In our last post, we talked about some of the things we disliked about this city. However, those things are far outweighed by the good things in our opinion.
We have been in the city for less than a week, which definitely isn't enough time to form a strong opinion, it has given us plenty of time to learn some of the things we like and dislike. This post will focus on the things we like and love.
Cheap food
Compared to a lot of the cities we've been throughout Mexico, it's pretty affordable to eat out. Yes, there are more expensive options if you want to splurge or if you have the budget for them but there are plenty of cheap options as well.
Something unique about this city is that a lot of the restaurants offer great deals on "all-inclusive" meals. At breakfast time a meal often includes a large plate of food, a bolillo (a type of bread), coffee, and orange juice. At dinner time, a meal might include a starter, an entree, dessert, and a drink.
Yesterday for breakfast, we went to a small, unassuming family-owned restaurant. Maddie had a large plate of eggs and chilaquiles which included a coffee and orange juice for 35 pesos ($1.91 USD).
This morning, we went to a nice restaurant and we both had a huge plate of amazing chilaquiles, beans, eggs, and hot bread for 68 pesos ($3.72 USD). The breakfast also included orange juice and unlimited refills of coffee. I asked for milk to accompany my coffee and that was also included in the price. In most of the cities we've been to, a breakfast like this would have cost 100-120 pesos ($5.47-$6.56 USD). Where we're from in Phoenix, we'd pay $15 USD for a breakfast like this that included both coffee and orange juice. That doesn't include tax or the significantly-higher tip percentage that's expected in the US.
Cheap drinks
To our surprise, as we've traveled throughout Mexico, we haven't been able to find cheap alcoholic drinks very often. Back in Phoenix, we will have paid between $4-15 USD for a margarita depending on the kind of establishment. In Mexico, the margaritas have been cheaper than the US, but they're still typically in the $3-6 USD range.
Here in Guanajuato, we've found the cheapest drinks of any city we've been in Mexico. Last night, we got margaritas for 25 pesos ($1.37 USD) and Pulque (an alcohol made from fermented agave) for 10 pesos ($0.55 USD).
Low-cost rent
We aren't yet too familiar with the costs of long-term rentals in other parts of Mexico but we met a German couple who said they pay $240 USD per month for a brand-new, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. That's about 1/5 the cost we were paying for rent in Phoenix.
Weather
Guanajuato City has nice weather year round. Most homes and apartments here have neither air conditioning nor heat because they don't need it with the perfect weather.
These are just a few of the many things that make Guanajuato so great. An exhaustive list of the positive things about this place uses up a lot of paper, so stay tuned for a part 2 about this amazing city!