>"Report on Guadalajara"
Posted by Kim Martin on February 04, 1997:
Sorry about the long delay in responding to questions, but the university server seems to be down more often than not. Here¥s some info about rentals. My wife and I used the local Spanish-language newspaper El Informador with success. I decided to see if we could come up with something on our own rather than using a realtor to save money. After about ten days we found the house we're living in now: a 2-story house with six large rooms, kitchen and bath, a central open courtyard, and a large roof terrace (no garage)for 1,000 pesos per month!
I can't say what the utilities will cost, but since we use gas for cooking and heating the water and have no room heaters or air-conditioning, I don¥t think we¥ll be paying very much. This is the coldest time of year, but we don¥t need heating because it¥s only cold (40 degrees F) during the night. And I think the very thick walls of the house and the high ceilings and scarcity of windows will give us comfortable temperatures during the summer.
We also checked out a Hollywood-style mansion with servant¥s quarters renting for 3,000 pesos but decided we didn¥t want to pay another 1,600 pesos for a maid and gardner, who would have been necessary to maintain the huge house, swimming pool, lawn, and trees. Also, we didn¥t want to live in an exclusive, quiet, high-class neighborhood. We have had plenty of experience in social isolation in the U.S. and came to Mexico to be among people.
Our house is in the middle of a busy, simple neighborhood in a suburb of Guad. called Zapopan, and it's perfect for us. We're living among Mexicans, it¥s clean, the people are great, and there is endless variety. Everyday I discover some new shop or bar or restaurant or place to do business within walking distance. It¥s lively and beautiful with old colonial buildings and a cathedral with a zocalo and marketplace, but you can forget that you¥re right next to a megalopolis with all the associated chaos (speaking as a small-town boy). I have much more to say but will leave it for another day unless you want me to stop yakking.
PS Someone asked me privately about schools in Guad. for a 16-year old girl who speaks no Spanish. The Lincoln School has a good reputation, has an American principal, and they teach in English. The cost is US $1,650 per year. Phone: 36 31-30-32.
More on Guadalajara Rentals
Posted by Kim Martin on February 10, 1997:
In Reply to: Report on Guad posted by Robert on February 06, 1997 at 19:32:01:
> I can't wait until the next installment. Would you
> have paid more in rent if you had used a real estate
> agent? Thanks for the practical information presented
> in your first report.
I'l do my best to answer some questions I received about rentals here. Zapopan is a city with its own mayor which forms a crescent to the west and north-west of Guad. One moment you¥re in Guad. and the next you're in Zapopan, but the part where I live has a small-town feeling (with lots of life).To find a nice large house like ours for 1,000 pesos may not be easy, but as I said in my last report, it took us ten days, and our landlord is no sucker. He runs a mattress-making business and asked for as much as he thought he could get. I¥m sure that if you avoid realtors and use the Spanish-language newspapers (El Informador and Kiosko) you can easily find a good place to live for no more than 2,000 pesos.
The realtor will have the landlord increase the price in order to get a monthly cut. I know just enough Spanish to feel like an idiot when I'm trying to get a message across, buty I learned some basic rental-type phrases and it worked. There are also plenty of houses and apartments available for people who feel better paying substantial rents. In the fashionable Chapalita area there are many landlords who are happy to accommodate this need. I looked at a nicely furnished apartment renting for $800 US.
In order to seal the deal for my one year lease I had to find someone who would serve as guarantor. The wonderful lady who owns the hotel where we were staying signed for us even though she had done so several years before for another American and ended up paying 7,000 pesos for utilities and rent when he absconded. My landlord told me he would also accept an insurance policy covering a year¥s rent, and an agent of my U.S. based car insurance company (ASD tel: 909-676-4457)told me they¥d work something out for me if I needed it. P.S. Hello Jennifer. It was good to hear from you. Got to go now. More to follow. Kim
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