8 Cities in Mexico That Are NOT Hot All Year- Central Highlands of Mexico 

Hola Amig@s! Thanks for watching. Get our insider tips on what it's really like to live in Mexico bit.ly/49FyFdT Or check out our private relocation tours for these cities - learn from a local what living there is like bit.ly/3whdH6t Want to learn more about each individual city on this list, check out this playlist ru-vid.com/group/PL1opjgVlJ95UOfwglfFjPysI935i606Uh

I'm a retired US citizen who has lived in Puerto Vallarta full.time for almost 14 years. Although PV is certainly one of the most heavily visited resort towns by gringos, Europeans and Mexican tourists as well as seasonal expat residents, I have successfully avoided a touristy atmosphere by buying and renovating a small house in a Mexican neighborhood. This has helped me learn to speak Spanish. I limit a/c to my bedroom only and avoid the high cost of electricity by having a/c with inverter technology and installing several solar panels on the roof. I also enjoy the interior cities, especially Morelia and Oaxaca. I would probably choose to live in Morelia before Oaxaca because of the severe earthquakes in Oaxaca. San Miguel de Allende is hard to beat in terms of beauty, but it is far too overrun by gringos to enjoy an authentic Mexican experience. For that reason, if I wanted to live in the state of Guanajuato I would choose Guanajuato City which is a beautiful little town with brightly colored houses scaling the hills and mountains around it and plenty of very old buildings including the Teatro Juarez built before the Mexican Revolution. My advice to any foreigner considering a move to Mexico: After choosing a city you like rent a place only for the first six months to decide which neighborhood you like. Then if you plan to stay in Mexico buy your own house or condo provided you have the money. When you don't have to pay rent it costs a whole lot less to live here than the amounts stated in this video. Property taxes are less than 10% of what I paid in Houston, Texas. And learn to speak Spanish!

We are trying to address the issue of American Karens expats living in San Miguel de Allende. There have been several incidents involving Karens behaving inappropriately, as if they were still living in Los Angeles. If you exhibit such behavior, please do not come here, as San Miguel will not tolerate it.

I just got back from Guadalajara, Mexico in March. I have a niece who went to Mexico for the first time in February 2024. They went to GDL and Puerto Vallarta and stayed one week in GDL. and the following week in P. V. She had gone with her boyfriend who has family in GDL. She really loved it and wants to go back. I loved it in GDL. I want to buy a vacation home there. I have seen the homes there for sale and they are beautiful. Some of the areas remind me of the Hollywood Hills. I go to Capital Brokers website and the Homes are Magnificent. I go on just to listen to the music for their presentations of the homes. Very Professional Showings that's for sure. I live in Los Angeles and retired, from an Auto and Home Insurance Company after 22 years and saved plenty of money.

Thanks for your insightfulness, straightforwardness, and wnergy. Especially interested in Guadalajara, Guanajuato, and Queretero. Tim from Seattle.

Hi I am watching from India!

WOW! You are busy!

Great video as usual, full of useful info, but a few notes are needed. 1) You mentioned the "colonial" arquitecture and the "colonial era", and I must clarify and important difference, Mexico was never a colony (like the English colonies) Mexico was a viceroyalty called the kingdom of New Spain. Mexico is only Mexico City - many foreigners and many Mexicans ignore this important fact. 2) Gentrification is ruining the life for many native residents forced to move as immigrants increase the cost of living for the locals. I have lived for 25 years in Cuernavaca. I chose it for its proximity to Mexico City and its international hub airport with direct flights to Europe or Asia that no other city in México can offer except CanCun. Immigration success depends on integration to the local culture and that means learning Spanish is a MUST. Greetings for the city of eternal spring.

Sorry, I preferred the weather of Cuernavaca as opposed to that of Lake Chapala.

Hola, Mariana! We passed the three year mark living in Morelia. Everything is STILL wonderful! We're still in the same house, and the rent has never increased! We still haven't found a need for a car. I've become pretty well known in our neighborhood (especially at the street taco stands!). They're even coming to my birthday parties now, so I can repay their kindness! The banking issues have been corrected. Thanks for the help! We still haven't been victimized by ANY crime, but we DID get an incorrect power bill once, which was corrected...hahaha I'm still watching your videos as they come out. Thanks again, for what you do!

