Mexico City is Not the Mexico of Your Beach Vacation

This Mexico City nomad story shares the story of our month-long experience living in the heart of CDMX. Unlike Mexico’s famous beach destinations, Mexico City offers a cultural immersion that surprised and delighted us at every turn.

Mexico City was the city we were most excited to spend a month in during our modern nomad year. With work keeping us tethered to east-of-California time zones, our options for adventurous destinations have been limited. CDMX promised something different—a break from the familiar.

Mexico City nomad: First impressions

Our arrival was underwhelming—Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez didn’t quite live up to the city it serves. But once we escaped the airport, the city delivered. 

Arriving at our Airbnb in the leafy Hipódromo area of Condesa, we dropped our bags and set out to explore. We weren’t quite ready for the full assault on everything we thought we knew about big cities.

leafy streets around Hippodromo, broken sidewalks, and hanging wires

Visually distracting

The first shock: so much green. Stunning, leafy, overhanging, manicured green.  Impossible not to gape — but don’t look too long or you’ll trip, because the sidewalks here are broken. Like maybe the Earth quaked and nobody’s fixed it yet. So you keep your eyes on your feet, except — watch out. Is that a live wire hanging at eye level? Ok, one eye up, one eye down.

But definitely eyes left then right when crossing the street, which is less about walk signals and more about instinct. But why does no one lay on the horn and yell when we misstep?  In fact, why is no one honking? Or speed walking? Or visibly annoyed? Where is the city rage?

colorful Condesa house, tidy Parque Mexico

Meanwhile, the buildings are tidy, colorful gems. There’s an army of people sweeping the sidewalks with actual brooms (no blowers in sight). And over there, is that a gardener surgically snipping a single rogue leaf in yet another pristine, green park? And, wait — is that a traffic controller for bicycles? Does everyone here have a paid civic job?

Hold on, wasn’t that road jackhammered to rubble when we passed by an hour ago? How did they fix that so fast? And, now that we’re looking, where’s the trash? No bins. No curbside heaps. No lurking rats. No loose bottles rolling in the gutter. Seriously. Where are they hiding it? 

Smells, skies, and altitude

And speaking of what’s missing: why doesn’t the whole city smell of weed, like every major U.S. city? Or cigarettes like Europe? No vapes in sight, either.  But wait, what’s that smell? Wildfire smoke? Are we in California? No, just the faint haze of smog. But it’s barely noticeable because, oh my god, is the weather always this stupidly perfect? Like, why would you ever, ever go inside?

charlotte napping

Except to nap (24 minutes, scientifically optimal) when the altitude (7,350′) inevitably takes you out.

Cops, coffee, time-warp shopping, and dogs

Nap-fresh, you stroll past five uniformed cops loitering outside a tiny coffee shop, just one of many on the block, making their U.S. counterparts look like casual donut dabblers. And is that cafe serving Blue Bottle coffee? And Oatly? Have we died and gone to heaven?

Then, around the corner: 1982. A still-operating Woolworths. Yes, that Woolworths (well, sort of). CDMX, full of surprises.

CDMX doggies

And the dogs– so many cute dogs.  Every breed imaginable. But is it required to adopt the whole litter? Because no one seems to have just one.  Seriously, there are more dogs than kids.  Probably more than adults. If the dogs ever decided to rise up, the humans wouldn’t stand a chance.

yum

We stumbled along, gaping like yokels at a parade, until finally we collapsed onto a tiny plastic stool and inhaled the most divine $1.50 taco.

A Mexico for the people who live here

We took a breath and contemplated how very real this city is—twice the size of New York, and unapologetically built for the people who live here, not the ones on vacation. Affordable by American standards, though not if you’re earning in pesos. Bustling, yet surprisingly un-frantic.  Wildly multicultural. Full of culture. Young, with chic co-working spaces and blazing-fast internet for the ever-present army of digital nomads who know they’ve found a good thing.

Mexico City nomad – Spanglish Survival Mode

Planning to work remotely from CDMX? Brush up on your Spanish. English isn’t widely spoken, especially once you’re outside the expat bubble.

impressive coffee art

Ours? Somewhere between “painfully basic” and “please don’t quiz us.” But we managed. Our go-to order quickly became: dos capuchinos con avena, súper caliente, para llevar. Memorized with pride.

