# Any ExPats in Uruapan?



## KimC (Nov 17, 2012)

I am an American thinking of spending summers, May thru October, in Mexico. I am looking for a San Francisco, CA type of climate. Seldom above 80f seldom bellow 50f. I am looking for a cool summer climate. Is that possible in Mexico? What about Uruapan?

Kim


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

KimC said:


> I am an American thinking of spending summers, May thru October, in Mexico. I am looking for a San Francisco, CA type of climate. Seldom above 80f seldom bellow 50f. I am looking for a cool summer climate. Is that possible in Mexico? What about Uruapan?
> 
> Kim


Much of central Mexico is at high altitude and very comfortable in the summer. Just make a list of central Mexican cities, add their elevations to the list. The higher you go the cooler it will be. Last summer in June-August, the lows in Guadalajara at 1500 m elevation were 20 C (68 F) and the highs were a little under 30 C (86 F). If you want it cooler, go a little higher. May is usually the hottest month. The rains start in June or July and cool if off. Before they start the days can get into the mid 30s C (90s F) in May.


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## KimC (Nov 17, 2012)

*Tahanks*

Thanks, I'll do that. Because of family commitments, I have to be within a day's drive (or so) of Houston, TX but I'd like to find a cool summer climate where it seldom goes above 20c. I am also looking for a fairly descent infrastructure and an inexpensive place to spend my summers. 

I will most likely drive down to that area later this winter and explore before I commit myself to a six month rental.

Kim


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

KimC said:


> Thanks, I'll do that. Because of family commitments, I have to be within a day's drive (or so) of Houston, TX but I'd like to find a cool summer climate where it seldom goes above 20c. I am also looking for a fairly descent infrastructure and an inexpensive place to spend my summers.
> 
> I will most likely drive down to that area later this winter and explore before I commit myself to a six month rental.
> 
> Kim


We have a lot of friends from Houston area that go back and forth quite a bit. Driving at night in Mexico, unlike the US, is not for the faint of heart. Would think would be tough to drive Houston to an interesting, cool in summer, place in one day but daylight savings would help. Much easier to drive north in one day. 
You didn't describe your level of Spanish skills but that could effect decision.
My thought is that you probably want to be 500 mi or less from the border either via Laredo or the McCallen/Brownsville crossings.
To me choices would be San Luis Potosi, closest, Zacatecas, coolest, San Miguel, easiest for ******, and Guanajuato, my 1st choice.


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## KimC (Nov 17, 2012)

*Mexico and Spanish are new to me.*

I have never been to Mexico before or anywhere south of the border for that matter. I have, however lived in Asia; Korea, China, Mongolia, and the Philippines for decades and the language barrier doesn't deter me. If IO can get by in Myanmar, Me4xico shouldn't be too harrowing. My daughter and her Venezuelan husband live in Houston and they don't want the "Old Man" too far away. I guess my days in Africa, Europe and Asia are over.

I was looking at Xalapa, Oaxaca, Cuernavaca, Uruapan, Puebla, and San Cristobal de las Casas. These look like they may have my kind of climate (cool) and affordable. Uruapan may be a bit dangerous and San Cristobal may be a bit far but everything is on the table.

I Winter in Arkansas so if I drove I'd probably head to Houston the first night, then somewhere in North Central Mexico, then to my destination. I don't even like driving in Arkansas at night on unknown roads in Arkansas at night. I once got lost at night in Korea and ended up at the DMZ. Not a good night.

I'll take my time, got nowhere to be but adventure. I'd like to end up somewhere that I can use as a base to explore, by bus or car interesting places in Central America.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

KimC said:


> I have never been to Mexico before or anywhere south of the border for that matter. I have, however lived in Asia; Korea, China, Mongolia, and the Philippines for decades and the language barrier doesn't deter me. If IO can get by in Myanmar, Me4xico shouldn't be too harrowing. My daughter and her Venezuelan husband live in Houston and they don't want the "Old Man" too far away. I guess my days in Africa, Europe and Asia are over.
> 
> I was looking at Xalapa, Oaxaca, Cuernavaca, Uruapan, Puebla, and San Cristobal de las Casas. These look like they may have my kind of climate (cool) and affordable. Uruapan may be a bit dangerous and San Cristobal may be a bit far but everything is on the table.
> 
> ...


It may not be "harrowing" to get by in Mexico without any Spanish, but it could be difficult and not very pleasant, especially if you end up in a city where English is not widely spoken except by people who work in the tourist industry.

Oaxaca City is a wonderful place, but I'm sure it's a bit farther than a one-day drive to the border. San Cristóbal would also be an interesting place to spend your summers, but it is very far from the US border though quite near the border with Guatemala.

If you want to be a day's drive from the northern border, then you won't be anywhere near Central America, but there are lots of interesting places in Mexico to explore, so your wanderlust will be easily satisfied!


