# D.F. House/Depto. Rental details



## DebMer (Dec 31, 2011)

Saludos, Chilangos. :yo:

I'm thinking ahead, in case we do end up moving to Mexico, about housing, rent and neighborhoods for myself and my family (me, hubby, 2 daughters). 

Best case scenario, I'd be teaching at the American School Foundation (Col. Las Americas), and would live within an hour or less (public transportation) from the school. 

Our superduper best case scenario would be a casa with space for some animals (hens, a goat) and a garden for veggies. We looooove trees and natural beauty. However, being that this is Mexico City, I realize we could end up in an apartment overlooking a busy street. We would need to live economically. I'm not sure what my income would be, but will assume we need to keep our rent around $800 or less (US $). 

What are some reasonable neighborhoods to look in? I don't need modern/updated, and really prefer character and traditional houses, although we would be flexible, of course.

I'm a bit surprised at some of the apparently elegant bargains I'm seeing online in a "D.F. casas renta + colonia name" search, and surprised in the other direction at the high cost of some student-type apartments that seem to be nothing special. I'm not sure if it's okay for me to post a couple of links to show you what I mean, so I'll refrain until I figure that out, but while searching for rentals in the Polanco area I came across "Magnifica Casa Con Jardin a 15 mins de Sta Fe y 25 Del Perif" for $10,990 MX. It's an enormous brick structure with a gorgeous garden. It would have to be in a very nice neighborhood. How can this be possible for the price? What gives? Or the "Bonita casa en el Ajusco" for $5,500 MX. A cute 2 BR cottage with a yard in what seems to be a good neighborhood. Are these websites being deceptive, or are these kinds of nice places really available for these prices? :confused2:


----------



## DebMer (Dec 31, 2011)

I'm looking at a D.F. map and a Metro map, trying to figure out if Tlalpan to Las Americas (nearest Metro station looks to be Observatorio) is a reasonable commute. The southernmost M-station appears to be Barranca del Muerto. Does anybody in the D.F. know these areas, and if there is good bus transport from Tlalpan to Barranca del Muerto? I can't tell from the map - is Tlalpan at a higher altitude than the city? I spent most of my time in poor to lower middle class neighborhoods and on public transportation when I lived there, and don't know this part of the city at all.


----------



## tommygn (Dec 2, 2011)

Hi!

I live in DF, and I know a lot about its real estate, so I can certainly help you out.
From what you are describing, both of those places are outside the city, and in areas where transportation can be tricky at best. I would recomend against them mainly because of traffic, which can get really hectic. You could be looking at a commute of up to 3 hours one way on the worst days. (subway does not reach Ajusco, which is a mountain on the skirts of the city). Plus just going to the supermarket or the dry cleaners or what not is going to be a major journey.

I would recommend to you either "Del Valle" or "Roma Norte", which are about 30 mins away and have subways. You wont find a house for the price range so you would be looking at appts, but if you like places with character, Roma is unparalled and does have some 2 bedrooms for that price range.

I understant that you would like a house with outside space, but at those prices you are gonna be looking at places that are very far away and thus will have to give up a lot of life quality on hectic commutes, but as a long shot try to look for a small house on "Cuajimalpa". And remember, it is a looong shot. I would advise you to focus your search on appartments on the areas I mentiones above.

As for subway, it does go way further south than Barranca Del Muerto. It goes all the way to Tlalpan. Just google "Mapa del metro DF".


----------



## Rodrigo84 (Mar 5, 2008)

My advice is once you know exactly where you are going to work, to plan around that. Sometimes, the husband and wife will work in two different parts of the cities and you have to work around that.

There is no decent housing that I know of around ASF. The closest areas that I can think of for housing are either to the east as mentioned above Roma Norte or Del Valle, but that's still going to be a trek up a hill with public transportation. Cuajimalpa does have what I would term townhouses or townhomes that are quite affordable now and are directly on the highway (Toluca-Mexico) that goes straight down and branches to the street on which ASF is located. Buses do run that route up and down that road.

The prices mentioned are realistic. Keep in mind that sometimes places have a maintenance fee that may not be mentioned, but generally it is low.


----------



## DebMer (Dec 31, 2011)

Tommygn and Rodgrigo84, thank you so much for your replies (even though you've dashed my hopes of living in a house with a yard in the D.F. Heh heh!) I appreciate the time you took to answer and redirect my search. At this point it is all speculation, but I want to be well prepared with specific knowledge of locations and prices if we do end up in Mexico. I hate the idea of moving in in a hurry, only to decide we can't live with the neighborhood or whatever.

I welcome any input from others on neighborhood searches in my range. The target work location is ASF. That's the only job I can think of that I'm qualified and suited for that will pay enough for my family to live on, and getting work there would be the contingency for living in D.F.


----------



## Rodrigo84 (Mar 5, 2008)

DebMer said:


> Tommygn and Rodgrigo84, thank you so much for your replies (even though you've dashed my hopes of living in a house with a yard in the D.F. Heh heh!) I appreciate the time you took to answer and redirect my search. At this point it is all speculation, but I want to be well prepared with specific knowledge of locations and prices if we do end up in Mexico. I hate the idea of moving in in a hurry, only to decide we can't live with the neighborhood or whatever.
> 
> I welcome any input from others on neighborhood searches in my range. The target work location is ASF. That's the only job I can think of that I'm qualified and suited for that will pay enough for my family to live on, and getting work there would be the contingency for living in D.F.


This goes back some years ago, but as I recall ASF used to help the teachers locate places to live. I remember a few years from many years ago and it seemed a lot of them were clustered together, but they were young without families.


----------



## DebMer (Dec 31, 2011)

All I've been able to learn from employee and former employee chatter on the 'net is that there is a housing allowance for the first five years of employment. Not that this indicates there's no help in finding housing, just that I can't confirm it. I still have both Mexican and foreign missionary friends in the city, so I'm sure I could get help in the house-finding and contract processes.


----------



## tommygn (Dec 2, 2011)

DebMer said:


> All I've been able to learn from employee and former employee chatter on the 'net is that there is a housing allowance for the first five years of employment. Not that this indicates there's no help in finding housing, just that I can't confirm it. I still have both Mexican and foreign missionary friends in the city, so I'm sure I could get help in the house-finding and contract processes.


I could help you there if you want.


----------

