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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 1186
Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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 Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 5:05 am Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Yes the beaches are a bad idea...he'll never live that down.
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Yeah, and the ice skating in the Zocalo. It's Mexico. No one knows HOW to ice skate. |
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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: Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:53 pm Post subject: |
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| BadBeagleBad wrote: |
| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Yes the beaches are a bad idea...he'll never live that down.
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Yeah, and the ice skating in the Zocalo. It's Mexico. No one knows HOW to ice skate. |
And yet there are always long lines of people waiting to try! |
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 1186
Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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| Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| BadBeagleBad wrote: |
| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Yes the beaches are a bad idea...he'll never live that down.
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Yeah, and the ice skating in the Zocalo. It's Mexico. No one knows HOW to ice skate. |
And yet there are always long lines of people waiting to try! |
hehe, yeah, and Red Cross ambulances standing by to help them......lots of them. |
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amaranto
Joined: 02 Jun 2009
Posts: 133
Location: M�xico, D.F.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Amaranto, what percent is this of your overall expenses? thanks |
Sorry my reply has taken so long, but I didn't know I'd been asked a question until know.
That's a difficult question to answer because I have quite a few expenses that are not necessary expenses, and I save part of my monthly income.
If you want to know how much I spend on basic things, I would say add 5,000 pesos for food (grocery store and eating out), utilities (including cell phone, Skype, Internet, and Netflix), and transportation (metro, buses, and taxis). I spend too much money on eating out!
I wouldn't be comfortable making less than 15,000 per month in Mexico City, but a lot of people swing it. You can definitely live off it and not watch every dime. |
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boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 3:48 am Post subject: |
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Have gotten some great info for COL. Now, the first 3 months or so while getting my bearings finding work or starting my own biz english cash flow...how much more is that? Specifically,
+ do the apartments that rent by the month charge Gringo prices - e.g., 3x the standard?
+ If so, how much would you budget for that? When I look on craigslist to get an idea there aren't many and they seem to range from 7400 to 26000 per month (the higher end ones try to rent by the day).
Also, when getting a longer-term apartment:
1. are you responsible for the maintenance in DF?
2. Who do you get to cosign for you? Real estate agent? If so, does that drive up costs?
Thanks again all. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 4:08 am Post subject: |
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I've found that furnished apartments for rent that are listed on English sites are priced higher than what they should be. These are often found in areas with expats or tourists...Condesa, Polanco, near embassies, etc.
When getting a longer term apartment - I assume you mean signing a year-long lease - whether you pay maintenance and utilities depends on the place. So, maybe, maybe not. I'd budget for having to throw down another 1000-2000 for utilities.
A co-signor (guarantor, fijador, aval) needs to own property in DF to sign. There are companies that will be your guarantor but you have to pay them - about 10%. I've found that renting furnished places means you don't need a guarantor, but you may get asked for a extra months' rent as a deposit. |
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boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 4:17 am Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
I've found that furnished apartments for rent that are listed on English sites are priced higher than what they should be. These are often found in areas with expats or tourists...Condesa, Polanco, near embassies, etc.
When getting a longer term apartment - I assume you mean signing a year-long lease - whether you pay maintenance and utilities depends on the place. So, maybe, maybe not. I'd budget for having to throw down another 1000-2000 for utilities.
A co-signor (guarantor, fijador, aval) needs to own property in DF to sign. There are companies that will be your guarantor but you have to pay them - about 10%. I've found that renting furnished places means you don't need a guarantor, but you may get asked for a extra months' rent as a deposit. |
What would you say the furnished generally goes for? From what I understood from earlier posts they are hard to find which suggests to me that they go for a premium. supply and demand.
are there rental agencies that help for a reasonable fee find a furnished you can rent by the month? I am trying to think how I would do this since I don't speak Spanish. |
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 1186
Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 4:26 am Post subject: |
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| boomerexpat wrote: |
+ do the apartments that rent by the month charge Gringo prices - e.g., 3x the standard?
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The only reason to pay "gringo prices" would be because you have to depend on English language media, and most of the prices will be in higher priced, trendy areas. If you move away from the center you will pay the same rent as everyone else, but you will need to speak Spanish to do so. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 4:34 am Post subject: |
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Again, depends on where. You could pay anything from 2000 to 24000 pesos like you've seen already.
I can't think of an agency that apartment hunts...I imagine those that exist cater to the English speaking higher market looking for traveling execs and probably stick to the high end.
Tough to get around the need for Spanish to look more locally...you could work through segundamano.com.mx and some of the local papers that have online listings (I think Aviso Oportuno might list online) and send off email translating as you go - google translate or others. Otherwise, the best way to find such things is to hit the streets and look or wait to hear from other teachers of something to check out. |
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boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 4:35 am Post subject: |
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| BadBeagleBad wrote: |
| boomerexpat wrote: |
+ do the apartments that rent by the month charge Gringo prices - e.g., 3x the standard?
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but you will need to speak Spanish to do so. |
That in a nutshell is the problem. It will take me a while to learn enough Spanish to deal with something complex like a lease/rental agreement and discussion. So, it looks like I'll be paying gringo prices for a while which drives up the initial costs of moving there.
no cost effective work around like rental agencies with some English? |
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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 May 01, 2012 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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| When you first arrive, you may have to spend more than you'd like for a place to live. Once you've been here for a bit, hopefully you'll make some Spanish-speaking friends (Mexican or expat) who will offer you to help find a more reasonably-priced apartment. Are there any posters who moved to Mexico without knowing much, if any, Spanish? Their experiences may give you some insights into the challenges you'll be facing. |
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donato
Joined: 05 May 2010
Posts: 98
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| When you first arrive, you may have to spend more than you'd like for a place to live. Once you've been here for a bit, hopefully you'll make some Spanish-speaking friends (Mexican or expat) who will offer you to help find a more reasonably-priced apartment. Are there any posters who moved to Mexico without knowing much, if any, Spanish? Their experiences may give you some insights into the challenges you'll be facing. |
Agree 100%. This was my case. My advice is to find a Mexican girlfriend ASAP! Perhaps you can work out staying at a hostel for a couple months before staying somewhere permanently. I knew a guy who did it for 4 months in Roma, and the cost was about $3,000 a month. So, it really isn't a bad idea to start out that route. Something to consider. Meanwhile you'll be making friends and connections that can help you out in finding a place. |
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boomerexpat
Joined: 15 Apr 2012
Posts: 135
Location: Mexico
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 3:09 am Post subject: |
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| donato wrote: |
| My advice is to find a Mexican girlfriend ASAP! |
Maybe I should do that before I arrive.
Anyone know a single, good looking Mexican woman who owns a business English school? She will need to speak some English which would make sense anyway since she owns a school.
That way I can check off two things right off the bat. |
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Xie Lin
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| boomerexpat wrote: |
That way I can check off two things right off the bat.
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Three things: girl friend, job, place to live! 
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Dragonlady
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 720
Location: Chillinfernow, Canada
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| Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 3:29 am Post subject: |
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| boomerexpat wrote: |
| donato wrote: |
| My advice is to find a Mexican girlfriend ASAP! |
Maybe I should do that before I arrive.
Anyone know a single, good looking Mexican woman who owns a business English school? She will need to speak some English which would make sense anyway since she owns a school.
That way I can check off two things right off the bat. |
All kidding aside, I think you need to put on a pair of wool socks (for your cold feet), and land here with adventure in mind like most of us did - without worrying about how many boxes you've checked off!
DL |
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