In this edition I will cover the various ethnic and religious groups that inhabit Mexico City....just kidding, I'm going to be a snob and tell you what areas to avoid like the plague.
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| Shitty map, I know, I know... |
1. Benito Juarez: Middle-class neighborhood currently undergoing urban renewal (basically they're getting rid of the hobos and building a hell of a lot of condos).Notable sights are the World Trade Center, and, um, that's about it. Safety Rating: 3 - Not a bad place to live compared to some of the other areas on this post, but carjackings and armed robbery are still somewhat commonplace. Fun Fact: This area is now the de facto center of the city due to the ridiculous expansion of the city in the south.
2. Miguel Hidalgo: THE tourist hub of the city. Includes Polanco, Reforma, and Chapultepec (among other areas), along with sights such as Chapultepec Castle, the Museum of Anthropology, the Torre Mayor (tallest building in Latin America up until recently, which is kind of sad really) and the American and British Embassies. Would be a great place to live, if it weren't for all the damn mass demonstrations in Reforma that turn the area into one big traffic jam some days. Safety Rating: 2 - I'd give this area a 1, if it weren't for all the people I know who have been mugged in Polanco (which may or may not give me an unfair bias) and since the area has the most exclusive shopping areas in, well, the country, you're really just asking for trouble if you go out here at night. Fun Fact: The Torre Mayor can withstand an 8.5 richter scale earthquake (the equivalent of 84.4 megatons of TNT, no shit), so if you're going to work someplace here,
3. Milpa Alta: As an expat or tourist, you have no business coming here, seriously. Sights include dirt farms, abandoned homes, scary alleys and stray dogs. Safety Rating: 7 - Just don't come down here gringo. Fun Fact: I got nothing, honestly.
4. Cuajimalpa: Includes Santa Fe (a.k.a. the most modern residential and office buildings in the country, plus big ass mall), Contadero (mansions of ex-presidents and actors just minutes away from slums) and my personal favorite, golf courses galore. This area would be amazing, except for the fact that the area used to be a fucking landfill before they started a massive construction program in the 70's, digging out the trash but leaving an enormous tunnel network underground. Moving here is not a bad idea, but you may regret it when you put down $500,000 (USD, mind you) for your 35th floor, 4 bedroom apartment and you have to deal with your first big earthquake. Safety Rating: 1 and 6 - 1 if you live in "Ciudad" Santa Fe (picture 1), 6 if you live in the "colorful" part of Contadero (picture 2).
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| Picture 1 |
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| Picture 2 |
5. Alvaro Obregon: Quiet, mostly residential, and surprisingly clean. My only beef with the area is the abundance (or over-abundance) of DUI checkpoints in an area known for its bars and restaurants. Probably not a good place to live if you're under 35, since there's not a lot to see or do during the day. Safety Rating: 3 - Drunks + Closing Time = Trouble. Well, there's also a fair amount of carjackings and muggings, just like any other part of the city, really. Fun Fact: Avenida de la Paz, in San Angel, has the most bars per square mile that I've seen in this city in my 8 years of living here.
6. Tlalpan: Besides having a weird, weird name, this district is also massively enormously gigantically huge. I'm not kidding when I say Tlalpan at least twice as big as my hometown of San Diego, California, both in area (of San Diego's downtown, let's not get carried away and include suburbia) and population (let's include suburbia and, what the hell, Anaheim). Safety Rating: Variable but I say 5 - Due to the enormity of the district, which could be a city in its own right, there is both nice, clean, crime-free areas and dingy, urban, shitholes where crime is rampant. Fun Fact: I still get lost here.
