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skye22

Jul 12, 2011, 6:03 PM

Post #1 of 18 (5283 views)

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Valle de Bravo

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I have been living in Michoacan for the past three years and before that Oaxaca. Because of the recent issues I am considering a move to Valle de Bravo. Just wondering if anyone on Mexconnect lives there or might steer me in the right direction to connect with someone who does. I hate having to leave Michoacan but security is iffy at best right now.
Thanks,
Skye22

esperanza

Jul 12, 2011, 6:08 PM

Post #2 of 18 (5270 views)

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Re: [skye22] Valle de Bravo

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Yep, in February 2011 we moved from Morelia to the DF for just those reasons. About all I know about Valle de Bravo is that it is generally considered to be expensive.

You might look here for some information about housing costs, both for rentals and for purchase:
http://search.vivastreet.com.mx/...end]=&end_field=

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

ken_in_dfw

Jul 12, 2011, 7:25 PM

Post #3 of 18 (5249 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Valle de Bravo

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Cristina, expensive by Mexican economic standards, or expensive by developed economy standards? I've always been curious at how these perceptions play out. I don't have a dog in the hunt, just intellectually curious how economic standards compare across borders.

Regards,
Ken

esperanza

Jul 13, 2011, 6:37 AM

Post #4 of 18 (5197 views)

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Re: [ken_in_dfw] Valle de Bravo

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It depends, Ken. Expensive by my standards is the most correct answer here.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Gri-lango

Jul 13, 2011, 3:22 PM

Post #5 of 18 (5125 views)

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Re: [skye22] Valle de Bravo

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Very few people live full time in Valle de Bravo. It is a weekend playground for the rich and famous of DF. Hence, very expensive by any standard. Polo, sailing, water skiing, X-sports and golf are the main activities in Valle...that should give you an idea. It's mainly a ghost town during the week and very busy on the weekends.

If you want to live in one of the villages nearby and go completely "a la mexicana" there are affordable options. Otherwise, be prepared for the highest property values in Mexico.

esperanza

Jul 13, 2011, 5:00 PM

Post #6 of 18 (5103 views)

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Re: [Gri-lango] Valle de Bravo

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Gri-lango, thank you for corroborating what I posted earlier. Expensive by my standards or in fact, by just about anybody's standards. I didn't want to exaggerate, but wow...

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

skye22

Jul 13, 2011, 7:18 PM

Post #7 of 18 (5067 views)

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Re: [Gri-lango] Valle de Bravo

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We have been living "a la Mexicana" as you said for the past 5 years so that would not be a biggie. If you could suggest those pueblos that you were speaking about that would give us something to go on. I also have a connection who does property management in V de B so I will exhaust that option as well. I guess we wont know more until we actually visit and get on the ground there. I appreciate everyones comments though and am hopeful that it is possible to find something affordable.
Thanks!

Papirex

Jul 14, 2011, 9:47 AM

Post #8 of 18 (5013 views)

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Re: [skye22] Valle de Bravo

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I have never been to Valle de Bravo, so I can only give my impressions of the place. Before my retirement, my late Mexican wife used to make a trip home to Mexico for medical treatment every year, her hometown was Mexico City, D. F. We lived there for a while after my retirement.

On one of her trips home, one of her lifelong girlfriends was transferred by the bank she worked for to Valle de Bravo. Doris went to visit her there for about a month. Doris did tell me that because so many rich, and powerful people owned homes there, that it was an expensive place. The upside to that was because so many politically powerful people had homes there, that law enforcement was very good, and it was a very low crime area.

Mexico City is at an elevation of 2240 meters (7350 feet) It snows in some parts of Mexico City almost every winter. The elevation of Valle de Bravo is 1850 meters (6070 feet) I have no idea of what the winters are like there, but it is probably cool. Do not rely on online weather services to find out what the weather is like for any area. Here in Cuernavaca we are at an average elevation of 1548 meters (5000 feet) It never freezes here, or gets really hot in the summers. The online weather services always report temps 10 to 20 degrees higher or lower than they actually are for this area. It is cool in the winter, warm in the summers, never really cold or hot here. Get a good electronic thermometer, and set it for the centigrado scale, that is what is used here. If your body will not tolerate high elevations, be careful where you chose to live here.

Don't move anywhere without visiting there first, do not rely on anyone’s posts to chose a place to live. Everyone's opinion of climate, etc. doesn't mean spit. Only you may decide on the perfect place for you to live. If your finances are limited, that will be a real handicap.

