The capital of Michoacan, Morelia totally surprised us. We went on a whim. The plan for this trip is to take two weeks to make our way down to Xela, Guatemala (where we live) exploring a bit of Mexico on the way.
So yeah, Morelia. The first things we noticed was how quiet and calm it was in the Centro Historico. And bear in mind this is a city of over 700,000 people. We quickly realized it was so quiet because there were no cars in the streets--the roads had been blocked off by student protests. Apparently the students were protesting a proposed hike in the fare for the collectivos (little vans that drive you around the main part of the city) though the price hike was only one peso more. Over our two days there, we saw progressively more and more students hanging out in groups in front of the benches that were blocking off streets or sitting on blankets playing games in front of governmental buildings. Although there were protests going on—they were pretty mild. There appeared to be a general feeling of calm in Morelia and the lack of cars (and subsequent noise & pollution) in the streets only added to the pleasantness of the city.
And it was incredibly pleasant. First of all it was immaculate. The parks manicured. The streets were impeccably clean. We saw numerous people putting trash in trash cans. (This is very rare in Guatemala, in fact it is rare to even find a trash can in Guatemala.) Everywhere we looked there was another beautifully preserved colonial building to check out. And many of them with murals! We randomly found the cultural center with a free exhibition of Cuban Art that I really enjoyed. There were numerous listings for free concerts, free film screenings and plenty of free museums to visit. At night all the public buildings were lit up and people walked the streets in groups or with their families. There were cute cafes— a particularly cool arty one inside the old theatre with free wireless internet! There was decent food, though not a ton of good veggie options. Though on our last night we happened to be the only patrons in an upstairs dining room, where we enjoyed some rich pasta dishes, bruschetta and a spectacular view of the Cathedral. And we even found some gelato to enjoy on our walk back...
--Lisa
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Mexico City is Cooler than New York.
You might find this surprising, but Mexico City really is cooler than NYC. Objectively speaking, Mexico City is categorically way better. Here’s why:
1) The subway. Ridiculously efficient and cheap. We’ve taken the subway a bunch at off hours on the weekend, and we’ve never waited more than ONE MINUTE. Seriously. It’s out of control efficient. It’s spanking clean, doesn’t have funky smells or leaks, and the transfers from one line to another are not crazy maze-like walking tours. And did I mention CHEAP—it’s 20 cents, in dollars. 2 bucks NYC? According to our trusty guidebook, its’ the cheapest subway in the world, with 175 stations, 200 km of lines, and takes 5 million passengers a day (3rd behind Tokyo and Moscow).
2) It’s hip. Can you say Park Slope? Yeah. That’s what I’m talking about. Cafés, smoothie places, bookstore/restaurants, and yes, they even have hipsters here.
3) Open Space: the parks here are nuts. All over the place are trees and parks and people hanging out and making out. There’s the biggest Plaza in the world too. The city was built on top of the Aztec capital, so there are ruins popping out here and there. Mexican’s are also really into about grandiose monuments.
4) Museum Crazyness: walking around the Zocalo (the main plaza). DIEGO RIVERA has murals there that will knock your socks off. The Anthropology Musuem is famed for being possibly the best in the world, and I concur. Even the post office is totally out of control. According to lisa, the architecture is incredible. I don’t know anything about that stuff, but I’ll take her word for it.
5) Friendly. People here are super friendly. You can ask folks for directions or whatever and they’ll go waaaayyy out of their way to help you out.
6) There are yummy vegetarian restaurants.
7) It’s relatively cheap. When compared to NYC. Our hotel is 25$ a night, is spacious, and is in a cool area. I imagine that buying a condo here would be actually possible. Also, the peso is 10 to the dollar, which makes conversions easy.
8) The weather is amazing. It’s always beautiful here. It’s 7,300 feet up, so it doesn’t get too hot during the day, and at night it’s sweater time. Perfect for me.
