# Guadalajara for Two Months



## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

I am going to be in Guadalajara for about two months. I am hoping to find a comfortable room or studio apartment within walking distance of Lamar University for my stay. My evolving plan is to reserve a room at a hotel or B and B for 4-5 days upon arrival, using that time to walk around the area and locate something suitable for the two months. 

For those of you familiar with Guadalajara, does this seem like a reasonable approach? I am a little wary of committing myself to renting something sight unseen for the entire duration, especially not being familiar with the neighborhood (or city.) I've looked at the sites such as segundamano and vivanuncios, but my Spanish is not adequate for the phone, so if I try to arrange something from here, I would be limited to AirBnB, or similar. (Although I can probably manage email--while I can barely speak, I read fairly well.) In any event, those sites seem geared more toward long-term rentals.

Two months is sort of a no man's land as far as short/long term rental. It's too long for me to be able to afford a hotel, but not long enough to tap into monthly rentals. So perhaps weekly. Most "vacation rentals" are beyond my budget. Do people who know the city think that 4-5 days of on the ground exploration is likely to be successful? If not, my backup plan is to arrange an AirBnB listing--but at least I could check it out in person! 

Guest house or hotel recommendations in the area would also be welcome--within, say, a 20 minute walk. (I can't really determine a 20-minute boundary from the map, just assuming closer is better!) 

Suggestions would be great. Thanks, all!


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

I meant to specify the Lamar University campus on Calle José Guadalupe Zuno Hernández and Av Chapultepec.  Apparently there is another location.

.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

TurtleToo said:


> I am going to be in Guadalajara for about two months. I am hoping to find a comfortable room or studio apartment within walking distance of Lamar University for my stay. My evolving plan is to reserve a room at a hotel or B and B for 4-5 days upon arrival, using that time to walk around the area and locate something suitable for the two months.
> 
> For those of you familiar with Guadalajara, does this seem like a reasonable approach? I am a little wary of committing myself to renting something sight unseen for the entire duration, especially not being familiar with the neighborhood (or city.) I've looked at the sites such as segundamano and vivanuncios, but my Spanish is not adequate for the phone, so if I try to arrange something from here, I would be limited to AirBnB, or similar. (Although I can probably manage email--while I can barely speak, I read fairly well.) In any event, those sites seem geared more toward long-term rentals.
> 
> ...


I think you will have to be very lucky to find a rental for two months. Your most economical option probably is to find a hostel that would give you a monthly rate either for a private room or a dorm room if you can tolerate that. I don't think 4-5 days on the ground is going to turn up anything for a two month stay. There are not a lot of vacation rentals in Guadalajara anyway. It is not a tourist destination where people come for a week or two. There are lots of hotels in every price range for the short term visitors. Most of the hostels I know about are closer to Centro than Lamar's campus, but it is an easy 5 minute bus ride back and forth. The advantage of a hostel is that will have a kitchen and you can save money instead of eating in restaurants every day. And you can pay for just one bed, about $200 pesos/day. If you prefer a private room, a hostel isn't much cheaper than a hotel for one person, but it does have a kitchen.


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## horseshoe846 (Feb 8, 2017)

It isn't fair of me to say this - because I have never used them and I really don't like them - but - AirBnb ?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

horseshoe846 said:


> It isn't fair of me to say this - because I have never used them and I really don't like them - but - AirBnb ?


Maybe your only choice then, but it will probably cost more than 200 pesos a day.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> I think you will have to be very lucky to find a rental for two months. Your most economical option probably is to find a hostel that would give you a monthly rate either for a private room or a dorm room if you can tolerate that. I don't think 4-5 days on the ground is going to turn up anything for a two month stay. There are not a lot of vacation rentals in Guadalajara anyway. It is not a tourist destination where people come for a week or two. There are lots of hotels in every price range for the short term visitors. Most of the hostels I know about are closer to Centro than Lamar's campus, but it is an easy 5 minute bus ride back and forth. The advantage of a hostel is that will have a kitchen and you can save money instead of eating in restaurants every day. And you can pay for just one bed, about $200 pesos/day. If you prefer a private room, a hostel isn't much cheaper than a hotel for one person, but it does have a kitchen.


