Dateline: A Dodgy Street in the Centro Histórico, Guadalajara
Sometimes you just stumble upon something which turns out to be hysterical. Such was the Google StreetView image I came across the other day.
I’m considering that I may end up living in Guadalajara. As you know, my mother’s circumstances have changed, and an assisted living facility in Ajijic would seem to solve a lot of problems. However, I’m very loath to just drop her off in Ajijic and then leave for Mexico City. After all, that wouldn’t be a nice thing to do, as she’ll need some connection to the familiar before she gets her bearings adjusted to an expat assisted-living life. And for me, living in Ajijic, which my CDMX landlord declared to be one of the most boring places in Mexico, is out of the question. Sorry if you love the place, but I need something bigger, and more truly Mexican.
So I’ve been browsing Guadalajara real estate via propiedades.com and metroscubicos.com. And because I’m a guy who loves to be in the urban thick of things, I’ve been primarily browsing in the Zona Centro, a place that I’m already somewhat familiar with due to my spending a week there in 2014. And as you may have guessed, I’m not entirely averse to living in a gritty neighborhood if it’s in the thick of things, especially if I can find a fabulous space there.
While browsing the ads, I came across just such a place. Little did I know. The property advertised was basically a large lot with the decaying remains of a colonial building on it. It was advertised as being an ideal place to run a parking lot. I figured I might build a fabulous modern, but colonial-style house on it. So I decided to check it out via Google StreetView. What I found next door caused me to laugh out loud. Not only the activities being planned and the look of sheer boredom, but Super Mario looking on and the glimpse of the woman entering the hotel all combined to make this a surprisingly artful little slice of life, all caught randomly by a Google StreetView van.
Working it in Guadalajara Centro
I don’t have any objection to ladies of the late afternoon plying their wares, but I’m not sure I want to live literally next door. So I think I’ll pass. But I’m thankful that the internet allows such ease of property shopping from afar.
Oh, and the below was the object of my affections. Yes, in its current state it’s a dump. But one that has a lot of potential. If only it had different neighbors.
Guadalajara Fixer-Upper
But I think fixer-uppers are a bit like childbirth. After it’s all done, you forget how painful the process was. After renovating my house in Boston, I swore I’d never buy a fixer-upper again. So maybe I just need to swear off any and all such properties and go back to the penthouse fantasy. Also making major renovations on a masonry house is quite a different kettle of fish than working on a wooden house.
Thoughts?
El Gringo Suelto 
Kim, you mentioned that the paths and roads would be dangerous in SMA for your Mum as she uses a walker. It is also pretty bad in Ajijic too and the footpaths are not for the faint hearted! My wife took a tumble and became a cropper on the cobbles just after getting off the bus from Guadalajara.
As regards buying, it is great to peruse the classifieds but you really have to wander down and look at your surroundings before you plonk down your pennies. I saw a lovely place on line in Ajijic even on Giggle Earth it looked good but when we wandered by it was surrounded by desperados. It was quite entertaining and the realtor was equally so.
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Hola Colm!
Good points all. Whatever the road surface, Ajijic has the advantage of being flat. Unfortunately there’s no perfect place for mom. As for real estate, yes indeed, there’s nothing like having a real look yourself. Although in this case, an online one was sufficient. But a guy can still have fantasies, right?
Saludos and thanks for stopping by!
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We need to talk about your thoughts on assisted living in Ajijic for your mother. I will be the one with the questions. I am happy to hear how this is developing.
As for Guadalajara, I wish you well. I wish you more than that. You know how I like the place. If you take that step, you will always have a beach house close at hand. And we can continue our discussion about faulty cathedral architecture and the complexity of mural symbolism. (If that doesn’t sound like FM radio, I am not certain what would.)
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Hola Steve! I’d love to talk with you about my thoughts on assisted living for my mother in Ajijic. I’ve talked to a number of friends, but none who have the perspective of an American living in Mexico. So any thoughts you have would be much appreciated. And it’s VERY kind of you to offer your beach house, but be careful because some day (not in the summer, haha) I will take you up on it. And of course, should I end up in GDL, you’d have a place where you could come and retreat from the heat. At least relatively so. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!
