# Queretaro or Guanajuato City?



## MNWildRose

My husband and I have been dreaming, literally for decades, about living in Mexico. While dreaming, we've continued our lives in Minnesota. This coming Friday I am retiring! Jim is already retired. So we are now dreaming with new enthusiasm. I have been reading posts on this forum for hours today and am now ready to post some topics/questions. Thanks in advice to all who will share!

We've been several times to Guanajuato City - it is so magical! - and just once so far to Queretaro. We were in Queretaro during celebration of Mexican Independence, which was certainly quite a celebration! We lived in "el centro" of Queretaro and found it beautiful and interesting in so many ways. We felt quite safe as we walked the streets there. We did not venture out beyond city center at all while we were there.

We have determined that Guanajuato City and Queretaro are the two cities in which we are most interested. We're trying to weigh pros and cons and are looking forward to your weighing in!

SIZE:
In many ways the size of Guanajuato is more appealing. But perhaps it would feel claustrophobic, as I've seen it sometimes described. We would prefer living near the center of either city, but I doubt that our budget could afford this. We wouldn't mind living away from city center if we could live in a safe neighborhood that has food markets, tiendas, little restaurants and nice walking areas nearby. 

TRANSPORTATION:
We don't want to have a car, wherever we live. I have a sense of what city bus travel is like in Guanajuato. An important question is what the city bus transportation is like in Queretaro? Could we relatively-easily travel to the center of the city as well as to some of the large big-box stores from various parts of the city by bus?

HEALTH CARE:
While we feel we are very healthy, we are getting older! Knowing that we have good, accessible health care is a high priority. We know that Queretaro gets the "pro" for this issue but wonder if Guanajuato's "con" makes living there a "deal-breaker" for us. I would be interested in knowing what kind of emergency health care there might be in Guanajuato. (I certainly can't see ambulances - if they even exist - getting to some areas of the city easily.) As I believe Guanajuato doesn't have a hospital (right?), what care could we expect for a medical emergency? I know that Queretaro has good hospitals. Does Queretaro have a quality ambulance service for health emergencies - a way to get to one of those hospitals quickly from wherever we might be in the city?

HOME RENTAL:
We doubt that we would ever purchase a home; we certainly wouldn't initially. We wonder whether there are decent, affordable options for house/apartment rental. We would hope to spend no more than ~$700 (U.S.) per month. We just want a small home in a safe area; it needn't be fancy but we would like it to be without significant "problems." I envision that we would stay in an AirBnB home initially, while looking for an affordable, furnished rental. We want to rent for a matter of months, not longer, when we first come for an extended stay. Will we be able to find good options for this shorter-term home rental in either community? Are there reputable real estate people and/or facilitators who can help with this type of rental?

PEOPLE:
We would hope that locals would accept us rather than resent our living in their community - which certainly happens in some locations that we have been to. We would hope that we could have some friendly acquaintances with locals, wherever we choose to live. And we really would like to have some friendly expats to connect with has well. What might we expect in these cities regarding such "people experiences"?

Gracias to all of you who have read through this lengthy message. I wanted to lay out broad, foundational topics here; I promise my upcoming messages will be shorter! Any thoughts and/or possible contacts you might share would be greatly appreciated! I expect that I will again be active on this forum, as we try to work towards making this move a reality.


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## TundraGreen

MNWildRose said:


