City guides Mexico
Oaxaca
A mid-sized highland city 1,555 metres up, with a three-course comida corrida from about MXN 30 and a dry season from November to April. The trouble is what the postcards leave out. In March 2024 about 90 per cent of the area the water utility serves was short, and drinking water comes in 20-litre jugs. In June 2026 the teachers' union blocked the airport roads and people walked to their flights with their bags.
Every figure checked 15 Oct 2026
- MXN 8,500 to 18,000 a month Asking rent, furnished one-bed, Reforma
- MXN 30 to 130 Comida corrida
- MXN 2,400 to 2,500 Coworking monthly
- Country Mexico
- Time zone UTC-6 22:21 there now
- Language Spanish
- Currency Mexican peso (MXN)
- Plugs Type A and B, 127V
How far English gets you We found no checked source on how far English gets you in Oaxaca, so plan to live in Spanish. What is checked: 911 operators do not all speak English, and the US government advises getting a Spanish speaker to help you call. A free Spanish and English exchange runs on Saturday mornings at the Oaxaca Lending Library in Centro.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
Someone who wants a walkable, food-first, mid-sized highland city with a dry season, and who will work from a desk in or near Centro and Jalatlaco rather than from a cafe. It suits someone who can live on a Mexican budget: furnished one-beds were listed from MXN 8,500 a month, and coworking starts around MXN 2,400 to 2,500 a month. Come from October to February and you get dry days and cool nights.
It does not suit you if
Anyone who needs reliable running water, a clear road to the airport or a reliable calendar. The mains supply can stop for weeks: in 2024 parts of Jalatlaco went 40 to 50 days between deliveries. In June 2026 teachers blocked the airport roads and the Pemex fuel plant, and passengers walked several kilometres with their luggage. From June to September it rains on 16 or 17 days a month. If a two-day protest or a dry tap would wreck your client week, go somewhere else.
Money
What everything else costs
| Asking rent, furnished one-bed, Jalatlaco | MXN 9,000 a month | One listing, undated |
|---|---|---|
| Asking rent, furnished one-bed, San Felipe del Agua | MXN 10,500 to 12,500 a month | Five listings, undated |
| Asking rent, Centro Historico | Price not checked | No Centro one-bed appeared in either portal search |
| Coworking day pass | MXN 200 to 250 | Centrico Cowork from MXN 200, Gubixi from MXN 250, from a listing site |
| City bus (urbano) | MXN 8 to 10 a ride | Approximate, September 2026. There is no monthly pass |
| Garrafon, 20 litres of drinking water | MXN 18 | March 2024. The tap is not your drinking supply |
| Coffee | Price not checked | No usable source was found |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| Or savings | An average balance of USD 68,241 over 12 months at San Diego, or MXN 1,344,373 at Tecun Uman |
|---|---|
| Where that comes from | Multiples of the UMA, a daily reference unit, not the minimum wage: income over 680 days of UMA a month, or savings of 11,460 days of UMA. The UMA moves every February |
| Evidence | Six months of monthly statements showing income from a job or a pension, or twelve months for savings |
| The visa | Residente Temporal por solvencia economica. Mexico has no dedicated nomad visa |
| Who qualifies | Employees of a foreign company. Freelancers and company owners usually need the savings route, because most consulates only accept income from a job or a pension. Las Vegas also accepts self-employed income |
| Where you apply | At a consulate abroad before you travel, never inside Mexico. Then 30 days to register with INM once you land |
| How long | One to four years, then permanent residence |
| Citizenship | After five years, with exams |
| Without a visa | British and American passports: up to 180 days, at the border officer's discretion |
| Tax residency | No day count: tax residence follows where your home is |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
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Centro Historico
Rent not checked: no one-bed listing foundWalk to everything, including the Regus and Centrico desks on Melchor Ocampo
The catch It is where the teachers' union protests land. CNTE Seccion 22 ran a Zocalo encampment and blockades in May and June 2026
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Jalatlaco
About MXN 9,000 a month for a furnished one-bed (one listing)Oaxaca's first Barrio Magico, next to Centro, with a Regus centre on 5 de Mayo
The catch Water. In March 2024 residents went more than 35 days without mains water, and the barrio waited 40 to 50 days between deliveries
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Reforma
About MXN 8,500 to 18,000 a month for a furnished one-bedThe most furnished one-beds of any area in the listings
The catch Bigger flats here are the dearest in the city, with furnished two-beds at MXN 25,000. It is residential, not a walk-everywhere district
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San Felipe del Agua
About MXN 10,500 to 12,500 a month for a furnished one-bedA leafy hillside on the northern edge, with plenty of furnished flats
