In Vlog 13, I find myself in the picturesque mountain town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, drawing parallels between it and my beloved Cuenca, Ecuador. Both cities boast UNESCO World Heritage status, captivating historic centers with cobblestone streets, and a thriving expatriate community. However, as I explore these two cities, distinct differences emerge, offering unique insights into expat life.
Cost of Living: Affordability vs Luxury
While both cities allure expats with their charm, San Miguel de Allende veers towards luxury, catering to well-heeled tourists and expats with its boutique shops and upscale eateries. However, this exclusivity comes at a price, as San Miguel ranks among Mexico’s most expensive cities, with soaring property rents and dining costs.
In contrast, Cuenca offers a more affordable alternative, with favorable metrics for renting and buying real estate, food, and across most verticals. Despite inflation and the strength of the US dollar, Cuenca’s cost of living remains relatively stable, making it an attractive option for budget-conscious expats.
Authenticity vs. Exclusivity
San Miguel’s Old Town exudes a polished, tourist-centric ambiance, adorned with high-end establishments tailored to affluent visitors. While its rooftop dining and chic boutiques exude elegance, I would argue that this comes at the expense of authenticity, distancing the city from its local roots.
“Well, San Miguel’s got everything… a lot of the restaurants in Centro are very upscale these days and I think for me personally, I think the food’s made more for Instagram than for eating.” Ian Gough
In contrast, Cuenca’s El Centro maintains its vibrant, local character, with bustling markets and traditional eateries serving up authentic flavors. While expats are warmly welcomed, Cuenca’s historic center remains firmly anchored in its Ecuadorian identity, offering a more immersive cultural experience.
Walkability and Language
San Miguel’s narrow streets and limited parking challenge pedestrians, creating a vibrant yet congested urban environment. Moreover, the prevalence of English speakers reflects the city’s cosmopolitan nature, catering to expat tastes and preferences.
In Cuenca, wider streets enhance walkability, fostering a more pedestrian-friendly environment. While English proficiency isn’t as strong, Cuenca retains its Ecuadorian charm, with locals embracing cultural exchange and interaction.
“The streets of San Miguel are very narrow and parking is very difficult to come by. The sidewalks are basically single file only in San Miguel, and which does make walking around the Old Town just a little bit more effort than Cuenca.” Jason Scott
Weather
San Miguel’s climate offers a broader temperature range, with hotter summers and chilly winters, providing a stark contrast to Cuenca’s temperate climate and consistent year-round temperatures. While San Miguel’s sunny days and cool nights appeal to some, Cuenca’s mild weather and lack of extreme temperatures offer comfort and convenience.
“In the winter time, it’s very different here [San Miguel]… it’s always sunny here so during, you know, in the winter time it’s probably 20 degrees Celsius every day, but at night it gets I can get down to zero.” Ian Gough
Safety and Security
Both cities have good reputations for safety, with low crime rates and welcoming communities. San Miguel’s concerted efforts to ensure tourist safety reflect its reliance on expat and tourist revenue, while Cuenca remains tranquil amidst regional unrest.
“San Miguel obviously is a very safe city… a lot of people are scared to come to Mexico. There’s a lot of news and stuff about violence and kidnappings, and that doesn’t happen in San Miguel.” Ian Gough
Wrapping Up
The choice between San Miguel de Allende and Cuenca hinges on individual preferences and priorities. While San Miguel dazzles with its luxury and cosmopolitan flair, Cuenca offers affordability and cultural immersion. Ultimately, both cities beckon expats with their unique charms, so we suggest visiting them and finding out for yourself whether they will work for your lifestyle.
Contact Ian for Photography Shoots in San Miguel
Further reading:
- Cuenca Real Estate
- Cuenca Apartments for Sale
- Cuenca Apartments Rent
- Pet Adoptions
- Cuenca Events
- Cuenca Deals
View full video transcript
San Miguel De Allende Vs Cuenca – Vlog 13 (Cost Of Living, Safety, Walkability, Food & More) (Transcript)
Jason
Hola. We’re in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and there are a lot of similarities to where I live in Cuenca, Ecuador. They are both gorgeous mountain towns with UNESCO World Heritage status, and charming historic centres complete with cobblestone streets, and both are recognized destinations for expats. I love both cities, but they have some significant differences which I’m highlighting in this video. A big thanks to Ian, who has lived in San Miguel de Allende for the past 2 and a half years for allowing me to interview him for some of the content.
