Job Discussion Forums

[Guy Courchesne]

For reference's sake and to keep a thread for newcomers, how much are you paying for accommodations where you are?

I'm paying 6000/mth, renting, 3 bedroom apartment, unfurnished, in a very central area.

Curious to know how prices vary by city, furnishings, number of people living there, etc, etc.

[ls650]

2400 MX$ per month, semi-furnished 2-bedroom apartment. It's fairly close to our little zocalo (maybe a five minute walk). That price is considered reasonable in this area.

[FreddyM]

ahh. cool. I would've loved to have seen a thread like this a few weeks ago while I was shopping for an apartment in D.F. to get an idea of what prices are like here.

At any rate, I ended up in a small one bedroom apartment (it doesn't even have a living room!), semi-furnished in Col. Roma sur, just a five minute walk to a metro station, plenty of malls and parks around, fairly safe and quiet. I like it here. I pay $3,100 a month for it, not shared. Most of the other places I looked at before renting this place, and most were slightly cheaper, were not in such a nice area.

[gordogringo]

$3500 pesos for 2 bedroom fully furnished in upscale Tijuana neighborhood.It is in the back of a country club and very quiet.I have been told that housing is cheaper in Mexico city by people from there.There is cheaper housing available unfurnished in Tijuana.This two bedroom is just me and the gf.Power runs about 150 pesos a month.water is about 80 pesos a month.The sky satellite tv is our only frill and that is 400 pesos a month.Living in Mexico is not that expensive.

[M@tt]

a 2 bedroom fully furnished apartment in an upscale DF neighborhood would be anywhere from 8,000-30,000 pesos. at 3,500 pesos they do not exist.

[Guy Courchesne]

8-30k in DF is not just upscale...that's topscale. You're talking diplomats and visiting CEO's now. Lomas, Pedregal, or Santa Fe. Comes with helicopter taxi service.

If you consider Condesa, Napoles, or Del Valle upscale, you can do better. 3,500 fully furnished 2 bedroom is tough though. 5,000 is more realistic.

[PlayadelSoul]

My wife and I own our house. When we were renting, we paid 4000 for a two-bedroom duplex about 8 blocks from the beach, in Playa del Carmen. In Merida, we paid 2,300 for a three-bedroom house, in a nice neighborhood.

[jillford64]

4,500 pesos per month for a decent sized, recently remodeled, fully furnished, two bedroom apartment in the centro historico in Morelia. This includes all utilities, purified water, cleaning once a week, and a conscientious landlord. From what I've seen and heard, unfurnished 2 bedroom apartments without utilities in the centro historico seem to run about 3,000 to 3,500. The centro historico is more expensive than the rest of the city. Farther out in the "modern" areas, it is possible to rent two bedrooms unfurnished for about 2000 to 2,500.

For now this works for me because I can walk to work and walk downtown, and I didn't have to go through the rigamarol of getting the utilities and furnishing the place. As I get to know the neighborhoods and figure out the public transportation (and as my language skills improve), I will look for a cheaper place a little farther away from work.

[Wouter]

Me and my wife own also a house but we rented before for 2100 unfurnished 2 bedroom duplex apartment. My friend rented for 2000 unfurnished 3 bedroom, other friend as well 2000 unfurnished 2 bedroom , another friend for 2250 furnished one bedroom duplex apartment and the last friend pays 3000 unfurnished one bedroom. This all in Tlaquepaque which is a part of Guadalajara.

So in average you can find here something between 2000 and 3000.

Wouter

[Samantha]

The thing I discovered after living here for several years is that nothing is uniform or standard and good deals can be found if you are determined. You just need to establish connections, which sometimes isn't that easy. If you have someone helping you who speaks Spanish it is useful.

