# May be moving up my time schedule for moving to MX



## DebInFL (Dec 1, 2016)

I've about had all of Trump that I can take. Now that they are attacking SS, I need to get to a cheaper place to live. I was thinking of moving during the summer next year, when rates aren't so high, but now thinking about the end of this year. I'll likely make Guadalajara my temporary base until I find a place to settle and decide if I want to stay. I figure I can just put all my stuff in storage here for 6 months and rent a cheap studio there.

I need to know how far in advance I'll need to look for a place to stay during high season. I'm reading that if you want a good price, you have to start looking at least 6 months ahead of time. I want to visit during the summer to check things out for a week or so. Will probably stay in an AirBNB then, and visit real estate offices.

What kind of paperwork will I need to rent a place? Here in the US, it's so freaking complicated -- credit checks, bank statements to prove income, blah, blah, blah. I hear it's easier in MX, but how much easier?

Thanks for any help you can give.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

DebInFL said:


> I've about had all of Trump that I can take. Now that they are attacking SS, I need to get to a cheaper place to live. I was thinking of moving during the summer next year, when rates aren't so high, but now thinking about the end of this year. I'll likely make Guadalajara my temporary base until I find a place to settle and decide if I want to stay. I figure I can just put all my stuff in storage here for 6 months and rent a cheap studio there.
> 
> I need to know how far in advance I'll need to look for a place to stay during high season. I'm reading that if you want a good price, you have to start looking at least 6 months ahead of time. I want to visit during the summer to check things out for a week or so. Will probably stay in an AirBNB then, and visit real estate offices.
> 
> ...


If you are talking about Guadalajara itself there is no high season. There are not many tourists and no variation with the seasons. If you really mean the Lake Chapala area, an hour south of Guadalajara, that is another matter. 

Renting is pretty simple. Just pay the first month's rent and, usually, the last month's rent, sign a contract, or not, and it is done. I have never heard of credit checks or bank statements. Sometimes, a landlord may require a fiador, someone to agree to pay the rent should the tenant default. The person signing for you would have to have own property in the city. It would be unusual to agree to rent months in advance. Sometimes places stay empty for years, so it is probably possible, but I would be leery of agreeing or putting money down on a place very far in advance of moving in.


----------



## DebInFL (Dec 1, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> If you are talking about Guadalajara itself there is no high season. There are not many tourists and no variation with the seasons. If you really mean the Lake Chapala area, an hour south of Guadalajara, that is another matter.
> 
> Renting is pretty simple. Just pay the first month's rent and, usually, the last month's rent, sign a contract, or not, and it is done. I have never heard of credit checks or bank statements. Sometimes, a landlord may require a fiador, someone to agree to pay the rent should the tenant default. The person signing for you would have to have own property in the city. It would be unusual to agree to rent months in advance. Sometimes places stay empty for years, so it is probably possible, but I would be leery of agreeing or putting money down on a place very far in advance of moving in.


Well, I would have to avoid rentals with a fiador then, because I know no one who owns property in Mexico. 

I can't afford Lake Chapala, and I prefer to be in a more native environment, so I'll be looking elsewhere. I just need a home base for awhile while I find something. I prefer a smaller town, and want a small house with a yard.

I would imagine that month-to-month contracts are pretty common? I wouldn't want to sign anything long-term since I wouldn't know how long I'd be staying.


----------



## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

DebInFL said:


> I can't afford Lake Chapala, and I prefer to be in a more native environment, so I'll be looking elsewhere. I just need a home base for awhile while I find something. I prefer a smaller town, and want a small house with a yard.


Cost should only be a factor in the towns of Chapala and Ajijic. The lake itself is ringed with humbler towns with a more native environment. How near do you wish to be to GDL itself? Maybe check out the places in the Tequila corridor. Other than touristy central Tequila, there are possibilities.


----------



## DebInFL (Dec 1, 2016)

perropedorro said:


> Cost should only be a factor in the towns of Chapala and Ajijic. The lake itself is ringed with humbler towns with a more native environment. How near do you wish to be to GDL itself? Maybe check out the places in the Tequila corridor. Other than touristy central Tequila, there are possibilities.


Thanks. I was looking at places around Lake Cajititlan. It seems civilized enough for me without all the tourists and expats. Or maybe even Guanajuato. I'll check them both out.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

DebInFL said:


> Thanks. I was looking at places around Lake Cajititlan. It seems civilized enough for me without all the tourists and expats. Or maybe even Guanajuato. I'll check them both out.