> My husband and I have been dreaming, literally for decades, about living in Mexico. While dreaming, we've continued our lives in Minnesota. This coming Friday I am retiring! Jim is already retired. So we are now dreaming with new enthusiasm. I have been reading posts on this forum for hours today and am now ready to post some topics/questions. Thanks in advice to all who will share!
> 
> We've been several times to Guanajuato City - it is so magical! - and just once so far to Queretaro. We were in Queretaro during celebration of Mexican Independence, which was certainly quite a celebration! We lived in "el centro" of Queretaro and found it beautiful and interesting in so many ways. We felt quite safe as we walked the streets there. We did not venture out beyond city center at all while we were there.
> 
> We have determined that Guanajuato City and Queretaro are the two cities in which we are most interested. We're trying to weigh pros and cons and are looking forward to your weighing in!
> 
> SIZE:
> In many ways the size of Guanajuato is more appealing. But perhaps it would feel claustrophobic, as I've seen it sometimes described. We would prefer living near the center of either city, but I doubt that our budget could afford this. We wouldn't mind living away from city center if we could live in a safe neighborhood that has food markets, tiendas, little restaurants and nice walking areas nearby.
> 
> TRANSPORTATION:
> We don't want to have a car, wherever we live. I have a sense of what city bus travel is like in Guanajuato. An important question is what the city bus transportation is like in Queretaro? Could we relatively-easily travel to the center of the city as well as to some of the large big-box stores from various parts of the city by bus?
> 
> HEALTH CARE:
> While we feel we are very healthy, we are getting older! Knowing that we have good, accessible health care is a high priority. We know that Queretaro gets the "pro" for this issue but wonder if Guanajuato's "con" makes living there a "deal-breaker" for us. I would be interested in knowing what kind of emergency health care there might be in Guanajuato. (I certainly can't see ambulances - if they even exist - getting to some areas of the city easily.) As I believe Guanajuato doesn't have a hospital (right?), what care could we expect for a medical emergency? I know that Queretaro has good hospitals. Does Queretaro have a quality ambulance service for health emergencies - a way to get to one of those hospitals quickly from wherever we might be in the city?
> 
> HOME RENTAL:
> We doubt that we would ever purchase a home; we certainly wouldn't initially. We wonder whether there are decent, affordable options for house/apartment rental. We would hope to spend no more than ~$700 (U.S.) per month. We just want a small home in a safe area; it needn't be fancy but we would like it to be without significant "problems." I envision that we would stay in an AirBnB home initially, while looking for an affordable, furnished rental. We want to rent for a matter of months, not longer, when we first come for an extended stay. Will we be able to find good options for this shorter-term home rental in either community? Are there reputable real estate people and/or facilitators who can help with this type of rental?
> 
> PEOPLE:
> We would hope that locals would accept us rather than resent our living in their community - which certainly happens in some locations that we have been to. We would hope that we could have some friendly acquaintances with locals, wherever we choose to live. And we really would like to have some friendly expats to connect with has well. What might we expect in these cities regarding such "people experiences"?
> 
> Gracias to all of you who have read through this lengthy message. I wanted to lay out broad, foundational topics here; I promise my upcoming messages will be shorter! Any thoughts and/or possible contacts you might share would be greatly appreciated! I expect that I will again be active on this forum, as we try to work towards making this move a reality.


Welcome back. I see it has been awhile since you posted.
You mention bus service and I concur that being able to take buses and avoid the hassle and expense of cars and driving in traffic is highly desirable.

I am not very familiar with the bus service in Queretaro or Guanajuato. I have occasionally taken buses in Queretaro, never in Guanajuato. 

With that disclaimer, my impression is that the bus service in the bigger cities, Guadalajara and Mexico City, is much better. There are more routes and more frequent buses on each route. I live in the center of Guadalajara and I can get buses in every direction, generally the wait is just a few minutes. The cost is 7 pesos for adults and 3.50 pesos for senior citizens. In Mexico City the subway is free for seniors.


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## chicois8

Having owned a ranch near Dolores Hidalgo for 7 years I am familiar with the 2 states of GTO and Queretaro. 
My take is Guanajuato City has terrible traffic problems, even without a car you might spend hours on a bus as it meanders in traffic to reach your goal...Too many collage students...
My take on Quertaro City is a growing industrial city with plenty of room to keep expanding...Nice centro with nice pedestrian streets and cafes...big box stores and more pollution every day...
I believe one of the best towns around for retirement is Tequisquapan,...Here is a link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequisquiapan


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## Isla Verde

TundraGreen said:


> . . . In Mexico City the subway is free for seniors.


The Metrobus is also free for those of us who are "de la tercera edad"!