After you arrive and providing you speak Spanish some yourself, you need to go around the neighborhood you like and talk to people, get the scoop, put the word out and before you know it you will find a sweet deal somewhere. My husband and I did this and located an ocean view apartment for only $1500 pesos where we lived for more than 3 years. We got tired of the narrow street and increased lack of parking, plus the spiral stairs up to our apartment, but it was great at the time, furnished with 2 bedrooms and a washing machine, AND kitchen cupboards! We have now acquired our own new little home through the system (and I mean LITTLE) for less than the price of a new car and with payments of only $1000.00 pesos a month. (That's less than $100.00 USD) Thank you, Mexican Government!!

[samizinha]

$3400 for a fully furnished one bedroom apartment above a house in Atizapan. Utilities and cable TV are included. Rent is surprisingly expensive where I live because it�s one of the few nice streets in the area, and it�s right beside the Tec. I can get my wireless internet for free it�s so close.
My apartment was increadibly ugly when I first moved in, but the landlords let me fix it up the way I wanted it and paid for everything. I love having a good washing machine and a �mother� who leaves me alone during the week but begs me to eat her mole on the weekends

[MELEE]

I will own my house in a couple of years! My mortage payments are 2600 a month.
I was renting a three bedroom 1 & 1/2 bath, giant livingroom, tiny kitchen town house in the center of town for 2000 pesos including water before moving into my house a couple of years ago. A couple of new teachers just arrived, most places in the center are still going for around 2000 a month (UNFURNISHED; furnished is almost unheard of in this town). One new teacher chose a two bedroom house quite aways out for 1300 not including ulitilies.
Our climate requires neither heating nor cooling, my electicity bill for a family of 4 with a washing machine runs 150 pesos for two months.

[ericksgm]

Another option is renting a room in a house. This is what I'm doing in Tapachula and it is 1300 a month and includes everything except food. I have to either pay them extra to cook my food or I have to buy my own and cook it. They clean my room once a week, and at times offer me their food just so the new american girl can try it. I feel that this is a nice thing to do if you come down here alone and you don't know a soul. It is easier if you know someone. I have friends that rent out rooms in Cuernavaca and they offered me a room for much cheaper with the same amenities! Having connections is good.

[M@tt]

DF 2 br unfurnished in sketchy neighborhood by the airport: 4500/month.
drive-by mugging free with first month's rent.

[Guy Courchesne]

Is your place large, Matt, like 150+ m2? If not, I think you got the 'gringo' price. Apartments in your area today list at:

Precio: 2,800.00 $
Metros: 60.00 m�
Rec�maras: 2
exenete ubicacion al lado del parque ecologico iztacalco muy cerca del metro canal de san juan al lado del parque cuenta con vigilancia y areas verdes

and a little east of where you are, it gets nicer and pricier...

Precio: 4,500.00 $
Metros: 90.00 m�
Rec�maras: 3
tres recamaras primer piso ,amplisimo, carro a la vista
Jardin Balbuena - about 4 km from airport

Precio: 2,700.00 $
Metros: 52.00 m�
DOS RECAMARAS,SALA, COMEDOR, COCINA,BA�O,ZOTEHUELA. BIEN UBICADO TODOS LOS SERVICIOS (CERCA CAMARA DE DIPUTADOS),
Morelos

Precio: 3,500.00 $
Metros: 80.00 m�
Rec�maras: 2
Departamento de 2 recamaras, amplia sala, cocina, 1 ba�o completo.
Ignacio Zaragoza - about 3km from airport

Precio: 3,500.00 $
Metros: 55.00 m�
Rec�maras: 2
departamento dos recamaras alfombradas, sala comedor, cocina integral, peque�o cuarto de servicio, un ba�o, estacionamiento subterraneo con puerta automatica, gas natural en muy buenas condiciones a una cuadra del metro moctezuma - about 3 km from airport

For what you're paying, I had a smaller apartment in Colonia Condesa, next to Parque Espana.

Across the street from this hotel...



Next to this park...



<sorry, had to borrow other pics since I don't have my own of the place>