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Renting, repairs, paperwork, pharmacies, bills — the unglamorous Spanish that running a life in Mexico City takes.

Living in CDMX

24 stories

Getting around ¿Entre Qué Calles? How Mexican Addresses Actually Work

A Mexican address needs calle and número, colonia, alcaldía or municipio, and código postal - plus the entre calles and referencia no form asks for. Aug 31, 2026

Getting around ¡Bajan! The One Word That Gets You Off a Mexico City Pesero

To get off a pesero in Mexico City you shout bajan. Here is how to flag one down, read the windshield, pay the driver, and ask for your stop. Aug 29, 2026

Getting around Nobody Pumps Their Own Gas in Mexico: Gasolinera Spanish

At a Mexican gas station an attendant fills your tank and you tip. Learn what to say: lleno por favor, quinientos de magna, que empiece en ceros. Aug 27, 2026

Slang & swears Regreso a Clases: Mexican School Slang Your Textbook Skipped

Learn Mexican school slang for regreso a clases, tareas, maestros, compañeros, acordeones, and surviving class without sounding stiff. Aug 26, 2026

Markets & shopping Se Compran Colchones: What Mexico's Street Calls Actually Mean

Decode the street calls of a Mexican neighborhood: se compran colchones, the camote cart whistle, el gas, tamales oaxaqueños, and what to shout back. Aug 22, 2026

Living in CDMX Utiles Escolares: Back-to-School Spanish for Mexico's Papeleria Season

Learn utiles escolares in English, plus the Mexican Spanish for school supplies, papelerias, lists, labels, and back-to-school errands. Aug 14, 2026

Living in CDMX Coworking Spanish: Small Talk Without Networking Like a Robot

Learn natural Mexican Spanish for coworking small talk: what you do, coffee breaks, meetings, lunch, follow-ups, and warm exits without a sales pitch. Jul 23, 2026

Living in CDMX Your First Fitness Class in CDMX: The Gym Spanish You’ll Actually Need

Learn practical gym, yoga, and ClassPass Spanish for CDMX: schedules, trials, lockers, injuries, instructions, and the questions to ask before class. Jul 20, 2026

Going out Mexican Spanish for Cafés and Coworking in Roma Norte

In Roma Norte, ordering un café gets you a question back. Here's how to answer it, ask about Mexican origins, and work from a café without annoying anyone. Jun 10, 2026

Living in CDMX Mexican Spanish for Paying the Bill: Cuenta, Propina, Vaquita, and Splitting Without Drama

Yo invito is a bid, not an announcement, and it has a script. Plus the two things Profeco says are illegal that most residents pay anyway - and the sentence that stops both. Jun 10, 2026

Gay CDMX Discreto on Grindr in Mexico: Privacy Signal, Not a Whole Story

Discreto on a Mexican profile is a privacy setting, not a confession. Here's what it can mean, the one question that clarifies it, and where the line sits. Jun 7, 2026

Markets & shopping Mercado Jamaica Spanish: Flowers, Prices, Colors, and Not Freezing at the Stall

Jamaica is a wholesale flower market, so the price question is not cuánto cuesta - it is ¿a cómo el manojo? Learn the units, the calendar, and how to have a bouquet built for you. Jun 7, 2026

Markets & shopping What to Say in Mercado Medellín When You Do Not Know the Names of Things

The one CDMX market where ¿cómo se llama esto? gets a different answer at every stall - because the aisle is Cuban, Colombian and Venezuelan, and so is the vocabulary. Jun 6, 2026

Markets & shopping Tianguis Spanish in Mexico City: Bargaining, Sizes, and When to Just Smile

A tianguis is a day, not a place. The Spanish that actually matters is about schedule and quantity - qué día lo ponen, ya van a levantar, ¿en cuánto me da los tres? Jun 6, 2026

Getting around Estoy Abajo: Mexican Spanish for Gates, Intercoms, and Getting Let In

An intercom wants three things in a fixed order, and one question that stumps everyone. Plus the right you have at a CDMX gate that almost no foreign resident knows about. Jun 5, 2026

Living in CDMX Lavandería Spanish in Mexico: Kilos, Suavizante, Planchado, and Pickup Times

The little ticket is a registered contract, and it decides who pays when a shirt comes back wrong. The five decisions the counter needs, and the words that protect you. Jun 5, 2026

Living in CDMX Portero, Vigilante, Casero: Mexican Spanish for Building Life

Learn Mexican Spanish for building life: portero, vigilante, casero, paquete, visita, mantenimiento, permiso, and everyday lobby messages. Jun 4, 2026

Living in CDMX Mexican Spanish for Renting in CDMX: Depa, Aval, Fiador, and the Paperwork Maze

Learn CDMX rental Spanish: depa, renta, depósito, mantenimiento, aval, fiador, contrato, requisitos, and what to ask before visiting. Jun 4, 2026

About Living in CDMX

The unglamorous Spanish that running an actual life here requires. Renting, repairs, paperwork, pharmacies, bills, and the phone calls you keep putting off.

This is the category that separates visiting from living. Nobody teaches you how to explain a leak to a plumber, or what a landlord means by a deposit, or how to talk to a pharmacist who is about to give you surprisingly direct medical advice. It's all learnable, and it's all much easier read in advance than improvised at the counter.