Job Discussion Forums

[lalucita]

Anyone teaching English in Queretaro?
I'm about to interview there and am wondering about rentals and good areas to live. I hear it can be a bit expensive. I'm planning on checking things out in a couple of weeks.
How is public transportation?
Anyone doing privates? How is that going?
I'm also thinking of bringing my car to Queretaro from the states. Is that a good idea? Parking?

[MikeySaid]

A car in Queretaro? If you live AND work in the centro the only time a car would really be a big help would be if you want to take a road trip. The best way to find a place to live in Qro is to walk around in the centro and just look for "se renta" signs. My fiancee rented for like 2500-3000mxn and that was a 3 bedroom 1 bath.

[lalucita]

That was useful. I've tried to find 'bien raices' websites for Queretaro but wan't coming up with anything useful. Yes..looking for 'se renta' signs is a good idea. I'll check it out. I'd like to have the car for road trips..but then I have to have parking for it...oh that.
Know anyone that working there currently?

[MikeySaid]

Something everyone should know if they want do look ahead of time... instead of searching for bienes raices....

try inmobiliarias

the first house on the first site i came up with is a 3 bedroom 1 bath with parking and it's 4,000/month.

http://www.inmueblesqueretaro.com/queretaro/casas_en_renta_en_queretaro/3145.html

[Phil_K]

I don't know details about rents, transport etc, but what I do know is that I would love to be able to live in or around Quer�taro. Good climate, close to everywhere, places close for roadtrips and within easy reach of the capital. Compared with DF, property prices (and therefore rents) seem to be very cheap. We looked (just out of interest ) at a Spanish style house on a new development in Juraquilla, just out of the city, with garden, 3 beds, 2 with bath and vestidor, etc, etc, at only $1.2m, about the value of our apartment in D.F!!!

[MikeySaid]

Juriquilla is a very nice community if a little removed from the city...

I believe there is even a UVM campus out there and an International school...

[MissingMexico]

I lived in Queretaro for a little over three years. It is a really nice city to live in, you can get everything you need there! Finding a place to rent, if you don't want to overspend, you need to walk. If you go through a real estate agent, or go to somewhere like Juriquilla (which is very far out of the city core) you will spend a least 4500 pesos! You can find nice apartments downtown and the surrounding neighbourhoods starting around 2000 to 3000 pesos. My last apartment was a three bedroom for 2500. Find the area where you want to live, and walk around looking for se renta signs. Buy the Diario de Queretaro and check the listings there as well, its always a good place to start. Taxi drivers are also really good at letting you know what areas are not a good choice! And if you need to get a taxi to go there, think about all the taxi fare you will be spending while living there.

Public Transportation is great! Its really easy to get around and cheap. You don't need a car. Everything is easily accessible and if you have too much to take on the bus, like after a trip to Costco, just take a taxi, they're cheap too!

Private classes are also quite easy to set up. I found that I made enough at the school I was at and didn't need to teach privately.

[lalucita]

Thank you all for you replies to my inquiries about Queretaro. I plan to spend a few days in the next weeks checking out the lay of the lay of the land....walk around and see how it feels to be there.
It seems to have the right demographics (affluent and educated) to make it a likely place for good English teaching opportunities. There's culture and arts and easy access to consumer goods (Costco???) so I'll let you know my impressions...if anyone wants more information on Queretaro for future jobs.....I'll report back.

[mattd]

Hi lalucita,

I am interested in moving to Queretaro to teach this year - from what I've read on many of the posts it sounds like a great place to live and teach English. I am wondering (if you are there now) how you have found it so far? Do you know what the current demand for teachers is like? Is it easy to get around on foot and by public transport? How is the cost of living compared to average rates of pay for ESL teachers? Many thanks.

[lalucita]

Honestly...I have to say that I wasn't able to follow through with Queretaro and have found opportunities elsewhere. I did visit the town for a few days in May and have the impression that there is LOTS of work for ESL teachers. It is a very cultural city with lots of restaurants and movie and things to do. I loved the colonial-urbane atmosphere. About the salaries it depends on how you do it. I would suggest being a free-lance teacher if you have enough experience in Mexico...because there are tons of jobs teaching 'in-house'. You might want to work for someone who services the many large business-corporations in the area.... for awhile to learn the ropes and then go out on your own. There are about 7-8 Universities in Queretaro that also have English programs.
There is a woman there called Shelley who has a B&B called HOME. She is also a certified EFL teacher and can be very helpful. You will have to google her on the web. It was the one of few reasonably priced place I found to stay. Sorry that this is the only info I can offer.
I started this thread and perhaps I'll pick it up again later this year. I'm surprised there is not more information out there about Queretaro.

[mattd]

Thanks for taking the time to give your impressions of Queretaro and the other information you provided. It's really helpful.