Mexico city is huge. It’s a sprawling endless tapestry of concrete and neighborhoods. When arriving by plane, it feels as though you’re flying over the city for the last ten minutes of the flight. The city’s countless houses, tiendas, parks, and streets fly by through the little rectangular 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) we hope to strip back the overwhelming nature of the metropolis. To take away the intimidation of Mexico’s largest city—the world’s fifth largest city—which is only natural for a place that’s home to twenty-one 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 we’ll rank the seven best neighborhoods to stay long-term. We’ll share their unique and defining characteristics, their upsides, and also why it might not fit what you’re looking for. We’ll start at number seven and work our way towards 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 malls and large corporate offices that seemingly connect from one end of it to the other. It’s located about 30 minutes driving 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 doctors 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 Chilis, TGI Fridays, or P.F. Changs—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 it’s well manicured streets. It’s not our top choice for where to live, but depending on your taste and interests it might just fit the bill.
Why to Stay: Safe, clean, and comfortable.
Why Not: It doesn’t quite feel like an “authentic Mexico City neighborhood,” but rather—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 to the large neighborhood.
It’s located just below Roma, and extends south towards Coyoacan. De Valle is broken up into De Valle Norte, Center and Sur—but has an overall cohesive feeling. It’s an incredibly liveable neighborhood, with taco holes that have been around for decades, and bus routes and public bike stands (known as Ecobici) everywhere.
It’s incredibly 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 Museum to the south. It’s authentic and without pretension. It’s also relatively inexpensive for a long-term stay. De Valle is not one of the city’s more famous neighborhoods, so prices haven’t gotten too inflated with the city’s growing international popularity.
Why to 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. (i.e. It’s not known for it’s bars, kitschy restaurants, or coworking spaces.)
5. Coyoacan
Coyoacan, 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 travellers to Mexico City head south to Coyoacan for a day to visit the Frida Kahlo Museum, meander the markets, and eat a stuffed churro in the zocalo before heading back north again.
However, staying in Coyoacan is a great option 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 to Stay: It’s a very beautiful, intimate feeling neighborhood where you could easily connect with locals or 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 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 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).
Polanco’s wide avenues, big beautiful parks, and incredible infrastructure are why it’s such a draw for travellers and long-term nomads. It’s also where a lot of Mexico’s wealthy population have chosen to settle down. It’s easy to see why.
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-renown restaurants like Pujol and Quintonil. It’s the type of neighborhood that 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 in 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 to Stay: It’s safe, well-located, walkable, and beautiful. High-end “foodies” will love it.
Why Not: It’s where a lot of Mexico’s upper-class live, so the cost-of-living is a bit higher than other neighborhoods. It’s home to some nomads, but not the main neighborhood for expats.
3. Juarez
Juarez is Mexico City’s most important “revival” neighborhood. Ten years ago not many travellers or visitors to the city would have considered staying in the neighborhood. It was a bit run down, a bit unsafe—a bit seedy feeling. Now, Juarez is where some of the most exciting venues, art galleries, cafes, and cultural additions to the city are sprouting up.
Located in the heart of the city, where it’s two most prominent arteries collide, it’s perfectly situated to navigate the city by foot, bike, bus or car. The city’s two most famous and important streets, Insurgentes and Reforma, collide in the middle of the neighborhood. Exploring the restaurants, street food stalls, shops, and art of Reforma alone, will keep you busy for weeks. One of the city’s most beloved icons, the Angel of Independence, stands in the middle of the boulevard, and on Sundays the street is closed for bicyclists, rollerbladers, and joggers to encourage better health among the populace.
Juarez is a nice balance of being centrally located, in walking distance of numerous coworking spaces and hipster cafes, but also still a local’s neighborhood at its core. It’s the type of place where you’ll swear, the street tacos at the end of your block are the best in the city.
Why to Stay: You’ll have an incredibly local, authentic experience—but the prices are still reasonable and you’re close to everything.
Why Not: It’s still considered a bit dangerous by some, and you might feel a bit dwarfed or intimidated, surrounded by the tallest buildings in the city that run down Reforma.
2. Condesa
If you like beautiful public spaces, you’ll love Condesa. It’s home to two central parks that dominate the overall vibe of the neighborhood. Parque Mexico and Parque España are beautifully designed green spaces lined with cafes, and filled with playgrounds, fountains, tropical vegetation, and dogs. The western edge of Condesa bumps into Chapultepec, the largest green space in the entire city. It’s larger than Condesa itself, and filled with lakes, museums, statues, and walking paths to get lost along.
Parque Mexico has one of the world’s greatest dog parks right along Calle Michoacan, which splits the park across it’s middle. Looping all the way around Parque Mexico, just a block away, is Amsterdam Avenue—a famous, beautifully landscaped 2km loop. Walking or jogging along Amsterdam street, you’ll immediately understand why Condesa is the most popular neighborhood for digital nomads.
It’s the digital nomad playground of Mexico City. It’s got an overwhelming number of coffee shops and coworking options to comfortably work from. It’s filled with famous bars, restaurants serving food from every corner of the map, and also—other digital nomads. It’s the safe, well-maintained, expat haven, smack in the middle of an intimidating 21-million person city. While some dislike Mexico City for it’s traffic and pollution, you’ll likely never even notice staying in Condesa, as you watch the dogs play in it’s beautiful tree-filled parks.
Why to Stay: If you’re going alone and want to plug into the digital nomad scene, Condesa will put you right in the middle of it. The parks and green spaces are world-famous and full of dogs.
Why Not: It’s expensive. Also, maybe you’d prefer a different option if you’re someone who likes finding and discovering the next best thing. Condesa is like the pop-music of CDMX neighborhoods.
1. Roma
Roma is where Mexico City dreams come true. Walking the bustling streets of this central neighborhood, you’ll stumble upon incredible murals, markets exploding with colors and smells, and people happily walking the streets of a place that just feels special. The deep history and pulsing creativity mix in the air around you as you navigate the broken sidewalks, raised and split by trees who have seen it all.
Although Roma is in the heart of Mexico City and blossomed along with its development, it’s retained an old-school feeling. Next to a new poke bowl restaurant, you’ll find an old shoe-repair shop, same as it’s been since the 1970s. Next to a flashy tattoo parlor, there’s a simple tienda run by an old woman who was born in the neighborhood.
Roma is divided into Roma Sur and Roma Norte, loosely divided by Coahuila street. Plaza Rio De Janerio and Plaza Luis Cabrera are two beautiful parks in the northern half, and Mercado Medellin in the Southern half is a market that demands exploring. The entire neighborhood is emblematic of Mexico City at it’s finest, and whether you stay in Roma or not, be sure to wander about in it’s bursting art and flavors. Take in the swirling mix of Mexico’s history and it’s future.
Why to Stay: It’s one of Mexico’s most important and interesting neighborhoods. You’ll have everything you need in walking distance, and you won’t run out of cafes or restaurants to try. It’s also generally cheaper than Condesa and Polanco.
Why Not: It might be a bit busy or too close to the action, depending on your preferences. There aren’t too many “quiet corners” of Roma.
The neighborhood that feels most like home to you, will ultimately depend on your taste and interests. The good news is, you really can’t go wrong with any of these options. They’re all unique expressions of the greatest city in one of the most interesting and beautiful countries on earth. The only way you can go wrong, is to not visit Mexico City at all.
written by Travis King for StevenTheNomad.com