I live in Tepic, capital of Nayarit state. Pretty close to the beach, but it sits in a highland valley at 1000m/3000ft altitude. Population 500,000, so a medium-sized place, it has a mellow vibe and is very safe, but it's also big enough that there's always something interesting going on. I ride my bike everywhere, all year long. It's not a tourist town, so to live here you must be prepared to integrate into the local culture, but of course you should do that no matter where you live. Maybe it's actually easier here because you have no other choice! I have a great circle of friends, and people here are very tolerant and open-minded in general.

For me, this is the best video yet. As I don't want to live in a beach city. Thanks

Cholula, Puebla. 7000 ft. Temperate. Vibrant College town. Cheap living. Flat for biking. Few expats. Good jazz club. Puebla is the cuisine center of Mexico. German and Italian colonies. Excellent produce.

Great list! I spent 6 months traveling around Mexico in 2023, and had extended stays in 7 of your list of 8 (I planned on seeing Puebla, but ran out of time). My favorite?.. unquestionably Guanajuato, which was fascinating. Best big cities were Queretaro and Guadalajara. Oaxaca was OK, but problematic at times with its protests and associated road closures.

The only thing I dislike about Morelia is the weather when it’s hot. Their downtown is surrounded by concrete which makes it feel hotter and uncomfortable to walk around. I’ve been visiting Morelia since I was a child and I visit 4x a year and have many family members that live there, so I know what I’m talking about 😂

Hola from Northern California! Perfect summary!!! Appreciate the general budget! Muchas Gracias! 🙏🏼

There's many choices for higher altitude cities in Mexico where it's nice weather year around and many places that can be a bit cold, too. I would recommend living at beach towns part of the year, but during the hot summers spend a few months in Guanajuato or other cities at higher elevations.

The glaring omission here is Mexico City. It is a wonderfully cosmopolitan city, has great year round climate, the people are absolutely amazing & the international food scene gets better & better every year. Yes, it has pollution, prices are rising & it has earthquakes however, I never feel unsafe anywhere in CDMX.

Watching from Seattle. Adding Morelia to my possibilities. Puebla and the volcano are concerning. Thank you so much for this informative video. I’m going to watch it several times !!

Chapala has become over crowded with Americans and the pollution is terrible in places. Not quiet lol ! Becoming expensive with a strained infrastructure, power outages etc. lived there for 8 years before it became overcrowded. Sold my house and moved to Puebla.

Watching from Vancouver Island. Missing my second home: Baja

Thank you for this video that helps out those of us who are heat intolerant or just really wussy. I don’t know.

Querétaro, Morelia, Guadalajara, México city, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Puebla...all good cities with good climates. Saludos desde Michoacán.

Watching from Morelia, we want to keep the way it’s… not too many foreigners! 😅🤭best kept secret

¡Ay mi Guanajuato! It's been a long time. The culture, the history, the beauty of Guanajuato (the state) is unmatched (IMHO). León, Guanajuato, Celaya, Salamanca, y mi querido Irapuato. All beautiful in their own right.

Loved to see all the “cool” places! We are watching from Australia- and we are considering Jackie and Panama versus Mariana and Mexico ☺️. Thank you for all you both do to educate and inform us of our possibilities. ❤

Wonderful, Mexico!

It made me kind of sad to hear about the reality of expats having a negative impact on the economy in Oaxaca, especially locals being priced out. 💔 I would love to become part of the community in Oaxaca in the near future, but I don’t want to be a part of the problem. I also want an authentic experience, without being surrounded by the North American vibes from the states. 😓

I came to Campeche in March 2020 on vacation. fell in love and made a family and stayed. I'll be applying for citizenship soon. Being an immigrant in Mexico feels fortuitous after a lifetime of working in kitchens with so many mexicanx chefs/cooks.

are you kidding me? 3,000k cost living? not even in US

Watching from Stockton, CA (aka Michoacan Norte). Great video, thank you.

Awesome content as always, thank you. Can you consider saying the temps in F and then C pls(in the talking part)? Thank you for adding it in the notes part already. I have to keep stopping the video to google.

Thats so strange, I live in San Migue de Allende full time, and I've never seen stores post prices in USD. Maybe I'm not hanging out in the "right" places ; ) And you are spot-on about the population, there are many wealthy Mexicans with second homes here. Population about 170,000 with about 10% foreign part-time/full-time.

I’m in Texas, and will be moving to Mexico within 90 days. Looking for a senior female to make to move with me….

