Moving to Another Country

So, I packed my things in Boston and moved to Mexico, where I will be a nomad starting in August 2024 until May 2025. I will be moving to different areas because my host university is in Mexico City, my site for data collection is in the state of Queretaro, and I have family in Oaxaca whom I hope to visit over the course of my stay. I am traveling with my dog Bella; she is a 12 lbs. mixed breed dog. Our first stop is Mexico City, where I will be attending the in-person Fulbright and UNAM's (my host university) orientation.

On finding housing

Finding housing became such a challenging task given that I could not commit to a full 6-month contract and since I have a dog. I joined so many Facebook groups under names such as Housing in CDMX, apartamentos en renta en CDMX/Mexico, estudiantes en CDMX/Mexico, Expats en CDMX/Mexico. But there was nothing that came close to what I was looking for -- short-term housing with a dog.

Initially, I did not want to go through Airbnb. I reached out to my close friends, relatives and everyone I could think of to see if they knew anyone that could rent out a space in Mexico City or CDMX. Those that gave me leads were mainly in spaces that did not accept dogs, or were way too far away from UNAM in Ciudad Universitaria or what people refer to as CU (se u). So, after an exhausting summer of bugging anyone and everyone I decided to get an Airbnb, and this ultimately became the place I would be staying for a month. I am aware and acknowledge that my decision contributes to two big problems in Ciudad de Mexico: gentrification (it is when people with more monetary power move into a poor urban area) through my choice of using Airbnb and its drought. While I still don't know how I can minimize my impact to gentrification, one thing I did made sure I did was find a home that was as environmentally sustainable as possible, and found a home that does rainwater harvesting, composting, recycling, and has solar panels. I LOVE the rainwater harvesting because at least I know my usage of water is not affecting the water that would otherwise be for established, native, long-term residents in CDMX.