# Moving to San Cristobal de las Casas. Useful information is greatly appreciated.



## Alex Rybin

Hola amigos!

Me (28), my wife Anna (27), we are going to move to San Cristóbal de las Casas from Cancun in the nearest future. We've been to SanCris many times and our love to this city is growing more and more every time we visit it. So we decided that the necessity to live in the city we love is much more than any circumstance we could possibly face. 

A couple of words about us. Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, we've been living in Cancun for 2.5 years. But thanks to our work (tour guiding) we traveled a lot all around the country, Belize, Guatemala, Cuba and Honduras. Although, our education is quite distant from that: we both have degree in Mathematics/Economics. We speak Spanish and adore the country we are living in. Though we realize its drawbacks like anywhere else. 

Around a year ago we decided to live in SanCris somewhen in the future. So the future is now! We're flying to Tuxtla airport on the 9th of April to start our moving process. First, we are going to find an apartment or a small house for rent. Second, rent a car to bring our belongings from Cancun. Third, be happy with our new life down south and up in the mountains.

We are new to this community but we've already read all the threads concerning SC and Chiapas. We are aware of the rentals searching methods, climate, local mentality, etc. Thank you guys for such relevant and useful information!

But still we'd like to clarify some things which I couldn't find on the forum. Hopefully, this thread will be useful for other newcomers later.

- what are the best/worst neighborhoods to live in SC? Where are they located? Pros and cons (infrastructure, water and gas supply, etc)? I know it's better to find something facing south (cold) and on the hill (rainfalls). 
- any well-equipped modern hospital in SC, Chiapa de Corzo, or Tuxtla? If nothing there then probably Villahermosa?
- Location of the best places to shop (local markets and supermarkets with tools, electronics, etc)
- location of INM office and its general friendliness to the foreigners? Maybe somebody could recommend law firms which could help with the papers. We both are currently on FM-3 (no inmigrante - lucrativa) and it's about the time to renew it for the new Residente Temporal. 
- nice places to the spend an evening with live music and warm atmosphere besides those on andadores turisticos (we personally like Cocoliche). 
- we'd love to meet new people and local expats so if anybody is interested in meeting us please point it out here, send me a PM, or call/text to 998 145 4864. We'll invite you for some drinks to the places from the point above 
- any Russian-speakers here by chance?

Thanks in advance!
We'll try to bring you some warmth from Yucatan. 
Alex&Anna

P.S. Happy 485-year anniversary Sancristobalenses!


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## shadowmack

*Let's Meet!*

Hello Alex!

My girlfriend and I have also recently moved to San Cris. We may have a little to share as far as advise, but not much as of yet – we've been here since April. However, we'd be happy to meet you guys when you arrive. We are both from Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA originally.

Have you found a place yet?

Shada


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## TundraGreen

There is another thread with discussion of this topic.

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/mexico-expat-forum-expats-living-mexico/142832-possible-relocation-chiapas-area.html


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## Alex Rybin

Hello Shada!

Great! We'll be in SanCris tomorrow evening. Give me call and let's meet for a drink.
We've been to Santa Fe last summer and found it wonderful thanks to our Couchsurfing host.

We'll be searching for a place on the spot. Have you found anything?

Thanks TundraGreen, I'm also following it.


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## Alex Rybin

shadowmack said:


> Hello Alex!
> 
> My girlfriend and I have also recently moved to San Cris. We may have a little to share as far as advise, but not much as of yet – we've been here since April. However, we'd be happy to meet you guys when you arrive. We are both from Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA originally.
> 
> Have you found a place yet?
> 
> Shada


Hey Shada!
We are in SanCris. 
How can we contact you?

Alex


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## Longford

:welcome:

Sorry for being so late, to welcome you to this forum. An interesting, challenging move you have ahead of you. Best of luck with the new adventure! Keep up posted on how things progress.


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## Isla Verde

Longford said:


> :welcome:
> 
> Sorry for being so late, to welcome you to this forum. An interesting, challenging move you have ahead of you. Best of luck with the new adventure! Keep up posted on how things progress.


Me too! 

You have certainly picked an unique part of Mexico to move to. San Cristóbal is a place I've visited several times over the years, and I've always taken away special memories of those visits.


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## Heyduke

I live in San Cristobal and welcome. I would ask you to give a report in one year on your views of the city.


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## Isla Verde

Heyduke said:


> I live in San Cristobal and welcome. . . .