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Hello, Kim, nice to have you back here. I’ve been laughing a lot both with the bored-to-death bad girls in your picture and with the comments, especially the two-point plan for living in Merida. I know very little of Guadalajara — I spent about two or three weeks there back in 1998, but we were so busy preparing the launch of the Mural newspaper that all I knew were a few fine restaurants. I remember having seen the Minerva and the Cathedral from inside the car in one of the trips while being driven by the hired chauffeur. Then in 2012 I had a boyfriend who was from Guadalajara and one day he invited me to visit his family. I accepted because he had promised to show me around while we were there, but this flimsy idiot caught a simple cold and this was enough for refusing to leave the house during the whole vacation. I still don’t know why I stayed there in sheer boredom.
Who knows where you’ll end up, my dear friend. I’ve pictured you in San Luis Potosí, in Zacatecas, in the colonia Tabacalera in Mexico City… now in a nice property in Guadalajara… and every time that you mention a place I check Google to see how far it is from Monterrey and how often would I be able to visit. I definitely think that if your mom would be living in Ajijic, then Guadalajara would be the right shot. It’s a big city and it has much of the fun you’re so fond of in Mexico City. I wish the streets of San Miguel de Allende would be more walker-friendly and there were an assisted-facility up to your standards, because the state of Guanajuato has such a strategic location, within a few hours from so many places: Querétaro, Mexico City, Guadalajara, San Luis Potosí, and, a little farther north, Monterrey. Hope your dreams come true. Hugs.
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Hola Tino!
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I’ve imagined myself in many places in Mexico too, though in recent years, mostly in CDMX. Still, I’m trying to keep an open mind about GDL. One of the negatives in my view is that it’s a LOT hotter than CDMX, though certainly nothing compared to either Monterrey or Mérida. Still, I’m much more of a cool-weather or temperate-weather person than anything else. And I’d really rather not live in a place where I need much air conditioning. Still, GLD is dry heat, and it surely cools off at night. So with the right setup, it’s probably doable climate-wise. And yes, I’d love to be close to you so I can come and visit. It’s been far too long, though I’m still savoring the memories of your June visit to CDMX. Saludos, amigo, y un gran abrazo!
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See, I’d quite like a fixer-upper. But by that, I mean redecorate and maybe some new light fittings.
I’m still browsing retirement places in Merida and Queretaro. Sadly, my retirement is still so far off that the property I’m looking for may not have been built yet. Unless I can persuade Mrs P of the virtues of a grand ole colonial place. For us to take on as a fixer-upper…
Good to see you back here. Two posts in three months? El Gringo is on something of a roll…!
🙂
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Hola Gary! Yes, I think your idea of a fixer-upper is probably better than mine. As noted in another reply here, the place I posted was, in truth, more of a tear-down than fixer-upper.
You really think you could live in Mérida’s heat? I think the city is lovely, but I’d never be able to tolerate the heat there long-term. I had enough trouble living in Houston, and there everything is air-conditioned into near deep-freeze. Even GDL is a bit warm for my taste, though it’s incredibly pleasant compared to Mérida. Saludos and thanks for stopping by.
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Queretaro would be my first choice. Unless the pound/peso exchange is so favourable in 2035-ish that Coyoacan is back on the table. Alas, the extended family are in Merida. I’ve been there in mid-summer. It is pretty brutal. But I could survive it. I have a two point plan for doing so.
1. A three month holiday in CDMX each year.
2. Literally live in a small pool with an ice cube maker set up to constantly feed it with little chunks of frozen heaven.
Simples!
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Gary: your two point plan had me laughing out loud. Works fine until you get the electric bill though. But I think Querétaro is a much better plan. A lovely, lovely city that’s close to a lot of other interesting places. Mérida, while delightful, is also far from much else besides beaches. So count my vote for your retirement in Querétaro. Saludos and thanks for stopping back.
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We really liked Guadalajara during our short time there, specially it’s traffic free downtown streets and Colonial archetecture. It is refreshingly Mexican, not yet ruined by the Gringo Invasion. I certainly share your feelings about Lake Chapala and Ajijic. When we were there the restaurant menus were in English with prices in US dollars and very little Spanish was heard! You would hate it very quickly.
So nice to hear of your mom’s amazing recovery, she is an inspiration, to say the least!
