Moving to Mexico--Contemplating Mexico City or Guadalajara? Any help?

Hi everyone
My family and I will be moving to Mexico in March. We are unsure yet as to where to move. My husband is originally from Mexico City and his family all live there so that is a big plus to us moving there, however, we have been reading such great things about guadalajara that we've become overly smitten. Can anyone give me some advice as to which would be the better city for living in, in terms of working and lifestyle and not to mention safety! Gracias!

Write to me and I will send you my ebook RETIRE TO MEXICO-20 Questions You Need To Answer. I only send to people who ask to prevent spamming.
[email protected]

Welcome on Expat.com tamaulipasteacher,

maybe you could post a few articles of your ebook in the particpative Mexico guide ?

I am pretty sure it would help a lot of people :)

Hi leesstar,

I personally prefer Mexico City. The public transportation is better and there are more museums and cultural events than in Guadalajara. I recently moved to Guadalajara from Mexico City.
If you decide to move to Mexico City, I have a two bedroom apartment that is completely furnished where you can stay temporarily until you find a more permanent place. It is located in the neighborhood of Escandon, next to the Condesa. Very centrally located, with 24 hour security, underground parking, and walking distance to the metro. The rent is $1,200 per month with no long term contract. Let me know if you are interested at [email protected].

Hi there,
I have visited both Mexico City and Guadalajara and let me tell you that Guadalajara is a much nicer place to live. Job opportunities are growing in Guadalajara and also the air is much cleaner. It is a beautiful place to live and raise a family.

Leesstar,

I live in Cabo San Lucas and will be moving to Guadalajara soon. My wife is from there and it is a beautiful city and much safer the Mexcio City. It seems that is much more modern with many new Malls and very easy to get around. You also donŽt have to worry about the taxis being legitimate or not!
good luck

I live a couple hours from guadalajara and really think its much nicer than Df. DF is like a dirty 3rd world new york. I am not sure why anyone would want to live there. I have been various times and could hardly wait to leave. Everyone has their own preference though. Visit both and then choose. In the long run it will be cheaper than just picking a place and going, then finding out you dont like it.

the climate in guadalajara is nicer as well.

Have you moved yet?  Which city?    Julia

hi am mariana i live in guadalajara its a nice city its much more smaller than mexico city not that much traffic but right now would not be a safe place , drug dilers are in a big fight so its really insecure so i shoudent come here on this year at least. but its a nice place people its nice.

I would suggest you read an excellent book about mexico city called El Monstruo by a pulitzer prize winning journalist who has lived there for a quarter of a century.  He holds no punches and you get a good sense of the various areas, politics, corruption, crime and the things that so attracts people to this huge ungainly place.

Guadalajara is beginning to experience the drug wars and matters seem to be escalating there as of late.

I've lived in both Guadalajara and Mexico City with the latter my current home.  Both cities have their charms and drawbacks. Mexico City ended up the winner for me on job opportunities, arts and culture, and the people.

For Guadalajara, I disliked the coldness of the people there which I took as part of the fear of narcos that pervade the city (these impressions come from before the current mess).  Public transport is a mess so you really need a car in the city meaning horrible traffic.

For Mexico City, the drawback is traffic if you own a car (I don't) though public transport is very good.  Crime is a problem I haven't suffered but I think it's a concern for the new arrival, mostly theft.  Bureaucratic red tape is also a pain here for things like property purchases and car insurance.

Hope that helps!