Hey fellow traveler,
I would like to share with you what I have learned from living in the two biggest cities in Mexico. The experience is from six months living in between the two cities for an equivalent amount of time. However, first I’d like to state some facts and basic history for a basis of comparison. This helps understand the opinions and perspectives of the locals. I encourage you read the entire article to get the big picture for you to make the best travel choices because they are both enjoyable for solo travelers. Here is what will be covered in this article:
- History
- Climate
- Things To Do
- Dating & People
- Summary
History
The history of Guadalajara started in 1532 when it was settled by the Spanish, and in 1542, it was officialy founded by Basque conquistador Cristóbal de Oñate, father of the famous Juan de Oñate. In the colonial period, Guadalajara was the capital of Nueva Galicia, an autonomous kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the seat of the Royal Audiencia of Guadalajara, an appellate court. When Mexico gained independence and became a republic and Nueva Galicia became the State of Jalico in 1823, Guadalajara became its state capital.
Much sooner than the history of Guadalajara, Mexico City was founded as Tenochtitlán by the Nahuatl-speaking Mexica people in 1325. Later it became the capital of the Aztec Empire 1428 under the reign of Itzcoatl. After the Spanish defeated the Empire decisively in 1521, the city was renamed Mexico. And since then, it has played the role as the capital: the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (1521-1821) and the capital of Mexico.
Like Washington D.C,. Mexico City was detached from the State of Mexico to become a federal district in 1824. This federal district, however, terminated in 2016, and the city was granted greater autonomy like a state. With its important status, Mexico City undergoes all the main events in the post-independence history of Mexico.
The population of Mexico City, CDMX, outnumbers that of Guadalajara, the capital in the State of Jalisco.Their populations in 2015 are 8,918,653 and 1,460,148 inhabitants respectively. Mexico City is geographically the largest city in the western hemisphere and it is as populous as the New York metropolitan area. Guadalajara is similar to the Phoenix metropolitan area. This means the difference in population between the 2 largest metropolitan areas in Mexico is much greater than that in the USA (between New York and Los Angeles) and in Japan (between Tokyo and Keihanshin).
Climate
In regard to climate, both cities are generally warm. Guadalajara has a humid subtropical climate with a hot and humid summer. Guadalajara shares its characteristics of climate with Houston, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires. You will find a rainy season where it rains several times a week for 1-2 hours between July-August. Unfortunately this brings in many mosquitoes so if you don’t have screens on your windows, which are almost non-existent in Mexico, buy mosquito repellent. Actually, I think mesquitoes are the main reason locals wear long pants and long sleeve shirts. Reports of dengue fever from mosquitoes do make the news so take vigilance.
I was shocked to see hail storms in Guadalajara because I thought they only happen during cold weather. In the month of August, there was a hailstorm at least once a week causing traffic chaos, power to go out from fallen trees hitting power lines and flooding. Even just an hour of rain caused minor flooding around chapultepec making it very difficult for walking around. I didn’t notice any flooding in Mexico City but I also experienced less rain there.
Mexico City is at a higher elevation thus the cooler weather, less humidity and most importantly less mosquitoes. Both cities feel warm in the day time while cool in the night time. I haven’t experienced the summer in Mexico, but the winters will be warm for a short time during the day and chilly weather after sunset. Expect it to get around 50º fahrenheit/10º celcius in November-December.
Things To Do
The main tourist attractions in Mexico City and Guadalajara are historical monuments. Mexico City and its adjacent states are home to various UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
- University City
- Luis Barragán Studio
- Teotihuacán
- Popocatépetl
- Xochicalco
- Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque
Some other notable places are Chapultepec Castle, Tlatelolco, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Guadalajara is home to the World Heritage Site of Hospicio Cabañas, and there is another World Heritage Site in the State of Jalisco: the Agave Landscape of Tequila.
I lived in Guadalajara first so I can tell you the most centralized and walkable neighborhood is Colonia American located by avenida Chapultepec. Guadalajara is known to have the most expats from the United Sates, although I’m not sure if that’s a fact but you can find a handful of foreigners if you walk around all day. Centro is also a walkable and livable area, it just gets quieter at night compared to av. chapultepec. If you have a car or want more luxury Providencia in the west is for you.