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## KingM

_We would hope that locals would accept us rather than resent our living in their community - which certainly happens in some locations that we have been to. We would hope that we could have some friendly acquaintances with locals, wherever we choose to live. And we really would like to have some friendly expats to connect with has well. What might we expect in these cities regarding such "people experiences"?_

My experience everywhere in Latin America is that people are invariably accepting if you attempt to communicate in Spanish and follow local customs. Always say "buenos días" or whatever variant, and so on, instead of doing what people do in the U.S., which is to walk into a place and start ordering whatever.


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## citlali

My experience is that people re friendly but it is difficult to make friends with people.. it taakes years , unless you are working with them or involved in the same groups. People socialize with ol friends and family rathe than outsiders..


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## citlali

My experience is that it takes years to make friends. People socialize with old friends and family . Yes people are friendly but it is not easy to make friends..The younger you are and the easier it is also it helps to work with womeone but it is not easy otherwise.


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## TundraGreen

citlali said:


> My experience is that it takes years to make friends. People socialize with old friends and family . Yes people are friendly but it is not easy to make friends..The younger you are and the easier it is also it helps to work with someone but it is not easy otherwise.


I agree. People are very friendly and it is easy to make acquaintances. Making real friends takes a lot of time. Also, most people have large families and a lot of their socializing is focused around their families. Even work associates socialize with their family outside of work, in my experience. Most of my close friends are people who are single or not part of large families for whatever reason. I have been "adopted" into one family.


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## KingM

To be fair, it's not easy to make new friends in the U.S., either, once you've reached a certain age and are moving to a completely different part of the country. The same rules would apply in Mexico as, say, Florida. Go to an area, find a group of people who share your interest, and join.

The problem in Mexico is that the majority of ex-pats arrive with minimal Spanish skills. It's hard to join a book club* or a local theater group when you can't read the book or the play script.

_*Not that Mexicans are hugely into book clubs, in my experience. They aren't the biggest readers in the world._


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## TundraGreen

KingM said:


> To be fair, it's not easy to make new friends in the U.S., either, once you've reached a certain age and are moving to a completely different part of the country. The same rules would apply in Mexico as, say, Florida. Go to an area, find a group of people who share your interest, and join.
> 
> The problem in Mexico is that the majority of ex-pats arrive with minimal Spanish skills. It's hard to join a book club* or a local theater group when you can't read the book or the play script.
> 
> _*Not that Mexicans are hugely into book clubs, in my experience. They aren't the biggest readers in the world._


English conversation clubs can be a good source. Lots of Mexicans like to practice their English and native English speakers are always in demand.


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## citlali

Mexicans are not big club joiners either.. yes single people are a better bet or younger people and of course you have to be pretty fluent in Spanish.


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## KingM

Music is another possible entry point, as would be cooking or dance classes. This will be more possible in a bigger city than a village, of course. In Ecuador, there's something called bailoterapia, that is a community-sponsored aerobics thing that a lot of people participate in, and I was asked to help with a writing conference, as well as meet with the local government outreach to expats organization.

If you want contact with locals, though, your focus should be Spanish, Spanish, Spanish. You can only be friends with people who speak your same language.


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## wvtiii

This is my first post! Thank you for the well written list of questions. I'm also considering a move to those same cities in the next three years. I'll be in my 50s at the time and facing a few different needs and issues, but your list is fantastic. I've subscribed to the thread for the updates.


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## NCas

I've been to Guanajuato only once and looks really nice, but unfortunately I don't know anything about living there. However, I lived in Queretaro for a few years and can share some of my experiences while there. Sorry for the spelling and grammar as I'm doing this a bit fast.

*Size*:
Queretaro is small, but it's growing really fast. There is a lot of construction north of the city and I think they just finished with that freeway widening project. It does give you access to Tequisquiapan, San Miguel de Allende, and Mexico City so they'll be plenty of things to do outside Queretaro.

