Living in Zapopan

Zapopan is the most populous municipality in Jalisco and by far the largest of the Guadalajara metro area, most of it still farmland and forest rather than city. Renting concentrates in three very different parts of it. The Av. Patria and Acueducto corridor around Puerta de Hierro and Valle Real is the towers-and-malls end. The older belt against Guadalajara, through Ciudad Granja, is closer to the centre of the city. Out past Periférico, the newer colonias are where rents drop.

What to consider before renting

Where you land decides whether you need a car. Light rail Line 3 ends inside Zapopan, at Arcos de Zapopan by the Basílica, Line 1 comes up to Auditorio, and Mi Macro Periférico runs the whole ring road. The Puerta de Hierro corridor, though, has no station within walking distance, so that address means driving. Av. López Mateos and Av. Patria are the two that jam. Rain is worth asking about too: Patria and Acueducto flood at known points, which catches people out in the most expensive part of the municipality. For Solares, further out, rents ease.