Mexico City

bostonfan19831 · Post by **bostonfan19831** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 9:07 pm

Does anybody have any insight regarding dating a foreigner and how this viewed in the Mexican culture?

witness · Post by **witness** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:45 pm

Bostonfan,

There are a lot of expats there and many are dating locals. I married one! :>) No issues and I was welcomed into the family with open arms.

chilagringa · Post by **chilagringa** » Sat Mar 17, 2012 8:45 am

Yeah, pretty much every expat dates Mexicans. It's pretty normal and I've never heard of it being a problem. Of course, this is assuming that you are a white foreigner, because there can be quite a bit of racism here.

chilagringa · Post by **chilagringa** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 6:42 pm

Actually, more than half of the Mexican-foreigner couples I know decide to stay in Mexico for the long term. So it's not about the green card.

As well, most of the Mexican-foreigner couples I know involve Mexicans from middle to upper classes, so they aren't dating the foreigner as a way out of poverty.

bostonfan19831 · Post by **bostonfan19831** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:44 pm

Anybody have any insight on their experience using the Trains and Buses in Mexico City?

And even the costs of taxis?

thank you

chilagringa · Post by **chilagringa** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 5:36 pm

Trains, buses... all are cheap are run frequently. The Metro is generally more pleasant than the buses because it doesn't have to deal with traffic, but either are OK.

Let's say you lived in Condesa (I bet you will probably end up living in Condesa or one of the surrounding neighborhoods - Roma, Escandon or San Miguel Chapultepec). And let's say you lived within a five minute walk of a metro station. Your commute would look as follows: (I'm guessing because I don't work at ASF, but I know the city really well.)

Walk to metro (5 mins)
Metro to Tacubaya (10 mins)
Bus from Tacubaya down Observatorio to ASF. (5 minutes)

All in all, a 20 minute commute. AMAZING for D.F.

Taxis? Cheap. I commute about four times as far as ASF, and a taxi home costs about 110 pesos (less than 10 bucks). I would estimate a taxi to the Condesa surroundings from ASF would run you about 30 pesos. About 2.50. Not bad.

bostonfan19831 · Post by **bostonfan19831** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:44 am

Does anyone have any insight regarding the experience shopping in an outside market as opposed to shopping in doors? Would love to hear some experiences regarding food quality, bargaining and overall atmosphere in these outdoor markets. ( in Mexico City)

Thank You

chilagringa · Post by **chilagringa** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 9:07 am

Well most neighborhoods have a "tianguis" or outdoor market once or twice a week. It can be a nice place to pick up food. But I usually just go to my local market (there's a sizable market for food in every neighborhood), which is filled with vendors selling vegetables, fruit, meat, cheese, etc, etc...
Bargaining isn't normal when it comes to food, but there's not really any need because produce is so cheap.
If you're like me, you'll go to the local Western-style supermarket for some stuff (cereal, canned food, bread, pasta, cheese, etc) and then go to the local market for produce.

bostonfan19831 · Post by **bostonfan19831** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:34 am

chilagringa - Thanks for all your help. I think I will be living in the Roma/Condesa area. Is the area dog friendly? Is Mexico City Dog friendly?

I appreciate all your help. I recognize all my questions are diverse but I think they are sort of the everyday things people encounter.

thank you

specialed · Post by **specialed** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:25 am

Here's a related question. How good does one need to speak Spanish in Mexico City. I'm willing to learn, but do not know much.

Thanks for all of the info posted so far!

liketotravel · Post by **liketotravel** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:51 pm

Whats your point psyguy, you have to keep reposting this crap?

chilagringa · Post by **chilagringa** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:19 pm

[quote="bostonfan19831"]chilagringa - Thanks for all your help. I think I will be living in the Roma/Condesa area. Is the area dog friendly? Is Mexico City Dog friendly?
[/quote]

Ha!

Everyone and their dog has a dog in Condesa/Roma. Especially Condesa. Seriously. You practically need a dog just to fit in. I once thought it was weird how many dogs there were. And then I got a dog.

I would say Mexico City as a whole is very dog-friendly, but Condesa most of all.

As for the questions on Spanish... well, my Spanish was already pretty decent when I arrived. But I know some people who spoke very little Spanish when they first got here. They certainly got by, either by learning some or because a lot of people speak English. I don't think it's a big issue. Spanish is actually pretty easy to learn. It's hard to master, but to get to the point where you can have simple conversations is easy.

specialed · Post by **specialed** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:27 pm

I just finished listening to an audiobook lecture called "The Conquest of Mexico" and it would be fascinating to see how Mexico City has changed from what it used to look like.

The markets sound fun. I certainly miss Mexican style food (I know it's different than Tex-Mex), but I still like the style. I used to live in Texas and have been to a couple of border towns (didn't care much for them). For some reason I've also dreamed of going to Tampico. Please fill us all in if you do end up in Mexico!

bostonfan19831 · Post by **bostonfan19831** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:30 pm

Hey SpecialED! I am going to Mexico City and will be there for the upcoming school year. I will always post questions until then in this thread and when I arrive there will answer questions in this thread as I familiarize myself with the country.

specialed · Post by **specialed** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 2:10 am

Nice! Mexico and Central/South America attract me every single Spring hiring season. One of these days I am going to get off of my behind and learn some Spanish.

Mexico City

Dating a foreigner

Outdoor Markets