*Trans*:
Transportation is on average I feel with the rest of the country. Buses are plenty downtown, but if you're a taller than 5'8" you'll be a squeeze on those seats and riding those buses can be a bit scary at first. On holidays public trans will be difficult. Taxis are not as expensive, and Uber is plentiful and affordable. I would still recommend getting a car something with low maintenance because there are still a lot of places there where it will save you a lot of time to drive to. Also note that traffic can really get bad during commute hours or long weekends.

*Home*:
This is tricky but doable as not as many people use online services to post homes for rent. South of the city center (Candiles where I used to live). There is good availability and it hasn’t been as saturated with construction. I got a pretty big two bedroom house for around $3000 MXN but can range up to $5000. You normally won't find a house with appliances as people move around with them. You should go to the online sites for Walmart Mexico, Home Depot Mexico to see the prices of the appliances. They usually offer free delivery up to certain number of miles and the prices on the site are the final price so you don't have to factor in tax as it's already added onto the price. Rarely will you see built in hookup for a washing machine in house so be aware you'll have to set that up. To rent they will always want an Aval but like myself who do not have one usually if I offer them double deposit or pay months in advance they'll be okay with that. Just make sure that it is stipulated in the contract if you provided double deposit or paid months in advance. 

*People*:
People are very nice and you would not be completely alone. I saw several German expats around there as there is a big Siemens plant in the city. There are some French, I met a French guy with his Mexican wife who opened up a small and excellent restaurant downtown. Just a couple of blocks from there I meet another French man and his Mexican wife who owned and organic store. Just north of Queretaro here is a place called Juriquilla which where most of the luxurious home are located. There a lot of Koreans who work for the Samsung plant live there a long with many other expats from other parts of the world. San Miguell Ayende is not too far either with a large number of American expats.

Hope this helps, :blah:


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## citlali

I also met a French man who had a restaurant and he did not like Queretaro, , he was bored and was looking at other places.. Sounds like the restaurant is keeping him there.


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## NCas

citlali said:


> I also met a French man who had a restaurant and he did not like Queretaro, , he was bored and was looking at other places.. Sounds like the restaurant is keeping him there.


Really? oh no I wonder if it's the same guy. Is his restaurant by Plaza Armas in Centro Historico Queretaro?


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## Isla Verde

citlali said:


> My experience is that it takes years to make friends. People socialize with old friends and family . Yes people are friendly but it is not easy to make friends..The younger you are and the easier it is also it helps to work with womeone but it is not easy otherwise.


I agree with citlali. The few real Mexican friends I've made in over ten years of living here are former students or a people I met taking classes at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, plus one guy I dated off and on for several years. Actually, my best female friend here is Ukrainian!


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## citlali

NCas said:


> Really? oh no I wonder if it's the same guy. Is his restaurant by Plaza Armas in Centro Historico Queretaro?


I believe it was but I am not sure as I met him on the street. My cousin and I were speaking French and he came up to us . He was married to a Mexican woman and at the time told us he was interested in moving to Chapala. Guadaljara and I do not remember where else.. Could be the same guy. I bet you he lost his nerve and stayed in Queretaro. I would think he would be in his 40´s or 50´s now.


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## KingM

citlali said:


> I also met a French man who had a restaurant and he did not like Queretaro, , he was bored and was looking at other places.. Sounds like the restaurant is keeping him there.


I can confirm from experience that owning a business with a physical presence is a good way to keep you trapped in a location long after your desire to live there has passed.


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## NCas

citlali said:


> I believe it was but I am not sure as I met him on the street. My cousin and I were speaking French and he came up to us . He was married to a Mexican woman and at the time told us he was interested in moving to Chapala. Guadaljara and I do not remember where else.. Could be the same guy. I bet you he lost his nerve and stayed in Queretaro. I would think he would be in his 40´s or 50´s now.


I guess I'll never know for sure. I know his restaurant was doing well I was there when it first opened. I was drawn in by the promotional free croissant freshly made there. It's a really good restaurant and eventually grew to open the second floor. Whenever we spoke he would say things were going well the only issue was trying to find a good waiter/waitress as some would leave him hanging and he had to serve in their absence. 

