Where to live in Mexico and learn Spanish?
jack_vanderhorst asked:
I’d like to move to a small laid-back town in Mexico for a few months and learn Spanish. I want a place I can live very cheaply, right by the ocean, close to a local market with fresh seafood, friendly locals, and stuff to do. Any suggestions? How much money do you think I’d need?
Pimsleur Spanish “Plus”on audio $35
I’d like to move to a small laid-back town in Mexico for a few months and learn Spanish. I want a place I can live very cheaply, right by the ocean, close to a local market with fresh seafood, friendly locals, and stuff to do. Any suggestions? How much money do you think I’d need?
Pimsleur Spanish “Plus”on audio $35

January 21st, 2009 at 10:30 am
Not really any place particular….having been to Mexico several times I personally dont like Tijuana (south of San Diego); however, it fits all the criteria you supplied to a “T”. Above all, to learn Spanish, you should live in a bordertown, its not anything like the real Mexico, but its Americanized enough where you wont get swamped with culture and you can still communicate in english if you need to.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:50 pm
There are several immersion schools there - just for that purpose. San Miguel de Allende, Guadalajara and Guanajuato.
Granted, none of those cities are on the coast, but they have the friendly locals, local markets - and are best suited for your ultimate goal: to become bilingual.
I spent many years in Mexico City - and although I am fluent in Spanish … I will always and forever have the accent of a “gringo”.
I wish you: buena suerte. Me puedes mandar un correo electronico si desees detallas.
January 25th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
La Manzanilla has a good school and you can probably find a cheap place. But them if you just want to ‘live with the Mexicans’ there are hundreds of places along the west coast.
Maybe Melaque where I live
January 28th, 2009 at 4:51 am
You can actually enroll in an immersion program. Guadalajara has some. I don’t think it is very expensive. Some of the programs place you with a family. Check into language Immersion opportunities.
January 31st, 2009 at 3:55 am
Try to look out for schools in Cuernavaca. It’s full of “spanish learning” schools… Also, the weather is amazing, the city is world-known for its climate as well as for its garden and flowers. A good thing about this city is that is just 40 minutes away from Mexico City and 2h30 from Acapulco… I had lived there for 6 years and I can tell u is really a beautiful small city…
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:51 am
Huatulco in the state of Oaxaca is beautiful and rather cheap for a beach town. You can investigate Zihuatenejo (hope I spelled that right). Cheap, and interesting. Not far from Acapulco, and minutes from Ixtapa. There are some beachy areas north of Veracruz on the other coast that are cool and cheap. I have lived down here for 4 years (in Toluca), and what started out as a whim and an adventure, has turned into “the rest of my life”, as in…”I’m never going back to the states to live!” I have learned/am learning Spanish in the street. That is to say, I have never taken a class. Cuernavaca has lots of language schools and is beautiful, but those schools are expensive and it’s in the middle of the country.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Hola!!
I’m mexican and I live in mexico city.
Mexico city is the biggest city of the world and as all big city has problems.
I recommend to you “cancun”.
it is the paradise of Mexico and it has culture, tropical forests , pyramids and is very small.
it has beautiful beaches, there is much money, and there are schools where they teach Spanish and they are not expensive
suerte!!