hongos Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 Hello Chapala Forum, My family, consisting of two adults and three cats, are making the move to Guadalajara in about 6 months. We have visited the city multiple times, identified areas of the city where we would like to live, talked with a local attorney, took a spin with a realtor, met with a few contacts and generally got a realistic plan for how to proceed forward. Admittedly, we were a bit excited (read: unrealistic) when we first hatched this plan. Over the past several months of research and "settling-down," we have established some guidelines for ourselves: 1) We will rent for at least 12 months. 2) We will rent an apartment in a tower. 3) We will rent in Zapopan, or in areas of Guadalajara like Providencia, Americana, Arcos Vallarta, Moderna, and Jardines del Country. 4) We will apply for Temporary Residency. (Based on requirements, we will be permitted. Most pertinent documents have already been "appostilled.") 5) We will drive ourselves, crossing in Laredo, TX. 6) We will volunteer in a local school upon arrival, as we are both professional US teachers with ESOL certifications and experience. (We are not seeking employment at this time. Only looking to meet people, give back, and stay busy.) So, that's about where we are today, about 6 months out. In early 2019, we will return to Guadalajara with a list of rental properties to view. As we get closer, I hope the members of this forum will be helpful during our search for reputable relocation services, like an attorney to assist with the lease and immigration issues, as well as the day to day stuff like water, power, internet, etc... Based on my lurking here, I have no doubt you will all be a great help! Thank you for establishing this community. Happy to be here! -Hongos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakeside7 Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 For many of us at Lakeside making a trip to the theatre or box store's is the sum of our experience on Guadalajara..so do let us know of your experiences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xena Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 You might also want to check out Inside Lakeside web board. Several of the regular posters live in Guadalajara and post there in the Mirador forum. They also have a Jalisco forum you might find useful. http://www.insidelakeside.com/f5-jalisco Best of luck with your move. Sounds like you have the right approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 Great facebook site for you, MEXPAT Guadalajara. A very well regarded RE agent who does rentals, Mercy Duenas, posts on that site. Would be a good early contact for you. Be prepared for a shock when you see the cost of rentals you are describing. Also consider Chapalita, La Estancia and Ciudad de los Niños. The best parts of GDL are mostly west of Lopez Mateos and the air is cleaner there too. GDL does have a rather serious air quality problem in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intercasa Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 I am an attorney and can help with lease and immigration. I live in a new tower in the Minerva area, love location, 5 mins to my office in the city and on the ground floor a dry cleaner, supermarket, Office Max, hair salons, a movie theater and many ways to go all over and avoid traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 1 hour ago, Mainecoons said: GDL does have a rather serious air quality problem in the winter. This is not true for all of Guadalajara. It depends where you live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 29 minutes ago, Intercasa said: I am an attorney and can help with lease and immigration. I live in a new tower in the Minerva area, love location, 5 mins to my office in the city and on the ground floor a dry cleaner, supermarket, Office Max, hair salons, a movie theater and many ways to go all over and avoid traffic. Our neighborhood in the city is quite different. No towers. No movie theaters. One box store, Walmart in the area. Dry cleaners, hair salon, and butcher shop a couple of blocks away in converted houses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hongos Posted August 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 Wonderful responses and welcome, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 7 hours ago, Tiny said: This is not true for all of Guadalajara. It depends where you live. As I noted in my post hence the suggestion to locate west of Lopez Mateos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hongos Posted August 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 Thank you for the west of Lopez Mateos suggestion. We will keep that in mind during our apartment hunt. Since we are discussing environmental issues, is flooding a general problem in all of GDL? Are there areas which are more flood-prone than others? We've been following the floods, like in Plaza Patria, recently. Just awful to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 2 hours ago, hongos said: Since we are discussing environmental issues, is flooding a general problem in all of GDL? Are there areas which are more flood-prone than others? We've been following the floods, like in Plaza Patria, recently. Just awful to see. I would say 'no' to there being a general flooding in all of GDL. I would say 'yes' to areas that there are areas with a flooding problems, specially the tunnels for road and trains. I believe that Plaza Patria is where the expansion construction work is going on. I don't remember flooding at the plaza before the work started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hongos Posted August 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 Thank you, Tiny. Good to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakeside7 Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 6 hours ago, Tiny said: I would say 'no' to there being a general flooding in all of GDL. I would say 'yes' to areas that there are areas with a flooding problems, specially the tunnels for road and trains. I believe that Plaza Patria is where the expansion construction work is going on. I don't remember flooding at the plaza before the work started. Tiny Iam a bit surprised at your observation. The paper only prints the "catastrophe" ones, I have there when after a heavy downpour many streets are flooded and walking impossible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 1 hour ago, lakeside7 said: Tiny Iam a bit surprised at your observation. The paper only prints the "catastrophe" ones, I have there when after a heavy downpour many streets are flooded and walking impossible What date and area was the heavy downpour? My observation is that in 20 years, my family and numerous in-laws have not had a flooding problem in their area. Like I said, certain areas have flooding problems. There are low areas in the city and areas that have underdeveloped rain drainage systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 Yes, underdeveloped and ignored. Or robbed by city contracts and left half-assed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intercasa Posted August 21, 2018 Report Share Posted August 21, 2018 Flooding is common almost always in certain areas such as in front of Plaza del Sol but it is a matter of waiting for water to recede which could be 1 to 3 hours. Major rains will flood most streets only temporarily. At peak traffic times it is a real mess, just plan and know that the majority of big rains are in the later afternoon so plan accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hongos Posted August 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2018 Thank you, Intercasa! We were concerned about flooding in underground carparks at any potential apartment tower. Sounds like we needn't be too worried about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted August 21, 2018 Report Share Posted August 21, 2018 12 hours ago, hongos said: Sounds like we needn't be too worried about it. You can't worry about it or the infrequent hail storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hongos Posted August 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2018 Yes, Tiny. Being from FL., storms are no problem. Some of the videos on Twitter got me concerned for a second. Especially that Plaza Patria video. Wanted to see if flooding was specific to certain areas, like the ones I mentioned above. Good to hear it is not an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted August 21, 2018 Report Share Posted August 21, 2018 54 minutes ago, hongos said: Yes, Tiny. Being from FL., storms are no problem. Some of the videos on Twitter got me concerned for a second. Especially that Plaza Patria video. Wanted to see if flooding was specific to certain areas, like the ones I mentioned above. Good to hear it is not an issue. Having lived in the Hollywood, Florida area for 10 years, I will tell you the storms are different here. Like mentioned before, the storms occur late afternoon to early night. For example, I had to get out of bed last night to close a window. Most of the time, the rainfall is very heavy, short in duration with very little wind. Of course, I am talking about the area of the city we live in. We live in an area not that far from Plaza Patria. Yes, we had heavy rains the two times Plaza Patria flooded but there was no flooding on our streets. Most of the areas I know have good drainage. Yes, there are areas with poor drainage, some natural or man made. Those you can learn about. Just like any other city. The problem is the new man made ones, like the construction work around Plaza Patria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hongos Posted August 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2018 Again Tiny, thank you for your thoughtful response! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.