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EFLeducator
Joined: 16 Dec 2011
Posts: 595
Location: NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
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 Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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| ForProgress wrote: |
4)Do I have to worry about people taking my guitar/computer when I'm not home?
& Prof Gring: I'm looking to stay for a year AT LEAST, probably 2 years though. So no, I don't want to hustle and bustle, and eat the cheapest food. I'd like to be moderately comfortable there... |
I am only familiar with the south part of DF and can tell you that you should have no problems with someone breaking into your room if you stay close to the south part of the city. Insurgentes is a GREAT avenue to be close to because of the metrobus and the businesses located on it.
Some of the street vendors have great food. You may be able to go to VIPS once in awhile. It's a nice restaurant in DF. |
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doublethinker
Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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I thought the OP was planning on Guadalajara, not DF? (Although, really, who would choose Guadalajara over DF?  )
I don't know the job market in Guadalajara, but finding a job for above 15,000 isn't too difficult in Mexico City.
If you are working in a colegio, don't expect to have the energy to tutor extra classes. Teaching kids/teenagers is an all-consuming job.
I wouldn't worry about getting your apartment broken into anymore than you would elsewhere. Just find out what areas you like that have a fairly decent rep, then look on craigslist (more expensive and targeted to foreigners) and compartodepa |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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| EFLeducator wrote: |
I am only familiar with the south part of DF and can tell you that you should have no problems with someone breaking into your room if you stay close to the south part of the city. Insurgentes is a GREAT avenue to be close to because of the metrobus and the businesses located on it.
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So what are rents like in your favorite part of the D.F., EFLeducator? |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:58 pm Post subject: |
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15k is a little tougher to clear per month in Guadalajara than DF (again, someday soon someone actually in Guadalajara may post here!) but you don't need that much anyway to live decently, travel, eat out etc.
I'd skip on a bare apartment if you're looking. It doesn't make a lot of sense for you to rent a place where you have to buy a stove and fridge...just get a furnished place.
I find Craig's list highballs the prices...and it's hard to sift through all the retirement properties near the laguna. Try segundamano.com.mx to get a good idea |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:03 am Post subject: |
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| MotherF wrote: |
| Dave's posters have been recommending 2000 dollars as the amount needed to comfortably arrive in Mexico and find a job for at least a decade. I'm willing to conceed that that is not enough anymore. The cost of the FM3 alone has doubled in that time. |
Thanks! I have also seen the cost of many basics go way up since first coming to Mexico. Milk is double the price. Coke is 30% more expensive. A loaf of bread or a kilo of tortillas cost more. Meanwhile wages haven�t kept pace (this is NOT unique to Mexico, but to be realistic, things are not the same as when many folks first showed up in Mexico). |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:14 am Post subject: |
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| ForProgress wrote: |
Thanks for all this great advice. Esp about buying a 2 way ticket (I hope I'll be able to use the return ticket for a credit in the future...) and bringing around 4 to 5,000 USD with me.
A couple more things:
1) Housing: Let's say I find a job en Guadalajara, is it relatively easy to find housing with someone else? I'm hoping maybe someone I take the TEFL class with will want to pair up... if not I would be okay with living with a local. I guess I could try craiglist? And are mice/roaches/rats a big problem?
I want a place that's already furnished... Is this asking too much? I think trying to buy a bed, desk, etc, will be a bit tough not knowing anyone there...
2) Transportation: Do they have a weekly transportation pass? If I'll be using public transportation, I would think that'd be more efficient.
3) Prof. Gringo said 15,000 pesos a moth if I want to travel, etc. Is that a lot? Or hard to do? I'm thinking I'll aim (NOT FOR A LANGUAGE INSTITUTE) for a Colegio or Universidad, and then do some freelance tutoring on the side by posting adds locally.
4) Theft: I live in a metro city now, and I'm lucky to have my own apt. and live in a decent enough area where people don't break into my room. But I'm completely new to the Mexican life. Do I have to worry about people taking my guitar/computer when I'm not home?
& Prof Gring: I'm looking to stay for a year AT LEAST, probably 2 years though. So no, I don't want to hustle and bustle, and eat the cheapest food. I'd like to be moderately comfortable there... |
With 5 grand in the bank you will be fine.
1. You can normally rent a room out in somebody's house. On the plus side this is often safer (somebody would have to break into the house first and if the owner and/or their family are often home, unlikely to happen). Cheaper, usually furnished, and you can choose to get to know your landlord and practice Spanish. The downside here is privacy (and depending if the house is noisy, that could be a problem) and whatnot. But it is a worthwhile trade-off.
2. There is NO such thing as a pass, transfers, or even a reasonable map of the public bus routes or timetables. These things simply don�t exist in Mexico. In Mexico, public buses will race each other through the streets as they compete for customers. Hold-on tight!
3. $15,000 is a ball park amount. You might be able to do so on less or you might need more. But I assume you want to ENJOY Mexico, so, don�t try to save much or be too frugal.
4. I know a student in a nicer part of DF on a closed, gated street. One night he came out and found his car on blocks and the tires, rims, stereo, even a coat he left in his car, all gone.
Get to know people, don�t advertise where you live and take extra precautions (people will use 3 locks on the door and the window can be easily opened with a machete blade... ) or buy a BIG dog... |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 1:10 am Post subject: |
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| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
2. There is NO such thing as a pass, transfers, or even a reasonable map of the public bus routes or timetables. These things simply don�t exist in Mexico. In Mexico, public buses will race each other through the streets as they compete for customers. Hold-on tight!
