Mexico City Real Estate

Center-West

Polanco, Anzures

Polanco is a mixture of commercial and residential areas with a lot of offices, boutiques and department stores. Upscale shopping malls and three of Mexico City's best hotels (housed in skyscrapers that line the zone's southern edge) are thrown in for good measure. It is centrally located with respect to the center, west, and northern parts of the city and it also has good access to Mexico City's largest green area, Chapultepec Park. Besides excellent shopping and restaurants, Polanco also has a great cultural scene, being the home of both the Museo Rufino Tamayo and the Anthropological Museum. It also has a theater, many cinemas and two of the most important musical venues in the city, the National Auditorium and the Hard Rock Live. Despite all this activity, Polanco is still fairly residential, although the anonymity of the Really Big City has eclipsed community life. Even more so than Tecamachalco, the area has a very large Jewish community (such that some people jokingly refer to it as "Polanski") and Orthodox Jews are often seen leaving the synagogues that can be found there. Although parking is a problem and the traffic can get a little annoying in the afternoon, Polanco is an excellent choice to live for those who want an active urban lifestyle and can afford it. Click for cost of living.

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Environment	hustle and bustle

Center

Zona Rosa

The Zona Rosa, or Pink Zone because of its early reputation as a lighter version of other cities' "red light" districts, used to be the best commercial and office area in the city. Its residential aspects were also considered excellent for active urbanites who wanted to live in apartments and be close to what was still considered "downtown," today's Historical Center (Centro Historico). In many ways, it was what Polanco currently is. Some of the best hotels in the city are still there, including the Sheraton, the Four Seasons and the Marquis Reforma. But these days the Zona Rosa is a little seedy, with a lot of cantinas and bars of ill repute. It still has a lot of prime office space and is very centrally located, but its access is often blocked by marches and demonstrations (called "manifestaciones"). If you can put up with that, as well as a higher crime rate than Polanco, the nightlife is great and the views of Reforma Avenue pretty striking. Click for cost of living.

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Center-South

Condesa, Roma

Currently the hippest part of town, all sorts of restaurants, bars and cafés are opening up in the Condesa area. There are some pretty nifty buildings because of the fact that the area was built up during the heyday of the Porfirio Diaz regime, which was known for its francophilia. The Roma-Condesa zone is definitely considered accessible because of its central location and easy travel to the south and west of the capital. Having said that, the area is sometimes blocked by demonstrations at the Ministry of Economy (exSECOFI), which has its headquarters at the western edge of the Condesa. Also, its central location (on top of the old lake bed) means that earthquakes are especially strong there. The Roma is also the place to find several important galleries and the "Casa Lamm," a beautiful mansion where many interesting art, history and literature classes are currently given. The crime rate is a little higher than in Polanco and the place still hasn't been completely gentrified, which means that many buildings are still not in the best conditions. Also, prices have risen since interest in the area bubbled among the "too-cool-for-you" crowd. Click for cost of living.

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