A Week in My Actual Life Here, Eight Years In

Aug 19

4 min read

Updated: Aug 29

I've written the honest pros-and-cons version of life here. This is the more concrete companion: what an actual week looks like for me, eight years in, not to say everyone's week looks like this, but to give you something more real than an abstract list of trade-offs.

If you're picturing what your own week here might look like, a Mexico Reality Check session is a good way to sanity-check that picture against your actual situation.

Monday: Market Day and Admin Errands

Mondays I usually hit the local market for the week's produce, which costs a fraction of supermarket prices and is noticeably better quality. Any bureaucratic errand, a bank visit, a government office appointment, gets scheduled for the morning, before offices get busy and before the afternoon heat sets in during summer months.

Tuesday and Wednesday: Work and the Afternoon Comida

Client calls happen mostly mid-morning to account for US time zones. Around 2 to 3pm, the workday pauses for comida, the main meal of the day here, which is genuinely a different rhythm than a quick US lunch. It's normal for this to run an hour or more, and normal for businesses to slow down or close during this window.

Thursday: The Errands That Take Longer Than You'd Think

Something administrative always comes up that takes longer than it should, a CFE payment that requires an in-person visit, a document that needs an extra signature. Building slack into your week for this is essential; treating every task like it'll take exactly as long as it would at home leads to a lot of frustration.

Friday Evening: The Social Rhythm

Fridays here often mean an early evening out, a plaza filled with families, live music somewhere in the city center, and a much later dinner hour than most Americans are used to, often not starting until 8 or 9pm. Adjusting your internal clock to this rhythm is one of the more pleasant adaptations.

Weekend: A Short Trip or a Slow Day

Living centrally in Mexico means most weekends offer a genuinely appealing short trip, a nearby town, a scouting visit to somewhere I'm curious about, or sometimes just a slow day at home, since the pace of life here doesn't demand constant activity the way American culture sometimes does.

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Short trips are one of the easy pleasures of living centrally here. If you want a first taste of a nearby town, browse day tours on Viator or compare a night's stay on Booking.com before you go.

The Parts That Don't Change Week to Week

Spanish practice happens constantly, not as a scheduled activity but as the medium of basically every errand and interaction. The exchange rate gets checked periodically if a transfer is coming up. And there's a background awareness of things that would be automatic at home, whether a specific store will have what you need, whether an appointment will actually happen on time, that becomes second nature but never fully disappears.

What Surprises People Most About This Rhythm

It's less dramatic than people expect. The daily texture of life here, once you're past the adjustment period, looks a lot like normal daily life anywhere: work, errands, meals, family time, just set against a different backdrop, a different pace, and a lower cost. That's honestly the best argument for the move: not that every day is an adventure, but that ordinary days here are genuinely pleasant.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a normal week look like for a remote worker in Mexico?

In my week, markets and errands come first, client calls run mid-morning to match US time zones, and the workday pauses for a long comida around 2 to 3pm. Fridays lean social, with plazas, live music and a late dinner.

Why do simple errands take so long in Mexico?

Something administrative often takes longer than expected, such as a CFE payment that needs an in person visit or a document that needs another signature. Schedule errands in the morning and build slack into your week.

What time do people eat dinner in Mexico?

Often not until 8 or 9pm, since comida, the main meal, happens around 2 to 3pm and can run an hour or more. Many businesses slow down or close during it, so plan errands around it.

Is buying groceries at a local market cheaper in Mexico?

In my experience, market produce costs a fraction of supermarket prices and is better quality. My grocery range for a single person is roughly $250 to $400 a month, depending on city and how much imported food you buy.

How much Spanish do I need for daily errands in Mexico?

Enough for every errand and interaction, since Spanish is the medium of basically all of them. It does not need to be a scheduled activity, but expect to practice constantly and keep improving over your first years.

Keep reading: The Tianguis: A Morning in Guanajuato and Mexico's Pueblos Mágicos Program.