Twelve days ago we took the regional business bus from Mexico City to San Miguel de Allende. The two cities are only c. 170 miles distant, but are worlds away from each other in many regards-- Mexico City, for instance, is a sprawling metropolis of 24 million people, while San Miguel has 137,000 residents neatly contained within a series of valleys. Mexico City has a relatively small foreign population; San Miguel has a vast number of expats, somewhere between 1/7 and 1/6 of the total population. Mexico City is all about industry and construction; San Miguel has largely shifted to services and the arts.
Our apartment (where we'll be staying through the end of 2022) is a two bedroom, just renovated walk-up with lots of amenities. From the front, it's classic colonial architecture, but the interior was gutted to appeal to the insatiable expat demand for real estate in the Old Town. In some ways, it's a good metaphor for the town itself-- San Miguel isn't yet Santa Fe, where no one who works there can afford to live there, but it could go that way unless steps are taken. Raine found an article noting that the 'live with dignity' income here is now 10,000 pesos a month per adult, or roughly $6k USD per year, and that as prices continue to rise, an increasing number of locals are not able to make that.
OTOH, all the plusses of Santa Fe are also in evidence. There is fabulous shopping (for everything); there are gorgeous murals on every other street corner (see below); the food is amazing, and if you master the San Miguel Sidewalk Shuffle (all the sidewalks are unevenly paved and extremely narrow, so an average walk forces you to duck, weave, step into the street, step back up, dodge around a light pole) the town is quite walkable. Just don't wear heels.
Unlike Mexico City, San Miguel also has wild areas within close walking distance (more on one later.) There's been a movement in recent years to convert 'waste' areas, like the old canal, into sanctuaries for wildlife, and it's paid off. Audubon is big here, and so birds get habitats in the unlikeliest of places. I loved the Mexico City park system-- acres upon acres of beautifully manicured flowerbeds-- but there was very little life there. In San Miguel you can look up and see the brilliant red of a vermillion flycatcher flitting overhead; glimpse the metallic blues of a crevice swift as it scuttles from rock to rock. It soothes my soul.
Will we enjoy our stay? The last two weeks say, hell yes. Could we live here? Right now, I'd say no-- anyplace we'd buy would be at the top of our real estate budget and Centro is a little more Adult Disneyland than I'm comfortable with-- but we haven't seen everything (or anywhere near it) yet.
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