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Hola Croft! Wow! Menus in English and prices in USD in Chapala/Ajijic?!?! That’s worse than I’d have thought. And the USD prices aren’t probably doing the customers any favors, either. Those restaurateurs are cleaning up in the past few years simply by holding USD menu prices constant while their costs fall along with the peso. Yes, you’re right. That’d drive me nuts! As for GDL, I have seen lovely colonial houses in the centro available for cheap (<$200K US for a large, unremodeled house). But there aren't any listed now. Well, there's one that's been remodeled to high-end Gringo standards. It's gorgeous, over 400M2, and they want a little less than $600K USD for it. I'm tempted to write a post about it simply because it's such a beautiful house. And while it's not cheap, it would easily cost 2x-3x in any major city in the USA, and multiples higher in a high-cost market like San Francisco or Los Angeles. Heck, even in Houston it'd be a multi-million dollar house. As for my mother, thank you for the kind words. I'm pleasantly amazed myself. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!
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It was in a Guadalajara restaurant where we encountered our best example of the Ugly American! A couple had just gotten their bill and the guy shouted out, “This is in Mexican! Give me a bill in Real Money”! The waiter was unable to help him and the jerk just got louder and the waiter more frustrated and embarrassed. I tried to help by asking the jerk what the problem was and he indicated he wanted to pay in “real money”. I told him to just give them a credit card and the banks would work it out. He said, “I’m not giving anyone my credit card, I want to pay with CASH”, showing me a wad of US cash. I asked what the bill was and he said “490 whatevers”. I said, “Just leave $50 US plus tip and that will be close enough”. He said, “Thanks, why couldn’t they have told me that? I don’t suppose they would have any change?” I said no, they wouldn’t have change so he slapped three US twenties down on the table and they stormed out muttering something about that in expensive restaurants they should have someone who could speak English. On our way out the manager thanked us and asked if we would buy the three twenties from him as it was difficult for him to deal with. We checked on the Internet and gave him fair value in pesos. The peso was much higher then but it was still one killer propina! The waiters followed us out to high five us. I love Mexico!
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Hola Croft! Wow! What a funny story. It’s really appalling how some people behave in restaurants. Especially the “real money” comment. Yes, the USD is the world’s reserve currency, but that doesn’t mean that foreign restaurants are going to take it. Good thing you were there. I suspect things wouldn’t have gone nearly so well if you hadn’t been. And yes, I love the waiters high-fiving you. After all, you got them a ridiculously high tip. Kudos! Thanks for stopping back again. Saludos.
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Gawd, how I despise people who call their currency “real money” as if ours was “funny money”… try spending that foreign currency back home at your neighborhood grocery. I managed a business in a tourist resort for a time and had to bite my tongue dealing with those bozos… though I would tell them that their “real money” was not real on my books, and not part of the daily receipts, but only an estimated receivable… and would have to change more, given that I had no idea of its actual amount, and had to take into consideration a disruption of business to take it to the bank and wait for it to be credited to our account.
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Hola Rich! I’m with you. Though if I were operating a business in Mexico, I think I’d have a policy on accepting dollars and euros at a truly punitive exchange rate. Like if the current rate were 18, I’d probably take 10-11 to the USD. After all, if people want something unreasonable, then let them pay an unreasonable price. Saludos and thanks for your comment!
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There’s a sadistic part of me that rather wishes this could happen to me in the UK. Just so I can put on my best blank, apologetic Basil Fawlty look. And declare, ‘sorry, I only speak English.’
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Haha…reminds me of the time I was waiting tables in a nice Mexican restaurant, circa 1984. Someone asked for ketchup and I was able to haughtily reply that the restaurant didn’t stock it.
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The nice thing about Ajijic is that it is a very short drive to Mexico.
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Hola Christine! Mexico? You mean Guadalajara? It’s quite a ways from CDMX. But in any case, thanks for stopping back and adding to your lovely comments. Saludos!
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That was supposed to be an ironic comment. Oh well.
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Haha…sorry. Even though I consider myself witty (perhaps wrongly, haha) I can be too literal at times. Thanks for trying, though. Hopefully I’ll pick it up better next time.
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P.S. Now that I’m in the proper mindframe, it was actually *very* witty. Thank you!
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🙂
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Calling that place a fixer-upper is quite a stretch, but it’s good that you seem to be coming to your senses regarding Guadalajara. Plus, scant earthquakes!
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Hola Felipe! Yes, that place would have really been more of a tear-down than a fixer upper. But the location was very convenient to everything (and I mean everything!) and it was a decent-sized lot. But in the end, probably more work than I’d have been willing to do. Unless the neighbors pitched in, of course. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!
