bashful

Would this be a good locale for a couple of younge retirees to go for Jan-March? Do you need a car? What would the best "neighbourhood" be to situate ourselves?
What would we expect to pay for a well located, nice apt.-2 bedrooms? Any other advice for us??

Alegria

In one word, yes, presuming that you are relatively seasoned travelers. San Miguel is not a beach resort that caters almost exclusively to the needs/desires of foreigners. It is a real Mexican town, though it does have many attratictions/activities/ amentities that are oriented towards the needs of gringos. (At most times, there are 5,000-7,000 gringos, most of whom live in SMA, which has about 80,000 residents. You do not need a car. You can pretty much walk the town from one end to the other in 20 minutes. If you do not want to walk, there are ample taxis. If you want to travel further afield, the buses are great or there are many tour agencies who will take you to various destinations for rather modest fees.

Lots of people prefer 'Centro,' which is very convenient, but the downside is more congestion and noise. I would suggest going a bit outside of Centro to either lowe Atascadero, Balcones (where our house is) or Ojo de Agua. All of these colonias are up on the hill, so you will have both great views and more quiet. San Antonio and Guadiana, though a bit further from the Jardin, are nice, too.

I cannot give you an average price, but I would highly recommend looking at the listings for San Miguel at Vacation Rentals by Owner-- www.vrbo.com. You will get the best prices there since you are renting directly from the owners and are not paying any fees (which average 15%) for a rental agency. Good luck in fining the right place. I am sure that you will truly enjoy San Miguel.

TioGringo

Agree 100% with Alegria....seniors seem to LOVE San Miguel de Allende, and it is a very foot-friendly kind of place, and there are a lot of very classy homes available for longer-term rental.

By the way, you might also want to check out Guanajuato (easy bus ride for daytrip or weekend getaway) --- I think it too would be an excellent place for someone to retire.

Have fun!
Mark
www.tiogringo.com

mikemo

I still think the Centro the best as do most visitors. Many of the peripheral places, 'tho offering some good value in an overheated real estate market, are filled with Texans, and walking to Atascaderos, Balcones and Ojo de Agua is beyond the abilities of many. I like Guadiana, but the S section of San Antonio is not great.
A car is mostly a liability, unless you plan to drive to SMdA and have a garage with your rental. Local buses are a few pesos, taxis are $15.- $20.(MXP), and inexpensive regional first class buses are readily available.
15 Dec - 15 April and 15 June - 30 Sept are "high" season when rentals peak.
A nice 2 bdrm, 2 BA in a VG area might be $750. - $2000. a month depending...
Many include maid, utilities and cable/sat TV. In addition to VRBO, check wwww.casaselegantes for the real high end stuff.
M

bashful

Few more questions...(thanks for the responses so far!).
What about every day living expenses - things like groceries and restaurant dining? How expensive?
Also is wine, beer, liquor readily available (at grocery store) and is there much of a selection? Prices?
Thanks.

mikemo

Claro,
Please check prior posts.
We do B'Fast at home - fresh fruit, natural yogurt and granola.
Wine is very resricted, but there are some good few.
You'll be amazed at the restaurant selections from IT, SP and Chile, and the XA Mexican Cab is OK - all for less than $10. USD.
M

mikemo

Restaurants: well, maybe 40% of flyover US prices.
Many are VG: Romano's; Ole,Ole (if you like fajitas); Posada Carmina (B & L); Tio Lucas for great filet - their Chateaubriand would feed four.
M

bashful

not sure I understand your reply. Do you mean that wine is scarce in the stores? If wine is your drink of choice at home, where is the best place to buy? When in Florida we can buy those 4 gallon jugs of o.k. wine for about $12!
What would the average dinner in a good restaurant cost for 2 people? And in Feb/Mar, are there fruit and vegs grown locally or is everything brought in thus hiking up the costs?

mikemo

The choice of wine is limited, but you'll not go without.
LaEuropea is a national chain with a small, reasonably priced outlet on Clle. Canal just W of el Jardin. Their weekly supply of decent inexpensive wine sells out rather quickly. They also have some of the best prices on mid to just under upper levels of Tequila (seldom do that) I have seen recently. If you have a car, Sam's, Costco, etc. are an hours drive in Queretaro and Celaya.
The local covered market adjacent to Mercado Artisanias has loads of fresh fruit, veggies, and flowers year round and the meat markets are just X the street (free range beef filet is $65. MXP a KG - about $5.85 for 2.2 lbs).
The fajitas at Ole, Ole are great - beef are $60./chicken $55.MXP, but one order is enough for two if you are average eaters. The only "gringo" restaurants that I would caution you about are: La Capilla - expensive and poor quality - the owner was killed in a plane crash several years ago and it has been all downhill; Harry's (too gringo, and less than heart healthy) and Bugambilla - great Margaritas and VG Chiles en Nogada, but many instances of food related illness there accd'ing to the locals.
Nearly all others are VG to excellent.
Romano's is a fav $75. - $160. per, but portions are enormous. Pizzas are overloaded and about $80. or $90. as I recall. The Chateaubriand at Tio Lucas was $284. (just over $25. US) in Sept and Jan. and includes roasted veggies and "potatoes" as well as a Guacamole appetizer of sorts - it would feed 4.
Nearly all of the restaurants that advertise in the Atencion are VG - Berlin (the authentic German Salat is world class), Chamonix (an intelligent FR/Viet), El Pagaso (good seafood); La Grotta - good IT and Pizza, l'Invito in the Instituto is super, but pricy - but 50% off 4-6PM M-Th or F; El Correo for great soups, and another mom and pop place "up" Correo on the same side - I forget the name, but the folks at Select Real Estate @ Correo 24 eat there nearly everyday and will give you the name.
I assure you that you can eat very well for lots less than in the US. Just don't eat the street food.
M

bashful

Thanks very much..great info. Now, do you know of any well-located, nice casa, apt. etc. 2 bed/2 bath for about $12-$1500 per month? Thanks again for all your input. It's a big decision for us. We had planned all along to go to Florida for 2-3 months but then friends told us about their time in SMA and we are seriously considering it. We'll miss the lovely ocean view but we'll also save a good deal of money.

mikemo

BF,
You must first decide in which barrio you want to live. I'm biased to the Centro as I have lived in Suburbia in the USA for 60 years and realized I really like "downtown".
My current house is on Reloj and we are building a larger just closer to town at el Mirador which still has a Centro zip, but is "uphill".
Just e-mail your questions and requirements as I'll be there full time in late April.
Oh, I'm retired and have no business there.
M ([email protected])

canuckuphereathome

wonder if someone can tell me about the water in SMA? I saw on one of the VRBO sites that you have to get pills to put in the water to soak veg and fruit for 20 mins. before eating. If you are going there for an extended time, are most of the rental houses equipped with purified water coming out of the taps? How do you deal with this - I can't imagine "soaking" everything before eating them!

mikemo

Hi CanupThere,
Most of the rental houses on the lower end do not have filtered/purified water from the tap. A few rentals will have bottled water included: Do not drink tap water unless is irradiated and or silver cleaned and purified.
The iodine solutions for soaking fruits and veggies are everywhere and really no hassle.
Peeled papaya, mango, etc are not a problem.
M