What are my favorite neighborhoods of Mexico City?
While I have yet to see every single corner of Mexico City (give me another 6 months to finish that), there are certain areas of Mexico City that I like the most after years of running around the city.
Before I get to it though, I also want to say that I'm absolutely positive that there are more neighborhoods I could include with this list that I simply haven't seen yet or experienced enough to appreciate even more.
For example, a Mexican gal I know named Angie lives by Metro Portales area. I like the area and see potential in it but I'm not including it in this list because I just don't feel like I know it well enough.
Not saying I'm an expert in every area I will include but there are a select few areas that I'd include on this list if I spent more time in.
And that time is literally just that.
Time.
By living somewhere, you get a better idea of all the little neighborhood celebrations that happen there for events like Independence Day, Day of the Dead, etc.
You get a better feel for the positives and negatives that come with living there.
Obviously, I haven't spent years in every single neighborhood I am about to mention.
But the ones I will are simply the most notable to me and the ones I enjoyed the most based on what I like in a neighborhood.
And what I like changes every 3 to 6 months depending on what type of environment I want to see myself living in.
So you'll see some noticeable variety in this list as some of the neighborhoods listed are VERY different from others.
Let's get to it anyhow.
The "Chapultepec-Reforma" Neighborhood
To be honest, I never learned what specific colonias make up the exact area I'm about to describe but you can see a map I made below that shows what exact area I'm talking about.
It's the stretch of land that starts in Chapultepec park and goes down Reforma Avenue to where the Angel of Independence statue is.
There are different reasons for why this is one of my favorite areas of Mexico City.
For one, it's my old stomping grounds for when I began living in Mexico City.
So many memories of taking Mexican sluts by the hand from whatever metro station to my apartment to get my dick sucked.
A place where you remember some odd few dozen women sucking your dick oddly enough makes you have fond memories of such a place.
What can I say?
I like this area!
But, beyond getting my dick sucked, there's other benefits.
The walk down to Angel of Independence statue is a really nice walk.
Good place to clear your thoughts.
Chapultepec Park -- despite its problems with scammers -- is one of the best parks in Mexico City in my opinion with so much to offer.
Plenty of bars in the area and decent restaurants.
And the Angel of Independence status also makes for a good place to just sit down and relax.
What can I say?
I like this place!
Pedregal de Santo Domingo
Here's a map at the end of this section where the next neighborhood is: Pedregal de Santo Domingo.
It's a real "barrio" neighborhood located next to Metro CU and a 5 minute walk from UNAM campus in Mexico City.
Check out this article here that I wrote with photos I took of my year living there.
Where I almost got robbed by some gang members for taking pics of them as you can read here.
Among so many other memories of the area that you can find on my website by typing in "santo domingo" in the search engine.
Despite almost getting my ass kicked by some drug dealing gang members, why do I like this place?
Well, truth be told, I like shit hole neighborhoods.
But only ones that are active and vibrant like I wrote about here.
Where there's a shit ton of people outside.
Always something going on.
A new story to tell everyday.
Preferably with some barrio looking gals that look slutty as fuck.
And where you, as a young man, can feel alive with all the activity in the area.
Nothing pretentious about the locals.
Something about it all just vibes right with me.
And, for those who want that, I've found Pedregal de Santo Domingo to be one of the better areas for that in Mexico City.
Chimalistac
I have to give credit where credit is due.
I didn't know about this area until a man named Ryan on Twitter told me about it over a year ago.
It's an area of Mexico City right behind Parque la Bombilla which is also next to Insurgentes Sur Avenue.
Chimalistac is more upper class and has a very quiet and chill vibe to it.
Has a great park next to it that I like and have been to also.
And, for those who want something more active, you got Insurgentes Sur on the other side of the Bombilla park where you have plenty of bars and restaurants.
With basically no gringos to be seen for those who care about that until you go north enough to hit Hundido park but even then you won't see that many gringos in that park either.
Has a metro nearby called Miguel Angel de Quevedo so it won't be hard for women to visit you.
Unlike other parts of Alvaro Obregon borough that don't all have a nearby metro station.
In short, it really is a neighborhood that offers best of both worlds.
To live in a quiet and more classy neighborhood with some fun and excitement that Insurgentes Sur next door can offer.
And I'm not just talking about bars or restaurants but also more important places to see like Teatro de los Insurgentes.
Among other things.
The only thing I will say about this place is that, based on my brief observations, it doesn't have too many "move in ready" rooms for rent.
Especially given it's a small neighborhood to begin with.
If I ever move here, I'm thinking I'm going to have to get my own apartment if I can find one for rent that is.
But it'd be worth it because I wouldn't mind spending a year or even years here.
Alcaldia Tlahuac
There is no neighborhood called "Alcaldia Tlahuac" but that's what I'm calling it because it'll give you a general idea of where you should keep your eye on.