Guanajuato is pretty popular as a tourist destination, though maybe more Mexicans than north-of-the-border types.


----------



## DebInFL (Dec 1, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> Guanajuato is pretty popular as a tourist destination, though maybe more Mexicans than north-of-the-border types.


But I read that when you get outside of town, it's not so bad. There is a guy on YouTube who does videos about it.


----------



## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> Guanajuato is pretty popular as a tourist destination, though maybe more Mexicans than north-of-the-border types.


I'm guessing Cd. Guanajuato. Can't think of a reason to live in León or any of the other larger towns in the state, and SMA is way too much of an expat ambience unless that's what one likes. I love Dolores Hidalgo. Seems very original and doesn't have nearly the tourist scene one would expect, unless I've had the good fortune to have visited only in the off season.


----------



## Judilynn (Dec 28, 2016)

*Tequisquiapan*

Have you checked out Tequisquiapan, Queretaro? 

We have been here 5 years after 5 years in the city of Queretaro. Love it. A friend recently rented a "posada" (efficiency hotel room) for around $200 UDS, includes utilities, internet. Weather is temperate year round. No humidity. It's in the Central Highlands, not too far from San Miquel de Allende, so similar weather, etc., but not so many expats. We have tourists on the weekends from Mexico City and Queretaro, but they hang out in the Centro -- benefit, we have multiple restaurants, shopping, etc.


----------



## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

DebInFL said:


> But I read that when you get outside of town, it's not so bad. There is a guy on YouTube who does videos about it.


Outside of town is empty countryside so you must be referring to outside the centro downtown area. In that case, yes, there are relatively few gringos and those that do live there are pretty integrated into the local culture.

As TundraGreen said, the tourism is heavily Mexican because of the national history involved so even surrounded by "tourists" it feels very different than a San Miguel, PV, Cancun or what have you.


----------



## DebInFL (Dec 1, 2016)

Judilynn, I just checked it out, and it looks wonderful! I like that it has a train that goes either to Mexico City or Guadalajara. I'll definitely put it on my list of places to consider making a home base, and maybe even living. If the transportation is that good, it would be perfect, and the pictures of the city look so colorful and pretty!

Are there houses with yards there? I really do want a small yard to plant things in. I like that it is close to grape country, because that means fertile soil.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

DebInFL said:


> Judilynn, I just checked it out, and it looks wonderful! I like that it has a train that goes either to Mexico City or Guadalajara. I'll definitely put it on my list of places to consider making a home base, and maybe even living. If the transportation is that good, it would be perfect, and the pictures of the city look so colorful and pretty!
> 
> Are there houses with yards there? I really do want a small yard to plant things in. I like that it is close to grape country, because that means fertile soil.


Does Tequisquiapan really have a train to anywhere? I thought the only remaining passenger train in Mexico was El Chepe in the Barrancas del Cobre.


----------



## DebInFL (Dec 1, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> Does Tequisquiapan really have a train to anywhere? I thought the only remaining passenger train in Mexico was El Chepe in the Barrancas del Cobre.


I guess I was mistaken or misread Wikipedia. I could have sworn I saw that there was a train from Mexico City through Tequis to Guadalajara, but can't find it now. Maybe it's the busline I was reading about.


----------



## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

From San Juan del Rio there are a buses to various places but from Tequis there are only buses to San Juan or to the other nearby pueblitos. We like Tequis quite a bit but it is a little off the beaten path transportation-wise. And trains... none.


----------



## DebInFL (Dec 1, 2016)

circle110 said:


> From San Juan del Rio there are a buses to various places but from Tequis there are only buses to San Juan or to the other nearby pueblitos. We like Tequis quite a bit but it is a little off the beaten path transportation-wise. And trains... none.


Yes, I read in another forum that you have to get a bus to Queretaro to get to Mexico City. Do you go to Queretaro for all your shopping, or to get a bus to Guadalajara?


----------



## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

DebInFL said:


> Yes, I read in another forum that you have to get a bus to Queretaro to get to Mexico City. Do you go to Queretaro for all your shopping, or to get a bus to Guadalajara?


We don't live in Tequis -- we've only visited several times -- but there is no way you'd want to go to Queretaro to get to Mexico City. Check a map - you go west a ways (30 min.) to get to San Juan del Rio and then take a bus from there an hour and a half or so south to get to Mexico City. Queretaro is to the north, so it's way out of the way if your destination is Mexico City. Guadalajara is several hours away (6+?) to the northwest, so going shopping there would be a major venture.


----------