I live in PV and was looking for places to visit during the low season where I'm not sweating 24/7, thanks for this list!

I hate the word 'expat'. A Mexiccan comes to the US and he's an 'immigrant' but a Gringo heads Soiuth and he's an 'expat'.

Very nice places 👌 however Oaxaca is quite a hot place. Xalapa would fit better into this list.

Watching from Florida, USA. I went to Guadalajara last September and fell in love. This is my # 1 city on my relocation list.

Watching from Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, and I’m really enjoying this channel. I’m not retiring for another decade, but I figure it’s never too early to start my research. And I’m liking this video especially since I’m not really interested in living at the beach

Aguascalientes is really safe actually, being the capital of its homonymous state has all of the amenities that you'll need, its population is 1,300,000; the only downside I see is that the regions surrounding the state (not the city, the state) are quite dangerous, if you wanna go in vacation outside the city either you hit the "highway" between 7am - 3 pm or you take an airplane, Aguascalientes is an "oasis" between south Zacatecas and "el Bajio" in north-east Jalisco. As all cities it has its dangerous zones (this one's ubicated in the outskirts of the city), but in general you can be outside in the downton region till 10pm and everything will be fine; thanks to the size of the city and its main 3 “highways” in the form of rings you can go in car from one tip of the city to the other in 25 minutes. The Centennial Miguel Hidalgo Hospital is in the top 50 best hospitals in Mexico. There is various parks in the city, the biggest one being the “Rodolfo Landeros Park” which was previously the state’s airport so it's considerably big and has plenty of Family Recreational Services, in front of this park is a commercial center with a cinema and at a distance of 10 minutes on foot is the “Aguascalientes theater” home of the state orchestra. The Autonomous University of Aguascalientes (UAA) is the 136th best university in all of Latin America and its degrees have validity throughout Mexico and most can be validated in the USA as well. I've lived my whole life in this city, I hope this helps you.

Watching from Chicago 😊. Ive only been to Oaxaca, loved ❤ it . Great food and people were lovely 😊

This is a very nice list of wonderful cities, thank you for highlighting them!

I’ve been waiting for this informative video!!!👏♥️👏

¡Buen trabajo! Gracias Mariana! This is a wonderful video. Watching you from Nova Scotia, Canada. :)

I lived in Xalapa, Veracruz for 3 years back in 1980,1,2. Loved it.

Thanks Mariana for this nice overview. I have visited Guadalajara, SMA, Queretaro, and Chapala. Chapala is my favorite because it is smaller and at 5000 feet and I like the convenience of the Guadalajara airport. I don’t like big cities and don’t feel good above 5000 feet. It’s hard to breathe. Because of Medicare here in the US I remain here but love to visit Mexico. I found Warren Hardy books most helpful to learn Spanish even better than 7 months in language schools in Texas and Costa Rica when I retired. It’s really fun to be functional in Spanish!

Hola, I live in Nebraska.... I recently traveled to Morelia. I loved it.. I have a home in Monterrey. I've been wanting to move there to stay.... not just vacation....

Now I would love to go see all of these places. 😍 They all sound amazing and some more than others. It is sad how the influx is affecting local communities though. The part that is so charming about Mexico gets affected. It would be awesome if some sort of protections were put in place.

Thanks for the info. My husband and I live in Texas, in New Braunfels. Not too far from you, Mariana! My husband is retired and he is a Mexican native from Mexico City. I love Mexico City but rents in a decent area are super high. I don’t want to live with his family, lol. and we’re looking forward to Mexico soon. Oaxaca and Querétaro are on our list. We may want to visit Lake Chapala . We’ve never visited there. We love mild weather. We aren’t into beach or hot areas because as you know, the Texas summers are brutal. I want to escape the heat and humidity.

watching from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and just left Phnom Penh, Cambodia...looking for my "forever home" and looking to Mexico

I am a 73 y old Mexican. I used to live in Mex city and Guadalajara; not any more; I was fedup with city living, searched for the most convenient location in terms of security, nature, living costs and plenty of free pure water, low cost of electricity, high speed internet cable, near the sea, asphalt straight roads, staples & produce facilities near by. Big medical facilities are 2 hours driving; minor 15 minutes. Big internacional airport 2 hours also. A new high speed Mayan train station: 18 minutes. Only setback is the hot season before the rains set in. Besides I'm exempt from having to pay property taxes and the trait of land, one hectare where I built my compound I paid for it less than 6,500 dollars and built on it a stone walled resort with separate living quarters and facilities. We have an indian handy man who takes care of maintenance, and repairs. My monthly expenses: maintenance, utilities plus food, amount to roughly $8,000 pesos. If intrigued and need free counseling make contact.

