Living in Monterrey

Bustling and booming at the feet of the breathtaking Sierra Madre mountains, Monterrey stands as a city apart in Mexico. Its wealth and industry has made it the shining star of the Mexican economy and has given its people ("Regios" as the denizens of Monterrey are popularly known) the reputation of being a hard-working, industrious lot.

Monterrey is a modern and wholly industrialized city, and it also has a long history, having been founded in 1596 by Diego de Montemayor who settled the area with 12 Jewish families who had been converted to Catholicism so as to escape the Inquisition.

The city hosts colossal manufacturing plants of some of the world's leading businesses most notably Cemex, which is the largest concrete-mix manufacturer in the world. Monterrey also has more colleges, universities and institutes of technology per capita than any other city in Mexico.

While the old part of town (the "Barrio Antiguo") is still intact, renovated for the most part into trendy bars, cafes and trinket stores, Monterrey reminds one much more of a modern Texan city like El Paso or San Antonio than it does of the stereotypical central Mexican colonial town. Its wide, pothole-free motorways, pristine streets, efficiently functioning infrastructure and orderly urban design makes Monterrey a veritable exception as far as Mexican cities go.

Its infrastructure allows for everything you would expect from a cosmopolitan city in the 21st century, while its relative proximity to the U.S. border means that recognized market brands are easily available, although prices are a little higher when compared to the United States.

Popular Areas To Live

The nicest residential area in Monterrey is San Pedro Garza Garcia. Indeed it's one of the swankiest neighborhoods in Mexico. Although it's considered to be a separate city, it's very much part of Monterrey. Besides offering all the usual suburban comforts, including lush gardens and beautiful parks, Garza Garcia is also the safest city in Mexico and offers such amenities as some of the most advanced and largest malls in Mexico, some very fine restaurants and some very chic bars and nightclubs.

Another popular area near Monterrey is San Cantarina which is seeing an influx of young urbanites as well as many new schools, universities and developments being built there. The prestigious Universidad de Monterrey campus is based in Santa Cantarina as well as the Tec de Monterrey Preparatoria and the Colegio Americano - all bilingual institutions.

Other good neighborhoods include Cumbres, Contry, San Jeronimo and San Agustin.

If you are interested in relocating to Monterrey and are especially interested in these areas SolutionsAbroad recommends New 2 Monterrey who will make your relocation process to this northern Mexican city completely hassle free and ensure you settle in as quickly as possible.

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