Mexico City: Pros & Cons of Living There

Over the past few years, Mexico City has become increasingly popular with foreign residents, and especially digital nomads.

The influx of people willing to pay more for rent and other services is being blamed for gentrification in popular neighborhoods like Polanco, La Condesa and Roma Norte.

As basic costs of living increase, the locals are being forced out, and they're not happy about it.

Since we're in the business of exploring popular areas where expats and digital nomads like to live, we couldn't really cross this hotspot off our list.

However, we were very hesitant to go there. We didn’t know what to expect or if we’d even be welcome.

We did enjoy our time in CDMX. It has a lot of great things going for it, but several drawbacks and one thing in particular that will probably keep us from going back.

So in this video, we talk about the pros & cons of Mexico City.

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[christophercobb]

Wanted to mention: the Museo Nacional de Antropologia is one of the world's great museums. That is honestly one of the wonders of the world. I went for five hours and felt I could spend five days there! I think that alone makes CDMX worth a trip!

[ramjet]

Been to Mexico City several times and loved it. With Prague, it is one of the best, and my favorite of all cities in the world.

[ShouldWeLiveHere]

We just returned from Mexico City and loved it. We didn’t really notice the pollution but we did take a few days to adjust to the altitude.

[kinewt]

I love Mexico City. I was there last May of 2022 and I never experienced any of these cons that they experienced. It was nothing but wonderful.

[trudyzire]

I stayed in la Condessa for 2 months Oct-Dec '22. I walked a lot and didn't feel crowded. I never drink the tap water anywhere in MX unless they have a reverse osmosis system, which is rare.
The air pollution depends a lot on weather conditions. CDMX is in a basin so they experience air inversions. The city has implemented programs to limit care on the street and has one of the most extensive public transit systems in the world for pennies a ride. Taking the metro avoids the traffic. Can you tell I'm a big fan? Can't wait to go back and stay even longer!

[terry]

I love Mexico City and Mexico! I've been to Mexico City 3 times; the last time was in March as part of a 4-week holiday in the country. I didn't feel any effects of the pollution or altitude. I felt safe walking around Roma Norte at night and loved the bars on Alvaro Obregon. I stayed at the Hotel Condesa Cibel in the very safe but a bit boring area of La Condesa.

The safe areas of the city include La Condesa, Coyoacan, Juarez, and the exclusive suburb of Polanco.

I'm from London, England, and would move to Mexico in a heartbeat if I could afford to.

[world_mem]

Tremendous Capital City!. Visitors quickly realized of the history, culture, traditions, art, architecture and gastronomy, Mexico City is just fascinating, too much to explore and discover.
Mexico has the largest number of world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO in the Americas!
.

[writerjohnmcnally]

I spend a lot of time in SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia). I went to Mexico City for the first time last month and was surprised at how little traffic there was and how easy it was to walk around (I was staying in La Condesa), but the last place I’d been was Saigon. 😂

[Jetmab]

Mexico City is definitely on my list to visit 🤗

[jameshaddan]

Thanks for the video. I’m planning on going to Mexico City for a quick trip later this year - so this was helpful and the drawbacks don’t outweigh the positives for me…especially for a quick trip. I live in Southern California and can fly to Mexico City easily and pretty affordably, making a 4-5 day visit a perfect taste of the city without having to deal with the negatives for long. Also, while our air pollution in Southern California has greatly improved over the decades…we can still have an ugly brown layer of haze…so I’m not spoiled with crystal clear air at home.

[kirkzipfel]

I'm here now for the first time in Mexico City. It's an incredible, humongous, cultured, ancient, dirty, fun, busy city. Amazing food, amazing shopping, sewer smell, terrible air quality, friendly people. Museums are everywhere, ride a bike, good app-based city bike program, good internet (even decent free city internet!). When 20mm people get together, there's going to be a lot of cool stuff to do. I barely scratched the surface. I stayed in Reforma, right in the heart of everything.

[jorgerocha]

Everybody needs to understand that since the Spaniards arrived to Mexico city m, was already very populated. México city has been and always is going to be populated.

[chasesquiresecuador]

Thank you. Heading through there in the spring and this really helped, great info. We hope you are well. We are still in Cuenca, but need to pass through CDMX.

[alannahprestaynofbraavos]

I'm glad you mentioned it being safe in Polanco at night because so many people were out. Maybe you should lead with the understanding that when people are out for a dinner and the sidewalks are bustling that makes it safer. The same thing in NYC where I'm from. There are some neighborhoods I wouldn't go to after dark because they are relatively desolate, but then there are neighborhoods where people are out until 10-11 o'clock at night (it used to be later pre-pandemic). If you are alone, *that* is what makes it less safe. Talking about safety in a country as large as Mexico is like talking about the US: do you mean Salt Lake City? Biloxi, MS? Detroit, MI? San Francisco or Sacramento, CA? All of those places are very different culturally, safety-wise, and for so many other reasons.

[michaelsix]

amazing Mexico City is more pleasant than most American cities -- maybe we should take some lessons from them

[davidchilton]

Mexico City is among my favorite places. I've been fortunate in that I've experienced very little of the air polution that others have spoken of. There are some neighborhoods (e.g. Coyoacan) which have far less gentrification which would likely be my choice were I to move there (though I do love Condesa).

[malcolmnorton]

Gentrification happens all over the World and always has when you think about it. Come back and come to Merida Yucatan. Its a different Mexico here. Love your videos!❤

[benqurayza]

Mexico City is estupendo! Big, overwhelming. Big monuments and public spaces. Yanquis, there is another universe here in North America. I once visited there during Holy Week, when there was less traffic and better air.

[MsMaileMay]

I definitely agree about Quito Airport. I'm an international flight attendant and typically the big international airports are exhausting to walk through. Quito is so small and beautiful. I do love the museums in Mexico city.
Look out for me on your next flight in and out of Quito!

[RedSpiralHandTV]

Wow, thanks for sharing! Currently staying a few weeks in a small Mexican village on the beach in Jalisco!