# mexico place to live



## pictou

hi there...I have read much and have many questions although some may be redundant to other posts n here so please bear with me!

We are looking to live in Mexico for 2-3 years full time. We do not speak spanish although are keen to learn. We are a husband, wife, boy (2 yrs old) and girl (3 yrs old). Husband works away 3 weeks at a time so the rest of the famly will be by themselves for those periods of time.

from what we have read thus far it seems Chapala, Guadalajara and Queretaro may be the places for us but we are seeking opinions on this based on our needs/wants and desires below.

Would be nice to have the option to put the kids in english preschool.
We are not planning on having a car
Need to be reasonably close to international airport and be able to arrange transport to and from
medical center for the kids if necessary nearby
shopping in close proximity?
Climate should be temperate year around if possible-we are from canada so can deal better with some chilly days than hot humid ones!

anyway thi is a good place to start...bottom line is I am hoping my family can be relatively self sufficient while away and being around or having access to other expats will be nice!
thanks in advance
kris


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## johnmex

If you have kids in "english" pre-school a car is a must. No bus service available. 

BTW, all those schools are 50-50 english-spanish. It's good for the kids that way, they will be speaking spanish before you will. Be ready to shell out about US$-300 per kid per month.

Chapala is a retirement community, you might feel, well, young.

I happen to know that quite a few American executives live in _Club de Golf Santa Anita_, in Tlajomulco de Zuñiga (read Guadalajara suburb). If you are looking to live with other gringos that is….

There are quite a few bi-lingual schools in the area. Wal-Mart, Sam's, Superrama, Costco are all nearby. Plus a brand new private hospital. $$$

Climate is what we have, in bunches. Probably the only thing to reccomend Guadalajara over Queretaro.


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## pictou

Thanks for the quick reply. We don't have any problem living amongst "locals" but until we get familiar it might be helpful to have that sense of comfort. 
That being said we are totally open to suggestions...as I say we just want to be in a safe place where we can live comfortably and have access to things to do with the kids. We may bring or buy a vehicle if it becomes necessary. Perhaps there us an area in the main city if Guadalajara that would be appropriate?


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## Lsanchez124

Have u looked into puerto Vallarta? From what I've heard the have good 'English private schools, the children would still learn Spanish too of course. The only this is the summers can be pretty hot


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## Guest

You could check the Juriquilla area of Queretaro. There are members here who live in that area and will know better than I (I live in Queretaro state but don't know Juriquilla).

1. Querétaro airport has service to Houston on Continental airlines, where you can connect to other destinations. The alternative is to take an ETN express bus from Querétaro that runs directly into the MX City airport (3 hours by bus), to both terminals there, and all airlines and many more destinations.

2. City is at about 6000' elevation, summers can get to the low 90'sºF daytime, and normally low 60ºs at night. Winter temps would be mainly 35-40ºF at night (some nights down to 32ºF) with winter daytime temps of 40-60ºF. Low humidity most of the time. They get about 20" of rain per year. A lot of the city lies in a valley and can get a bit of smog at times - I believe that Juriquilla is at the top of that valley to the north.

3. International schools in Jurica and Juriquilla (JFK American School and the International School of Querétaro -( just two I Googled). They both have nursery and preschool (starting at age 3) as well as the advanced grades. You might also get surprised and the school will have secure student transportation (my kid's school does, but the school is not in Queretaro). Otherwise, you could make arrangements with one taxi driver to pick you up every morning and take you back to pick them up later in the day and pay him by the week.

4. Queretaro is a city of about 600,000 people, has a lot of history, restaurants, and parks. Queretaro state is relatively safe, kind of an eye in the hurricane, right now.

5. Taxis can get you anywhere in Queretaro at a reasonable cost. Short rides in the city run 30 pesos. 50 or 60 pesos will probably get you from Jurica/Juriquilla to the big shopping areas and 70 pesos will get you all the way across the city.

6. Good regional healthcare available at several large medical centers, and many doctors/specialists in Queretaro also speak English.

7. There is a large mall with Sears and Liverpool stores, as well as Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, and other large MX chain stores. The Central Historical center of Querétaro has lots of shopping and restaurants. Many museums too.

