Cost of Living in Mexico City

I must be alone on this one; but I did 2 weeks in CDMX and it wasn't great for me. First of all, it was CHILLY in the mornings and at night (late August - Early Sept). And to stay in the nicer and convenient neighborhoods, which you kind of have to in CDMX or you will be bothered, the airbnbs were pricey, and nearby restaurants too. Sidewalks very small and cramped. The vendors and police were a bit aggressive here. The nightlife was a bit dull to me, limited to just a few places. The green parks were nice, and some of the music performers were nice, it also had good coffee. But for me, CDMX wasn't that great a work location, seemed less safe, was too chilly, and kind of expensive. It was however nice you could use a visa almost ANYWHERE.

I'm the one who left the review complaining about how people don't speak English 2-3 months ago. I think it's only fair to leave another review as I projected a pretty negative overall picture of the place.
I came back a second time and boy, I'm glad I did.
The language barrier didn't disappear, but I came with a different mindset and made efforts to learn some basic Spanish. Being able to explain how you want your coffee even makes a huge difference.
Mexican people are kind and warm-hearted. Of course, no one will hug you on the street and people keep to themselves just as in western societies, but on encounters with others, they are much more compassionate. You can definitely feel the Latin vs. the first-world vibe.
It's far from perfect, but it is very authentic. If you come humble, put your ego aside, and be accepting of a new culture, you may find yourself leaving with strong feelings for the place, some sadness for leaving, and a warm feeling in your heart at the thought of coming back next time.

If you stay in Roma or Polanco you'll be fine. Mexico City was a little too chaotic for my taste, but also had some really beautiful and cool neighborhoods and a must visit if you find yourself in the middle of Mexico. Uber runs here so that makes it easy to get around.
It can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be, a decent hostel will run you $15 - $20/night. I cook many of my meals and prefer to splurge at nice restaurants a few nights a week vs eating at cheap places for every meal. Groceries run about $30-$50/week and a decent meal with a drink or 2 for me was around $20-$30. (you can eat for pennies here - I'm a bit bougie when it comes to eating out)
As a female solo traveler I didn't feel safe being out past dark alone, but other people felt fine. Worst part for me was the air quality best part was the cheap flights out of Mexico City ha.

It's not dangerous if you stay in the right areas.
No one speaks English. I mean no one. If you don't speak Spanish, be prepared to use GoogleTr. / sign language / no habla espanol all the time, and also being laughed at while trying to explain yourself.
AirBnB is super expensive. The government puts a very high tax on the accommodations.
Overall, these shortened my stay significantly, I intended to stay for long but after less than a month I was anxious to leave to a place where I can at least communicate on a basic level with people.

We stayed here for two months. This was an amazing experience. I plan to move back for a longer time.

We came here from Los Angeles, we lived in Polanco and Roma, both great but I would recommend Roma as it has a younger crowd, a bit more active, and cheaper. Even with going out to dinner several times a week still found a hard to spend beyond $25 USD for a meal, even in more expensive neighborhoods like Polanco with amazing food around every corner!!

It felt very safe and there were police officers everywhere. I think in an effort to make sure everyone feels safe in the capital.

In addition, the public transit and subway system is great and very clean for the size of the city!! I've used public transit in most major global cities and have lived in NYC.

Came to CDMX from NYC. Lived in a bunch of cities around the US. CDMX is my favorite. That being said, it's still Latin America. Take precautions. I grew up in the NYC area around the gangs and stuff of the 90s and 00s. Here are a few tips to strongly consider

1) Live in Polanco, no farther north than Juarez, no father south than Escandon (unless you're going to Coyocan), no farther east than Roma or Doctores. All assuming you want to be near some action. Don't listen to these wannabe "woke" people. These areas the cops tend to be around and about. As well as other tourist and likes of.

2) Uber everywhere thats too far to walk. Definitely at night. From Escandon to Roma is about 40 pesos (2 USD). While, the metro is much cheaper, there's a reason they have a female only car. Also you have to really know here you're going

3) The people here are awesome. Made some solid friends. Just be careful and don't be too trusting. To an American, 200 usd is good money but nothing to commit a crime over. Here, that is some people monthly income. I personally know a buddy of mine who got set up and almost robbed. Just be careful.

I do love it here and have 0 plans on leaving. Just don't walk around like its all safe.

I do love Mexico City, it's incredibly vibrant with friendly people.


That said, I will warn against following advice from people who go for a few months and say, "it's safe because I never had an issue".


This is Latin America and it is known to be dangerous for a reason, statistically, even Mexico City is very unsafe. The chance of something dangerous happening goes up the longer you stay, only you can decide if that's worth it.

Mexico City is a blast and at a decent price. Safety wise, it's much like any other big city: be careful where you go at night. There's plenty of great food throughout the city with much to do during the day and at night (YES to Lucha Libre!).

Mexico City is perfectly safe. I've lived in areas like Doctores and Guerrero and never had an issue. $1300 per month is inaccurate. You can get a 1 bed studio or apartment for less than $400. The 'living like a local' cost is perfectly achievable, why would it be $800 more for a nomad? Narvarte and Napoles are perfect areas to stay.

Stay away from typical areas like Condesa if you actually want to feel like a local. All you'll get in Condesa is overpriced bars, gringos and muggings because thieves know people spending $1300 will go there!

Don't listen to people saying get Uber. Waste of time. The Metro is 5 pesos and much faster. You're not going to get murdered.

it's a great place to live and i recommend to visit it just to check it out.
We came here on our way from Playa del Carmen to USA and loved it so much that we decided to live there.

Great food and affordable Airbnbs in decent neighborhoods! What more could you ask for! Highly recommend Mexico City if you're passing through LATAM.

Amazing, amazing, amazing. I initially arrived there for 2 weeks with an intention for it to be just a transit stop, but stayed there for 3 months. Stay in the right areas (Condesa, Roma, Coyoca, Polanco, Coyocan, etc), take Uber and take basic precautions. It's a lovely town with endless food options and work options.
Accomodations are not cheap by Mexican standards, but very affordable comparing to USA. It's just a great place to live, in my opinion.
The only thing that is bad is quality of the air (not everywhere, though, but in general). If you are sensible to a bad air - take a trip and see how you adjust to it. It's a big issue, yes, but I feel like the are much more pros than cons.
Viva Mexico!

Important to stay in the right areas, and air pollution can be an issue. Budget lots of time for this place -- there are so many people to meet and things to do! Transportation can require a bit more advance planning than elsewhere due to traffic.

The digital nomad hotspot of Latin America now, far surpassing Medellin recently. It's like the Bangkok of America. It's very cheap, very fun and relatively safe now (if you stay in the right areas).