Job Discussion Forums

[sidjameson]

This post is thanks to Guy. He replied to my post in the General discussion board. I lamented the fact that Japan is too hot in the summer (35 and humid) and too cold in the winter (near freezing with an artic wind) I said my perfect day wold be 25 during the day, dropping to 20 at night. He said Mexico had it all.

So to all you Guys in Mexico. Where can I go that will give me as many days of the above as possible? A nice lively town with some good night life and some good surrounding countryside. I know I am asking to much but the one thing that makes it easier is that I have another income of about $1000US a month so it doesnt have to have the highest paid teaching in the world.

Ok, stop the teasing and start the pleasing. Where in Mexico would suit this weather wuss wonderfully well?

[Guy Courchesne]

[TheLongWayHome]

Zacatecas?

[cgage]

I'm planning a stay and am of the same mind. Weather research shows that Zacatecas has really mild weather but can get cold.

[lozwich]

Granted, I'm totally pathetic when it comes to the cold, but I bought thermal undies when I was in Zacatecas one Christmas time. All the locals were posada-ing in fairly heavy coats too.

If its just for the weather, what about Guanajuato?

[TheLongWayHome]

The heavy coats are out here too, in San Luis Potosi. Gets pretty cold in the winter but can get up to 45 in the summer.

[delacosta]

Xalapa (or Jalapa as it's sometimes spelled). It pretty much falls into those temperatures and is also a very culturally happening city. There's a huge university there, Universidad de Veracruz-as well as about 12 others. It's the closest thing to a 'college town' that I've come across in Mexico. The beaches are about an hour away and the surrounding countryside is amazing. Xalapa itself is at around 2000 feet I think so its weather is cooler than the rest of Veracruz.
The cost of living is very reasonable, land is also very affordable.
My wife and I are considering moving to the outskirts at some point in the future, to a town called Xico.
Guy , I think the days of Cuernavaca being the city of �eternal spring� are gone. It gets really hot there these days, often up to 35 or 36 in the hot season. Same where I am now, 34 used to be a really hot day, and only in the hottest season (here on the coast of Oaxaca we have 3 seasons: the hot season, the hotter season and the hottest season), now it�s the norm and very hot days are up around 36 or 38. It�s the main reason we are considering pulling out, and like the poster, in search of cooler climes.

[lozwich]

I'm with Delacosta on the Xalapa/Xico thing, and would also recommend it for its ease of getting around other parts of Mexico because of its proximity to Puebla.

Thing is, how does the op feel about humidity in general? I think central Mexico and places like Veracruz state (where Xalapa is) might have similar temperatures, but the variation in humidity is quite large. I found central Mexico a little stifling because of the dryness and felt like dessicated Lozwich a lot of the time I was there, but really enjoyed the mild humidity of Veracruz state. I like humidity, especially when the weather is mid 20's because then you tend to get fewer of the yucky side effects of living with it.

Just something else to think about in a country as diverse as Mexico, I guess.

[Guy Courchesne]

Humidity is key I think. In the arid areas, it gets colder than you would think. In the coastal areas, humidity rules the thermometer.

I've been going to Cuernavaca frequently for the last 6 years...never felt it get over 30 there before, but I imagine like DF, there are spates of hot weather. Never humid though. Family there live both in the valley of the city and up in the surrounding hills...there's a noticeable difference in temperature between the two.

Ok, I change my vote to Queretaro....most level (boring?) climate in the Republic!

No votes for Toluca or Pachuca I see...the Mexican arctic.

[thelmadatter]

Toluca might be very very cool weather-wise but it sure aint chido!

Nov 1 and the cold fingers/toes season is now upon us... goes non-stop unil about late February. Its not that Toluca is so very very cold, its just that no one here has ever heard of insulation. Everything is in cinderblock and tile. No where to hide from the chilly temps.

But for me, its OK. I tolerate the cold a lot better than the heat.

[MELEE]

The OP definately doesn't want the coolest city in Mexico. As other's have noted there are many cities where it drops way below 20. Toluca, Puebla, San Cristobal, all have temps nearer to 0 than 20 over night in December and January. There are serveral places that get a light snow once or twice a year. But I lived in Japan (Nara), and can tell you its not that cold anywhere in Mexico. I used to wake up in the mornings in my traditional Japanese house and there would be frost on my mirror, in the middle of the room! Like Japan, most of the places I've been to in Mexico do not have central heating systems, and you need to wear a heavy sweater inside and out in December. Heck it's only the first of Nov and as I right this I'm in a fleece jacket, jeans, shoes and sock and my toesees are COLD!
Unlike Loz, I perfer the dryness, I grew up in a place where most days in August were 90�F with 90% humidity and I always felt like I was melting, and the humidity was pressing on my lungs. Now I can take 90� with out batting an eye because when its that hot in my town there is usually very low levels of humidity.
I love the climate where I am.

[lozwich]

[Guy Courchesne]

[M@tt]

even in veracruz state, almost all the cities are below 20C at night in the winter. 10-12C is normal at night for Fortin/Cordoba. the port can get almost as cold, and has the added wind and lots of rain during the winter.

it would probably be more reliable to just look up all this information in an almanac, although anecdotal evidence from teachers can be interesting.

[mapache]

I used to live in Chiapas and my vote would be San Cristobal de las Casas. Beautiful small city in the mountains with a cool climate. Many tourists make it difficult to earn a decent living teaching English, though.