Ian
Oh yeah, I’ve been living here in San Miguel de Allende for 2 and a half years now. I didn’t come here to live, I came here for Dia de Muertos 2 and a half years ago and never left. I spent some time in Cuenca before here house sitting for Jason and a similar kind of place, a little smaller here than Cuenca. It’s a pretty city, just like Cuenca. You know the UNESCO World Heritage site I think they’re both cobblestone streets, pretty buildings. Lots of Americans living here, foreigners, mostly Americans and Canadians here, but, you know, a few others. It’s just a comfortable life it’s not, I don’t know, there are a lot of better places in Mexico to visit but I’m not sure about to live. This is a very comfortable place to live.
Jason
The timing of this video is actually quite weird, as the relationship between the Ecuadorian and Mexican governments is pretty much at an all-time low. I really don’t want to spend a lot of time on politics, but in a nutshell, Ecuadorian authorities raided the Mexican embassy in Quito to extract a former Vice President of Ecuador and convicted felon who was seeking asylum in the Mexican embassy. Mexico has since ceased trade relationships with Ecuador and has even called for Ecuador to be removed from the United Nations. So it is a little bit weird for Ecuadorians right now in Mexico. The main reason I’m in Mexico is to support my partner. She is a member of the Latin American Network of Death and Dying and their main conference is in San Miguel de Agenda. This year we’re traveling with another two Ecuadorians. The general public doesn’t seem to care too much about this, but we did have one issue where our driver became increasingly antagonistic throughout our stay here saying stuff like how are you going to arrest the police that raided the Mexican embassy So he’s no longer our driver we would much prefer to give our hard-earned cash to someone else, but now I am digressing a little bit. So let’s get back to San Miguel. I’m going to start with something basic, but it was honestly the very first thing that I noticed when I came to San Miguel, and that is traffic in San Miguel gives way to pedestrians. Wow.
After living in Cuenca for over five years, I’m just accustomed to pedestrians giving way to vehicles, even at zebra crossings. It actually took me a few days here just to untrain myself and walk confidently in front of cars. And no, not just at Crossings or in El Centro, but it’s basically all over town. Now I’m told this is just a San Miguel thing and I am absolutely not going to be pushing my luck in Mexico City. Even so, this was a very welcome surprise for me. To me, this is part of the bigger trend here where it appears that tourism and expat money play a much more significant role in the economy of San Miguel than in Cuenca.
Cuenca is also much bigger than San Miguel, I think like basically double the size and it just seems to have a much more diverse economy, not as reliant on tourism. Moving on to one of the most talked about topics, the cost of living, Cuenca has clear advantages here in terms of buying and renting property, food, and medical care, and actually I think across most key metrics. One notable exception would be for things like electronics or other items sourced from Amazon or other US locations. The Mexican peso has also gotten a lot stronger in recent years, at least compared to the US dollar, which if you’re coming from the US, does further decrease your purchasing power.
Ian
Yeah, I mean, well, inflation, just like the rest of the world has affected things here but the strength of the peso, when I first arrived here, you know, 2 and a half ago, it was 21 pesos to the dollar now it’s close to 16. So 25% difference almost. Plus, you know, inflation prices have gone up. You know, it’s. So yeah, it’s gotten expensive here. It’s not a cheap country to live in anymore and San Miguel is probably the most expensive place in Mexico. So you can go to other, you know, other small beautiful towns in Mexico and stuff is much, much cheaper, especially rents and restaurants.
Jason
Ecuador uses the US dollar, which provides stability, at least if you’re coming from the US.
Ian
Food is expensive. Restaurants in Central are very expensive in general compared to, you know, other parts of Mexico. You can easily spend, you know, two people you can go out and spend $100 with no problem. You can spend $20 on a Margarita. But there are places outside of Centro, you know, more local places where you can go get a decent lunch for, you know, 4 or $5. As far as supermarkets and stuff there are two very nice supermarkets in town, but they’re expensive. You shop at the local tiendas in the little markets around town, and the food is way cheaper. So if you shop and live like a local, you can live fairly inexpensively. If you want to shop like an American, like you do at home, you’re going to pay the price for it.
Jason
Our core income-generating activity at YapaTree is renting and selling properties in Cuenca. And so I do have a very good idea of the real estate market there. But to be honest, I’ve only really just scratched the surface of the market here in San Miguel. But Even so, it quickly becomes apparent that San Miguel is significantly more expensive when doing like-for-like comparisons. Here’s Ian on this topic.