I spent time visiting parks, bars, cafes, gyms, nightclubs, musuems, festivals, tequila tours and lucha libre. A lot of places are located between chapultepec and centro.
While it’s not easy to find events even on Spanish websites, you can find something to do almost every day of the week. It’s best to ask locals, online chat forums or bloggers like me because you won’t see much publicity or advertising.
Sundays are well spent between av vallarta and Chapultepec when vehicle traffic is closed between 8am-2pm where you can spend the day walking or biking among the locals. Many bars are located by chapultepec but to get to some of the best clubs you will have to take a car 10-15 minutes from Colonia Americana. Some bars hosts international student parties during the week. Look for more details in my video of Guadalajara nightlife.
For Mexico city, also known as CDMX, you have many more choices although everything is spread out and longer to reach. Many expats stay in the safe upper class areas called La Condensa, Polanco, Juarez, and Roma. Those areas only have a fraction of the things available in Mexico city. Just as Guadalajara, you can find parks, bars, cafés, gyms, museums, and festivals.
Surprisingly there are less gyms to choose from in La Condensa then you can find in Guadaljara’s equivalent Colonia Americana. Although, I discovered more festivals and of better quality in Mexico City. The famous Teotihuacán pyramids are available for a day trip only 45 mintues away by car. Centro of Mexico City gets very dense with pedestrian traffic especially on the weekends so bring your camera for the museums and local artists. Polanco also has a small park with artists performing for you.
Personally, I don’t like La Conensa too much because it doesn’t feel authentic like Juarez just north or Roma to the east. Some of the interesting bars I saw where: Mama Rumba, La Terraza, Pong Bar, Pata Negra, and La Peralta. If you enjoy reggaeton like me, then you won’t find a place which only plays reggaeton since the locals say, “puro reggaeton” bars attract young criminals and trouble makers. However La Peralta and Pata Negra both play a mix of latin music which includes reggaeton.
Transportation
There is no competition here as traffic is much worse in Mexico City. The population is much greater so even with a underground metro system and buses, traffic gets to a gridlock between 5pm-7pm. In Guadalajara it appears there are more buses that run every 5-15 minutes although that’s only on certain routes. You can use the Citymapper app to help you with routes but timing is never accurate and wait times will be much longer after 7pm. I’ve taken buses before sunset to and from centro and never experienced issues.
Mexico City also has three bike rental programs: Mobike, Ecobici, and Jump so I highly recommend those if you want to get around with less traffic. Guadalajara has only one bike-share program but with many stations around. You have to be extra alert when biking. Both cities, vehicles have right away and pedestrians are only an afterthought. Do not take a change of getting run over.
While Uber works in both cities including the airports (as of late 2019), I’ve had frequent issues with drivers taking extra long to pick you up. A driver can accept your ride request but will wait without moving in hopes of you to cancel and for them to collect the cancellation fee. The other issue is when they accept your ride request, they will drive in circles or take a longer route to pick you up. I’ve had to wait up to 15 minutes for a driver even they they were clearly 1-2 kilometers away. I can’t confirm that they do that in hopes of you to cancel the ride, but other foreigners have confirmed that it happens to them as well.
Also if you arrive at the MEX airport you can expect your ride to be an hour going towards La Condensa during the day. When I arrived late night, after 10pm, each time it was only a 30 minute ride with Uber.
Dating & People
Just a bit of a disclaimer here because I’m sure not everyone will have the same perspective. The following opinions are from a single caucasion male and do not represent all of Mexicans nor Latinas. Most importantly is that the stereotype and majority of Mexicans in the United States are significantly different than the majority of Mexicans found in Guadalajara and Mexico City. I mean it’s almost shockingly different. I never thought I would enjoy Mexico so much and the people would be so friendly.
To be more specific, the stereotypical “Latina curves” your friends bragged about are not very common in Mexico. You have to go to Colombia or Brazil for that. To distinguish a light-skinned Mexican girl of Spanish origin, she will have very thick, black eye liner above and below her eye, dark brown eyes, a pale white base blush enhancing her whitness and deep red lipstick.