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

San Francisco climate requires a cold ocean nearby to create the fog. Your best bet is to focus on elevations near 7000ft. Uruapan is relatively tropical compared to Patzcuaro and Morelia ... and that whole area is at least a 2 day drive.

Northern Baja has cold ocean, similar to San Diego, and you could drive most of the way to Texas in the US.

I agree that the state of Guanajuato is probably the drive distance and elevation you are looking for but maybe not the right vibes or prices


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## vantexan (Sep 4, 2011)

The closest city to Houston with a cooler summer climate is Saltillo. It's got all the amenities and a nice colonial centro. If you can't find something there you can certainly find it in nearby Monterrey. There are forested mountains outside of Saltillo where the country's only ski area is located. Even if it gets close to 90 in Saltillo it's dry there and nights will cool off significantly.


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## Anonimo (Apr 8, 2012)

*Uruapan is warm*



KimC said:


> I am an American thinking of spending summers, May thru October, in Mexico. I am looking for a San Francisco, CA type of climate. Seldom above 80f seldom bellow 50f. I am looking for a cool summer climate. Is that possible in Mexico? What about Uruapan?
> 
> Kim


We live in the Pátzcuaro area, about a 40 minute drive from Uruapan. Our home is at an elevation of 6800 feet above sea level. The summers here ( Pátzcuaro) are delightful, autumn is superb, winters cold and dry, and spring relatively hot, dry and less pleasant.

Uruapan, according to a Wikipedia.org article, is at an elevation of 1,620 m (5,310 ft).
There's a climate chart on the web page: Uruapan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We always find that Uruapan is several degrees warmer than the higher altitude Pátzcuaro area.

IMO, Uruapan is not, overall, very attractive.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


Anonimo said:



We live in the Pátzcuaro area, about a 40 minute drive from Uruapan. Our home is at an elevation of 6800 feet above sea level. The summers here ( Pátzcuaro) are delightful, autumn is superb, winters cold and dry, and spring relatively hot, dry and less pleasant.

Uruapan, according to a Wikipedia.org article, is at an elevation of 1,620 m (5,310 ft).
There's a climate chart on the web page: Uruapan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We always find that Uruapan is several degrees warmer than the higher altitude Pátzcuaro area.

IMO, Uruapan is not, overall, very attractive.

Click to expand...

_Uruapan is the nicest city in the generally dreadful and violent state of Michoacan. A pleasant climate at 5,000 feet but, more importantly, a nice city surrounded by avocado and other fruiting orchards. Morelia is without charm and characterized mainly by endless kilometers of row housing after you leave the historic center and Patzcuaro may be the most overrated hellhole on on the planet. A town without a soul and even one good restaurant and easily forgettable plazas of no merit. Remembered mainly by foreigners who made the mistake of moving there sight unseen and thinking, mistakely, they were actually moving to Mexico when they were, in fact, moving to a place presumed to be Mexico by ignorant foreigners Avoid Patzcuara like the plague but Uruapan may be a good place to settle and closer to the coast.. 


In the final analysis, why would anyone with half a brain move to Michoacan when next door Jalisco has so much tp offer. That place makes my skin crawl.


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## vantexan (Sep 4, 2011)

Hound Dog said:


> _
> 
> 
> Anonimo said:
> ...


Hi Hound Dog, Not to hijack the thread but am curious about Pachuca and especially Real del Monte as places to live. Figured you would have some knowledge. Any opinions? Thanks!


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## Anonimo (Apr 8, 2012)

Hound Dog; I encourage you to not be so subtle, but to let us know what you really think.

I would say that the majority of expats who live in the Pátzcuaro might disagree with you.

I have a hate/grudging love relationship with Morelia. It's where we go to shop, get better medical care and to eat in better restaurants, but despite the beauties and yes, charm of the Centro Histórico, the traffic is truly hellish. We found it best to come in and escape in a taxi.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

Kim, I need do a little reset.
You initially said that you wanted, maybe my words, an "easy days drive to the border". Then you asked about some great places but a real stretch to the above.
There are some wonderful places in Mexico but you need be a little more clear.

We had some similar thoughts when I came back from Asia(Beijing & Singapore) as we wanted to be closer to kids/grandkids than an overnight flight.

We set two objectives:
-Cool in winter & summer which meant mountains not beach
-Easy days drive to the south TX border which to us meant about 500mi

We really enjoy visiting Oaxaca & San Cristobal and Oaxaca especially would have been an option if not about twice the distance that we had set.

In earlier post by Sparks, he basically said the same as we found. The options were really in the state of Guanajuato or San Luis Potosi(my add) which is why I gave you my 4 1st choices earlier.
Unless you are now saying two days drive, I feel the same.


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## Anonimo (Apr 8, 2012)

A Morelia scene, taken on Sunday, by our friend, Mark Emmer.









Carpets of flowers: https://picasaweb.google.com/104581228028448570631/TapetesDeFlores#


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## DNP (May 3, 2011)

Beautiful pictures, Anonimo.

Northern Virginia, USA, and SMA, MEXICO


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