Ian
But here, rents are outrageous and they’re almost the same price in the US now. I mean, I looked at a two-bedroom apartment yesterday for a friend, small, maybe sixty-seventy square meters, two-bedroom apartment that’s $2000 a month, and I know people pay more than that. I know people pay a lot less than that too but.
Jason
Looking through the listings on YapaTree for similar two-bedroom apartments, they generally rent for between 600 and $800 maxing out at a thousand dollars rent per month. And if we’re talking about buying, there does seem to be a lot more one-million-dollar-plus properties in San Miguel than in Cuenca.
Airbnb’s in San Miguel are regulated by the municipality and they do need to pay a yearly fee of something in the vicinity of two and a half thousand dollars. And then you’ve got the Airbnb fees on top of that 17% VAT. And owners have told me that they basically say goodbye to around 40% of their Airbnb income straight away. And assuming you do have someone else to manage the property with the turnovers and all that, they’re probably looking at adding another 10 or 20% on top of that so ultimately you’ve just straight up lost 50% of your income and there is quite a bit of competition for Airbnb’s here. I want to dig into this more before drawing any real conclusions, but San Miguel does feel like there are more chances of a property bubble happening than Cuenca.
Speaking of Airbnb, I just absolutely love this Airbnb that we’re at right now. I am recording from this location and it is absolutely lovely. I do wish we had a little bit more time here, but let’s have a little bit of a tour of this place. I just think it’s perfect. The architecture, the earthy colors, the flow, the staircase in particular everything for me just just really, really works. So I think they’ve done an incredible job in this particular house and this is far from an anomaly.
A lot of beautiful houses do exist here, especially when you start talking about the higher end of the market. Both cities are renowned for their El Centro areas. Both have gorgeous architecture with a lot of history and both photograph extremely well.
Now I’m probably going to get a little bit of heat for this, but I do think that the main difference between the two is authenticity. As pretty as San Miguel Old Town is, it just seems very out of reach for the average Mexican. The best word I can describe it is “boutiquey”. It seems filled with high-end shops catering to well-off gringos and tourists.
For example, Michelle’s event is mainly held at Casa de la Cultura in El Centro. I forgot my hat and so I did a quick search for a baseball cap. I found one that looked pretty cool. It was just a black cap with a bit of a Mexican wrestler-type theme on it and I would show you, but they kicked me out of the shop – I wasn’t allowed to photograph or take videos in there, and I was prepared to pay 30 to $40 but the price tag revealed that it was over $100 for a black baseball cap. No thanks. Now, I am sure that I could find a sombrero or day I say it, Panama hat, in Cuenca for this price, but I just don’t think that I would come across a baseball cap for more than $100 in Cuenca. Feel free to prove me wrong, I haven’t actually gone looking for a baseball cap like this in Cuenca, but I’ll just be super surprised if one exists.
Whilst El Centro in San Miguel has been reserved for tourists and expats, El Centro in Cuenca is still where the locals do their business. It’s still largely inhabited by locals and they haven’t been pushed out, and I really hope that we don’t don’t get to that point in Cuenca.
Let’s talk about walkability. I consider both cities to be very walkable, but there are some key differences here as well. The streets of San Miguel are very narrow and parking is very difficult to come by. The sidewalks are basically single file only in San Miguel, which does make walking around the Old Town just a little bit more effort than Cuenca. Neither city is particularly well suited for wheelchairs or walkers, but in Cuenca, you’d at least have a chance. You’d be very, very limited in San Miguel.
One other difference I’ve noticed is that there just seem to be more people in San Miguel that speak English, especially in El Centro, but even further out too. Maybe it’s the greater US influence or they just see the economic opportunities associated with speaking English. I’m not really sure, but I do think there is quite a big difference between the two. Now you can see this is a pro or con for either city, depending on which way you look at it. The more English that is spoken, the less authentic a town or city seems to feel. So you decide where on the spectrum you sit.
Ian
I speak Spanish, but there’s a lot of gringos here who don’t speak Spanish and a lot of them don’t try, I don’t think. But there are so many Mexicans here who speak English and to be honest, the Mexicans here are very friendly and most of them enjoy speaking English and you know, using their English they’re very proud of it. They’ve studied hard to learn English and they’re quite happy to use it and those, obviously, those who do speak English generally make more money than those who don’t, so they’re very happy to try and learn.
