2.42/5
140 reviews
Photo by Jezael Melgoza via Unsplash

San Miguel de Allende

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town

fantastic

long

night

cute

stay

options

day

center

horseback

riding

shop

balcony

weather

cold

humidity

San Miguel de Allende is often praised for its beautiful colonial architecture and charming, walkable streets filled with colorful buildings and cobblestone roads. Visitors highlight the town’s mild and sunny daytime weather, though temperatures drop significantly at night—accommodations with heaters are recommended. The town offers plenty of dining options, including organic and vegan cafes, largely catering to a growing expat and retiree community. There are also outdoor activities such as horseback riding and hiking nearby. It’s considered generally safe and family-friendly with a relaxed pace of life.

However, it’s not without downsides. Many reviewers noted the town feels heavily touristed, especially on weekends when crowds can make the city center feel overrun. Noise is a common complaint, with frequent interruptions from church bells and random fireworks, even at night. While there are a variety of cafes and shops, some felt there is not much else to do in the city center beyond eating and shopping. Pricing is another issue, as it can be noticeably more expensive compared to Mexico City. Overall, it’s seen as a great short-term destination or a quiet place to settle for those who enjoy a quaint, slower lifestyle.

AI-generated summary of reviews

San Miguel de Allende is a very cute town. The colors and architecture of the buildings really give a European vibe, not to mention the cobblestone roads. It’s a fantastic place to stay for one week max! Also, there are A LOT of old, wealthy gringo retirees here that were once hippies, so a lot of organic and vegan options are here. It’s in the low 80’s each day and sunny. Once the sun sets, the temp drops and feels amazing outside. Long sleeves or light jacket is plenty.

Pros:
-beautiful surroundings just walking around
-walkable as long as you don’t have limitations
-a lot of cute hidden gems within the buildings
-outside the city center there are options for horseback riding and hiking
- Feels safe
Cons (city center):
- not a lot to do other than shop and eat
- Overrun by tourists on the weekends
- Church bells ring every 15 minutes (not exaggerating) all day and night
- Random firecrackers and fireworks in the middle of the night
- More expensive than CDMX

2 years ago

This is a very charming old town with really beautiful infrastracture and bakeries. I stayed in one of the traditional villas with a balcony overlooking the entire town. I love hanging around in the coffee shop, and even starbucks looks artesanal. The weather can get really cold at night so best make sure that you have a heater in the accomodation you are in. It is actually quite cold that you really cant stay at the balcony to enjoy the view too long. Internet is okay, safety is okay.

3 years ago

I live in San Miguel de Allende, and have for about 10 months. I've found it very family-friendly, with a lot to do: horseback riding, fantastic restaurants, bars and dancing, hot springs, art shows, yoga meet-ups, etc. As well, the hospitals in nearby (1 hr away) Queretero are fantastic -- if you go private. There are a LOT of expats here, though most of the younger people are from Mexico City. The weather is the closest I've ever come to being perfect all year: low humidity, and highs of 25-30C. The only thing I miss is being near the ocean -- but I can catch a cheap short-haul flight and be in Cancun or Puerto Vallarta very quickly -- and then leave the humidity when I tire of it.

5 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Beautiful architecture and surroundings

✅ Mild weather

✅ Good food and cafes

✅ Walkable

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Touristy and crowded on weekends

❌ Noisy (bells and fireworks)

❌ More expensive than Mexico City

❌ Cold at night

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Very expensive

❌ Not very safe

❌ Not much to do

❌ Very dry air now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels

63 17°
cool

61 16°
cool

72 22°
mild

75 24°
warm

72 22°
mild

70 21°
mild

68 20°
mild

64 18°
cool

Real

62 17°
cool

61 16°
cool

72 22°
mild

75 24°
warm

74 24°
warm

71 22°
mild

70 21°
mild

67 20°
mild

64 18°
cool

Humidity

nice
49%

nice
39%

nice
46%

nice
36%

nice
63%

nice
80%

nice
87%

nice
83%

nice
87%

nice
76%

nice
65%

nice
54%

Most common

Rain

dry
13mm

dry
1mm

dry
3mm

dry
15mm

dry
47mm

rainy
108mm

rainy
118mm

rainy
107mm

rainy
106mm

dry
41mm

dry
1mm

dry
6mm

Cloud

pockets
18%

clear
5%

clear
7%

pockets
16%

pockets
20%

pockets
40%

pockets
38%

pockets
30%

pockets
39%

pockets
28%

pockets
17%

pockets
12%

Air quality

okay
50 US AQI

clean
31* US AQI

okay
55 US AQI

okay
53 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
35 US AQI

clean
36 US AQI

clean
31 US AQI

clean
32 US AQI

clean
49 US AQI

okay
57 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
12 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

Remote workers

309 people

233 people

514 people

600 people

486 people

367 people

350 people

333 people

325 people

550 people

564 people

425 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on San Miguel de Allende's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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11 Mbps

Mexico City

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 143 😷

✈️19min

$1,882 / mo

🌇 Also went here103 people

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.42/5 (Rank #458) 140 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍6 liked it 👎0 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,379 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 12Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 27°C81°F (feels 26°C79°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🌵 Too dry: 29%
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 30 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Bad
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very low: $704 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Bad
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Mexico
🗓️ Average trip length	10 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	12 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 27°C 81°F + 🌵 Too dry (29%) = feels 26°C 79°F
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 31 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100 MXN in USD	USD 5.08
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	MXN 10,000 = USD 508
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	SmartSpace
☕️ Best coffee place	Geek&Coffee
☕️ Best alt. coffee place	El Cafe de la Mancha
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	Hotel Aqui es Mexico
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍12% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	72,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$8,444 / year
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 66% 👱‍♀️ 34%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Linio
🏠 Apartment listings	Comparto Depa
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	InterJet
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Aero Mexico
🏥 Best hospital	LA Health

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,379 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,722 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$3,142 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$898 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$3,532 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,683 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$654 / month
🏠 Median home price	$459,238
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$165 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$88 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$181 / month
🍛 Dinner	$9
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$4,269 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$12 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$7 / trip