Job Discussion Forums

[wildchild]

those of you who lived in DF first, and then on to the provinces, do you think that having lived in DF first was a benefit, offered insights, and well prepared you for the provinces?

those of you who lived in the provinces first, and then on to DF, I ask the same question.

those of you who have done both, which do you prefer and would you ever return to the other?

thanks.

[dixie]

[Guy Courchesne]

I lived in Mexico City first, then Guadalajara (for a very brief spit), then Acapulco for almost two years, then back to DF.

Mexico City's size was the shock for me when I first arrived, but I grew to like the big city life after a short time. I like Guadalajara, but noticed that it quickly bored me. Acapulco was a terrible place to live. Now I couldn't imagine living anywhere but DF, or maybe a city like NYC or San Francisco.

Having first arrived in DF was somewhat instructive for moving out to smaller centers. I learned my first Spanish here, for one, which with hindsight, probably prepared me well for the different types of Spanish I encountered in other places. I learned Mexican politics firsthand here as well, arriving at a time of profound change in the Mexican political scene, which also prepared me for some of the things I saw in Jalisco and Guerrero states...things which would have likely sent me running home to the safety of Canada had I not been acculturated to them in Mexico City.

From a teaching point of view, it seemed easier to work here with students from a great variety of backgrounds, whereas in Acapulco, students varied little, in that most people serve tourism. DF also offered me the chance to interact with people from all over the world - including the rest of Latin America, Koreans, and Europeans. Acapulco and Guadalajara didn't offer much beyond local exposure, though Acapulco was somewhat international, albeit tourist related.

For your last question...I could never live anywhere else in Mexico but Mexico City. I find the quality of life lacking outside the capital except for the occasional jaunt for visits and vacations.