Living in Mexico City (CDMX)

Renting in Mexico City comes down to which part of the valley fits your week. The center, in Cuauhtémoc, is where you can live without a car: Roma and Condesa sit on tree lined streets with cafés, parks and Metrobús around the corner. Due west, Polanco and Lomas de Chapultepec hold the most expensive ground in CDMX, greener, quieter and far more car dependent. South of the center, Benito Juárez is flat and gridded, with the same Metro reach for less.

What to consider before renting

Landlords here usually ask for a guarantor who owns property in the city, or a legal guarantee policy (póliza jurídica) in its place, and that paperwork takes longer than the viewing itself. Central colonias run on metered street parking (parquímetro) and many mid century buildings went up without a garage, so ask what the unit actually includes. Rents climb the closer you get to the western corridor: for something similar and still well connected, look north to Gustavo A. Madero, served by three Metro lines, or east to Iztacalco.