Heyduke, you've lived San Cristóbal for some time, right? Have you ever heard it referred to as San Cris, as a couple of this posters on this thread have done?


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## Heyduke

Yes I have even called it that with people who may know what I'm talking about


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## Isla Verde

Heyduke said:


> Yes I have even called it that with people who may know what I'm talking about


With Mexicans or just with expats?


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## Hound Dog

[_QUOTE=Heyduke;1124592]Yes I have even called it that (San Cris) with people who may know what I'm talking about[/QUOTE]_

Please enlihghten me, Duke, what exactly are you talking about.


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## Heyduke

San Cris ...San Cristobal de las Casas. If someone has never been here or heard of it it would mean nothing. Common sense.


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## citlali

I have heard people call it Las Casas but never heard a Mexican call it San Cris , I guess we run around a different crowd.


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## Heyduke

I have only heard gringos call it San Cris.


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## Isla Verde

Heyduke said:


> I have only heard gringos call it San Cris.


Just as I had suspected!


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## Hound Dog

There are at least 14 communities called San Cristobal throughout Mexico and, in fact one on the south shore of Lake Chapala about an hour from where I reside there. There is only one San Cristobal de Las Casas and it is a pueblo unique among all the other communites partly sharing its name. As noted earlier on this thread, some locals refer to the town as Las Casas and that is also a common designation among local news media but San Cris is strictly a name used by people from the U.S. or Canada living here or elswewhere in Mexico. An unforgivable desecration of a beautiful name . Reminds me of the grating name of Frisco used by some to refer to San Francisco where I was privileged to live for many years, a designation immediately identiying the speaker as a rube.

This abbreviation of attarctive community names is not uncommon among Americans who love to abbreviate names. Examples, and there are many, include PDC for Playa del Carmen, PV for Puerto Vallarta and the most grating aof all desecrations of beautiful communiy names, Guad for Guadalajara.

Now, in Guatemala this habit is commonplace among foeigners and locals alike Guate fror Guatemala City, Hue Hue for Huehuetenango, Pana for Panjachel and on and on.


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## vantexan

Hound Dog said:


> There are at least 14 communities called San Cristobal throughout Mexico and, in fact one on the south shore of Lake Chapala about an hour from where I reside there. There is only one San Cristobal de Las Casas and it is a pueblo unique among all the other communites partly sharing its name. As noted earlier on this thread, some locals refer to the town as Las Casas and that is also a common designation among local news media but San Cris is strictly a name used by people from the U.S. or Canada living here or elswewhere in Mexico. An unforgivable desecration of a beautiful name . Reminds me of the grating name of Frisco used by some to refer to San Francisco where I was privileged to live for many years, a designation immediately identiying the speaker as a rube.
> 
> This abbreviation of attarctive community names is not uncommon among Americans who love to abbreviate names. Examples, and there are many, include PDC for Playa del Carmen, PV for Puerto Vallarta and the most grating aof all desecrations of beautiful communiy names, Guad for Guadalajara.
> 
> Now, in Guatemala this habit is commonplace among foeigners and locals alike Guate fror Guatemala City, Hue Hue for Huehuetenango, Pana for Panjachel and on and on.


Heretics!!


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## citlali

One name you will hear for San Cristobal as you travel in collectivos is Jovel . You will hear "ta Jovel" a whole lot more times than" a San Cris".


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## Heyduke

Jovel is the real name.


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## Anonimo

And, (UGH!) "Patz" for Pátzcuaro.


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## Isla Verde

Heyduke said:


> Jovel is the real name.


Or maybe the original name, before the Spaniards came? What language is it?


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## Isla Verde

Anonimo said:


> And, (UGH!) "Patz" for Pátzcuaro.


I hate that one too. Besides disregarding the beauty of the full name of the town, it's a bit too close to "putz" for me!


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## Guategringo

Hound Dog said:


> Now, in Guatemala this habit is commonplace among foeigners and locals alike Guate fror Guatemala City, Hue Hue for Huehuetenango, Pana for Panjachel and on and on.


My favorite for the locals in Guatemala is for the city of Quetzaltenango referred to affectionately as Xela pronounced Shela. They also use Xelaju...


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## grotton

I live in San Cristobal with my Mexican partner. People who live in San Cristobal generally call the city by its name but many of our Mexican friends from Tuxtla call it San Cris. They love to visit us in "San Cris" for the weekend.