8. For weekends, you can take short trips (less than 2 hours) to San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Tequisquiapan, Peña de Bernal and the Sierra Gorda.

Maybe someone who lives in Juriquilla can pipe in on the schools there. Good luck.


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## pictou

Thank you for your replies! Queretaro seems like a very good option and was our first inclination. Can anyone direct me to a contact who can help with arranging rental accomodations (ideally furnished)? I have searched the web but there seems to be very little to go on. I can easily make a trip down before hand to view some properties. Puerto Vallarta also seems like a good option (my firt trip to mexico was there) with the excpetion of the heat at some times of the year but it does seem as though it has the ammeneties we are looking for!


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## AlanMexicali

*Website "de bienes raices" in Mexico*



pictou said:


> Thank you for your replies! Queretaro seems like a very good option and was our first inclination. Can anyone direct me to a contact who can help with arranging rental accomodations (ideally furnished)? I have searched the web but there seems to be very little to go on. I can easily make a trip down before hand to view some properties. Puerto Vallarta also seems like a good option (my firt trip to mexico was there) with the excpetion of the heat at some times of the year but it does seem as though it has the ammeneties we are looking for!


I found this inclusive website to be very large with photos:

Inmobiliarias, Bienes Raices en México - InmoMexico


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## TundraGreen

If you want to live without a car, Guadalajara would be a really attractive choice. It would be really easy to find a neighborhood with a local mercado that will provide all your day to day grocery needs. There is good bus service to malls for more occasional shopping. The American School Foundation of Guadalajara runs a complete bilingual school system from preschool through high school. It can be reached easily by bus from many areas. The climate is mild, a little cool in the winter but not as cold as Queretaro, a little warm in May and June, but no humidity. Lots of hospitals, again accessible by the public bus system.

Disclaimer. I have no connection with the School or personal knowledge of it; I just found them with Google.


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## johnmex

My sister's kids went to the American School of Guadalajara from pre-school through high school. Very highly recomendend. Very high tuition. The neighborhood around the school has lots of mid to upper scale housing but not a heck of a lot of shopping within walking distance.


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## conklinwh

We think Queretaro is great although Juriquilla a little too much like a US suburb. Would think not having a car would be an issue as pretty spread out.
I'd add San Miguel to your list as includes about everything you list. I see that they are adding one more bi-lingual school that will issue "international baccalaureate".
Good small hospital and lots of dual language doctors plus only 45min+ to Los Angeles hospital in Queretaro that is world class.
San Miguel has a lot more families than you would think and lots of things going on. A great park, Parque Juarez, for kids.
I guess biggest drawback might be airport as 1-1.5hrs away; however, very good shuttles with multi-trip discounts.
You didn't talk about interesta but I dare to say that nowhere else in Mexico will you find the history and vibrant art scene in such a compact and fully walkable area.


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## pictou

conklinwh said:


> We think Queretaro is great although Juriquilla a little too much like a US suburb. Would think not having a car would be an issue as pretty spread out.
> I'd add San Miguel to your list as includes about everything you list. I see that they are adding one more bi-lingual school that will issue "international baccalaureate".
> Good small hospital and lots of dual language doctors plus only 45min+ to Los Angeles hospital in Queretaro that is world class.
> San Miguel has a lot more families than you would think and lots of things going on. A great park, Parque Juarez, for kids.
> I guess biggest drawback might be airport as 1-1.5hrs away; however, very good shuttles with multi-trip discounts.
> You didn't talk about interesta but I dare to say that nowhere else in Mexico will you find the history and vibrant art scene in such a compact and fully walkable area.


Thanks conklinwn

I will investigate further...do you have any contacts or info on rental properties there i could follow up on? This seems to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks from a pre-planning perspective! As long as there are good shuttles to the airport and a school locally it sounds worth checking out!


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## conklinwh

There are a number of sites. I used Portal San Miguel when we used to rent there. Also there is a classified section of the Atencion the weekly dual language paper. If you google san Miguel you will get many. What I wouldn't do is pre-commit to anything beyond a month or two with maybe some extension rights. If you are like me, you want a clean reputable place to put your head on arrival but you also know that you will probably be paying too much and not really the right location for what you want. 
When you get there you will find out the real scoop on neighborhoods as well as how to get the best deals.


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