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[Looking for my place]

Hi. I know that there was already a post regarding this question but that discussion turned into a whole American thing so I am reposing the question as ................

Anyone have experience living in Monterrrey? Can you tell me a few negative and positive points?

[shanito]

I lived and worked in MTY for five years and return often as my wife is from there. It is a big industrial city with lots of work for teachers.

[guerrita]

Hi - not sure if you are still checking this site for info but i thought i would give it a shot.

i lived in Monterrey for 6 months in 2004 and i loved it. so i'll give you a few positives/negatives and try to avoid the whole Americanization debate.

positives:
it is certainly a big city, with a major industrial & economic base. there are also several universities, both pubilc and private. the downtown area is like most downtowns in large cities - shopping centres, hotels, restaurants, bars, traffic, buses & taxis everywhere. you can pretty much buy any north american goods & products down there. from food to shampoo to clothes, all the amenities from home are there. this is obviously a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. but i enjoyed being able to get things here that i could get in Canada too.

one main highlight during my time there was the Barrio Antiguo. this is a quiet downtown quarter in the day but at night it absolutely FILLS with people. there are nothing but bars and restaurants on every street, with every kind of music & entertainment you could ask for. this was a lot of fun (for us students!)

it is also a beautiful city - a huge mountain called the Cerro de la Silla casts its shadow over the city and, for me at least, acted as a compass. i always knew where i was thanks to the Cerro. it's a gorgeous view.

negative:
the city is a good distance from the ocean and many of the great cities that i enjoyed travelling to were quite a distance. Mexico City is about 12 hours on a bus from Monterrey. the ocean is about 2 hours away, but it's not exactly the Carribean if you know what i mean. the winter in Mty is definetly winter - no snow, but chilly - and no one has heating systems so it's all about electric heaters and extra blankets. this was a bit of a surprise to me because i assumed i wouldn't need a warm jacket or anything, but because of the mountains that's the weather they get in January and February.

this is a large city - which for me is a positive - but for many is not. the quaint charm of some southern ocean-front cities is definetly not present in Mty. it's a business city with a thriving economy and wealthier population (relatively speaking).

although i did not teach english here, i know there are many many opportunities for ESL - everything from children to adults. Mty is close to the US border and many jobs require basic English skills, so they need native speakers to help teach their employees. Also due to the wealthier status of many citizens, they can afford private english tutoring for their children.

Hope this helps. I loved my time in Mty but i know it's not for everyone. it's like a different world compared to other parts of mexico, but the Nortenos are great people and i had a great time there.

~guerrita~

[lozwich]

Excellent post guerrita!

I visited Monterrey once for about 12 hours, and since then I've often wondered what it would be like to live there.

Have a good day,
Lozwich.

[J Sevigny]

I worked in Monterrey for several years, both as a teacher and as a journalist. While there are some who will tell you that it's just like living in Phoenix or some California suburb, I don't think that's true at all.

Monterrey has it's own culture, an intriguing mix of Mexican upward mobility and old cowboy ways. There is wonderful music to be heard if you know where to look, a top-notch art museum, a decent history museum, and generally speaking, an open-mindedness that is lacking in some parts of Mexico.

I never managed to earn a lot of money teaching in Monterrey, but at the time, ESL was a part time gig for me. I'm certain that there is a lot of work there, what with all the big factories, universities, etc.

Speaking of weather, you have to be prepared for some extremes. Monterrey is extremely hot in the summer and pretty durned cold (and often wet) in the winter. The cost of living is higher than many Mexican cities though probably not as high as towns on the border.

Feel free to send me an email if I can offer any more specific information. I currently live in Saltillo, about 90 kilometers west of Monterrey.

John