Jason
Moving on to another favorite topic amongst expats, the weather. I think this comparison graph tells a pretty good story, but my main takeaway here is that San Miguel does have a greater temperature range, with yearly lows of 41 degrees and highs of around eighty degrees whereas Cuenca has a much tighter range between 44 and 63°.
Cuenca’s weather is just more consistent, but perhaps you like the heat as I do and prefer to have the seasons that come with living in San Miguel. But I do like the fact that AC in Cuenca is generally not needed, and many of us just don’t have any sort of heating elements in our homes either. It’s just a good livable temperature all year round.
We are here in San Miguel during April, which is the start of the three-month period where AC tends to be used. I will say that even though it’s hot, it is not the humid type of heat that you may get at the coast, and I personally find it really quite lovely even without a baseball cap. Here’s Ian on the weather in San Miguel.
Ian
I mean, San Miguel is known for its good climate. This time of year April and May are the hottest months of the year when it does get hot. It’s, you know, 30 to 35° every day. But in general, the houses stay fairly cool. They’re big stone houses, so they stay fairly cool. In the wintertime, it’s very different here the houses stay cold. So in the winter time, like in Australia or England, you go home to warm up, here you go outside to warm up. It’s always, it’s always sunny here so during, you know, in the winter time it’s probably 20 degrees Celsius every day, but at night it gets I can get down to zero. So the houses can be cold, so you go outside to warm up.
Jason
Let’s touch on safety. I consider them both safe cities for expats. San Miguel in particular seems to be very reliant on ensuring a steady supply of expats and tourists come into town, and they do a very good job of keeping it safe. Similarly, Cuenca is widely regarded as one of the safest cities in Ecuador and is so far largely untouched by the narco violence that has become a considerable issue amongst some of the coastal areas. It is really hard for me to separate the two when it comes to the topic of safety.
Ian
San Miguel obviously is a very safe city most, you know, obviously, especially in America or the United States, a lot of people are scared to come to Mexico. There’s a lot of news and stuff about violence and kidnappings, and that doesn’t happen in San Miguel. I mean, it does in a little bit it’s kept very quiet, but it doesn’t involve tourists or foreigners. Usually, it’s mostly it’s gang-related and you really don’t, you know, it’s never going to affect your life here. So most people feel very safe here, you know, and especially you come from a city like Chicago or LA or wherever, people feel very safe here you can walk the streets at night and yeah, no problem.
Jason
Now we get to my favorite, but perhaps the most subjective topic, food. Whilst many have given me a lot of credit for supporting my partner on this trip, the reality is that I took zero convincing to tag along and a big reason for this was the food. I’ve always loved Mexican food, but this is my first trip to Mexico to experience it in all its glory. Ian gives a very good summary of the food in Miguel. Here he is again.
Ian
Well, San Miguel’s got everything. I mean obviously, most people come in for Mexican food, but in El Centro, you’ve got, every kind of thing you can imagine a lot of the restaurants in El Centro are very upscale these days and I think for me personally, I think the food’s made more for Instagram than for eating.
But you get a little bit outside of El Centro the Mexican food’s great, you can eat very inexpensively. You go to the markets we have a big Tuesday market here which is the size of like 6 football fields and the food there is incredible and you can eat a great lunch for, you know, 4 or $5, but in El Centro it’s a lot of it’s about rooftop dining. Everybody loves their rooftops here. You go sit there, watch the sunset all the lights of the city, come on, have your fancy, expensive cocktail and your, you know, expensive dinner. But the food is good and you’ve got a lot of variety.
Everybody loves tacos you can’t ever get tired of tacos. Carnitas is one of my favorites – pork fried in its own fat, basically pork fried in lard. And it’s delicious. But yeah, my neighbors down the street sell tacos at night it’s the most rustic, simplest setup you’ll ever see. I can stop there and eat on the way home for, you know, two or three dollars and it’s great.
Jason
My experience does reflect Ian’s. There is a lot of variety in El Centro, but it does seem to cater mostly towards the higher end of town. My most rewarding experiences have been the smaller places geared more towards locals, especially if we are taking value into account.
I find the food in Cuenca to be great. It’s a growing culinary destination amongst foodies, and you can still find great value almuerzo lunches for two or three dollars. And it is quite rare that I’d spend more than $10 for a lunch in Cuenca, whereas in San Miguel I’ve found myself paying double that for many of my lunches.