Now that I think about the first car I bought in Mexico was from a French man and his Mexican wife back in Queretaro too. His wife and my roommates were helping us out as we did not know the process of buying and selling cars in Mexico. I guess there is a strong French community in central Mexico. I guess it goes back to the colonial days when there were French settlers in Mexico.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos

"I guess it goes back to the colonial days when there were French settlers in Mexico."

Ah, the famous green eyes of Guadalajara. I've had the experience of seeing it first hand. Have no idea if it really comes from the French, but it's definitely a "thing" there.


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## TundraGreen

Meritorious-MasoMenos said:


> "I guess it goes back to the colonial days when there were French settlers in Mexico."
> 
> Ah, the famous green eyes of Guadalajara. I've had the experience of seeing it first hand. Have no idea if it really comes from the French, but it's definitely a "thing" there.


Baguettes made in the crusty French style are commonly available in Guadalajara at every little panaderia on every corner. They are about the size of bolillos sold everywhere in Mexico but they are crusty on the outside, soft inside and made without dough conditioners for a real European style texture and flavor. They are called birotes here, apparently after a man named Birote who taught people how to make them about 100 years ago. I suspect he was French or learned to bake from the French. I am sure Citlali will object that they are no comparison to a real French baguette, but to this non-Frenchman they are a pretty good imitation and way better than the bread readily available in the rest of Mexico.


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## NCas

TundraGreen said:


> Baguettes made in the crusty French style are commonly available in Guadalajara at every little panaderia on every corner. They are about the size of bolillos sold everywhere in Mexico but they are crusty on the outside, soft inside and made without dough conditioners for a real European style texture and flavor. They are called birotes here, apparently after a man named Birote who taught people how to make them about 100 years ago. I suspect he was French or learned to bake from the French. I am sure Citlali will object that they are no comparison to a real French baguette, but to this non-Frenchman they are a pretty good imitation and way better than the bread readily available in the rest of Mexico.


That's really interesting, I'm a fan of Mexican bakery along with all its influences. But this will be my last post on it as I do not want to make it into a food thread like that bagels one that I got blamed for.


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## Isla Verde

NCas said:


> That's really interesting, I'm a fan of Mexican bakery along with all its influences. But this will be my last post on it as I do not want to make it into a food thread like that bagels one that I got blamed for.


As far as I'm concerned, bagel threads will always be welcome on this forum!


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## citlali

There is no strong French community in Central Mexico there is a sprinkle of French here and there but no strong community ..May be in Mexico city, I do not know .. but that is about it. Franch are not know for wanting to immigrate. Some did from Britanyand the Basque country and some from some other isolated area but there was no big need to immigrate from France except during the religious wars... The French that came from the Alps to Mexico eventually went back with some exception..


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## izzenhood

MNWildRose said:


> My husband and I have been dreaming, literally for decades, about living in Mexico. While dreaming, we've continued our lives in Minnesota. This coming Friday I am retiring! Jim is already retired. So we are now dreaming with new enthusiasm. I have been reading posts on this forum for hours today and am now ready to post some topics/questions. Thanks in advice to all who will share!
> 
> We've been several times to Guanajuato City - it is so magical! - and just once so far to Queretaro. We were in Queretaro during celebration of Mexican Independence, which was certainly quite a celebration! We lived in "el centro" of Queretaro and found it beautiful and interesting in so many ways. We felt quite safe as we walked the streets there. We did not venture out beyond city center at all while we were there.
> 
> We have determined that Guanajuato City and Queretaro are the two cities in which we are most interested. We're trying to weigh pros and cons and are looking forward to your weighing in!
> 
> SIZE:
> In many ways the size of Guanajuato is more appealing. But perhaps it would feel claustrophobic, as I've seen it sometimes described. We would prefer living near the center of either city, but I doubt that our budget could afford this. We wouldn't mind living away from city center if we could live in a safe neighborhood that has food markets, tiendas, little restaurants and nice walking areas nearby.
> 
> TRANSPORTATION:
> We don't want to have a car, wherever we live. I have a sense of what city bus travel is like in Guanajuato. An important question is what the city bus transportation is like in Queretaro? Could we relatively-easily travel to the center of the city as well as to some of the large big-box stores from various parts of the city by bus?
> 
> HEALTH CARE:
> While we feel we are very healthy, we are getting older! Knowing that we have good, accessible health care is a high priority. We know that Queretaro gets the "pro" for this issue but wonder if Guanajuato's "con" makes living there a "deal-breaker" for us. I would be interested in knowing what kind of emergency health care there might be in Guanajuato. (I certainly can't see ambulances - if they even exist - getting to some areas of the city easily.) As I believe Guanajuato doesn't have a hospital (right?), what care could we expect for a medical emergency? I know that Queretaro has good hospitals. Does Queretaro have a quality ambulance service for health emergencies - a way to get to one of those hospitals quickly from wherever we might be in the city?
> 
> HOME RENTAL:
> We doubt that we would ever purchase a home; we certainly wouldn't initially. We wonder whether there are decent, affordable options for house/apartment rental. We would hope to spend no more than ~$700 (U.S.) per month. We just want a small home in a safe area; it needn't be fancy but we would like it to be without significant "problems." I envision that we would stay in an AirBnB home initially, while looking for an affordable, furnished rental. We want to rent for a matter of months, not longer, when we first come for an extended stay. Will we be able to find good options for this shorter-term home rental in either community? Are there reputable real estate people and/or facilitators who can help with this type of rental?
> 
> PEOPLE:
> We would hope that locals would accept us rather than resent our living in their community - which certainly happens in some locations that we have been to. We would hope that we could have some friendly acquaintances with locals, wherever we choose to live. And we really would like to have some friendly expats to connect with has well. What might we expect in these cities regarding such "people experiences"?
> 
> Gracias to all of you who have read through this lengthy message. I wanted to lay out broad, foundational topics here; I promise my upcoming messages will be shorter! Any thoughts and/or possible contacts you might share would be greatly appreciated! I expect that I will again be active on this forum, as we try to work towards making this move a reality.


Just to get a little more back on topic, I have a few observations about Guanajauto. I have never visited Queretaro. One neighborhood that may fit the OPs description would be on the Paseo de la Presa, near the medical clinic. I believe it is a safe neighborhood, has bus service, is near Mercado Embajadoras and there are a few nice restaurants. Plus the main traffic areas could be avoided by traveling up valley to the Panoramica, then to the Comercial Mexicana, Marfil, or Leon, or around the other way to the Dolores Hidalgo highway.


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## TundraGreen

citlali said:


> There is no strong French community in Central Mexico there is a sprinkle of French here and there but no strong community ..May be in Mexico city, I do not know .. but that is about it. Franch are not know for wanting to immigrate. Some did from Britanyand the Basque country and some from some other isolated area but there was no big need to immigrate from France except during the religious wars... The French that came from the Alps to Mexico eventually went back with some exception..


Wikipedia has an interesting article on the history of French immigration to Mexico in the 1800s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Mexicans


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## Isla Verde

TundraGreen said:


> Wikipedia has an interesting article on the history of French immigration to Mexico in the 1800s.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Mexicans


Thanks for posting this link, TG. As I had suspected, most Mexicans with French ancestry are descendants of those emigrating from France to Mexico when Maximilian was emperor of the country: 

"Most French Mexicans descend from immigrants and soldiers that settled in Mexico during the Second Mexican Empire, headed by Maximilian I of Mexico and masterminded by Emperor Napoleon III of France in the 1860s to create a Latin empire in the New World (indeed responsible for coining the term or Amérique latine, or 'Latin America'). Emperor Maximilian's consort, Carlota of Mexico, a Belgian princess, was a granddaughter of Louis-Philippe of France."