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Good morning Kim! How are you doing? And your mom? All is good here been very very busy. Lots of sightseeing, with hosting a couple from San Diego, and a friend from Houston. Quite exhausting, time consuming, and personally triggering, especially hosting an entire week and not actually having my bedroom to process, be quiet, and just have opportunities to chill! I’m happy you’re blogging Also as far as my thoughts on a fixer, I think it would be super if you definitely know you’ll be happier in Guadalajara… In the event that you have a chance in the future to live in high-rise Mexico City, then I think Guadalajara as far as a purchase will just complicate your life extremely. However, that being said I’m not in your shoes, and I strongly believe that you actually know the answer deep inside… I also think that you would enjoy the challenge of a huge project while caring for your mom… Again these are only my thoughts, and I get a sense that many of your close friends will have a different take… ….. Take good care!!! David
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Hola Dave! I’m hanging in there; thanks for asking. At this point I’m still in the blue-sky planning stage, so nothing has been set. But I figured I’d at least start to sort of get the lay of the land with respect to real estate in GDL. Whether I ever buy anything there remains an open question. I’d honestly prefer to live in CDMX, but if my mother ends up in Ajijic, then GDL it will probably be. Saludos y un gran abrazo!
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Check out the Colonia Lafayette.Or Americana or Ladrón de Guevara. All are closer to el centro and lots of things going on. The Minerva is too plain.
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Hola Lefthand! Those are great suggestions. I’ve been kind of thinking a little west of there because it appeals to me to be in the Centro Histórico, but as I write I’m also thinking that while I like the Centro Histórico in CDMX, I didn’t live at all close to it. And yes, Americana seems like a nice place, a little bit like Roma in CDMX. Thanks for commenting; future comments should go right through. Saludos!
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Try looking in the neighborhood around the statue of Minerva.
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Hola Christine!
There are some wonderful apartment buildings there on the Paseo de Chapultepec, though it’s a little far to walk to the cathedral from there. Still, it would be under consideration. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!
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We had a realtor take us through the red light district, which he assured us was a “plus” because ladies, and the people who were dressed as ladies, made such great “conversation pieces.” I wonder if he ever did unload that property?
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Lee,
Thanks for a great chuckle! Real estate agents are simply the absolute champs at selling a negative as a positive. If nothing else, I’d give him or her kudos for spin. In fact a lucrative career in politics might await that agent. Saludos and thanks for stopping by!
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A lucrative career in politics might await one of the ladies as well. Heh.
P.S. SO glad to see you back!
P.P.S. My thoughts on your dilemma are to move Mom to one of the wonderful assisted living facilities in San Miguel de Allende and live here.
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Hola Barbara! I am quite open to moving mom to SMA, but there don’t seem to be many assisted living places there. I’ve found a couple south of SMA by about 7 KM, but that’s it. Maybe I should look harder. Frankly, if she were in SMA, it’d be easy enough for me to be in CDMX and still see her on some weekends. Plus I know a number of lovely people there too. The only drawback to SMA is that mom uses a walker and the hills and cobblestones there could be a dangerous combination. That said, she’s probably not going to go out much if at all. Thanks for your comment. Saludos!
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I am glad you asked for comments. Fixer uppers are fine if the neighborhood is safe and close to the action you desire, and if there is potential in your lifetime for neighborhood improvement if it is located in a marginal neighborhood. I fixed up a fixer upper in 1990. The hard work and satisfaction of fixing it up was rewarding! But, if I had to do it again, I’d pay someone to do it. I assume you will have a licensed inspector evaluate the building’s condition before you buy? And, perhaps that inspector can give you a cost estimate for repairs/updates/remodeling that need to be done? I assume purified water be delivered to the place if the city’s water source is not potable?
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Hola Fred!
Good points all. The house in question would probably have to be torn down, perhaps save for the façade, regulations willing. And then a new house would be constructed. And certainly I’d have any building inspected before I buy. As for water potability, I don’t know. My belief is that in all of Mexico people drink and cook with bottled water, and then use tap water for everything else. That’s certainly what I did in CDMX. In any case, I’m nowhere near actually buying anything in Guadalajara, but still in the fantasy shopping stage.
Saludos y un abrazo and thanks for stopping by!
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