🇲🇽 Mexico
Moving to Mexico City
Mexico City is large, green and far more liveable than its reputation suggests, and the central neighbourhoods are genuinely walkable. The obstacle for arrivals is the fiador: landlords traditionally require a guarantor who owns property in the city, which almost no newcomer has. The accepted substitute is a póliza jurídica, a legal insurance policy that the tenant buys instead.
- Visit
- €49
- Starter
- €499
- Premium
- €1,200
The guarantor question is what stops foreigners — and there is a standard way around it.
Where to live
Neighbourhoods in Mexico City
Roma Norte & Condesa
International arrivals, professionalsTree-lined, walkable, full of cafés, and the default landing place. Prices have risen steeply, and the soft lakebed ground makes the building's structural history worth asking about.
Juárez & Cuauhtémoc
Young professionalsCentral, either side of Reforma, changing fast, and cheaper than Roma for the same convenience. Quiet after office hours on some blocks.
Coyoacán & San Ángel
Families, quieter moversColonial squares, cobbled streets and a calmer pace in the south, near UNAM and several international schools. A long commute to Reforma or Polanco.
Nápoles & Del Valle
Value seekers, familiesResidential and central in Benito Juárez, on Metro Line 7 and the Insurgentes Metrobús, and materially cheaper than Condesa.
Santa María la Ribera & San Rafael
Value seekers, younger arrivalsOld central colonias north of Reforma, with grand worn buildings, markets and the city's cheapest central rents. Mixed street by street.
What it costs to rent
Indicative rents
Monthly, often furnished for the international market, excluding utilities and maintenance. English-language listings run well above the Spanish-language portals.
- One-bed, Roma / CondesaMX$20,000 – MX$35,000
- One-bed, Del Valle / NápolesMX$13,000 – MX$22,000
- Room in a shared flatMX$8,000 – MX$13,000
Indicative only · last checked · your Insider confirms before you commit.
What catches people out
The fiador requirement
A guarantor who owns property in Mexico City, presenting the deeds. Newcomers cannot produce this. The póliza jurídica is the recognised alternative — budget roughly a month's rent for it.
Deposit-before-viewing
Common on the international-facing listing sites, precisely because so many people search from abroad.
Seismic and building questions
Building age and post-2017 structural certification are reasonable things to ask about, and locals do. It is not paranoia; it is normal diligence here.
After the keys
The admin that follows a move
On Premium, your Insider does this with you rather than sending you a checklist.
How long a move to Mexico City takes. Three to four weeks, plus the póliza. Start that early.
- Step 1
CURP and RFC
The population registry number and the tax number. You will need them to work and often to sign.
- Step 2
Póliza jurídica
Arrange it before you find a flat, not after. It is what turns 'no guarantor' into a signable lease.
- Step 3
Utilities
CFE for electricity, billed every two months. Water and building maintenance are often charged through the administration.
- Step 4
Internet
Telmex, Totalplay and others. Availability and speed vary a lot by building — ask the neighbours, not the landlord.
LanguageSpanish for leases and offices. English is common in Roma and Condesa, less so elsewhere. Your Insider works with you in English and negotiates on your behalf in whatever the lease is written in.
Relocation tools
Plan the move to Mexico City
Small tools built on this guide: what a month costs, the steps in order, what to pack and what to do when you land. Indicative figures, in the local currency.
- Cost calculatorA month in the city, three ways, in the local currency.Open
- Visa timelineYour route, step by step, with how long each part takes.Open
- Neighbourhood matchmakerFour questions, one neighbourhood, and what a one-bed costs there.Open
- Packing listA checklist for this city and the season you land in.Open
- First 48 hoursWhat to do first after landing, in the order that works.Open
- Local appsThe phone setup that runs daily life, and what each replaces.Open
- Speak localUseful phrases for taxis, cafés and the flat, read aloud.Open
- Dish finderWhat to order, by time of day, and what it is called.Open
- Weekend getawaysEasy escapes, by travel time and how you get there.Open
Pricing for Mexico City
What a move to Mexico City costs
These are the fees in Mexico City, published before you start, in euros. No commission on your rent, no percentage of the lease, no success fee.
Visit
Your Insider visits for you€49single · €99 pack of 3- In-person visit by a local Insider
- Video walkthrough
- Area report
- Scam check
- Most popular
Starter
Full home search€499flat fee · Mexico City- Personal shortlist
- Viewings with video
- Lease negotiation & review
- Handover & keys
- 50% to start, 50% at the keys
Premium
Home search + full setup€1,200flat fee · Mexico City- Everything in Starter
- Bank, SIM & registration
- Utilities & internet
- Healthcare & school search
- First-week orientation
The full guide
Five deep dives for someone arriving, not visiting
- Housing A market built around the fiador, a legal insurance policy that replaces one, and an unfurnished flat that may not include a kitchen.
- Paperwork CURP, RFC and a proof of address in your own name — three documents that gate almost everything else, in that order.
- Healthcare Public cover through IMSS if you are employed, an affordable private sector most people use anyway, and a pharmacy consulting room on nearly every corner.
- Schools Free public schools taught in Spanish, a large private bilingual sector that is the middle-class default, and a small number of full international schools.
- Getting around One of the cheapest metro systems anywhere, a good BRT network on one card, and traffic that makes distance meaningless.
On the ground
Alfred, Antoine, Capu, Eva, Nico — the people behind Insidoor.
Every Insider lives in their city and holds a verified ID. We match you on language and on who is coming with you.
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