Ok, so you may be asking, well, what about all the bad things about Mexico City? Ok, first, let’s look at crime. NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his team was actually hired (for $4.3 million) to cut down crime. According to the reputable Frommers guide website (whatever) “By 2002, Mexico City had reduced crime rates to 50% of 1994 levels, with only .02% related to visitors to the city”
Regarding pollution, I haven’t noticed. And remember, I’m that nosy environmentalist. The city now has an elaborate auto emissions scheme; cars have to be tested twice a year. And people are always asking about getting sick from the food—well, whatever. Obviously, it’s not a good idea to buy it off the street. I’m telling you, it feels like NYC, only better. The food is great and safe.
So really, what’s holding anyone back from living here? I have no idea. It’s rad. I was checking out places for sale today as we walked around. It is a Spanish speaking country, so you’d have to learn Spanish—but whatever, that’s fun and we should all speak several languages anyway, hello globalization.
In fact, I’m kind of angry with myself for not coming here sooner. I can’t believe I ever even considered living in NYC!
1) The subway. Ridiculously efficient and cheap. We’ve taken the subway a bunch at off hours on the weekend, and we’ve never waited more than ONE MINUTE. Seriously. It’s out of control efficient. It’s spanking clean, doesn’t have funky smells or leaks, and the transfers from one line to another are not crazy maze-like walking tours. And did I mention CHEAP—it’s 20 cents, in dollars. 2 bucks NYC? According to our trusty guidebook, its’ the cheapest subway in the world, with 175 stations, 200 km of lines, and takes 5 million passengers a day (3rd behind Tokyo and Moscow).
2) It’s hip. Can you say Park Slope? Yeah. That’s what I’m talking about. Cafés, smoothie places, bookstore/restaurants, and yes, they even have hipsters here.
3) Open Space: the parks here are nuts. All over the place are trees and parks and people hanging out and making out. There’s the biggest Plaza in the world too. The city was built on top of the Aztec capital, so there are ruins popping out here and there. Mexican’s are also really into about grandiose monuments.
4) Museum Crazyness: walking around the Zocalo (the main plaza). DIEGO RIVERA has murals there that will knock your socks off. The Anthropology Musuem is famed for being possibly the best in the world, and I concur. Even the post office is totally out of control. According to lisa, the architecture is incredible. I don’t know anything about that stuff, but I’ll take her word for it.
5) Friendly. People here are super friendly. You can ask folks for directions or whatever and they’ll go waaaayyy out of their way to help you out.
6) There are yummy vegetarian restaurants.
7) It’s relatively cheap. When compared to NYC. Our hotel is 25$ a night, is spacious, and is in a cool area. I imagine that buying a condo here would be actually possible. Also, the peso is 10 to the dollar, which makes conversions easy.
8) The weather is amazing. It’s always beautiful here. It’s 7,300 feet up, so it doesn’t get too hot during the day, and at night it’s sweater time. Perfect for me.
Ok, so you may be asking, well, what about all the bad things about Mexico City? Ok, first, let’s look at crime. NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his team was actually hired (for $4.3 million) to cut down crime. According to the reputable Frommers guide website (whatever) “By 2002, Mexico City had reduced crime rates to 50% of 1994 levels, with only .02% related to visitors to the city”
Regarding pollution, I haven’t noticed. And remember, I’m that nosy environmentalist. The city now has an elaborate auto emissions scheme; cars have to be tested twice a year. And people are always asking about getting sick from the food—well, whatever. Obviously, it’s not a good idea to buy it off the street. I’m telling you, it feels like NYC, only better. The food is great and safe.
So really, what’s holding anyone back from living here? I have no idea. It’s rad. I was checking out places for sale today as we walked around. It is a Spanish speaking country, so you’d have to learn Spanish—but whatever, that’s fun and we should all speak several languages anyway, hello globalization.
In fact, I’m kind of angry with myself for not coming here sooner. I can’t believe I ever even considered living in NYC!
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