Just Google where "Alcaldia Tlahuac" is.
Why this area anyhow?
Well, once Metro 12 is back up, it'll definitely be a place that I could see myself spending months in.
First, for those who care, it has no gringos around.
Second, for those who like small town environment but don't want to live in one, this area is very close to some nice areas of Mexico City that have their own charm and more of a small town feel that you can visit whenever you want like Mixquic for a nice day trip.
Third, and most importantly, it's right next to Lago de los Reyes Aztecas.
A lake in Mexico City that I wrote about here.
And by far one of the more underappreciated places to see in Mexico City.
Truthfully, I enjoyed Lago de los Reyes Aztecas more than Xochimilco.
It's a little bit cheaper than Xochimilco also and also nobody ever tries to scam you.
But it's also just a lot calmer with less drunk people on the water and less people in general allowing you to have more of the water to yourself.
Where you don't have to show up at 9 AM on a Monday to avoid the crowds unlike some parts of Xochimilco.
Given it's only 20 bucks an hour and with the other benefits I mentioned, it'd be cool as fuck to live near here.
To just get on the boat several times a week and enjoy that occasional hour or two whenever I feel like.
And the general area around the lake itself?
Not bad.
As long as you stick to an area close to Alcaldia Tlahuac, it isn't bad at all.
They got a little park by the Alcaldia that works well for sitting down and relaxing.
Plenty of restaurants in the area.
A few bars.
Though I could be wrong, I don't think you got any major supermarkets nearby but, from what I see on Google Maps, there is one Chedraui nearby that you could get Cornershop to deliver you shit from.
But I also remember seeing plenty of street markets in the area.
And, like I said, the area will be even better when Metro line 12 is open again.
Without that metro, it'd actually be a pain in the ass to live here and NOT one of my favorites because it's be a pain to access the rest of the city whenever.
Truth be told, the only thing I don't like about this area is that Metro Tlahuac is not right next to Alcaldia Tlahuac.
For the single man looking to date local women and wanting ideal logistics, it'd be better if we could get that metro station just a little bit closer to where the alcaldia is.
Despite that, this area really has a lot of potential and is definitely underappreciated.
Milpa Alta Towns
There's 3 towns in the borough of Milpa Alta that deserve mentioning.
Villa Milpa Alta, San Pedro Atocpan and San Antonio Tecoimitl.
I'm just going to throw them all together because there's no reason to separate them into their own groups.
Anyway, why do I like these areas?
They are perfect for those wanting a more small town vibe in Mexico City and while being very close to both nature/hiking trails and a decent car ride away.
As I wrote here, I love just getting in a car and being driven around for 3 to 6 hours with the window down, fast speeds and good music on the radio.
You don't get that as well in the rest of Mexico City because of shit traffic and not so rural views.
In Milpa Alta, you can get that.
Now, for those who don't know, there are 12 towns in Milpa Alta.
Why the 3 I mentioned?
I'll keep it simple.
For San Pedro Atocpan, I honestly think it's the nicest town out of any town in Milpa Alta. As long as you live in the town center. It's very nice.
Villa Milpa Alta? It's more developed and a little more convenient. For example, it's the only town I found in Milpa Alta that actually had a fucking ATM machine.
San Antonio Tecomitl? Known as a commercial hub for Milpa Alta to some. It does have a lot of commercial activity and is relatively closer to the metro station (Metro Tlahuac).
You'll notice that most of Milpa Alta sucks MAJOR ASS DONKEY DICK when it comes to being connected to the rest of the city through public transportation and, as I wrote on my blog, even taking taxis or ubers to leave Milpa Alta can suck MAJOR ASS DONKEY DICK (with AIDS).
So, when compared to the rest of Milpa Alta, San Antonio Tecomitl actually isn't the worst town in town because it does have more connections to the rest of the city (especially when Metro 12 opens up again).
Out of these 3, I'd probably live in San Pedro Atocpan just because I liked it so much more than the others and I can tolerate going to Villa Milpa Alta every once in a while for an ATM withdraw (both towns are very close to each other so it doesn't matter too much).
My second best choice would be Villa Milpa Alta only because I never saw an ATM machine in San Antonio Tecomitl.
Anyway, I liked all 3 towns and could see myself living in any of them long term (especially if I had a girlfriend to come with me as life would suck more as a single man in any of these areas).
Historic Center
I have a love-hate relationship with the Historic Center.
For one, it's very vibrant and active outside in the streets and I like that as much as I like that same vibrancy you get in shithole neighborhoods like Pedregal de Santo Domingo.
It also has GREAT architecture, decent "specialty" clubs for certain audiences like Zinco Jazz Club for jazz music, fairly low rental prices despite being so centric, is in an ideal location for meeting up with women, etc.
