# Looking for a classy town



## 1happykamper (Nov 5, 2012)

I have been living in Mexico for 4 years. Primarily San Miguel de Allende and a little time in QRO, Mazatlan and Condesa CDMX. Time for a change. 

I really enjoy beach towns because of the fresh air and the opportunity to go for long walks on the beach or malecon. But I also enjoy "classy", elegant, the style of people and places that can be found in la Condesa, Roma Norte and Coyocan. However, my bank account is more in-line with Queretaro. Upps.

I also enjoy and NEED a good social circle of both extranjeros and Mexicanos. I am retired and 62 years young. My spanish is so-so

Which towns or cities have you been to that you think are classy places and maybe not as expensive as the aforementioned locations in CDMX?

Thanks. Saludos.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Coyoacan, Roma and Condessa are not towns.. Many Colonial towns have beautiful centers and are less than charming in many other areas...
Classy beach town is a contradiction , no? Well in Mexico.. Lots of classy beach towns in Europe and be ready to arrive with lots of money...

You may want to check Costa Careyes , Jal


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## Jreboll (Nov 23, 2013)

Have you tried Merida? I haven’t but have heard good things about it.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Merida is not a beach town.. It is a nice town but it is not on the beach and the heat can be a little much in the summer.. Campeche has an attractive center but I would go crazy in no time there..
I think Puerto Vallarta is attractive as well.. Parts of Acapulco..Puerto Escondido is quaint..

I like Oaxaca but the center is not cheap.. Morelia, any of the colonial cities in the center..The problem with many of them is the lack of greenery..


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## 1happykamper (Nov 5, 2012)

Jreboll said:


> Have you tried Merida? I haven’t but have heard good things about it.


I did. Earlier this year. I honestly didn't see the attraction. Dirty and boring. That's just me. 

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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

San Luis Potosi is higher end. Forget about being invited to any Mexican's social events. Strangers to other guests and friends of invitees are not invited unless you are a boyfriend or girlfriend of someone who is invited. If you are a friend or coworker etc. of the person the event is for then that is different.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

I guess classy is in the eye of the beholder. For me, the classiest areas of Mexico City are where you find the embassies. 

Perhaps you have chosen the wrong country/continent. Maybe you have a better chance of finding what you are looking for along the Adriatic or Mediterranean coasts.


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## Jreboll (Nov 23, 2013)

How about Valle de Bravo? Again, I’m just throwing out names about places that I’ve heard about but never visited. That and Cuernavaca


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

1happycamper
Funny you say thaYears ago my husband and I went there to visit to see f we would be happy there and we decided against moving there.. Too much cement in the center where the expat live and no grass.. Tres in plaza but no grass no green..How many times were we going to dance at nght?? Not many..The town is attractve the festivals and the plaza fun when you visit but we decded against living ther for the lack of greenery, the overwhelming heat in the summer.. I dislike Quintana Roo as a whole and lke the charm of the Yucatan but in the end the fresher climate of the hills won out. We liked some of the funky towns on the gilf , but who wants to deal with the salt air, the hurricane , we used to live on the gulf in Alabama so we had been there and done that..Nice place to visit.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

Jreboll said:


> How about Valle de Bravo? Again, I’m just throwing out names about places that I’ve heard about but never visited. That and Cuernavaca


Your info says you are from South Texas so I'll put it in those terms. Ever been to Austin ? We lived there for something like 2+ years in the 90's. Austin is a lot larger than the downtown area. It really stretches halfway to San Marcus or Bastrop or Georgetown. We lived in a nice area west of the city on the way out to Lake Travis, but I had friends from work that lived in all the other areas I mentioned. Pretty much each area was dramatically different. We all lived in Austin.

If someone were to visit Austin and say - gosh I really liked Austin - which Austin do you think they had in mind ?


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## Jreboll (Nov 23, 2013)

It’s true what you say but the op is looking for something classy and there are many cities that no matter how hard you look you will never find anything “classy” in them.


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## CDMXian (Jul 29, 2019)

lat19n said:


> I guess classy is in the eye of the beholder. For me, the classiest areas of Mexico City are where you find the embassies.
> 
> Perhaps you have chosen the wrong country/continent. Maybe you have a better chance of finding what you are looking for along the Adriatic or Mediterranean coasts.


