I'll +1 the general take of the thread.

I'm pretty well traveled. I went to Mexico City kind of on a whim. It was never a priority. However, I found a $160 round trip ticket and I know a guy from online who is a local. Why not?

I was blown away. My experience was probably shaded by knowing a local who helped me have better experiences. Nonetheless, the food, the culture, the people and the cost, taken as a whole, were about as good as it gets.

The girls had the one quality I look for, which is that many were willing to give me the time of day.

I had more problems with the pollution/altitude than you have. I was fine for like a week or 10 days. Then the last couple of days I was there, I was caughing a lot and very fatigued. I can't say for sure that it was the air quality, but that seems most likely.

Edit: Oh yeah. If you mess around with drugs, be careful. I did a little coke. I've never been a big user, but I dabbled in my younger days. The amount I did seemed comically small to me. I was thinking, what is even the point of this? But I followed my buddy's lead and snorted up the little dot from his key. Boom, heart racing. Got the numbness and everything. An actual line might have killed me.

vherreral: Is Didi only available in DF, or will you find this service throughout the country?

vherreral and Fossilkid: Do you see ppl in DF ever wearing the masks you see ppl wear in the Asian megacities:



Also is it legal to smoke cigarettes in indoor public spaces (like restaurants and bars)?

I see on Didi´s site they´re only on 20 cities around Mexico and only in Merida on the southwest, so not available on the riviera maya, but they are on other big cities like Guadalajara, Puebla or Monterrey.
As for the ppl wearing masks, i don´t use public transport often, but I dont see that when I go out, think it only happened once on 2010 when there was an avian flu outbreak in DF.
About smoking in indoor places, in DF venues are required to have separate smoking areas often with walls not allowing the smoke go outside, but I have still seen some restaurants not obliging, casinos are the worst for this, u can see big "non smoking" signs on them but every time I go and play some live poker +50% of people sitting on the table are smoking.

vherreral, I don't mention online poker in my profile, but once the convo starts I'll often mention it before meeting up. I figure it's better to get it out of the way early and weed out the girls it might be a problem for. But in reality, it hasn't made a noticeable difference. I think you get the benefit of the doubt as a gringo in CDMX that you must be doing ok financially, even with an unconventional job.

Thanks for the tip on Didi. Never used it although 1 or 2 girls mentioned it in the past and I had no idea what it was. How are the wait times? One thing I love about Uber is the ride is there in 1-3 minutes almost always.

liga, masks are very rare, although I have seen one from time to time.

Our Uber guy on the way to Wrestling Arena (Tepito) was pointing out all the fake taxis & what to look out for.

He may have been exaggerating for safety, but was giving us the major heads up reminders to avoid, avoid, avoid.

I'm back again.

Didi pick up times seem about the same as Uber.

My Mexican friend made a huge point of avoiding the pink taxis for safety reasons, particularly at night. He thinks it's ok in the day if I am with him. He made me promise I would never use them alone. He's not the type to worry about such things without reason.

The action on the apps is nuts, and I'm old. Like, I can't believe it. I've spent maybe an hour swiping and have more than I can handle. I might be ruined for gringas.

People seem to readily accept that I'm a jugador professional from Vegas. Many think it's cool. Moreso than back home. Perhaps some are being polite/don't really know what I'm talking about. Just assume I am a dealer or something.

I'm getting 2 crowns for $250 so it's not even a free trip. It's more like I'm getting paid to be here.

Tinder and Bumble are just insane in CDMX, a lot better than the other places where I've used dating apps extensively (France, Perú, Colombia, a bit in USA, etc.). Glad someone else had the same experience as me.

Girls are also really cool and open-minded. Noone ever gave me crap about poker although I'm sure some might have ended the convo in Tinder b/c of it, and for some it turned out to be a positive. I think you get instant credibility as a gringo living in CDMX.

I'm probably out of the online dating game for good though. Things are going incredibly well with the girl I posted about way back in post 81. One of the coolest girls I've ever met and has brought exactly 0 drama or jealousy in 4+ months. Just a fun-loving girl who's always excited to do any activity I suggest (lucha libre, soccer match, bowling, symphony, etc.) and sex life is an easy 10 out of 10.

Just a few notes, I might add to later. Small things.

I got the best prices on hotels just by walking in and asking what the cash rate was. I actually asked if I could get the best app rates in cash and they gave me better deals. People are generally very honest.

19 pesos = $1.

Large load of laundry, folded and bagged by sweet abuelas - $71p.

Fruit and veggie juice made to order in any combo you want $25p. (especially nice if you are throwing out your diet on vacation and want to get some healthy stuff in).

Great tacos, tortas, etc in enough quantity to fill up almost anyone: $20-45p

A first rate, large coffee: $35p. (I wondered htf Starbucks existed here, then remembered they are in the milkshake biz).

Again, the girls. I'm tall with blonde (from their POV) hair and blue eyes. But I'm also over 40 and can't really have a conversation in Spanish.