The catch Dearer than Jalatlaco or cheaper Reforma, and a long way from Centro on foot, so you will rely on taxis or a car
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan 29C, driest, 2.4mm rain
- Feb 31C, dry, 11.6C nights
- Mar 33C, dry, heating up
- Apr 34.9C, the hottest month
- May Rains start, protest season
- Jun Wettest, 188mm, 2026 blockades
- Jul Guelaguetza, 119mm rain
- Aug 132mm, wet afternoons
- Sep 164mm, 17 rain days
- Oct 63mm, rains easing
- Nov 9mm, Day of the Dead
- Dec Fewest rain days, 11C nights
Come now Fine Avoid
Come from October to February. November to April is dry: under 20mm of rain a month from November to March. April is the hottest month, with highs near 35 degrees. May to September is the wet season, and June is the wettest, with 188mm. From June to September it rains on 16 or 17 days a month (counting 0.1mm or more). The Guelaguetza dance festival fills July: in 2026 it fell on 20 and 27 July, and we could not confirm the 2027 dates. The UK government says hurricane season runs from June to November. FCDO says the hurricane season can affect the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The averages are SMN 1991-2020 normals, read from Wikipedia's table.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
That is Mexico's national median fixed download on Ookla for May 2026. There is no figure for Oaxaca.
We found nobody who has tested cafe wifi here, so treat cafes as a place for email, not calls. For a workday, take a desk: Regus has two centres, on Melchor Ocampo in Centro and on 5 de Mayo in Jalatlaco, and Centrico Cowork and Gubixi start around MXN 2,400 to 2,500 a month. Ask the landlord what line the flat has before you sign.
Work
Remote roles open to someone in Mexico
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
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Comida corrida
MXN 30 to 130The three-course weekday lunch with agua del dia. Cocina Isabel from MXN 45, Quinque MXN 60, Cabuche MXN 100 to 130
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Tlayuda
Price not checkedThe big crisp Oaxacan tortilla. Reporters found the price went up MXN 10 in the city at the end of 2025
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Garrafon
MXN 18 for 20 litresDrinking water comes by the jug. In the 2024 shortage one household needed up to seven a day
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Mezcal
Price not checkedBuy labelled bottles. A travel blog warns against unlabelled street mezcal because of the methanol risk
Days off
Worth a Saturday
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Monte Alban
MXN 210 for foreigners, MXN 105 for MexicansThe Zapotec hilltop city 8 to 10 km from Centro, open 08:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:00. Free on Sundays for Mexicans and foreign residents with proof. A tourist shuttle is about MXN 120 to 150 return
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Hierve el Agua
MXN 50 (2023 price)Petrified waterfalls about 70 km away, a little over an hour on Highway 190. It has closed before over local disputes, so check before you go
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Intercambio at the Oaxaca Lending Library
FreeA Spanish and English exchange on Saturdays from 10:00 to 12:00 at Pino Suarez 519, Centro
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Guelaguetza, July only
Boxes C and D free; paid seats not checkedThe state's great dance festival at the Guelaguetza Auditorium, on 20 and 27 July in 2026
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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Ask about the water before you sign
In March 2024 about 90 per cent of the area the water utility serves was short: the utility supplied 195 litres a second against at least 1,100 needed. A 10,000-litre water truck (pipa) cost MXN 800 to 1,500. Ask how big the tank is and how often the street gets water
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Blockades reach the airport
On 3 June 2026 the CNTE teachers' union put a "permanent" blockade on the airport roads, and passengers walked several kilometres with their luggage. It also blocked the Pemex fuel plant at El Tule. Leave slack around flights in May and June
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Foreigners pay double at Monte Alban
MXN 210 against MXN 105, and the free Sunday only covers Mexicans and foreigners who can prove residency
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It is 1,555 metres up
Days are warm but dry-season nights are cool: lows of 10 to 12 degrees from December to February
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Mosquitoes, not malaria
The CDC advises avoiding mosquito bites in Oaxaca state, not malaria tablets. Dengue is endemic across southern Mexico and peaks from May to November
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Earthquakes
The UK government says there is a risk of earthquakes in most parts of Mexico. Learn what to do in one
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 15 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.