Javier Burillo – The Truth About Mexico City

he reason I initially moved down to Mexico City from the US was because a good friend of mine Javier Burillo was launching a restaurant and I wanted to come down and offer some support. What I didn’t realize however was that the 3 week trip I decided upon, very soon became me moving into an apartment and 4 years later here we are. Many of my friends from back home have so many questions about this place and in truth there are a lot of misconceptions too.

For this reason I wanted to give a brief guide on what Mexico City is really like, for those who are interested.

The Dangers

I will start with the risks which exist here, the thing that everyone wants to know about. In terms of petty crime and muggings, these exist for sure, but they are no different from any other big city in the world which I have visited. The biggest dangers which I have discovered so far are the earthquakes, which are not pretty. The biggest of which hit in 2017 and it was a bad one, there have been some smaller ones since, but these pale in comparison. What basically happens is an alarm goes off which gives you about 1 minute warning before the earthquake hits. Get out to the street where it is safe and ride it out. If you are up high, you have to stay, and hope it is all over soon.

The Food

Many will talk about the street food which exists in Mexico City and the reality is that in the main it is absolutely delicious. You can get some of the finest tacos in town on many street corners, and I’d urge you to try. What not enough people talk about however is the range of food. There is quality food here from Greece, Italy, Korea, India, Nepal, Russia and just about any other nation you can think of. On top of this you can find a wide range of seriously fine dining restaurants, 2 of which are in the top 25 restaurants in the world!

The People

My experience of the people here has been absolutely outstanding and the truth is that they are so welcoming to tourists and people from other nations. If you try and speak Spanish they will certainly help you out and everyone just wants to make you happy. There are bad people everywhere of course, but here the large majority are super friendly and welcoming.

The Sights

Mexico City is not short on tourist attractions and you will find so much rich culture and heritage right here in the capital. There are over 150 museums, one of the biggest urban parks in the world and so many cool and quirky attractions that you would never find in guide books. This is a brilliant place for tourists to come and enjoy.

There you have it, a brief overview of this great city which truly embraces the past and the future all in one go.