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marjean2b

Jun 7, 2007, 7:11 PM

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living in Guanjuato

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We would like to hear from anyone that lives either part time or full time in Guanjuato. We are considering relocating there. Are there any new housing developments not directly in the city? How is the medical care there?
Any Sam's Club or Costco? How far is it to Leon? Are there any shopping malls, or movie theaters? We are planning a trip there soon, but it would be helpful to hear from anyone living there. Thank you!! Marjean

Gringal

Jun 8, 2007, 8:44 AM

Post #2 of 13 (2895 views)

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Re: [marjean2b] living in Guanjuato

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Have you ever been to Guanajuato? I'm guessing not, from what you asked.

What I'm writing is based on living in San Miguel for three years and visiting Guanajuato on a number of occasions. Strictly unofficial information to follow.

Guanajuato is an absolutely beautiful city and has all the advantages and disadvantages of being a university town built on steep hills. Mountain goat genes are helpful.

If you don't need to live right in town and you like that general high plains area, San Miguel de Allende is about an hour from there, has many new housing developments and an expat-friendly infrastructure. The city itself is a Colonial-era gem. There is a new shopping center on the outskirts of town that has/will have everything from a supermarket to a major department store. Costco, Sams and the other big box stores can be found in Queretaro, about 40 minutes away.

Both San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato use the International airport in Leon, and there is another airport recently opened in Queretaro.

The best thing to do is explore the area up close and personal and do major research on these matters via books and the 'net. Be aware that Mexico is changing so rapidly that much of the material in the books is out of date by the time they are printed. I strongly advise anyone to rent for at least six months before buying. Anywhere. Do the real estate "looking" on the net first. There are offices in San Miguel, at least, that will mislead lookers into believing they can only find housing at a half-mil plus. Not true.
Be wary of the "magic dust" that these beautiful colonial cities drop on the newcomers. Nobody gets to live in a 300 year old public building.

Happy researching !

jennifer rose

Jun 8, 2007, 9:07 AM

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Re: [Gringal] living in Guanjuato

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Yes, there is housing, and rather nice at that, in Guanajuato outside of the downtown area. It's always struck me as a very liveable city, provided you're not wedded to living in Centro up some callejon. Living in La Presa or Marfil could easily mean avoiding the downtown congestion and its terrain. A full and meaningful life could easily be led without having to haunt Centro except for ritual and ceremonial purposes.

BJX, the airport, is actually in Silao, about 15 minutes away on a good highway.

You should be able to find everything you need in Leon, about a 45-minute easy drive. Sam's Club is present in two locations in Leon and one in Irapuato. Costco is located in Leon. Good medical are can be found in Leon. Leon is to Guanajuato what Queretaro and Celaya are to San Miguel de Allende.

marjean2b

Jun 8, 2007, 9:42 AM

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Re: [jennifer rose] living in Guanjuato

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Thanks so much for your reply. We will have to spend some time there for sure, before making a decision. I used to know a Jennifer Rose in Colorado. I doubt you are the same person... Thanks again for the information...Marjean

Rock

Jun 10, 2007, 3:39 PM

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Re: [marjean2b] living in Guanjuato

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Marjean...I am currently vacationing in Guanajuato, my sixth visit of 3-4 weeks´duration in as many years. Take heed of gringal´s advice. Personally, a day trip to SMA is enough for me. You would need a much better handle on Spanish to get along well in GTO, and it is much more of an immersion experience with the natives. I just retired and plan on living in GTO at least part-time. I come here to escape gringo visitors and ex-pats, which is probably not the norm in SMA. Buena suerte! Rock

Salimbene

Jun 21, 2007, 9:35 AM

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Re: [marjean2b] living in Guanjuato

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I, too, am considering a move to Mexico and just returned from 6 lovely days in Guanajauato as part of a 1-month fact finding trip to places in which I might want to live. Guanajuato is definitely one of them. It is a beautiful city--probably as Doug and Cindi Bower say in their book, "Guanajuato, Mexico" (which I'm just reading now, after the fact, it's probably similar to the San Miguel of the 70's and early 80's. No, there are no shopping malls or big supermarkets right in town. I would think having a car in Guanajuato (backed up by the Bowers!) would be a nightmare. I guess it depends upon what you are looking for. For me, I would disagree with Jennifer Rose when she suggests not living close to the center, because what the center offers is what I am looking for--lots of life (though a bit too university crowd for me) cultural events, etc. As a English language teaching specialist with a doctorate, I've already applied for a position at the Univ. but probably won't get myself in gear quick enough to accept an appointment that starts in one month to accept even if I'm offered it. During the 6 days I was there, I only saw 1 "Renta" sign. I did buy "The Chopper" the newspaper that lists all rentals on my last day--too late to check out any ads. I found that I had trouble understanding both some of the vocabulary in the ads (I'm only a beginner in Spanish) and knowing the neighborhoods that were mentioned. Also, most of the ads did not include prices! How is your Spanish? You definitely need to speak it to live in Guanajuato. Almost no one I met in 6 days spoke any English--not that they should, it's up to those who move there to learn Spanish. As a language teaching professional, I can tell you that statistics indicate one needs to expect to spend a minimum of two years for one to know the basics of a new language and 5-7 years before one knows enough to study or work in that language! I didn't try out the language schools in Guanajuato, but the methods used in the schools I attended in are back in the 60's. Most Americans think that memorizing and conjugating verbs will help them learn Spanish but all the research states that that is learning about language rather than learning the language itself. Hope this is helpful.

sioux4noff

Jun 24, 2007, 9:59 PM

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Re: [Salimbene] living in Guanjuato

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Quote

Just out of curiosity, do you apply this hard-and-fast rule to immigrants living in the US, too?

