I Lived In Mexico City For 1 Year, What You Need To Know

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Mexico City is becoming an increasingly popular destination for foreigners, whether that be tourists or people looking to make the move permanently. A little over one year ago, I myself decided to move to Mexico City and see what all the hype is about. During the past year, I have definitely learned a lot about the pros and cons of living here, both for foreigners like me and Mexican locals. When moving to any foreign country, it is important to consider the impacts of your actions on natives of that country. In the case of Mexico City, for example, gentrification is a growing concern. Remember, the key to living authentically in a new city is respecting and understanding how your experience may be different than a local's. Watch to hear about the main safety issues I have faced in Mexico City, cost of living, and other tips from my time living in Mexico City (they might be surprising!)

Thank you for watching, you're awesome :) New videos every Saturday.

👋 Hola, I'm Nate. I used to not know any Spanish at all, and I had no interest in learning the language. I thought learning Spanish would be boring, a waste of time, and would provide no value to my life. Then I started taking Spanish classes in high school and everything changed for me. I struggled with learning the language a lot at first, but thanks to my teachers and my Spanish speaking friends, they helped make the learning process fun. Within a few months, I had gotten to a conversational level, but more important, I had become a more confident person. The real win for me, though, was the friendships I made and strengthened. I discovered that not only did I have higher self esteem, but being out in the real world with people, whether old friends or new ones I met, made me feel more alive and connected with the world around me. Now it's my goal to create videos that make you smile and inspire you to learn Spanish or another language!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Gentrification
3:39 - Cost of Living in Mexico City
7:13 - Getting Around Mexico City
7:57 - Is Mexico City Safe?
9:35 - My Two Biggest Fears in Mexico City
9:50 - Do You Need to Know Spanish?
10:22 - Healthcare in Mexico
11:13 - Pros & Cons of Mexico City

*Some of the above links are affiliate links which help support my channel. I believe in all products or services I promote. ¡Gracias!*

#spanish #mexico #mexicocity

[mattsmalley.]

I stayed in Condesa for a week in March. I did hear a fair bit of English on the streets, but every local I interacted with assumed I spoke Spanish. I prefer that since my goal is usually to speak no English at all on my Mexico trips.

[gabrielamarquez]

If you want to live in Mexico, please remember that is not an obligation that Mexicans speak English if don’t speak Spanish. Remember that you are a guest, so respect, adapt and enjoy that Mexico is.

[scotty_mccall]

The MOST IMPORTANT thing you have to understand when living in Mexico and most Latin America is this:

You ARE A PERSON JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. People from US and Canada tend to label groups of people and create "minorities". Are there black Mexicans? Sure, but they dont label themselves as a "black community"

They just exist like everyone else. People have been mixing for centuries instead of segregating like US people have

[waterym]

I bet those cheap Mexican street tacos are way more healthier than any fast food joint in the US.

[osoperezoso]

I lived in Brooklyn for 6 years and have friends that live in Mexico City. More has happened to my friends in NYC than Mexico City. Every big city goes through different varieties of bad things.

[SteveSpanish]

It sounds like you've been having a great adventure in Mexico. Thanks for sharing this video.

[Majikmind]

Awesome video! You gave a great run down of the "pros" and "cons" of living in CDMX. Ty Nate! 💯

[armandovera]

Cool video. Will be visiting CDMX in October.

Saludos 🇲🇽

[TheRomper]

I'm glad I experienced Colonia Roma since the late 90's up until 10 years ago, when it was an actual artist neighborhood, full of independent spots, cafés, music forums and housing that young people could afford.

Today it's all ruined by all the foreigners moving in, AirBnB inflating the rent prices to insane levels, prices of everything from a coffee to laundry services being almost twice than in other areas of the city and all the cool independent spots closing and getting rented out to be replaced by chains and posh-mediocre restaurants catering to americans in this artificial bubble of a couple of neighborhoods they won't dare to leave.

No sense of community anymore to make it a better place to live as we fought for decades going out to vote, pressuring local governments, authorities, the police, for better infrastructure, security, services, as instead of neighbors, now everyone is a stranger renting an AirBnB who only cares about getting drunk for cheap, hooking up and instagramming their food at the latest overpriced spot. I'm not exaggerating, a building I used to live in now has become a full airbnb rental, all 12 apartments of it.

After 20+ years living in Roma I've finally outgrown it, and definitely won't miss what it became in the last years.


While you seem like a nice guy, 90% of foreigners moving in are incredibly rude and entitled, I hope this gets regulated by taxing short term rentals and long term foreign visitors.

[nz]

You look much more handsome after 1 year in Mexico.

[jaredabazia]

Be mindful that the transportation system is not accessible for certain parts of the city. I live in Atlamaya and the closest Metro or Metro Bus stops are a 40 minute walk.

[kQcsdNJBUw]

1:58 I think the "gentrification by foreigners" is a misconception, not because there is no gentrification but because those areas were already gentrified decades ago and foreigners are not the only reason... bad policies pretty much causes gentrification.

[_MoRZiLLo]

1 año con un feo bigote en méxico 😀
Espero lo hayas pasado bien Nate.

[KarenJ]

I think the ones that should be blamed are the ones renting out these places and taking advantage of people because they know they'll pay.

[Average--Joe]

Um, that's not true. You have to take a driving test that is heavy on parallel parking. Ask me how i know.

[pablosantos]

Some of the images shown are not Mexico City, they are from Cuernavaca or Puebla de los Angeles.

[SkipinlLA]

we got foreigners coming to florida making it more expensive and we cant afford to live there anymore to i know how it feels

[lukewormholes]

The people who used to live in Roma, Condesa for decades are the very wealthy 1% of the Mexican population. A lot of privileged Mexicans; a lot of mostly Spanish descent. I don't think the majority of the working class is going to be mad about it - foreigners bring more money and treat them a lot better

[priscillacatalina]

What are the other safe neighborhoods other than Polanco, Condeso etc I don’t want to live in a high price tourist area

[cylon]

Is there any effort by the displaced residents to beautify their new streets on par with the preferred areas, e.g., Romas, Condesa, Polanco? Should it be noted that before the influx of expats, lower income Mexicans could not afford to live on magnificent tree lined streets, so is gentrification really anything new? Are there groups which do concerted street tree plantings with the intention of duplicating the vibe of the standout neighborhoods?