Driving is an adventure. But, while I was in one really annoying back up, the traffic doesn't seem to be as pervasive as LA. Rush hour is brutal though.

Walking can also be an adventure. A guy hit me on his bike, but it was at least partially my fault. He slammed on the breaks in time to limit the impact and I grabbed him to make sure he didn't fall. We both apologized and moved on. No harm, no foul.

Marlin empenadas. Sweet Jesus.

Starbucks exists because it is a huge status symbol in Mexico. Sure you can get a great cup of coffee for half the price elsewhere, but when people see you walking around with Starbucks (or Estrella venados as I call it), they think you've made it.

I should note that is why places like Chilis, Outback Steakhouse, Applebees, Hooters and other American chain restaurants thrive in Mexico.

Interesting. Starbucks makes sense, but Applebee's as a status symbol is pretty funny. I'm sure there is similar stuff in the us though. I know, in Europe I've ridden in Mercedes taxi cabs.

One more thing I like here is the street performers. Solid, and sometimes very good musicians bouncing from restaurant to restaurant. I remember last time, this one girl was basically just doing kereoke, but she was fantastic Quite pleasant. Particularly in comparison to the low lifes in Vegas.

A girl I dated here told me a bunch of bums dressed like Batman and Elmo photobombed her in Times Square and demanded $20. She had an impulse to cave but then thought about it and told them to eff off. I was proud of her. What scumbags.

Minor complaint. There are very few benches or places to sit.

There is also an almost bizarre lack of public trash cans. Not much litter either though. I guess everyone just carries their empty cups and stuff home.

There's a lot of funny "status symbol" stuff in other countries. For example in France people were crazy about anything Levi's and even a t-shirt with the logo was seen as really cool.

The street performers are so good here. It can get old though if you're sitting at an outdoor cafe/restaurant and are bombarded by people trying to sell stuff when you're just trying to enjoy a meal.

Also agree on the complaints. I've accepted that there will never be a trash can when I need it.

The city's super walkable, but not a ton of areas to congregate and sit apart from some of the parks. I guess it's not much of a problem if you live near Parque México or Parque España in Condesa. There are almost always dozens of outdoor places to have a coffee, meal, or drink everywhere you go though so it's not a huge problem.

This thread needs more food porn--explicit pictures please.

Where specifically did you get the Marlin empanadas?!? I don't ever think I've seen marlin on a restaurant menu.

cerveceria de barrio which I believe is a chain.

I'll post some porns when I get home to my computer. Though I didn't take a pic of the empenadas because they just look like any others.

I've thought about moving here. One issue would be that, it's easy to eat delicious food, but healthy food might be more of a challenge. I've gained weight here even though I've been doing some work outs and walking miles most days.

I'm usually on keto. Could be done. But certain things, like super dark chocolate and a good selection of nuts are a lot less common.

I went, mainly by mistake, to this unbelievably huge market place. So, one building contained a normal market with eateries and butchers and fruit vendors. The outside of the building had stores. In front of the stores were stalls.

Mostly, it was just shops with stalls, seemingly separate businesses, set up in front. I walked through this for, at an absolute minimum, one mile. It was pretty crowded the whole way.

Most of it was either food that often looked good, or just tons of random stuff like notepads, cheap clothes, knock off sneakers... Nothing an average tourist would care about. But it was still a really cool thing to see.

One thing stood out. There was an amazing amount of Marshmellow merch. Far more than all other mucisians combined. There is no way he is actually that popular here. Maybe a bunch of counterfeit merch flooded the market for some reason. Maybe he morphed into a kid's character like Elmo. It was weird. If I didn't live in Vegas, I wouldn't even know who he was.

I did find a shop selling a selection of nuts and some really dark chocolate in this market, but I doubt I could find it again to save my life.

I'm not sure how good a selection you'd need, but I'd imagine it's very easy to find chocolates and nuts. I eat tons of nuts, mostly peanuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, and there's actually a mobile market that comes to the corner right next to my place 3x weekly so I just stock up there. They have a wide variety of nuts, cheeses, candies, chips, stuff like that.

If you lived here it'd just be a matter of locating a market close to your place and remembering where to go. In my neighborhood, occasionally I'll pass a store full of bulk items, like nuts, grains, seeds, oatmeal, flour, etc. but I've never gone in to see exactly what they have.

I'd guess that it's just as easy to maintain a healthy diet here as it is in any large city in the USA apart from the super health conscious ones. Just live in Roma or Condesa and there's a shitload of vegan/veg restos, healthy grocery stores and restos, etc.

We wandered into Tout Chocolat, off of Av Amsterdam (I was just there for a coffee & to take a walk around that cool oval street).

There was also a fancy coffee place over by Frida’s house in Coyoacán that might have also had the high end chocolate stuff (again, just there for a coffee fix in a new setting ).