I was in Guanajuato last week as well, and encountered a fair number of people who spoke English. They often answered my Spanish with English, it wasn't that I was speaking English and expecting them to.

Salimbene

Jun 25, 2007, 7:56 AM

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Re: [sioux4noff] living in Guanjuato

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Not sure which "hard and fast rule" you mean? If you are referring to the length of time it usually takes one to learn a language fluently, the comment I made comes from articles in professional journals and chapters in the literature concerning Teaching English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education. As for English speakers in Guanajuato, I was there June 1-7th and I guess we were in different places. The only Enlish speakers I encountered were 1) two college students that I approached to ask directions from because they looked American (actually 1 was American and one was European) and 2) a gentleman from another region of Mexico. 2) from a few people from San Miguel who had come into town. Not that I'm expecting locals to speak English! This is one of the reason's I'm considering a move to Guanajuato!

sioux4noff

Jun 25, 2007, 9:09 AM

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Re: [Salimbene] living in Guanjuato

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Almost no one I met in 6 days spoke any English--not that they should, it's up to those who move there to learn Spanish.

Sorry I messed up that quote somehow. What I meant was, yes, one should learn the language, but people in Mexico "should" speak English as much as people in the US "should" speak Spanish. You don't expect someone who has just arrived in the US to speak fluent English, and many businesses makeit a point to have bilingual signs and employees. HEB grocery stores and Home Depot come to mind as ones in Texas that make that effort. As well as government entities.
I understand very well, from first hand experience, how difficult it is to learn another language. For an old person like myself, it is a stuggle, but I know I am making progress. I try to use my Spanish every day, and try to have more than just superficial conversations. Even here in the Puerto Vallarta area there is ample chance to learn and practice.
I didn't expect people in Guanajuato to speak English, but people on thestreet who I spoke to in Spanish responded in English, a restaurant owner sat and talked with us for a while, and others we encountered spoke some English. Same in Patzcuaro.

(This post was edited by sioux4noff on Jun 25, 2007, 9:12 AM)

Salimbene

Jun 25, 2007, 10:29 AM

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Re: [sioux4noff] living in Guanjuato

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OK, Now we're on the same page! I agree with what you are saying and am writing an article to that effect. My experience in "Life in another language" (Article title)reminded me that with so many Spanish other language speakers, we need to post signs and labels in more than one language. I felt I was missing out so much in visiting museums and other important places because I could not read the labels, work out the cash machines, speak to the people in the information booths at the tourist kiosks, read the programs at concerts! Only in Morelia did I find the building descriptions in English as well as Spanish. While I believe that foreigners who live in Mexico and enjoy the beauty of living there have an obligation to learn Spanish, we may need a little more help in the beginning. (Also, though many Mexicans and those of us who relocate there might not like the changes it would bring, Central Mexico is an undiscovered tourist treasure that could bring a great deal of revenue if it were taped into.)
We, in the U.S. has a much greater need for bilingual signage and musuem labelling because there are certainly more speakers of Spanish and other languages than there are speakers of English in Mexico.

thfarrell

Aug 2, 2007, 10:48 PM

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Re: [jennifer rose] living in Guanjuato

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Hi...

Just out of curiosity, and maybe a bit more, why do you say:

> a very liveable city, provided you're not
> wedded to living in Centro up some callejon

Price? Cars not easily useable? Steep walking?

Thanks in advance for any time you might have for a reply,

tom
---
"Beauty is in the i of the Beholder"
(Julia Mandelbrot)

jennifer rose

Aug 2, 2007, 11:19 PM

Post #12 of 13 (2413 views)

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Re: [thfarrell] living in Guanjuato

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The callejones of Guanajuato are among the city's most picturesque aspects. Given the city's topography, they necessarily spell some steep walking, many of them too narrow for vehicular traffic. Even for someone resigned to a car-free existence, there's still the matter of schlepping up and down on rugged steps better designed for billy goats than humans. Venues like the one where balconies across the path are so close that two lovers, living in separate houses, could reach across and kiss do have their romantic aspects, harking back to another age, but their practicality for a 21st century leaves room for doubt. Some of those callejones which do permit vehicular traffic offer up a full millimeter of space between car and a building's wall, pedestrians having to seek sanctuary in some doorway. For someone asking about the availability of medical care, Sam's and Costco, and new housing developments, a callejon wouldn't strike me as the right answer.

Many people take one look at Guanajuato's Centro and seem to think that that's all there is in the town, not realizing that there are parts of the city which are more accessible.

thfarrell

Aug 2, 2007, 11:35 PM

Post #13 of 13 (2412 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] living in Guanjuato

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Hi...

Thanks for the feedback.

I am one of those people who say "hey, I could live here" every time I travel in Mexico... and I just got back from Guanajuato. :-)

But I must admit I'm still thinking about a casa callejonistica.

Tom
---
"Beauty is in the i of the Beholder"
(Julia Mandelbrot)