If I'm getting the location of Lamar Univ right, it's only about 3 blocks from the U.S. Consulate, definitely in the high rent district. A 20 min. walk east puts you around Federalismo on the edge of the Centro. Like Tundra pointed out, hotels there run the whole range from luxury right down to joints that are too funky even for me, especially on or just east of the Calzada. Some decent two or three star places might cut you a deal if you're renting by the month, in off season, like from now til late November or so. Far as having a kitchen, depends on your need to cook, although a mini-fridge to keep veggies, cheese and drinks cold is a huge advantage. When you need a hot meal, places to street grub are ubiquitous and reasonable.


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## costaricamex (Jul 7, 2017)

Possibly a home stay with locals if you could handle that. Try contacting the few Spanish schools that Google produces and explain the situation. Or maybe Lamar University has something going like that. See if they have a family available. They will put on a profit to the cost but still could be decent price. 

Homestays if you find the right one will let you meet some locals and practice your Spanish more and include food.

Have fun!!


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

TundraGreen said:


> I think you will have to be very lucky to find a rental for two months. Your most economical option probably is to find a hostel that would give you a monthly rate either for a private room or a dorm room if you can tolerate that. I don't think 4-5 days on the ground is going to turn up anything for a two month stay. There are not a lot of vacation rentals in Guadalajara anyway. It is not a tourist destination where people come for a week or two. There are lots of hotels in every price range for the short term visitors. Most of the hostels I know about are closer to Centro than Lamar's campus, but it is an easy 5 minute bus ride back and forth. The advantage of a hostel is that will have a kitchen and you can save money instead of eating in restaurants every day. And you can pay for just one bed, about $200 pesos/day. If you prefer a private room, a hostel isn't much cheaper than a hotel for one person, but it does have a kitchen.


A hostel seems like a possibility, but I definitely need more time alone than a dorm would allow! As you say, the rate for a private room isn't too much less than a hotel. But some do have attractive weekly/monthly rates, and the use of common areas including a kitchen is a big plus. While I'm not planning to do much cooking, it would still be nice to be able to make coffee and do a little light food prep. I'll sort out a list of a few promising ones to check out on arrival (eliminating the rowdier ones with reviews that focus on the number of bars and pubs on the block!) Casa Canaria looks appealing, lots of patio/terrace areas, decent reviews, seems quiet, appears to he within walking distance.

Too bad my walking-around-and-looking-for-the-perfect-place plan doesn't seem viable! I'll tweak it to reserving a hotel room and spending a couple of days checking out hostels and possibly budget hotels offering a weekly/monthly rate.


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

perropedorro said:


> If I'm getting the location of Lamar Univ right, it's only about 3 blocks from the U.S. Consulate, definitely in the high rent district. *A 20 min. walk east puts you around Federalismo on the edge of the Centro. *Like Tundra pointed out, hotels there run the whole range from luxury right down to joints that are too funky even for me, especially on or just east of the Calzada. Some decent two or three star places might cut you a deal if you're renting by the month, in off season, like from now til late November or so. Far as having a kitchen, depends on your need to cook, although a mini-fridge to keep veggies, cheese and drinks cold is a huge advantage. When you need a hot meal, places to street grub are ubiquitous and reasonable.


That's a really useful piece of information, perropedorro! Knowing that Federalisimo is about a 20 minute walk helps me sort out which places to consider. And I could probably live indefinitely with a mini-fridge if I added a coffeemaker! (And maybe a toaster for good measure!) 

.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

perropedorro said:


> If I'm getting the location of Lamar Univ right, it's only about 3 blocks from the U.S. Consulate, definitely in the high rent district. A 20 min. walk east puts you around Federalismo on the edge of the Centro. Like Tundra pointed out, hotels there run the whole range from luxury right down to joints that are too funky even for me, especially on or just east of the Calzada. Some decent two or three star places might cut you a deal if you're renting by the month, in off season, like from now til late November or so. Far as having a kitchen, depends on your need to cook, although a mini-fridge to keep veggies, cheese and drinks cold is a huge advantage. When you need a hot meal, places to street grub are ubiquitous and reasonable.


Perro,

The main campus of Lamar is on Vallarta, west of Minerva, just before Vallarta goes over the railroad tracks. So it is more like 20 blocks west of Chapultepec and the consulate. And it is not in a high rent district. The walk to Federalismo and Centro is more like 45 minutes but there are lots of buses that, for 7 pesos, go along Vallarta to get there and back. Google seems to pick up the Lamar Odontologia School which is closer in. I guess it depends on what Turtle Too is studying. Otherwise, I agree with your suggestion that the Federalismo area or further east in Centro is a better place to find cheap lodgings than out by Lamar.