We chose to live where we do because it is a medium sized city of approximately 440,000 people, probably about a million in the area, you can drive through several intersections into a different city here. There is excellent shopping nearby, and very good to elegant restaurants nearby, usually modestly priced here.

The population of Valle de Bravo was 57,390 people in 2005. it is probably about the same today. Because of the modest population, shopping opportunities are probably limited, requiring shopping trips to Mexico or other cities for many unusual things. I have no idea of what dining opportunities or prices are there.

Good luck, Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

fordmexico

Jul 14, 2011, 10:30 AM

Post #9 of 18 (4998 views)

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Snow in Mexico City???

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Mexico City, itself does not receive snow on any regular basis. I have lived here off and on since 1997 and have never seen snow except in the mountains surrounding the city. My wife, who was born in the DF also could not remember snowfall. We do receive hail on a regular basis. Curious as to the statement, it snows annually here, I looked it up.

From wiki.answers

"In Mexico City the last snowfall was on January 12, 1967, at that time it snowed in the city itself. Mexico City's downtown got 2 inches of snow and 5 inches at the mountains around the city, after that snowfall in 1967, it only snows yearly in the mountains around the city. There was a previous record snowfall in Mexico City downtown that was on March 5, 1940."

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/...o_City#ixzz1S6MfnDFe

(This post was edited by Rolly on Jul 14, 2011, 8:42 PM)

Gri-lango

Jul 14, 2011, 10:41 AM

Post #10 of 18 (4991 views)

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Re: [skye22] Valle de Bravo

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sorry skye, I do not know the names of the villages near Valle. You will have to drive through many on the either route from Toluca.

eyePad

Jul 14, 2011, 1:35 PM

Post #11 of 18 (4953 views)

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Re: [Gri-lango] Valle de Bravo

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My avatar says it all; at an altitude of about 4000 meters, not in DF. In Edomex. Not common near my house.
apáñatelas como puedas

Papirex

Jul 14, 2011, 5:42 PM

Post #12 of 18 (4917 views)

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Re: [eyePad] Valle de Bravo

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Not many outsiders know that the D. F. (Distrito Federal) is not Mexico City, although a large portion of Mexico City is in The. D. F., much of the southern part of the city is in Mexico state.

It does snow somewhere in the southern part of the city almost every winter. I have an aunt that has her house in the southern part of the city, it snows in her Colonia every 3 or 4 years.

I also have sobrinos that built their house in another southern Colonia there, it snows in their Colonia, but not necessarily at their house, every winter there.

Think about the altitude, and the fact that there are over 350 Colonias there. When my wife was still living, her mother used to live with us. My wife used to drive her to Mexico (City) every month to take care of family business, pay bills for the house there, etc.

In the winter, if she didn't leave Cuernavaca early in the day, she would often have someone from her family there call to tell her that it was snowing somewhere in the city, or on the Cuota between Cuernavaca and Mexico. She would then wait until the next morning to drive there. It almost never snows in the daytime there. With no snow removal equipment, and few snow tires here, even a little snow on a road could be a big problem.

The city officials, whether federally appointed, or elected in some parts of the city, will never release any announcements about it snowing anywhere there, that is bad PR. I never believe much of anything on Wikipedia, it is a volunteer encyclopedia. Anyone can post, or modify any article on it.

Our family history in Mexico (city) goes back to before 1932, it does snow there. People that don't believe that, probably don't get out of their house much in the winter.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

fordmexico

Jul 14, 2011, 8:02 PM

Post #13 of 18 (4896 views)

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Re: [Papirex] Valle de Bravo Mexico City - Distrito Federal??

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Mexico City or the Distrito Federal Same or Different???

In 1993 this situation was solved by an amendment to the 44th article of the Constitution whereby Mexico City and the Federal District were set to be the same entity.

"Article 44
The Mexico City is the capital of the United Mexican States. Mexico City is also the Federal District, seat of the federal government. It shall be integrated by its current territory. In the event that federal government has to be moved to another place, Mexico City will be a part of the State of Valle de México. The Congress shall set down the limits and territorial extension for the new State."

http://portal.te.gob.mx/?q=node/391#Tit2

Article 44 was adopted due to legal issues revolving around whether the entity Mexico City even existed and whether it was under the legal jurisdiction of the Distrito Federal. From 1941 to 1970, the Distrito Federal consisted of Mexico City and 12 Delegaciones. In 1970, Mexico City was further split up into 4 more delegaciones, Benito Juarez, Miguel Hidalgo, Venustiano Carranza and Cuauhtemoc. Delegaciones here are similar to the boroughs of NYC. The legal confusion that followed the 1970 splitup of MC led to the adoption of Article 44 of the Mexican Constitution. Similar legislation was passed (1993?) by the Distrito Federal as part of its Statute of Government which acts like the constitutions of the individual Mexican states.

