Ladies and gentlemen, my time here is drawing to a close.
And I’m here to tell you what I think about living in Lima, Peru.
It’s taken me a long time to form a coherent opinion about living in this city – at first, I didn’t know what to make of it. And upon arriving I made no secret of the fact that I had my doubts about Lima.
But after nearly 6 months in Peru’s capital, I think I’ve finally figured the place out a bit.
January, 2012
“Things are going really well for me,” he said, sipping his coffee. “I’m making around $2000 a month!”
John was from Texas. He had moved down to a small, touristy town in Central Mexico about 10 years back, and was now working as a tour organizer/driver, transporting Americans and Canadians around to various historical and cultural sites in the region. He was about 50 years old.
Wow, I thought. You could live like a king in Mexico on $2000 a month.
Through John, I was able to meet a number of foreigners living in this Mexican city.
There was George…
It’s time to go head-to-head once again!
This time, we’ll compare Panama City and Mexico City and determine which is better for visiting or living. In many ways, these two capital cities are similar – they are both modern, they both have a large number of expats and they are both easily accessible from the USA, with a large number of cheap, daily flights from major American cities.
I’ll say right off the bat that both are solid choices for someone looking for an introduction to Latin America.
But there are some differences that you’ll want to consider before choosing either one of these destinations…
Hello again!
Let’s talk about life in Lima! I’m here to give you an overview of the food, safety, women, nightlife and cost of living in Peru’s capital city.
Enjoy and leave your comments.
I’ve just finished living in Mexico City. Now I’m living in Lima.
As I’ve noted in a recent post, Lima isn’t quite living up to my expectations. I’ve decided to stick it out here for awhile. It’s not bad and I’m enjoying myself, but it’s not a place I see myself living semi-permanently.
As such, my mind has already been wandering. I’m thinking about my next destination.
Sometime within the next two years, I’d like to choose a city to spend the bulk of my time in.
Right now it looks like it’ll be Mexico or Colombia.
Bogota is a city that I’ve been thinking more about recently…
As those of you that read my last post will know, I’m now in Lima.
Well, I’ve been here almost two weeks now and to be honest I’m having a few doubts as to whether or not I made the right choice.
“First Impressions” isn’t quite an accurate title – this is actually my third time visiting Lima – but the other two stints I did here were short, and I was mostly focused on eating ceviche, getting smashed on pisco and trying to get pussy (noble pursuits, I know). I stuck exclusively to two neighbourhoods, Barranco and Miraflores, and didn’t even really take the time to do currency conversions to determine what anything costs. In short, I really just skimmed the surface.
But now that I’ve got a bit of a feel for the place, I’m beginning to wonder if I really want to commit to several months here. Perhaps my two previous times here on ‘vacation mode’ have given me an inflated impression of how good Lima is.
Here’s why.
I’ve often entertained the idea of living in Lima.
The girls are sweet, the food is excellent and it boasts a reasonably low cost of living by Latin American standards.
During my recent trip, I decided to check out the real estate. I wanted to see how much it would cost to rent an apartment in Lima, and how difficult it might be for a foreigner without residency to accomplish such a thing.
Here’s what I discovered:
At this point I feel like a poster boy for Central and South America.
I’ve written so many positive things about the region that I’m sure I’ve painted quite a rosy picture in the minds of some readers.
But here’s the thing.
Latin America is not a great place to live. Most westerners looking to relocate will be better off choosing Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia, especially if they are in their early 30s or older.
I could probably come up with 100 reasons why it’s a bad idea to live in Latin America.
But ain’t nobody got time for that.
Instead, here are just a few of the frustrating things likely to send you on the next flight home.
I’m FINALLY leaving.
And, as a sort of departure gift, I thought I’d write a post on living in Mexico City. If you are wondering what life is like in the capital, I’m here to help. Whether you’re moving here, or doing a short-term stay, here’s what you should know.
Whenever I’m in a new city in Latin America, there’s only one thing on my mind:
Is this somewhere I would like to live?
You see, I have a somewhat odd life plan at the moment. I want to do extended stays (3 months or more) in the region for at least the next few years.
This makes me a bit different than the average backpacker who can gather all the information he needs from Lonely Planet.
I’m forced to dig deeper.
So, without further ado, it’s time for another one of my Latin American city showdowns. In this post I will be comparing the “City of Palaces” (Mexico) with the “City of Kings” (Lima) to determine which is the better city for an expat to live in.