I am watching this video from Cartago Costa Rica. Never a need for air-conditioning or heat.

I absolutely love Guanajuato! I’m very surprised Merida wasn’t in the list. I moved to Merida about 4 years ago. It’s really nice, but is very hot 🥵.

Finding the "best" place to live in Mexico is a complicated task, to be sure. Any given location can have strong pluses and minuses which can change considerably over time e.g imo Oaxaca is more livable today than 5+ yrs ago whereas the opposite is true for Zacatecas. Smaller towns that seem to have a lot going for them can be home to bars and dance halls that close when the sun rises, having shared their very loud music with you all night and are also home to a large number of street dogs including pitbulls. Big cities avoid those kinds of problems as well as, again imo, offering a higher level of security. Finally, climate change is making much of Mexico hotter and drier. We may all end up living in Toluca just to escape the heat!

Great place to compare weather of different cities is Weatherspark. In my opinion, SMA has better weather than Ajijic, but they are fairly similar.

Central Mexico, highlands has a Temperated semihumid monsoon weather,doy in the winter, rain in the summer, never gets to hot and never gets to cold, the temperatures highs in the 80s in summer and lows in the 60s, in the winter highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s

Not only are your videos packed with valuable information, but they are also beautifully narrated and edited to perfection.

I'm watching from Chapala. I moved here from Michigan.

Watching from San Miguel. We live in Nayarit on the beach, but area getting too crowded and too hot in summer….so this was helpful. I think we are ready to consider San Miguel as a permanent place as we already have summer friends…you just need to stay out of Centro on weekends!

Yes, IMO you DO need air conditioning! Even though the temperature drops in the evening that doesn’t mean your lodgings will cool down enough. At least until around 4 am. We’ve lived in Gdl, San Miguel de Allende, Morelia, Aguascalientes and Querétaro over the years in the winter months and even in winter there are many nights when A/C is needed, at least in the bedroom. In the summer I wouldn’t even think of living in these places without bedroom A/C. Maybe that’s just personal preference but……..

Watching from Ontario, Canada 🙂

Buenas tardes from Morelia Marianna, my husband and I finally made it. We are in our second week and will be here until March 7th. We love the city but it is really chilly at night right now. It was a good thing that we brought a small heater with us. We are staying in an Airbnb and we have met some amazing people here and they are really patient with us, helping us with learning Spanish. Our neighbor across from us speaks English and has truly been amazing offering to show us around the city and giving us advice on the best places to go. She also had an extra heater that she let us borrow. Our Airbnb host is wonderful as well and made sure that we had extra blankets to keep warm. The transportation is great and we get around easily with Uber. The food is wonderful and we love the architecture too. We have some decisions to make when we get back home to the US and one of them is purchasing the Mexican Relocation Guide. Thanks for everything. My husband has finally gotten the chance to practice Spanish the way the locals speak and not just through youtube videos and books.

Greetings from Los Angeles Ca. NELA Dodger stadium adjacent

Hola Marianna, desde Cincinnati Ohio,.. thank you for another entertaining and informative video. You are one of the few who provide excellence and professionalism in all your content and is greatly appreciated. Gracias, Rafael

One note on the Puebla segment: In the video there was shown 2 or 3 times a church built atop a large pyramidal hill. That's in Cholula, which lies to the west of Puebla. It's actually the largest pyramid in the world, though much still remains unexcavated. Cholula's a neat town to visit in its own right :)

This is a great subject. Finding a mild climate was my top criteria when I moved to MX from the US. So i went straight to the mountains. And you did an exceptional job covering the subject. I am stunned though that CDMX is not on your list. I'm very curious why that is.

Certainly Merida will never be on the list. It’s a beautiful state but super hot !

Mexico was going to be my spot. But it’s pricey now. Been bouncing between Malaysia and Thailand for awhile now. So much value here. And very safe. Medical services are top notch. For value you cannot beat SE Asia right now. Will always love Mexico. But it looks like I missed the boat unfortunately. It’s a shame. I love the people and the food and I speak decent Spanish. Really liked Oaxaca .