Actually, it looks like they have 5 locations in that general area west of Chapultepec and one further out in Tlajomulco somewhere:
Vallarta
Av. Vallarta No. 3273-1, Col. Vallarta Poniente, Guadalajara, Jal.

Chapultepec
Guadalupe Zuno No. 1964, Col. Americana, Guadalajara, Jal.

El Palomar
Ramal La Tijera No. 1754, Col. Amatas, Tlajomulco de Zuñiga, Jal.

Hidalgo I
Av. Hidalgo No. 1540, esq. Marsella, Col. Americana, Guadalajara, Jal.

Hidalgo II
Av. Hidalgo No. 1140, esq. Nicolás Romero, Col. Americana, Guadalajara, Jal.

Clínicas
Av. Hidalgo No. 1540, esq. Marsella, Col. Americana, Guadalajara, Jal.

The Nicolas Romero one is closer in. Depends on where TT will be spending his time.


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

TurtleToo said:


> I meant to specify the Lamar University campus on Calle José Guadalupe Zuno Hernández and Av Chapultepec.  Apparently there is another location.


Or another 4 locations! This is the one: Guadelupe Zuno No. 1964, Col. Americana.

.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

TurtleToo said:


> Or another 4 locations! This is the one: Guadelupe Zuno No. 1964, Col. Americana.
> 
> .


Then Perro is correct. That is just off Chapultepec, three blocks from the US Consulate. It is a nice area, the center of night life, with tons of people on the street in the evening, and tianguis and activities in the median strip. But, as Perro notes, it is an expensive area to find a place to stay. Better to go east a bit as he pointed out.


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> Actually, it looks like they have 5 locations in that general area west of Chapultepec and one further out in Tlajomulco somewhere:


I plead ignorance, Tundra. Never heard of Lamar Univ. (other than the one in Texas), and the cross streets the OP mentioned put the location near the consulate. Should also have remembered that in Mexico a university may not look anything like a typical U.S. college where the main campus sprawls over a thousand acres and is pretty much it. Got lots of inlaws working for U d G at various locations in GDL, all over Jalisco in fact. Perhaps guiding the OP towards the Centro is due to my preferences and opinion that it's more interesting, albeit grittier, than the Vallarta corridor.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

perropedorro said:


> I plead ignorance, Tundra. Never heard of Lamar Univ. (other than the one in Texas), and the cross streets the OP mentioned put the location near the consulate. Should also have remembered that in Mexico a university may not look anything like a typical U.S. college where the main campus sprawls over a thousand acres and is pretty much it. Got lots of inlaws working for U d G at various locations in GDL, all over Jalisco in fact. Perhaps guiding the OP towards the Centro is due to my preferences and opinion that it's more interesting, albeit grittier, than the Vallarta corridor.


Perro, you were right. I missed the post where TT mentioned which address he was going to. I agree with your preference for Centro over Chapultepec. In fact that is where I live. You seem to know Gdl pretty well for someone who does not live here. Did you live here at one time?


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## perropedorro (Mar 19, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> Perro, you were right. I missed the post where TT mentioned which address he was going to. I agree with your preference for Centro over Chapultepec. In fact that is where I live. You seem to know Gdl pretty well for someone who does not live here. Did you live here at one time?


Never actually lived in GDL,but have had lots of long visits as a younger man. Then about 30 years ago I found a native tapatía foolish enough to be bamboozled by my charm, get married in that weird narrow church in a traffic island right in the middle of Federalismo, and tolerant enough to still be with me. Now retired on the Colima coast, we get into town a long weekend each month to visit her large family, see a soccer match, or purchase something not readily available in Colima. Overall, I love GDL but like any other big city I couldn't put up with the traffic, smog, and frantic pace full time. It's a nice place to visit....


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

perropedorro said:


> Never actually lived in GDL,but have had lots of long visits as a younger man. Then about 30 years ago I found a native tapatía foolish enough to be bamboozled by my charm, get married in that weird narrow church in a traffic island right in the middle of Federalismo, and tolerant enough to still be with me. Now retired on the Colima coast, we get into town a long weekend each month to visit her large family, see a soccer match, or purchase something not readily available in Colima. Overall, I love GDL but like any other big city I couldn't put up with the traffic, smog, and frantic pace full time. It's a nice place to visit....


I live a few blocks from Templo Refugio. Look me up sometime if you are in Gdl with an hour or two to kill.


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