In Acapulco I rent a small 2 floor house (actually half of a condo or townhouse unit) for 3,000 pesos/month ($270 US). It's 715 sq/ft or 67 sq/meters, tile floors throughout, 2 bath/2 bedroom/2 closets, 4 ceiling fans, very well laid out and serviceable kitchen (full size fridge, pizo-lite Whirlpool gas stovetop & oven, stainless sink and drainboard, Formica countertops, lots of cabinets, etc). There is a very small patio in the back with laundry sink and clotheslines. There is a dedicated parking space at the front door. The place is adequately furnished. No AC, no hot water, but there is a Rotoplas tank on the roof for when city water fails. There is a 50 peso monthly Condo fee to pay for the security guards at the neighborhood.
Actually, I have only been paying 2,500 pesos $225 US) in rent the last few months - a discount awarded for paying 2 to 3 weeks in advance of when rent is due. The place was built as part of a development to provide medium and low cost housing. Of course a lot of the units were bought up by investors - and the tenants and owner residents tend to be either working class Mexicans (such as office workers or taxi owners/drivers.) The other residents are usually from DF vacationing at their second home or renting for their vacation.
This is in Colosio, which is about 2 km from the beach and out toward the airport. It's a small and fairly quiet and calm area. A bit more so than Coloso, which is larger and tends to be dominated by apartment buildings. I have also lived in Centro Acapulco in a very Mexican, very old small apartment building, that had *a lot* of character (and characters), and in Caleta in a newer but run down apartment complex. Each of these prior situations were more or less the same price (in dollars), though not as satisfactory. Downtown was too noisy and impossibly dirty, and parking was a hassle. Caleta was okay, but the kitchen was a joke and I was afraid the water heater would blown up.
I know PV is quite different from Acapulco, so I don't expect to find the same things in PV. In fact, I don't want to - I wouldn't mind a bit more character. But I am curious about the general availability of serviceable and comfortable housing, security concerns, etc. in this general price range. (I am not looking for a Villa, and I am not looking to buy.) From looking at posts on this Board and some links people have provided, I presume the answer is positive.
Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated - where to look, what to avoid, important points that may not be obvious. I've been reading the board and following the links too, so no one has to tirelessly re-post links, contacts or information that have been recently posted.
Thanks! Andy PS - hope I put this in the right forum - you folks are very organized!