I'd say places in the Adriatic/Mediterranean won't be suitable either if the OP feels Merida (declared Best City in the World 2019 by Condé Nast Traveler) is dirty and boring. Most likely wrong country/continent. What about Abu Dhabi?


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

Jreboll said:


> It’s true what you say but the op is looking for something classy and there are many cities that no matter how hard you look you will never find anything “classy” in them.


Fair enough (and I'm not picking on you). I don't know about classy, but you can certainly find impressive/awesome spots in Cuernavaca - trouble is they are for the most part behind private walls - and you would need to drive to/between them, and you might have to drive through some 'seedy' places along the way. 

Earlier I was trying to think of places I have been in my life that would come close to being classy. I thought of; the upper east side of Manhattan, parts of Polanco in Mexico City, Tiburon in Marin County, the area along Biscayne Bay in Miami, the coastal stretch north of Boston on the way to New Hampshire, maybe the stretch along AIA up through Palm Beach County, maybe the area around Claremont Ferrand France. Maybe I haven't traveled enough...


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

CDMXian said:


> I'd say places in the Adriatic/Mediterranean won't be suitable either if the OP feels Merida (declared Best City in the World 2019 by Condé Nast Traveler) is dirty and boring. Most likely wrong country/continent. What about Abu Dhabi?


I wouldn't put much faith in a magazine article. At one point my employer wanted to move some 500 families from paradise (coastal South Florida) to Austin Tx. Austin hit every "best of" list around. The real estate industry had a field day. Prices went through the roof. We were all over sold... 

I was thinking maybe coastal Croatia.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Merida , best city in the world is a funny thought.. It is a nice city but the best in the world?? Give us a break.


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## 1happykamper (Nov 5, 2012)

Jreboll said:


> How about Valle de Bravo? Again, I’m just throwing out names about places that I’ve heard about but never visited. That and Cuernavaca


Yes. This is in my list to checkout soon. Thanks 

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## 1happykamper (Nov 5, 2012)

CDMXian said:


> I'd say places in the Adriatic/Mediterranean won't be suitable either if the OP feels Merida (declared Best City in the World 2019 by Condé Nast Traveler) is dirty and boring. Most likely wrong country/continent. What about Abu Dhabi?


Have you been to Mérida? Articles are often rubbish Info. 

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## dvinton (Mar 8, 2019)

lat19n said:


> I wouldn't put much faith in a magazine article. At one point my employer wanted to move some 500 families from paradise (coastal South Florida) to Austin Tx. Austin hit every "best of" list around. The real estate industry had a field day. Prices went through the roof. We were all over sold...
> 
> I was thinking maybe coastal Croatia.


My wife and I love Croatia, check out Rovinj.


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

I can't get my head around the term "classy", somehow I associate that with snobbish and wealthy. Some of the cited "towns" are indeed like that. "Look at me, I'm classy" type environment. Before I left Santa Barbara to do fieldwork, and after reading sociolinguistics for years, I started studying people in the community. Now, Santa Barbara and Montecito are "classy" I guess(?) I started noticing how unhappy some people were. Once you see some things, you can't unsee them.

I'm very happy here in a not-classy, poor place where people traditionally had their human rights violated, but it suits me. It's culturally rich.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Classy is all relative.. depending on your background ,,I do not think that many people can agree on what is classy .. I bet the idea of classy for the Kennedies is way different of what is classy for Trump . Actually classy and Trump does not see to go together no matter how much money he has.


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## brucery728 (Jan 26, 2018)

Another vote for Oaxaca. I love the vibe and it's highly recommended if you're looking for a classy city.


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## nomad1952 (Sep 6, 2016)

Austin is one of those places that have experienced the California influx & consequently horrible traffic & increased housing prices so I would NEVER consider it an idyllic place to live.


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## Cristóbal1 (Jan 5, 2020)

brucery728 said:


> Another vote for Oaxaca. I love the vibe and it's highly recommended if you're looking for a classy city.


I do also. The only thing that concerns me are earthquakes.


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