It also has a lot of protests that happen that I like because they give you a glimpse into the real societal issues Mexicans complain about and what society is like beyond "wow so cheap here" observations that other gringos make.
It also has cheap stolen items you can buy whenever (though they might try to scam you, WATCH OUT) and street food options here are usually open until later hours than most of the city (especially near or close to Garibaldi metro).
Having said that, there are some serious issues.
For one, so many of the bars suck major ass trying to scam you.
Second, those fucking terrazas trying to scam you in front of the Zocalo. What down syndrome retard let them take over such an important area of Mexican society? Mexico really too down syndrome to let that happen? And they wonder why we call them a third world country....
Third, grocery store options suck major fucking ass and you really have to go find a street market option somewhere else or go up to Buenavista metro for some of the markets near there.
Fourth, while the protests can be cool to witness at first, they're like snow in Iowa. Cool to see at first if you are new to it but suck major ass very quickly. Especially when so many turn violent every so often and especially when a percentage of them are by feminists who explode into raging Autism anger whenever they see a man.
Fifth, the center of the Zocalo could look so much better aesthetically with more green to it. But it doesn't. Because third world retard logic.
Outside of that, there might be other issues that I currently forgot about but those are some of the main ones.
Despite the tough language, I only treat this area with such rudeness because I see so much potential squandered.
Like Micky shitting on Rocky because "YOU HAD THE TALENT TO BE SUCH A GREAT FIGHTER AND INSTEAD OF THAT YOU'RE A FAGGOT!"
......I think that's what Micky said.
Despite its problems though, the Historic Center really is a unique area of Mexico City with its pros and cons and I like it.
It still falls into my list of "favorite areas."
For more thoughts on the Historic Center, just type "Historic Center" or "Centro Historico" in my search engine to the side or click on this article here even that I wrote.
The Area Outside Bicententario Park
Bicentenario Park is the north-western part of CDMX.
I wrote about it here.
It's honestly my favorite park in Mexico City.
Even more than Chapultepec Park.
Nobody trying to scam you.
And has such a nice lake that is clean and enjoyable to sit in front of to enjoy a good sunset.
And basically -- with the occasional exception -- not ONE person trying to sell you anything.
Even if there is someone, I find the people here to be less aggressive and more easily accepting of the "no" than those you find in Chapultepec park.
But it's really the lake that sells it for me.
I kinda miss the water being in Mexico City for so long and the lake here is just nice.
Unfortunately, you can't get on top of it (or is it a pond?) but you can enjoy the view of it anyhow.
On the outside of the park, the area isn't very notable.
It's not bad but not crazy amazing.
Though there were some streets I quite liked close to it like Av. Claveria where you got a lot more activity.
Right up to "Parque de la China" where you have no shortage of decent food spots and a few bars too.
Also, though it's not located outside Metro Refineria exactly (the metro closest to Bicentenario), you do have Metro Camarones next door that is easy to visit.
And they have a nice little spot close to that which makes decent for spending a quiet afternoon to yourself with decent restaurants and bars nearby.
I've enjoyed a few afternoons in both of those areas by Metro Refineria and Camarones and really enjoyed both quite a bit.
And would just put them together since they're so close to each other anyhow.
Honorary Mentions
Remember how I said there were some areas that I don't feel comfortable putting on this list because I'd need more time to check them out?
Well, I'm here now to do just that.
Potential areas that fell on my radar but I haven't been able to give as much time needed to really scope them out.
I'm not going into the reasons why for each of them as I'd like to go outside now and do some other shit than write all day so I'll just list them here.
Maybe I'll get back to them someday. Maybe not.
Maybe you'll check them out.
Some of them are sketchy as fuck areas (like Santo Domingo) and others less so.
Here they are anyhow:
1. Cuautepec (especially around Barrio Bajo, the area close to Cablebus Cuautepec, la Brecha and the area close to Plaza San Miguel in Lomas de Cuautepec).
2. Some spots in Magdalena Contreras and preferably closer to Los Dinamos park.
3. Tepito
4. Santa Fe
5. The area around Metro la Viga
6. The area close to Metro Portales
7. Pueblo Culhuacan, San Miguel Teotongo, San Juan Xalpa and Lomas Estrella of Iztapalapa
8. There was some avenue close to Bosque de Tlahuac that I quite liked but I didn't do a good job keeping track of what exact avenue it was. Something to keep in mind.
9. Santiago Tepalcatlalpan of Xochimilco (and the center of Xochimilco would be more worthy of a mention if it didn't have so many hustlers trying to get you on a boat).
10. The center of Tlalpan
11. Santa Maria la Ribera and Buenavista area
Anything to Add?
If you got anything to add, drop a comment below.
What areas of Mexico City are your favorites?
Let me know in the comment section.
And follow my Twitter here.
Thanks for reading.
Best regards,
Matt