Unfortunately, I am in fact, a ridiculous food prig most of the time. I'm comfortable cheating, especially on vacation. But, for example. I eat pork rinds because they are keto, but only special ones from whole foods that are not fried in vegetable oil, which I try hard to minimize.

Anyway, this isn't a thread about me being a food Nazi. However, I did find a blog with some healthy places to shop

https://www.encuentro-encounter.com/...n-mexico-city/

I agree, there is a surprising number of vegan and veggie restaurants. One of the girls I chatted with is vegan and she said she had no problems.

I could just skip the tortilla on some foods, as I often do in Vegas. (Vampiros are good for this).

But it's also true that in Vegas I can go to Smith's, the Kroger Brand, and get 80% dark chocolate, raw Brazil nuts and a selection of fancy aged cheese.

Another thing is, I'm totally spoiled by the 24 hour thing.i wouldn't say Mexico City closes up shop especially early, but nor does it seem to run particularly late. It's about like Los Angeles. Most bars seem to close at 2:00. There are after hours clubs, if that's your interest I'm not into night life so much as just keeping weird hours.

Maybe I will buy that from Starbucks, but def not from the other ones u mentioned, i mean maybe when we 1st got Chilis in the 90s, but def not now, at least not in DF.

Maybe things are different in DF than Guadalajara ... or GDL is full of fresas!

In DF it will be especially the "fresas" guys that would avoid those chain restaurants, but they do buy their coffee at Starbucks.

Subbed

So I left my phone in my Uber home from the airport. I still have a few pics I posted in other venues.

Homemade mole enchiladas at my friend's house. Best mole I ever had.



Awesome chicken soup from a street stall. About $2. Comes with garbanzo beans and rice, if you want. Then you season it yourself with lime, salt, onions, cilantro and chili sauce. Kind of a Mexican pho. Served with fresh tortillas.




My friend's house keeper presented this to me. Chapulines. They caught them themselves. I probably would never try this on the street or whatever, but I went for it and ate 2. The taste was fine, but it felt pretty friggin gross in my mouth. Kinda makes me quesy to think about tbh.



This is called a tlacoyo. They took a bunch of tortilla dough, made it real thick and grilled it so it is somewhat crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. You can get a bunch of different stuff on/in it. This was potatoes, spinach, chorizo, onions and salsa.

its cool seeing people enjoy mexico city and having a different perspective from mine as someone who lived there on and off for 30 years but even if you offered me a million to stay there 1 year theres no ****** way. the traffic and pollution make years disappear off your life. its still good for a random weekend visit though

My girlfriend had to commute 2 hours one way and 1.5 hours the other way for 5 years during uni. She's a ****ing angel, been through so much and never complains a bit.

Honestly the traffic is no biggie for me. I play online poker so I can just do all my stuff when people are working and know not to call an Uber or try to take public transport between 4 and 7PM. There's so much to do within 30 min. walk of my place that I'm fine walking to do like 90% of my stuff. Bike share is also awesome. It's $5 a month and you can use the bikes, which are all over the place, as often as you want.

Pollution isn't great, but according to the site I use (waqi.info) is better than the places poker players are residing in in SEA, and not too much worse than LA. Most 3rd world places that people want to move to are pretty polluted, so it's a bit of a trade off. Way better quality of life in a lot of ways, but worse pollution.

My main complaint is all the people hawking their **** on the streets yelling and using whistles to get your attention. It pretty much always starts at 8AM, even on weekends, so it's tough to sleep in. It helps me keep a more normal schedule I guess.

i think i just have ptsd one time it took me 6 hours to go from pedregal to my place in roma norte. actually the last 2 years i lived there i stayed in roma norte/condesa and basically never used my car and tried to do everything in my zone. the problem is theres always new clubs/restaraurants opening in places like lomas/santa fe so i would still have to leave my zone on occasion i guess i just got tired of the only travel between 11am-1pm or after 11pm. i started venturing out more first on the weekends making trips to guadalajara and queretero and cuernavaca. eventually i moved out and spent my last years mostly between those 3 cities. if you like mexico and like city life they are great options. if your main focus is pussy hunting guadalajara is hands down the best girls in the country. if youve got steel balls you can float around sinaloa like culiacan, mazatlan and guasave but thats not for novice travelers.

CDMX was elite for girls for the year+ I was single here, but I would have loved to have given Guadalajara a shot too. CDMX you will rarely see any head-turning girls out on the streets except in the rich areas, GDL they are more abundant no matter where you go.

I don't know Cuernavaca yet, but loved Querétaro and Guadalajara was pretty cool. I also loved Morelia and Guanajuato is sick for such a small city. I could see myself moving to one of those places in a couple years, but for now I still love CDMX, even after 15 months. México is loaded with solid city options of all sizes.

I wanted to get away from CDMX for a bit in the Winter b/c it can get a bit cold, so I booked 4 weeks w/the gf in Mazatlán in January. I'm definitely not gonna risk going to Culiacán especially with what took place last week. Seems like a needless risk.