# Taxco?



## TaxcoLover (Jan 3, 2015)

Does anyone here live or visit there regularly? I was wondering why there aren't more expats?


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

Maybe because it is in Guerrero?


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Visiting a place on vacation is very different than living full-time in the same place. I think few expats find Taxco attractive or inviting enough to relocate there. There are done there, but my recollection is very few. I usually suggest that people bypass Taxco, unless they have a particular interest in something there which can't be found elsewhere. Currently, Taxco is situated in a conflict zone in the ongoing war and I don't doubt that expats who might have been considering Taxco have crossed it off of their list.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Taxco is an attractive town but so touristy and so steep, retirees are older people and you have to have a lot of stamina to live there . Too many silver stores for me..they get old very quickly. Nice place to visit but I cannot imagine living there.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Taxco is a small, congested city characterized by steep, mountainous terrain. A charming place but also a tourist trap interspersed with vendors of tourist crap awaiting your arrival to relieve you of any money with thich tou have just arrived in town. In that town, you are defined by your wallet and your willingness to empty it for vatious doodads and geegaws. Go there with money you are willing to foolishly relinquish. Alternatively, head for nearby Cuernavaca or, perhaps, Iguala to observe ongoing internecine warfare.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

citlali said:


> Taxco is an attractive town but so touristy and so steep, retirees are older people and you have to have a lot of stamina to live there . Too many silver stores for me..they get old very quickly. Nice place to visit but I cannot imagine living there.


Not all expats relocating to Mexico are "old."  There are even relatively young retirees (as compared to previous generations).  Stamina is indeed required to maneuver up and down the many hills/mountainside. Stamina can be obtained by practice, however, as evidenced by the many older people who live in Taxco. 



Hound Dog said:


> Taxco is a small, congested city …


I’ve found the center of the city, the areas near the cathedral, to be noisy and also to have the presence of a lot of vehicle pollution. I once stayed in a hotel overlooking the cathedral and endured noise all day and into the night as trucks were shifting gears to handle the terrain. 



Hound Dog said:


> A charming place but also a tourist trap interspersed with vendors of tourist crap awaiting your arrival to relieve you of any money with thich tou have just arrived in town. In that town, you are defined by your wallet and your willingness to empty it for vatious doodads and geegaws. Go there with money you are willing to foolishly relinquish.


Yes, tourism is an important part of the Taxco economy, probably just as it’s an important component of the las Casas economy in Chiapas.  I understand why many tourists visit Taxco when they look for legitimately good silver products. If there rip-offs I think they occur in the Saturday “silver” markets.



Hound Dog said:


> Alternatively, head for nearby Cuernavaca or, perhaps, Iguala to observe ongoing internecine warfare.


Cuernavaca has been a popular destination/relocation spot for expats for generations now. However, I sense fewer expats choose Cuernavaca now than they would have 25 years ago or post-Mexico City earthquakes in the late 1980s. Out of the many people who’ve visited Cuernavaca I’m not one of them who finds much of interest there for me. :sad: There are some very nice high-end residences there, however, and many people enjoy the climate. I don’t enjoy the congestion and if I wanted to be in close proximity to a lot of Capitalinos I can do that in the D.F.


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

*We LOVE Taxco!!*

My family & I have been visiting & staying in Taxco since the summer of 2002, when I studied there for my international semester. We immediately fell in love with the climate, people & lifestyle there. When we've gone there we usually don't stay for less than 4 to 6 weeks - that's how much we love it! Since I studied there, each of my kids has taken advanced Spanish classes in the same place where I studied - UNAM-CEPE (Center for International Students).

A couple of things we really like is that the tourism doesn't seem to be as pervasive as in other places we go to (Veracruz, Puebla, Queretaro). Most of the tourism we see is on weekends for the Tianguis, then they are gone. It also serves as a day-trip from DF or a stopover on the way to Acapulco; but again, it seems they are there & gone. There is a diverse international presence there with the university and from those mostly associated with the silver trades as middlemen, designers & artisans. It may be a smaller place, but still, we've always found plenty to do in & around Taxco without tripping over a lot of people or tourists - it's not all about the silver.

Sure there are steep hills all over, but I appreciate the exercise I get out of it - I usually lose at least 10 pounds by the time I get home from there - in spite of a LOT of heavy eating! I'm usually not in too much of a hurry there to get somewhere, so it's a matter of finding your own pace (slower) with shorter steps. If you get too tired of walking, the combis & taxis are cheap & plentiful enough to take you anywhere. There is always something interesting going on in the zocalo, but it quiets down nicely by midnight. Same for other events elsewhere in town.

One of the things we really appreciate about Taxco is the security. Because of the silver trade, there is security everywhere - private, municipal, state & federal. The transito there REALLY works (hard) to keep traffic moving and they do a good job of it. I've never had a problem at all with the transito about parking or just driving around there. If you need more quiet, of course, you can find some place further away from the zocalo with a little searching.

Yes, it has its own drawbacks, but many more positives for us. There is the violence over in Cuernavaca and down the mountain in Iguala, but it hasn't seemed to take hold in Taxco or affect them as adversely. Like I said, there is already a lot of security there, anyway. The biggest negative I've observed is that the mines there have been closed now for 7 years because of a labor contract dispute. This has adversely affected the local economy outside of the main tourist season. I hope this issue is fairly resolved & soon.

I hope that helps some... feel free to message me for more information...


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Thanks for an interesting inside look at Taxco! I found it interesting to learn that the impressions we get as visitors don’t tell the whole story of what it would be like to stay there for longer periods.


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