Mexico City Neighborhood Guide for Nomads and Long-Term Stays
A Brief and Practical Neighborhood Guide to One of the Best Cities in the World
Note: This article was first written for StevenTheNomad.com in 2021. The version below was updated in August, 2022.
Mexico City is huge. It’s a sprawling, seemingly endless tapestry of concrete and neighborhoods. When arriving by plane, you feel as though you’re flying over a city for at least the last ten minutes of the flight. The city’s countless houses, tiendas, parks, and streets fly by through the little window next to your seat. On your first visit, it’s easy to wonder, How will I ever make sense of this place?
With this neighborhood guide for nomads and long-term guests of Mexico City (also known as CDMX), I hope to strip back the overwhelming nature of the metropolis. To take away the intimidation of Mexico’s largest city—and the world’s fifth-largest—which is only natural for a place that’s home to twenty-two million people. Despite its massive size, once you find your feet, it’s incredibly liveable. If you find the right neighborhood, you might just stay forever.
Below, I rank the seven best neighborhoods to stay in long-term: their unique and defining characteristics, their upsides, and also why they might not fit what you’re looking for. I’ll start at number seven and work my way toward the most delicious, beautiful, and interesting pockets of the city.
7. Santa Fe
Santa Fe looks like money. It’s known as the shopping and business center of the city, with large malls and glassy corporate offices. It’s located about a 30-minute drive to the SW of the city’s center, but it’s not very easily connected by public transit. Luckily, Uber is ubiquitous throughout the city, so it’s still relatively easy to get there. The whole place shines on sunny days, and you’re never more than five minutes from a Starbucks or doctor’s office.
For some, it’s well-loved for being a very comfortable, welcoming, clean, and safe place—like “being back home,” but in Mexico. On a Friday night you could choose between eating at Chili’s, TGI Fridays, or P.F. Chang’s—but in Mexico. Of course, there are more local and upscale options for dining and nightlife as well. Walking around, you’ll find movie theaters, parks, museums, and markets along its well-manicured streets. It’s not my top choice for where to live, but depending on your taste and interests it might just fit the bill.
Why Stay: Safe, clean, and comfortable.
Why Not: It doesn’t feel like an authentic Mexico City neighborhood—more like a gigantic shopping mall built for comfort.
6. De Valle
De Valle feels like where those who spend their twenties in Condesa and Roma go to raise kids in their thirties. You can’t walk five minutes in any direction without bumping into a school. There are numerous parks, malls, shopping centers, and an overall “family-friendly” atmosphere in the large neighborhood.
It’s located just below Roma and extends south toward Coyoacan. De Valle is broken up into De Valle Norte, Centro, and Sur—but has an overall cohesive feeling. It’s an incredibly liveable neighborhood, with taco holes that have been around for decades, numerous bus routes, and public bike stands (known as Ecobici) everywhere.
It’s also well located, giving you ease of access to the entire city. In less than 10 minutes on a bike, you can be in the popular Condesa neighborhood to the north, or in 15 minutes in an Uber, you can be at the Frida Kahlo Museum (Casa Azul) to the south. It’s authentic and without pretension. It’s also relatively inexpensive for a long-term stay. Del Valle is not one of the city’s most famous neighborhoods, so prices haven’t gotten too inflated even with the city’s growing international popularity.
Why Stay: It’s a very affordable option in an authentic, well-located part of town.
Why Not: It’s a family-friendly neighborhood more than a nomad-friendly neighborhood, not known for its bars, kitschy restaurants, or coworking spaces.
5. Coyoacán
Coyoacán, meaning “the place of the coyotes,” feels like a little town unto itself. It has an incredible town center, or “zocalo,” with ancient trees providing shade over ornate fountains and beautiful gardens. There are amazing markets, restaurants, and blooming vegetation throughout the brick-laid streets. Most travelers to Mexico City head south to Coyoacán for one day to visit the Frida Kahlo Museum, meander the markets, and eat a stuffed churro in the zocalo before heading back north again.
Staying in Coyoacán is a great option, however, for those who prefer things on a smaller, intimate, more manageable scale. You’re still only a 20-minute Uber ride to Condesa or Roma, but you have a safe neighborhood that feels like home. It’s the type of place where, after a month, you’ll likely know the person who makes your coffee’s name. You’ll likely wave or chat to multiple people who enter the daily routes and routines of your week. It would be a great neighborhood to spend a few months focusing on Spanish language progression.
Why Stay: It’s a very beautiful, intimate-feeling neighborhood where you could easily connect with locals and greatly improve your Spanish.
Why Not: It’s a bit far. If you want to connect to the nomad scene or be able to easily meet up with friends in the city for a drink, the distance might get hard.
4. Polanco
Polanco’s broad avenues, big beautiful parks, and incredible infrastructure are why it’s such a draw for travelers and long-term nomads. It’s also where a lot of Mexico’s wealthy population has chosen to settle down. It’s easy to see why.
Polanco has everything you can need, it’s beautifully organized, and it’s located just to the northwest of the city’s center. Polanco is just on the other side of Mexico’s largest and most famous park—Chapultepec—so the transit between the neighborhood and the rest of the city is generally scenic. (In general, Mexico City feels far more green and lush with nature than what you’d imagine for the world’s fifth-largest city).
In the heart of Polanco, there’s an Apple store, numerous high-end fashion brands, and every type of food option under the sun, including world-renowned restaurants such as Pujol and Quintonil. It’s the type of neighborhood where, if you wander at night after a first date, your odds of falling in love will dramatically increase. There will be a huge fountain, you might hear mariachi players performing in the distance, and then you’ll stumble upon a gelato place at just the right corner. It’s got a polished but historic feel to it, and it’s easy to think, Why would I ever leave?
Why Stay: It’s safe, well-located, walkable, and beautiful. High-end “foodies” will love it.
Why Not: It’s where a lot of Mexico city’s upper-class live, so the cost of living is a bit higher than in other neighborhoods. It’s home to some nomads, but not the main neighborhood for ex-pats.
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