speak very little if any English, so you'd need to find someone who's bilingual to go with you.

Just out of curiosity, why would you be looking for an apartment in such a variety of places with no real preference for location? If your plan is to teach EFL, I think the standard order is to find a job first and then find an apartment to rent. Then again, maybe I'm wrong about that.