How to find an apartment in Oaxaca City and not pay expat prices.
There’s no doubt about it, tourism in Oaxaca City is going nuts. On top of that, digital Nomads are setting up bases for months or years at a time and more and more foreigners are coming to live permanently and/or retire here.
Without getting into the whole gentrification topic, prices get jacked up for foreigners and they’re happily paying it. So don’t be like these guys, and find yourself a house or apartment in Oaxaca City at a price the locals pay.
*Pro tip : Don’t rent a place off one of the Oaxaca Expats groups. Yeah sure the place will be nice, but you’ll be getting ripped off, that’s a given 👍
**These tips are the best ways in all of Mexico for finding an apartment or house to rent.
Facebook Market place
Hands down Facebook market place is the best place to find a rental in Oaxaca City. There’s literally hundreds of houses and apartments on here. So yeah, you’re going to have to speak a bit of Spanish or have your google translate close by because it’s all aimed for Oaxacans. Hence the better prices.
You can message them directly to ask any questions about the place and whats included, electricity, internet etc.. or if you need to make a phone call and your Spanish isn’t that great, just get a local friend or someone that speaks Spanish to give you a hand 👌
Join local facebook groups
Still on the Facebook theme, because it’s where all the best priced places are. Search and join a couple rental groups. Type in the search ‘se renta Departemenos Oaxaca’ and a few big groups will pop up. In these groups there’s new listings advertised all day long. Same again, it’s all going to be in Spanish.
This group here has over 100k members
Best areas stay in Oaxaca City
Walking the area you want to live
Not all rentals are advertised online, we are in Mexico remember. Many still like the old fashion way of just putting a sign up out the front and wait for people to come and inquire. And trust me, everywhere you go you’re going to see ‘se renta’ signs.
So once you decide on a neighbourhood that you like, spend an afternoon walking around looking for ‘Se Renta’ signs. Note down the phone number and/or send them a whatsapp message or a quick call to find out the details, rooms, price etc… Or even just knock on the door if there’s no phone number.
Also you can ask in any small shops if they know of any apartments to rent nearby. Word of mouth can often be the best method. A lot of the time they’re the shop owner and live behind of above the shop and know which houses nearby have apartments to rent. They may even call a friend they know to ask for you.
This walk around tactic is a surefire way to directly search for place in the area you want to live. You will find places that aren’t advertised online.
Good luck with your search for an apartment to rent in Oaxaca City ✌️
