Job Discussion Forums

[beauchild]

finding a place? I do have a city map but it is incomprehensible to me!

[cangringo]

beauchild...that makes me laugh because it was incomprehensible to us for the first 3 weeks we were here...LOL

The easiest way to find a place here is to decide what kind of neighborhood you are looking for - middle to lower class, middle to upper class etc and how much you want to spend. Then you go around in that neighborhood looking for Se Renta signs. I wish it were easier but the city is so large and the ads online so misleading that it's much easier to be here in person.

You didn't say whether or not you are in Monterrey now or are planning to come. I'm sure tagastelum will stop by and give you some tips, he's been here longer and lives in a better neighborhood than we do.

If you are here already, where are you staying now. Please provide more info on yourself. and we'll try to help out.

[tagastelum]

Cangringo said I'd be by with tips. So here I am.

At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, check out an article I wrote on Monterrey in June 2005 at http://www.talesmag.com/rprweb/the_rprs/west/realposts_monterrey.shtml (about halfway down). Everything is still true, except that the city is much more violent due to the ongoing war between narcos and the police.

If you're already in town, PM me and we can talk in person. If you haven't arrived yet, just know that there's not much you can do in terms of arranging a place until you're here. Cangringo is right to suggest casing a neighborhood to look for rent signs. What neighborhood? It depends on what you're looking for exactly. Want shops? Middle-class amenities? Easy access to public transportation? And so on and so on and so on...

So what are you looking for?

Hope to be able to help in the near future.

[J Sevigny]

There are a lot of decent places to rent in older buildings downtown. You don't want to be behind, or directly in front of the bus station because that area is a little sketchy. But you might check around the Alameda Park and also in Colonia Maria Luisa, that is, if you want to be centrally located.

If you want to shell out big bucks, check San Pedro Garza Garcia, which has had more than its share of violence this year but remains a nice, rich neighborhood nonetheless.

A couple of neighborhoods to avoid are La Independencia, atop the mountain visible from the macroplaza, and Sierra Ventana, a little further out. It seems like a lot of the working-class regios these days live in Guadalupe and Apodaca, which aren't central but may be close to where you end up working.

Next to the Macroplaza, in Barrio Antiguo, there are some older, enormous apartment complexes and you can usually rent something reasonable and safe there.

As for violence, Monterrey has always had a ton of drug killings, but in general, it's a very safe city and I think you will love it there.