While obesity is rampant and Mexico is known to be the most obese country, I did not see much obesity in Guadalajara nor Mexico City. These said cities have a high amount of white, slim, “Spanish” bodies. Some are as slim and petite as Asians. No joke!
Another factor to consider is the social-economic class of people. Most of my dates have been with middle class girls meaning they have full-time jobs and are semi-independent. Some say “fresas” are considered anyone that dresses nice and not lower class but I’m still not sure what qualifies a “fresa”. Since plastic surgery is inexpensive in Mexico, the most voluptuous women you will see, you can bet have had plastic surgery.
Tapatias is the name for the locals of Guadalajara, so I will tell you about their culture. Most Tapatias I have met, male and female, do not speak English and have very little experience traveling. They say that their city is the best in Mexico so I don’t know if that qualifies as a reason to be the best place to live. While Tapatias are polite and well-mannered, I’ve never received any stares or approaches from them.
If you speak Spanish, Tapatias have no problem giving you their phone number after a few exchanges of greetings and questions, even if they have a boyfriend! The challenging part is meeting them for a date. You might get responses from a “Hola, como estas?” but getting them to meet you will result in excuses and flakiness. This happened to me often, even with strong interest from the girl at the initial encounter. From my experience, 1 out of 5 numbers you get, 1 will result in a date. It’s also common for Tapatias in their 20s even 30s to still live with their parents. Although, I’ve never been asked to pay for the girl’s drinks, food, or uber ride.
Great dates I recommend are going to the parks on the weekends like, Parque Colomos, get drunk at a ball pit in Glow Bar, play billards at Orage bar, and Cerveceria Chapultepec for 19 pesos everything.
Before talking about girls in Mexico City, please note that the majority of Mexicans are conservative people and very family-oriented. They tend to live in households of three generations and not stray far away from the norms. Then there’s is Mexico city, where the locals are called Chilangos. They are still conservative and proud of their heritage but will be more open-minded without being judged in their liberal city. This is the key here because they won’t be shamed by their peers or family members. Since Mexico City has higher salaries, they can be more independent here.
Still Mexico City is still not a full blown liberal town like San Francisco or London because females still remain feminine, dress well and expect the male to be the leader. Stating all these facts, I was surprised to get stares from women in Mexico City unlike Guadalajara. You can confidently approach a girl which makes eye contact with you. It’s a very high chance, she hasn’t had a foreigner boyfriend before and that she is not a “prepago”.
Mexico City is the only city I’ve been in which the girls have not rejected me nor felt awkward from me approaching them to say hello. You can even do this to a group of guys and girls. I’ve never experienced cock-blocking here because the girls are honest enough to tell you they have a boyfriend. The girls here won’t go home with you the first night you meet them but they will be charming with a positive personality. It is much easier to take them out in a day or two to a bar near your home without them flaking last minute. If they can’t meet you for whatever reason, they will give you advance notice.
Still it’s nothing like Latin telenovelas because most middle class women, especially from outside the city will have little to no experience with foreigners. Always lead the way and give guidance to make your date feel comfortable and safe.
SUMMARY
Both are great cities in Mexico representative of amazing culture, delicious food, and festive people. Weather is similar being warm year-round with cool evenings but there’s more rain and mosquitoes in Guadalajara. Traffic in Mexico city comes to a gridlock while traffic in Guadalajara is much more tolerable. There are multiple public transportation options and vehicles have right of way so always respect traffic signs.
Tapatios are more proud of their city and think Guadalajara is the best city in all of Mexico so they have less reason to travel and be interested foreigners. While the Chilangos are more open-minded, friendly and take interest in foreign topics. Do come to Guadalajara if you want to live a slow-paced lifestyle with low expenses in a safe area eating delicious food. Do come to Mexico City if you like cooler weather, a bit of chaos but still a slow paced lifestyle with delicious food, friendly people but at a higher risk of danger.
Both cities have beautiful slender as well as thick women, but expect Tapatias to be a lot more conservative only speaking Spanish while Chilangas will be more interested in foreigners and be more independent allowing more dates in Mexico City.
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