Mexico · North America
Mexico City
The most exciting food scene in North America, the second-largest city in the Americas, sitting at 7,350 ft of altitude, and one of the cheapest cities to live well in if your income is in dollars. A magnet for slowmads since 2020. Great for 1 to 4 week stays.
Median 7-night
~$1,400
apartments + hotels
Cheapest
$270
budget hotel, basic neighborhood
Best season
Oct-May
dry, mild, less smog
Avoid
Jun-Sep
rainy + traffic chaos
Cheapest 7-night stays right now
Live from our API. Prices include VAT (IVA, 16%) but not minor city fees if any. Refreshes when you load this page.
Neighborhoods to actually live in
Slowmad central
Roma Norte / Condesa
Walkable, tree-lined, cafes with English, parks (Parque México, Parque España), the best non-touristy restaurants in the city. Heavily English-speaking expat scene since 2020. More expensive than the rest of CDMX but still cheap by US standards. Best for first-time visitors and 1-4 week stays.
Quiet + green
Coyoacán
Cobblestones, colonial plaza, Frida Kahlo's house, weekly markets. Locals + families. Significantly cheaper than Roma/Condesa. 30-40 min Uber to the center but its own world. Best for multi-week family stays.
Business / luxury
Polanco
Mexico City's Beverly Hills. Soumaya museum, fancy malls, embassies. Expensive, corporate, less local feel. Useful if you have meetings in CDMX but you're missing the city if you stay here on a leisure trip.
Avoid for stays 7+ nights
Centro Histórico / Doctores
Centro is gorgeous for day trips, exhausting for living. Nearly everything closes by 8pm, heavy daytime crowds, fewer cafes. Doctores has been gentrifying but still too rough for most travelers staying a week. Stick to Roma/Condesa/Coyoacán.
Settle-in basics
SIM cards
Telcel is the dominant carrier with the best rural coverage. Buy at any OXXO convenience store with passport, ~$200 MXN ($10 USD) for 30 days unlimited social media + 5 GB data. AT&T Mexico is a runner-up. Don't pay for "tourist SIM" packages at the airport.
Money / ATMs
Mexico is still a heavily cash-friendly country, especially for street food, taxis, and small shops. Use Banco Azteca, BBVA, or Santander ATMs (skip the ones with weird brand names in malls). Visa/MC accepted at all Roma/Condesa/Polanco restaurants. Carry $200-500 MXN for daily small purchases. Tap water is not safe to drink.
Coworking
WeWork has 15+ locations. Selina Roma (good for short stays), Público (Roma Norte, popular with creators), Espacio Condesa, Impact Hub. Day passes ~$300-500 MXN. Most cafes have wifi but seats fill by 11am.
Transit
Uber and Didi both work, Didi is usually cheaper. Metro is $5 MXN per ride and covers most of the city, but skip rush hour (7-9am, 6-8pm). EcoBici bike-share is great for short hops. From the airport: Uber/Didi to Roma/Condesa is 30-45 min and ~$300-500 MXN; avoid the yellow taxis that approach you.
Healthcare
Hospital Ángeles (multiple locations) and ABC Hospital are the best private options, English-speaking. Pharmacies are everywhere; many medications that need a US prescription are over-the-counter here. Travel insurance like SafetyWing is fine.
Altitude
CDMX is at 2,240 m / 7,350 ft. The first 2-3 days you might feel slightly winded going up stairs or get a mild headache. Drink more water than usual. Skip alcohol the first night. Past day 4, fine for most people.
Visa basics
- US/UK/EU/Canada/Australia/NZ passport: Up to 180 days entry, granted at the airport on arrival. The exact length depends on the immigration officer; 60-90 days is more common since 2023. Argue politely for the longer end if you need it.
- Looking longer: Mexico has a Temporary Resident Visa (1-4 years) and Permanent Resident Visa (lifetime). Both require application from a Mexican consulate in your home country, with income or savings proof. Outside our 7-30 night scope.
- Tourist card (FMM): Was paper, now digital and issued at the airport. Don't lose the receipt; you may need to show it on departure.
Our honest take
Mexico City is having a moment, and that moment has been ongoing since 2020. The food, the coffee, the music, the warmth of the people, the cost of living for dollar earners, hard to argue against any of it.
What gets glossed over: the altitude takes 3-4 days to adapt to, traffic is genuinely terrible (a 10 km Uber ride at 6pm can take 60 minutes), the air quality in November-February thermal inversion weeks is rough enough to limit outdoor exercise, and Roma/Condesa rents have risen ~40% in 2 years thanks to the slowmad influx. Locals are increasingly priced out of their own neighborhoods. Tip well.
For a 1-2 week stay, Roma Norte or Condesa is the move. For a 2-4 week stay, consider Coyoacán to escape the expat bubble for half your trip. Day trips: Teotihuacán pyramids (1 hr away), Tepoztlán (1.5 hr away), Puebla (2 hr away by ADO bus). All worth doing.
How this guide is built: the price stats are pulled live from our search API at page load. The neighborhood + settle-in content is hand-written by Nick (founder), based on direct experience and traveler interviews, not affiliate-optimized copy.
How we earn: on bookings made through links from this page, we earn a 3% member commission (sign-in required) or ~13% public commission (anonymous). Same supplier, same room as Booking.com. We do not earn more on more expensive stays. Full affiliate disclosure.
Sources: official tourism data, INEGI housing prices, traveler interviews. We don't accept sponsored placements or hotel partnerships in this guide.