# SMA vs guadalajara



## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

So we are moving to SMA in October and have rented a house for 6 months while we assess where we ultimately want to live. One place that keeps coming up is Guad. Or ajijic/lk chapala region. We need English or bilingual schools for our young ones and having an airport close by is also advantageous (one of the drawbacks of SMA). We are a bit concerned SMA may be over priced due to the expat community. We want access to the expat community of course but also want to be able to take advantage of the lower cost of living...SMA seems great and I am sure we will love it but we just want to make sure we look at all our options as best we can.

Does anyone have any observations? Safety? Cmparable cost of living? Things to do? Access to schools? Anything else of interest. 

Cheers


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

pictou said:


> So we are moving to SMA in October and have rented a house for 6 months while we assess where we ultimately want to live. One place that keeps coming up is Guad. Or ajijic/lk chapala region. We need English or bilingual schools for our young ones and having an airport close by is also advantageous (one of the drawbacks of SMA). We are a bit concerned SMA may be over priced due to the expat community. We want access to the expat community of course but also want to be able to take advantage of the lower cost of living...SMA seems great and I am sure we will love it but we just want to make sure we look at all our options as best we can.
> 
> Does anyone have any observations? Safety? Cmparable cost of living? Things to do? Access to schools? Anything else of interest.
> 
> Cheers


I haven't been to SMA, so I cannot directly compare to Guadalajara. In Guadalajara there are at least three bilingual schools (google "bilingual schools guadalajara"). There is a symphony, _Live in HD_ broadcasts from the Met in NY, some independent movie theaters, a large and underutilized park next door (Bosque La Primavera), good transportation including hundreds of local bus routes, a few subway routes and a metro bus, international film festivals, an international book fair, and a mariachi festival, and an airport with direct connections to most everywhere in Mexico in addition to many places in the US, to mention just a few things off the top of my head. 

PS I don't work for the chamber of commerce; I just like it here.


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## pictou (Jun 9, 2011)

Thanks Tundra! We are definitely going to check it out...biggest thing is finding a neighborhood we will be comfortable in. Would like to find something to rent that is furnished and preferably with a pool (so maybe like a condo/gated complex or some such thing so we can take advantage of amenities. 

Thanks for your comments!


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

First I must admit that I go a little ballistic when people refer to San Miguel as expensive because of expats. I also think that you need separate the Lake Chapala area from Guadalajara as believe they are quite different. Size wise, the Lake Chapala area is closer to San Miguel. Guadalajara is a very big city and a very different environment.
I also expect that there are more expensive places in the Lake Chapala area as well as less expensive. The same is true for San Miguel. As quoted from this site, there are about 20K expats in the Lake Chapala area versus about 12K in San Miguel. If number of expats equates to price as you said then doubt that San Miguel more expensive.
There are very good bilingual schools in San Miguel and a new one opening this fall.
San Miguel is a magical place with significant, arts, culture & history. I doubt that you can replicate that family environment anywhere!


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