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## Heyduke

I'm not sure but Tzotzel I expect is where Jovel comes from.


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## citlali

Not sure if it is Tztotzil or not, many of the towns here are known by their Spanish and/or Nahuatl names, for exemple Zinacantan is a Nahuatl name, the Tsotsil name was the people of the bats , I think it is something like Sotz Leb do not remember for sure. . When the Spaniards came they found a swampy valley and I am not sure if their friends the Mexicas or the Tlaxcalas called the valley Jovel or if it already was known as Jovel. There are ruins in the hills but nothing in the valley because it was swampy and a flood plain it could be that the indigenous did not settle there but on the Moxviquil hill that was safer.


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## Heyduke

It was called Jovel Valley rather anyone lived in the valley or not. The people of Zinacantan were called Batsi kop and still have Aztec gods during there festivals.


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## Isla Verde

Heyduke said:


> It was called Jovel Valley rather anyone lived in the valley or not. The people of Zinacantan were called Batsi kop and still have Aztec gods during there festivals.


If the people of Zinacantan are Maya, why would they include Aztec gods in their celebrations? Do you mean they have statues or other kinds of representations of them?


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## citlali

Yes the vally was called jovel, Batsi Kop means the original people and most indigenous call themself a version of that their name is sotz´leb, check with your Zinacantan friends. Batsi kop is the original language meaning Tzotzil. Chan Batzi Kop means lets learn Tzotzil..I know that much.


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## citlali

I would love to hear about the influence of the Aztec religion into the Maya´s
Wether Aztec , Maya or others, religion followed by the indigenous confuses the heck out of me.

Meanwhile the Aztecs had control of the Ithmus and the Soconosco before the arrival of the Spaniards and were trading with the Tzotziles. They traded feathers, amber and salt.
The tzotiles did not use much of the amber for jewelry as it was reserved to be used as offers to top warriors and chiefs and to burn as an offer to their Gods pretty much like copal is used nowadays.
The Aztecs and Zoques used amber for jewelry , they used it to ornate their ears and chin as well as necklaces. There was a lot of commerce between the different groups . There was also Aztec influence in some of the pyramides in Tikal these guys sure could cover a lot of ground.


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## Heyduke

They are Maya with Aztec influences. During carnival they have Quetzelcoatal as one of there main deities. He even has little wings. There are a few others who I don't know the names of. I once got whipped by the monkey men for trying to take a photo of them. It was a dumb thing to try.


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## surfrider

I lived in San Chris and I loved it - gets too cold for me but it sure is a fun place. Just make sure you have a lot of fire wood and wool blankets.


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## citlali

How long did you live there?Is Patzcuaro warmer?
I have a couple of gas heaters and a fireplace and the place keeps nice and warm thanks to the wood celing, thick walls and shutters, I cannot imagine living here witout heating the housebut the majority of people do. I notices when I build the house and looked for chminey designs that most place do not even have a fire place...boy that has to be uncomfortable.


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## Heyduke

O have woke up in the morning and my casa was in the ypper 40's. U went out and bought a gas heater. A Gas heater doesn't heat the whole house just a small area, You just have to dress for it.


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## citlali

We do not heat our bedrooms although we could heat them if we wanted too.We sleep with the windows opened all year round so I do not care about the bedrooms. 
I have a heater in the bathroom and a fire place and a gas heater in the living area and one gas heater heats the living area that is all I care about. 
I was not cold this morning so we did not have any heat on. It is nice to have heat when you want it..just saying.
I did not go out and buy a gas heater , I put them in when I built the house.


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## Heyduke

I only heat my living room.


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## citlali

Well I have one answer to one of the questions on the name for San Cristobal de las Casas..The indigenous call the valley and by extention the town Jovel. I found out it means pasto or grass in Tzotzil.
So we live in Grass Valley...


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## Guategringo

citlali said:


> Well I have one answer to one of the questions on the name for San Cristobal de las Casas..The indigenous call the valley and by extention the town Jovel. I found out it means pasto or grass in Tzotzil.
> So we live in Grass Valley...


Or better yet... The Valley of Grass.


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## citlali

I just had a flash back to a california valley called Grass valley. Actually the Tzotzil does not bother with saying valley because any dummy can see it is a valley so it is just called" grass"
that is a Zinacantan translation, I ll have to ask other peope from other villages they may have a differnt version.


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