Don't exclude Real de Minas. Spectacular. Beautiful and COOL and cold.

Well JUST remember it is MEXICO NOT USA so be NICE and try NOT to act like USA like you own everything RESPECT the CULTURE!!!! Or Don’t go to Mexico

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. This is the BEST channel for anything Mexico. Michigan, USA says "hi!"

Actually the second metropolis in Mexico is Monterrey. Not by a lot but it is.

San Antonio tx. We are 61 and starting to look.

Watching from Valle de Cauca Colombia.

Stay in zapopan, Guadalajara for a month. Not impressed. It was fairly expensive. Architecture wasn't very impressive. Couldn't bargain with taxi drivers. They said, take it or leave it. Don't have interest to go back to Guadalajara. Now, morelia? That city was very pretty. Impressive. Felt like u were in Spain. What about tijuana?

Great video. Can you make a video about COST OF LIVING in aguascalientes. ?

PLS SEND ME INFO ON RELOCATING TO MEXICO I AM A RETIRED TEACHER. I LOVE GUADALAJARA! IS THERE EX PATS RETIREE COMMUNITY THERE? THANK YOU FOR INFO ON HIGHLANDS CITIES FOR MILD WEATHER LIKE SAN DIEGO WITHOUT THE EXPENSE.

How are two people supposed to live on usd 2k per month when rent is usd 900? My first job paid just over 3x my rent and it was tight. I don't consider more than 25% monthly income for rent sustainable in the USA. Would it be different in Mexico?

Sure, just come and make life harder for locals, just like in Toronto, Berlin, Los Angeles, San Diego London, Hong Kong, Paris, etc.

Hola from Edmonton Alberta Canada, love your channel!

All cities in Mexico are very American unlike those north of the rio Grand United States, or Canada,😁

I certainly don't have a problem with the language and blending in with Mexicans. Last time no US anyone among my friends while I lived there. It just happened that way, and I was very young.

I've been to 6 of the cities you mentioned in your video when I vacationed in the central highlands last year but I wonder why you didn't mention San Luis Potosi which I understand is way cooler than all the cities on your list. Love Oaxaca the most and haven't been to San Luis Potosi yet.

Hi. I’m a retired systems engineer in Los Angeles who wants to go to Spanish school to improve my Spanish.

Thank's for vital information sharing 🎉. Morelia is safe for solo woman? Florida USA ❤

expats? why wont you call yourselfs immigrants... geesh guys theres no shame.

Ok so how do I research houses for rent/sale look for something away from right up in the heart of town but don’t want to be so far away that might be some cartel.

Go to Michoacán especially tacambaro MICHOACÁN

Hola from Nebraska! Always enjoy your vast knowledge & information on Mexico. Thank you for sharing.

Excellent information. Thank you ❤

I am from Ontario Canada but am currently staying in Bucerias maxico. Woo Hoo.

Greetings from Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico! This small city (and nearby Merida) are definitely NOT one of Mexico’s cooler places😅 My wife says we have two seasons here. Summer and Hot Summer.

Even Chapala is super hot. And has been for 2 years.

Watching from Pennsylvania. I have never been to Mexico and I’m hoping to get there in 2025. I would love to visit all eight places! Thank you for the info!❤

This is great information! So many videos focus on the beach communities or cities that attract those looking for resort style living. This list is really helpful. Why didn’t Mexico City make the list? Too expensive?

Awesome channel! Thanks so much for all the valuable information! This is Thomas from Los Angeles!

I live just north of Seattle, WA. Thank you for this great info.

We have lived in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and now living in Guatemala. We hope someday to visit a few of these cities as we travel for 4-5 years between Mexico and Argentina, in search of our favorite retirement city. We love cool weather, but shy away from huge expat enclaves and tourist areas. We are currently in Xela, Guatemala. We live in a nice 3/1 with beautiful view. Temps are perfect at low 70s for the highs and 45-50 for lows. No need for a/c or heat. It’s in the mountains at almost 8000 feet in elevation. With no budget at all, my wife and I spend about $1100/month…plus another $200/month for our two senior dogs. We are only 4 hours from Antigua and 2 hours from Lake Atitlan. Mexico may be our next stop….then off to S America !

Morelia (Michoacán) has serious issues regarding water and safety. Besides, the weather has worsened over the past years reaching 40 degrees (Celsius) during spring and summer. As someone who lived there for a few years I would not recommend it.

Thanks for the informative video!