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No bus route maps exist, but there are maps of the Metro and the Metrobus systems. I believe you can buy a pass for the Metro, though since I don't use it that much, I've never looked into getting one. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 2:03 am Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
2. There is NO such thing as a pass, transfers, or even a reasonable map of the public bus routes or timetables. These things simply don�t exist in Mexico. In Mexico, public buses will race each other through the streets as they compete for customers. Hold-on tight!
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No bus route maps exist, but there are maps of the Metro and the Metrobus systems. I believe you can buy a pass for the Metro, though since I don't use it that much, I've never looked into getting one. |
True but those two systems will only take you so many places. You still need to navigate the chaotic private bus system. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 2:15 am Post subject: |
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| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
2. There is NO such thing as a pass, transfers, or even a reasonable map of the public bus routes or timetables. These things simply don�t exist in Mexico. In Mexico, public buses will race each other through the streets as they compete for customers. Hold-on tight!
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No bus route maps exist, but there are maps of the Metro and the Metrobus systems. I believe you can buy a pass for the Metro, though since I don't use it that much, I've never looked into getting one. |
True but those two systems will only take you so many places. You still need to navigate the chaotic private bus system. |
That's true, but millions of people manage to do it every day, so it can't be that difficult. You move to a certain part of the city, you ask your neighbors and local merchants for advice, and in less time than you think, you figure out how to get around on the buses as well as on the Metro and Metrobus. |
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ForProgress
Joined: 16 Dec 2011
Posts: 14
Location: United States
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 4:13 am Post subject: |
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Hmm... After all this good talk about Mexico City, I think I might want to live/work there. I was only going to do Guadalajara b/c I'm taking the TEFL there.
I suppose I'll start with Guadalajara first, but if I don't land a good job there, look at Mexico City (FD) instead.
I did read though, that supposedly the higher pay in FD was balanced by the higher price to live.
Thoughts? |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 4:38 am Post subject: |
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I find DF and GDL about the same on costs with notable exceptions. DF costs more for rents, by a good 25% on average. Transportation and restaurants are a bit more in GDL. Your usual grocery store items are about the same.
| Quote: |
| That's true, but millions of people manage to do it every day, so it can't be that difficult. You move to a certain part of the city, you ask your neighbors and local merchants for advice, and in less time than you think, you figure out how to get around on the buses as well as on the Metro and Metrobus. |
Just go by the route number posted on the side of the bus. It doesn't change. Buses almost always start and end their routes at metro stops. |
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EFLeducator
Joined: 16 Dec 2011
Posts: 595
Location: NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:48 am Post subject: |
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| ForProgress wrote: |
Hmm... After all this good talk about Mexico City, I think I might want to live/work there. I was only going to do Guadalajara b/c I'm taking the TEFL there.
I suppose I'll start with Guadalajara first, but if I don't land a good job there, look at Mexico City (FD) instead.
I did read though, that supposedly the higher pay in FD was balanced by the higher price to live.
Thoughts? |
DF not FD amigo. Distrito Federal. Don't stay in Guadalajara too long. You want to make sure you have enough cash to get you to the DF. I know nada about Guadalajara but DF probably has more opportunities. It's a HUGE city with plenty of language schools and colegios. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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| ForProgress wrote: |
Hmm... After all this good talk about Mexico City, I think I might want to live/work there. I was only going to do Guadalajara b/c I'm taking the TEFL there.
I suppose I'll start with Guadalajara first, but if I don't land a good job there, look at Mexico City (FD) instead.
I did read though, that supposedly the higher pay in FD was balanced by the higher price to live.
Thoughts? |
If you look around you can find an economical enough place to live. MANY people live in Estado de Mexico and work in el DF. And there are many schools and opportunities in the Mex City metro area, not just in the DF core.
I have been all over Mexico and I have stayed for good amounts of time in many places from Chiapas where I took my TEFL course to Tijuana where I lived for a good while. No place in Mexico compares to the Mex City metro area. 1 in 4 Mexicans live here. It is the NYC & DC of Mexico, the cultural heart of the country and the best food from all over Mexico and even the world are to be had here. And since all roads lead to Mexico (DF) it is very centrally located. Excellent intercity buses and the DF airport mean you can always get there easily from here. |
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notamiss
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 908
Location: El 5o pino del la CDMX
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| Just go by the route number posted on the side of the bus. It doesn't change. Buses almost always start and end their routes at metro stops. |
To elaborate on your �almost always� qualifier, it depends which part of the city you are. Here in the sticks where we are far, far away from the nearest metro, that may not work. Also there are multiple routes with the same number.
But I don't want to scare anyone who's wondering how you can learn to get around; it's not difficult. The peseros and buses have their main destinations on signs in the front window. That's the most reliable way to tell where the bus is going. You�ll learn which names to look for. If you have to go to a place you don't know, and that isn�t near the mapped routes, you can take a taxi there the first time, and then to get back to known territory, you can look for a bus whose sign has a familiar name, or, failing that, any bus that takes you back to the metro system (you can tell a bus goes to a metro station, even if you don�t recognize the name of the station because of the stylized �M� metro logo on the sign). |
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ForProgress
Joined: 16 Dec 2011
Posts: 14
Location: United States
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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Estoy pensanando en taxi/train/bus de Guadalajara al Mexico ciudad.
Avion es muy caro, no? |
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