Everything else? Hand gestures, the Google Translate app, and the age-old “follow someone who looks like they know what they’re doing” trick. Lost at the airport? Follow the businessman. In a Spanish fitness class? Mirror your neighbor.

our back patio

Mexico City nomad home base

We picked our Airbnb for the location – close to Parque Mexico – and the sweet back patio. Private and quiet, it was the perfect spot to relax, work, or sip a cocktail. The only regular noise: yappy dogs and the neighbor’s precisely scheduled 1 pm, um, “routine.” Sex worker? Big fan of the afternoon delight? Unknown.

The compact one-bedroom was oddly satisfying. There’s a certain joy in unpacking your overstuffed bags and finding a place for everything. Of course, it had quirks. The rain shower was hilariously oversized for the stall– we nearly drowned trying to get clean. And the laundry setup? A washer/dryer perched on a tiny outdoor balcony with zero margin for error—promising either clean clothes or our whites scattered in the parking lot two stories below.

Getting around Mexico City (mostly on foot, obviously)

CDMX has a sprawling, efficient metro system… which we didn’t use once. Not because it’s unsafe– it’s not– but because we love a walk. Walking through neighborhoods with street names like Tabasco and Chihuahua is half the fun. Try not to smile. You won’t succeed.

EcoBici

This city is pretty spread out so some form of transit is necessary.  Thankfully, Uber is dirt cheap.  Think New York fares minus a zero. And EcoBici bikes are a fun way to zip through the wide bike lanes—especially on Sundays, when major roads are closed to cars and open up for cyclists.

Pro tip: Download the EcoBici app before you head out. Free public Wi-Fi is spotty, and your data plan will betray you at the worst possible time.

full flavor bomb

CDMX knows food, cocktails, and culture

We ate our way through the city, rarely dining in, and were almost annoyed at how hard it was to find a bad cocktail. Like good soldiers, we kept trying.  Between tacos and work, we packed in as much culture as possible, including fabulous museums, ballooning over pyramids, and shopping.  Hear more of our story, find ideas for perfect days in Mexico City, and a detailed travel guide here (coming soon).

Reality check in the land of eternal spring

We LOVED our month in the land of eternal spring. No place is flawless. Sure, the water isn’t drinkable, and you can’t flush all that paper. But those are small prices to pay for everything CDMX offers. Mexico City was a perfect stop on our digital nomad tour.

If anyone still thinks of Mexico as a so-called “shithole country,” they should spend a week in Mexico City and try saying that with a straight face. It’s not just a world-class city; it’s a reality check.

Re-entry

That check landed hard when we popped into New York for a quick stopover—just enough time to catch up with the kiddos over dinner (Lume), a bagel (Apollo), and a big bowl of pasta (Via Carota). New York hits fast on re-entry: the sensory overload of understanding every conversation around you, the honking, the shouting, the constant motion. The contrast to CDMX is jarring.

And then, the little luxuries: You can drink the water! You can flush the paper! You can walk down the sidewalk without fear of a giant crevasse appearing and swallowing you whole. Of course, you also get in a fight with your cab driver, who barrels toward the Holland Tunnel at 80 mph and finishes the ride with a tip screen offering 20, 25, or 30%. But hey—it’s good to be back at sea level, where walking feels like floating after four months at elevation.

Final thoughts on Mexico City nomad-ing

Our month in Mexico City transformed our perception of what urban living can be. With its perfect weather, incredible food scene, and distinctly Mexican charm, CDMX deserves a spot on every traveler’s bucket list. From Zocalo to Frieda Kahlo to margaritas, click here (coming soon) for more of our story and a detailed Mexico City travel guide complete with tips and recommendations.

Next stop: Madrid!

Mexico City 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮 What Makes it Great

• Big city energy without the big city chaos. 
• Cappuccinos and cross-town Ubers for a fraction of NYC prices.
• World-class museums – art, anthropology, and modern design
• Modern, Art Deco, Colonial.  Amazing architecture
• In Condesa, you can always walk in the shade of an overhanging tree
• Ancient Aztec ruins beneath you.  Pyramids an Uber away.
• Tacos to tasting menus, unforgettable eats.
• Fresh-squeezed, salt-rimmed, and alarmingly well-made margaritas.
• Springtime, always (it does rain in summer).
• Frida’s house, her city, her spirit.
• The dream that is Parque México, with salsa dancing under the bougainvillea.
• Quality artisan goods at The Sábado Market (San Ángel).
• Wide, shaded, bike lanes – blissfully car-free on Sundays.
• Warm locals –  proud, helpful, and quick to smile.
• The color – of the walls, food, flowers, even the light—it’s all more vivid here.