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## citlali

yes most of them came during the 19th century which was an expansionist era in France. Many returned as well but there was a lot of trading going on with France in those days. 
My grand-mother gave me jewelry of pure gold which she said came from someone in her family who had lived in Mexico, she also gave me some Maximilian pesos and silver bridles and ornaments for horses..
Last year I was in Palizada, Tabasco and the locals told me that all the tiles came from Marseille. I was surprised because the tiles were not the Spanish style tiles used in Marseille.so I did some research and spoke with a local that was part of the preservation comitteee in Palizada and found out that the tiles were used to weigh the ships down and were sold in Palizada. The French bought palo de Brazil there that was abundant and was imported in France to make red dye. 
Once in a while I come accross things like that..
The Barcelonette people are some of the founders of the Fabrica de Francia and today there are Mexican festivals in Barcelonette in July.

All of this happened in the 19th century and it is a big stretch to thing there are French expat communities in Central or anywhere in Mexico.. There are more Americans and Canadians in the Chapala area than there are French in all of Mexico. 
I know a few French here and there but actual colonies like you have in Chapala. just do not exist. 

I would think Mexico city is the place with the most French expats and maybe there they get together... I do not know. There is a Francophone group in the Chapala area but it is very small.. as i say it is more a sprinkle of French people than an expat colony anywhere.


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## citlali

wars are enough to leave traces of whatever ethnic group.. After the war with Germany and the occupation there were quite a few blue eyed , blond babies in the south of France...


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos

Well, that same Wiki thread has many current French immigrants and French-Mexicans living outside D.F. No where near numbers of Muricans and Canadians, but still:

"According to the 2010 Census, French people form the second largest European emigrant community in Mexico after Spaniards,[5] and eleventh overall immigrant community.[5] There are around 9,500 French nationals[6] registered in Mexico and about 6,000 to 7,000 Frenchmen unregistered. Two thirds of them are Mexicans of French ancestry holding double nationality. Many Mexicans of French descent live in cities and states such as Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Veracruz, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, Puebla, Queretaro and Mexico City."

Not enough to form neighborhoods, but likely they congregate in each city at certain bars and restaurants, where I bet the food served in fantastic.


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## citlali

I know a few Mexican French in Guadalajara and French people and I am not aware they hang out in any specific places. My eye doctor told me is grand-father was French and he speaks French but then many educated Mexicans speak French and some of them send their kids to the Lycee Francais in Guadalajara, that is probably the best place to find French speaking people but I can tell you that there are not a large amount of French there if there were, we would have more than an honorary consulate in Guadalajara.
The French government loves to brag how many people speak French and how many French there are abroad but a lot of it is BS.. So 9500 French people registered in Mexico with 2 /3 of them being Mexican French , so that leaves 3300 expats in Mexico plus another 6 or 7 000 who are not registered..not a whole lot of us especially since the not registered are probably coming and going...


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos

citlali said:


> I know a few Mexican French in Guadalajara and French people and I am not aware they hang out in any specific places. My eye doctor told me is grand-father was French and he speaks French but then many educated Mexicans speak French and some of them send their kids to the Lycee Francais in Guadalajara, that is probably the best place to find French speaking people but I can tell you that there are not a large amount of French there if there were, we would have more than an honorary consulate in Guadalajara.
> The French government loves to brag how many people speak French and how many French there are abroad but a lot of it is BS.. So 9500 French people registered in Mexico with 2 /3 of them being Mexican French , so that leaves 3300 expats in Mexico plus another 6 or 7 000 who are not registered..not a whole lot of us especially since the not registered are probably coming and going...


I'm sure your right. Just a secret hope of mine I guess that French in Mexico congregated at unknown great restaurants, Edith Piaf playing lowly in background (Yeah, yeah, understand . modern French don't listen to her much). Well, they never would've invited me, anyway, so no loss.


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## wkelley

On the issue of bus transportation, I think you'll be just fine in either city. If you live in the centro you'll probably be close to the mercado and can do your shopping daily. Taxi's are pretty inexpensive and you will normally find a taxi stand outside of most malls and big box stores. Once you get the hang of it you'll discover which local busses will get you where you want to go. Good luck!


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