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Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
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Why no love on this forum for Mexico's second most important city economically speaking? It seems that Tijuana, GDL, Mexico City and the beach towns get all the attention on here.
Is it because your average American is likely not to travel here even though it is 2.5 hours from the border and a quick flight from Texas major cities?
Is it because the Mexican border is off limits for the majority of Texans unlike Baja for Californians.
In many respects, it feels that Monterrey has surpassed its sister city of San Antonio as far as economical importance.
What most Mexicans will tell you is that while the quality of life in Monterrey is one of the highest in the entire country, it might as well be Texas or Arizona. It´s easily the most "Americanized" city in the entire country. I´d live there and all, but it´s easily the least authentic of all the major population centers of the country. We have a teaching couple leaving there and coming to my school in Colombia, and one of the things they commented to me was that their halting Spanish doesn´t cut it there, the locals just answer them in English and don´t let them to practice at all. It makes sense, I mean it´s not far from the border and to some that fusion could be a really good thing...it probably wouldn´t be high on a tourist´s agenda though.
I visited Monterrey for a few summer days, decades ago when I was a young adult, with my parents, aunt, and cousins. It was a lovely place, with the cathedral, the plaza, and the mountains overlooking the city being high points. It was an industrial city then as now, but it didn't resemble American industrial cities very much - or perhaps I just didn't see the factory district.
We stayed in a very nice hotel downtown - I remember the delicious cantaloupe we had for breakfast, served with one end cut off, the seeds scooped out, and the remaining 3/4 of the melon upended (must have flattened the bottom end somehow). The dining room was lined with caged birds - parrots, mostly - which were covered at night so that their chatter wouldn't disturb visitors.
I had visited Mexico previously - Mexico City, Cuernavaca, and Taxco - and my cousins, who lived in Corpus Christi (from which we'd driven down), had been to Monterrey before, but my parents and aunt had never been out of the country before, so it was all new and very exotic to them. The residents of Monterrey were all very friendly and welcoming to us.
Good memories. From the drone footage, Monterrey appears to have grown enormously - I don't remember those skyscrapers.
I drove through in 1981 on the way to Acapulco. The pollution level was memorable - both air and noise. While I do like Mexico, Monterrey is low on my list for that reason. Pollution is close to numero uno on my priority list. In addition, there is little about really big cities that I seek. The hiking options are a significant draw however.
OP I hear ya but I visited Monterrey quite a bit last year. It's a hidden gem, so no need to give it away lol. I had a blast everytime. Almost decided to try something new and move there but life threw a few other things instead. Still on my radar though.
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