So Cuenca gets the nod from me for value, but the jury is still out on whether I would consider Cuenca to be better than San Miguel or vice versa overall when it comes to food. Obviously, if you love Mexican food, this is going to be your winner.
I was surprised by some of the food options available in San Miguel. For example, I did come across a New Orleans oyster bar. How weird.
Speaking of food, it’s coming up to taco o’clock, so I should really wrap it up here. I will leave you with the rest of my interview with Ian and thanks again, Ian. Do be sure to hit him up if you need any sort of private photo shoot whilst you’re in San Miguel de Allende. And just be sure to book well in advance, particularly for key holidays like Day of the Dead as he is genuinely a great photographer and he does book up quickly.
I hope you got some value from this video. I realized that we haven’t got to some of the key topics like healthcare, public transport, schools, or shopping. But if you’re seriously considering either of these two cities as a place to live, you really do owe it to yourself to come out and check them in person and explore the topics that matter to you most in detail.
If you do decide to visit Cuenca, be sure to check out our extensive range of guides on all sorts of topics at yapatree.com you’re welcome to reach out to me as well for any of your renting or buying needs in Cuenca. My email at yapatree.com Ciao ciao.
Ian
Well, I got started out as I was dog-sitting. I got a beautiful dog that I take care of and we’d go out for our early morning walks and I would just take pictures of her around the city, you know, sitting in front of the church or sitting in front of a beautiful old door and I got pretty well known on Facebook for doing that and people started asking me to do photo shoots.
So I do photo shoots with tourists around town, real estate photography but most of the time I enjoy going out, you know, sunrise, sunset early in the morning and the streets are empty and just having the whole city to myself and taking pictures of this beautiful city.
Oh, this is Colonia Guadalupe. It’s, it’s a cool old neighborhood it’s, it’s still very Mexican. I mean, there are definitely plenty of expats living here, but it’s just far enough outside the center to be quiet. Lots of beautiful street art around here, which is, you know, it’s very famous for. It’s got its own little downtown area, which is, you know, basically one block, but lots of little coffee shops and cafes and you know, that kind of stuff it’s got its own little supermarket. It’s just a nice neighborhood to live in. I don’t live here, but it’s, it’s nice.
I mean I haven’t really, I’ve been to the doctor a few times, but you can go very inexpensively here. You can, you can go to a pharmacy and they usually have a little doctor’s office attached and for $3 you can just go visit the doctor and just for the basic care, but there’s, you know, there’s world-class hospitals too so which they’re a hell of a lot cheaper than the United States or wherever else. Fortunately, I haven’t been to any of them, but but if, yeah, for a general doctor’s visit, you can go for three dollars, $10 you know, so it’s not expensive.
There are so many that most people have never heard of. I mean, I go to one place in Puebla State called Quetzal and and it’s a beautiful little town. I rarely ever meet another tourist there. The hiking and the nature are beautiful and I can stay in a, you know, decent hotel, I mean, a simple but decent hotel for $20 a night. You can go out and eat a great meal for 4 or $5 you know, you can do that in San Miguel, but you have to look a lot harder for it.
Or sometimes I wonder, I get up early in the morning, I walk the dog, go out we usually go out early in the morning, six six thirty in the morning you, know before, sunrise take, photos walk the dog, stop on my way home, buy bread from the neighbors, have breakfast. Yeah, it depends on the time of year this time of year it’s hot during the day, so you can get pretty lazy during the day. In the winter, it’s a lot cooler out you can go out, wander around town, go hiking, stuff like that, you know. In the evenings, similar things, walk the dog, have dinner, and watch the sunset.
Well, most people follow me on Facebook, Ian Gough spelled GOUGH. That’s how most people find me or I’ve got a website, iangoughphotography.com, and Instagram the same thing. Ian Gough Photography.
Jason
And what sort of stuff do you offer? Do you offer any personalized services here?
Ian
Yeah, I do a lot of photo shoots around town for tourists or, you know, people who have friends visiting. We go out early in the morning usually or at sunset and we walk, you know, basically, it’s kind of like a tour as well you get to see some of the parts of San Miguel that you wouldn’t get to know about. Then we do some beautiful pictures in the streets. And I just do like real estate photography as well. So a little bit of everything, just enough to keep me busy and not, you know, keep me from getting bored.
Jason
Awesome and I really appreciate your time today. Thanks for joining.
Ian
All right, no problem.
