# Student life in Mexico



## maheshwar.iyer (Aug 10, 2012)

Hi. I am a student and will be in Mexico for 6 months for a research internship with CINVESTAV, Queretaro.Could anyone please tell me the alternatives for accomodation and the monthly costs involved? I am a vegan and would appreciate if I get any tips about managing my food for those 6 months. Thanks.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

maheshwar.iyer said:


> Hi. I am a student and will be in Mexico for 6 months for a research internship with CINVESTAV, Queretaro.Could anyone please tell me the alternatives for accomodation and the monthly costs involved? I am a vegan and would appreciate if I get any tips about managing my food for those 6 months. Thanks.


Welcome. 
Lots of students rent rooms in houses with shared bathroom and kitchen. It will cost about $1500 pesos (a little over $100 usd).

If you buy your food at the market and cook at home, you will have no problem with avoiding animal products. There are far more fruits and vegetables available here than up north, and they are fresher and better. Lots of things you have probably never seen to try out. 

Eating in restaurants or street stands is another matter. They tend to put cheese on everything so most meat free dishes still won't be vegan. I think if you really want to be strictly vegan, you could not eat much at all in restaurants. I often order just rice, salsa and tortillas. Beans are available everywhere, but they may be made with pig fat. I haven't really asked about it so I don't know how common it is to get them without it. You can often get beans either frijoles refritos or frijoles de olla (refried or from the pot). De olla is less likely to have animal fat in it. They tend to put cream, mayonaise, and cheese on all kinds of things so ordering food will be difficult. How is your Spanish?

PS I just noticed you are from India, not Canada or the US. So you will still probably find the selection of fruits and vegetables different, but I don't know how the quantity will compare to where you are now.


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## maheshwar.iyer (Aug 10, 2012)

well actually i am a lacto-vegetarian which includes milk and dairy products but excludes eggs, fish, chicken and other meat.

about my spanish, i don't speak spanish yet but i hope to know a few basic sentences by the time i get there in mid-december.

i would also like some information about a working net connection and a cellular connection considering the fact that i would be in mexico for only 6 months. thanks.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Here's a brief list of Vegan/Vegan-friendly restaurants in Queretaro, I'm certain there are more ... but it's a starting point from which you can meet others living a similar lifestyle:

Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants Queretaro, Healthy, Organic, Mexico -HappyCow


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## maheshwar.iyer (Aug 10, 2012)

i would also like to know what would be a reasonable budget for me to live in reasonable comfort in juriquilla, considering i'll be having student accomodation and im a lacto-vegan. thanks.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

maheshwar.iyer said:


> Hi. I am a student and will be in Mexico for 6 months for a research internship with CINVESTAV, Queretaro.Could anyone please tell me the alternatives for accomodation and the monthly costs involved? I am a vegan and would appreciate if I get any tips about managing my food for those 6 months. Thanks.


I looked up CINVESTAV, QRO and found that it is on the libramiento in Juruquilla but on the north side almost in Santa Rosa Jaurequi. If that your work location, and expect that you will take public transportation, this will have a pretty significant effect on where you live unless you want a pretty significant commute. I sort of expected QRO centro your best option but now it is probably better to start with Juruquilla or Santa Rosa Jaurequi. Juruquilla is a very fast growing sub area about 15-20km from centro. Has a very wide option of pretty new structures as well as a set of expanding colleges. Expect that also a lot of expats working at the expanding businesses on hwy 57. Really not made for walking as things spread out. Santa Rosa looks like a very nice smaller city with a downtown but expect will put a premium on Spanish. I know that there was somebody posting about 6 months ago that lived there. Here you would be able to walk around and expect a lot of local markets but even further from QRO centro.
Maybe some of the QRO folk will have more specific help.


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## stilltraveling (May 7, 2012)

maheshwar.iyer said:


> Hi. I am a student and will be in Mexico for 6 months for a research internship with CINVESTAV, Queretaro.Could anyone please tell me the alternatives for accomodation and the monthly costs involved? I am a vegan and would appreciate if I get any tips about managing my food for those 6 months. Thanks.


Many homes around any university in Mexico rent out rooms for students. The best way to find them is to walk around the neighborhood and look for "for rent" signs. Another alternative is the bulletin board on campus. Rentals in newspaper classified ads aren't really targeted towards the student demographic and online sites are mostly reserved for high-end rentals and commercial properties. 

Most students in Mexico rent a room or share an apartment with several other students as that is the only affordable option. There are also many "casas de huespedes" which rent out small hotel-style rooms for slightly more than what you pay to rent a room in a house. 

Being vegan in Mexico can be difficult until you learn to work with local ingredients. Every city has a large central market (think Wal-Mart of farmer's markets) where you can find fresh local produce. There are also smaller street markets that rotate to different parts of the city on given days of the week. Ask about the "tianguis" or "sobre ruedas" (it goes by different names in different cities) to find out where and when it's in your area. You'll find that produce is much cheaper than in the States if you stay out of the supermarkets. The high-end stores put a huge markup on the same produce you'll find in the farmer's markets.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

maheshwar.iyer said:


> i would also like to know what would be a reasonable budget for me to live in reasonable comfort in juriquilla, considering i'll be having student accomodation and im a lacto-vegan. thanks.


Our notes must have crossed. As I said Juruquilla has an expanding university population but is really becoming a suburban sprall. If you have student housing, that a real leg-up for major expense. Every time I go there, I find a new road, new buildings and new shops.
What I don't see are the typical farmer's markets and tiendas from other areas. Seems a lot more modern and upscale but I must admit we typically go there for a couple great restaurants on the water and the new Superama that is the closest thing around to a US supermarket but maybe not what you are looking for.


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