Thus today, Mexico City and the Distrito Federal are one in the same.

To further confuse the issue, the area metropolitana of the DF includes parts of Edomex which are contiguous to it and share similar economic and social characteristics. I happen to live in Edomex a stones throw from the D.F. boundary but is still contained in the area metropolitana.

(This post was edited by Rolly on Jul 14, 2011, 8:44 PM)

mazbook1

Jul 15, 2011, 11:44 AM

Post #14 of 18 (4825 views)

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Re: [fordmexico] Valle de Bravo Mexico City - Distrito Federal??

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Good post, fordmexico. I can only say that it requires one minor correction. You write:

"To further confuse the issue, the area metropolitana of the DF includes parts of Edomex which are contiguous to it and share similar economic and social characteristics."

I'm pretty certain you mean Mexico City rather than "the DF":

"To further confuse the issue, the area metropolitana of Mexico City includes parts of Edomex which are contiguous to it and share similar economic and social characteristics." since the Distrito Federal has fixed political boundaries and the metropolitan area has no such fixed political boundaries.

In general, when any city in México is referred to as "Ciudad de Whatever", it is the metropolitan area without exact political boundaries that is being referred to, although this doesn't seem to be the case in Article 44—the only exception I know of. Normally, only when a city is referred to as "Ciudad Whatever" are specific, political boundaries meant, as the only cities qualified to add "Ciudad" to their name are those who have been awarded that classification by either their state legislature or the federal legislature.

(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Jul 15, 2011, 11:47 AM)

tonyburton / Moderator

Jul 15, 2011, 2:19 PM

Post #15 of 18 (4796 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] Valle de Bravo Mexico City - Distrito Federal??

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All Mexico's Metropolitan areas do have exact (defined) political boundaries.
The boundaries are given somewhere on the INEGI website and are a combination of state and municipal boundaries (as relevant).

mazbook1

Jul 15, 2011, 3:49 PM

Post #16 of 18 (4774 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Valle de Bravo Mexico City - Distrito Federal??

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Tony,

I agree that the officially recognized Metropolitan areas have INEGI assigned boundaries at any given time, but these are NOT political boundaries, as they are subject to change with every INEGI survey or census depending on the growth of any specific Metro area. Political boundaries are defined by either state or federal legislative action and tend to be considerably more fixed than INEGI boundaries. The jefe de gobiero de D.F. definitely is NOT the presidente del municipio de Ecatepec de Morelos in the State of México, yet it is included in the Metro area of Mexico City as are 57 other municipios in Edo. de México and one in Edo. de Hidalgo.

The reason I wrote "In general" is that not only does the Ciudad de México Metro area have these outside municipios, so does the Ciudad de Guadalajara and the Ciudad de Monterrey. All three of these multiply-governed Metro areas have numerous cross-border agreements with the outside included municipios that allow certain city services to be dealt with in the Metro area rather than individually in each of the associated municipios. That still does not mean that there is a specific, fixed political boundary involved.

Mexico City is often described as having "boroughs" like New York City, but that is not correct. True, each of the boroughs of New York City are separate counties (like delegaciones or municipios in México), but those counties have ceded overall government to the over-riding concept of New York City. This is definitely NOT the case with the multiply-governed Metro areas in México.

(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Jul 15, 2011, 3:52 PM)

tonyburton / Moderator

Jul 15, 2011, 6:57 PM

Post #17 of 18 (4747 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] Valle de Bravo Mexico City - Distrito Federal??

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I guess we'll have to agree to differ about what "political" means.

dongringo_catemaco

Jul 18, 2011, 3:26 AM

Post #18 of 18 (4634 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Valle de Bravo Mexico City - Distrito Federal??

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Wikipedia has an excellent article about the DF
http://en.wikipedia.org/...ict#Federal_District

BTW - To me Valle de Bravo is one of the most attractive places to live in Mexico, and has almost no foreign presence except most vacation home owners speak English. It's also unbelievably cold in the winter.
Visit Catemaco News

(This post was edited by Rolly on Jul 18, 2011, 8:17 AM)