Experience in San Luis Potosí, Mexico by Annalu

What is it like to live in San Luis Potosí? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

San Luis is a medium sized city in the centre of Mexico, which makes it a good location to travel around, it´s 4 hours north of Mexico City. Living here is quite peaceful (depending on which neighborhood; I recommend Tequis, Tangamanga or Zona Universitaria because of the centrical location and closeness to the UASLP and the downtown.

Potosinos, the locals from the city, can be a bit reserved but once you make friends with one of them, the rest of their friends will follow. Also the city has a variety of people from other states and even countries, there are big groups of germans, koreans, japanese, brazilians and french.

What is the student lifestyle like in San Luis Potosí?

It´s pretty much the same in any school, I think the main schools accepting exchange students are UASLP and TEC. The only difference is if you are going to study at TEC, you might have more posh classmates and you might go out to places with higher prices. There´s cafeterias in every school where students can eat, and also there are lot´s of options outside of the schools, many students stay all day at the school if they live farther.

How much does it cost to live in San Luis Potosí?

San Luis is one of the cheapest "bigger" cities in Mexico, it is much cheaper than Mexico City, Querétaro and Guadalajara while still having a pretty high life quality index.

The rent might cost aroun 2,000 mxn (100 usd) if you´re looking to rent a room with all services included or around 12,000-16,000 for an apartment you can share with 2-3 roommates, so around 4,000 mxn for the apartment.

Entretainment is cheap, movie tickets cost around 74 mxn (4 usd), going out to a bar or nightclub might cost around 300-800 mxn (15-40 usd) depending on how much you drink. Eating out ata a restaurant can cost between 200 and 500 mxn (10 and 25 usd)

The basic food basket costs around 200 mxn (10 usd) per week.

A gym membership costs aroun 600 mxn (30 usd).

A visit to the doctor can be pretty cheap if you go to the pharmacy doctor, in Farmacias el Ahorro it is free with a voluntary tip and in farmacias Similares it costs 50 mxn (3 usd).

Is it difficult to find accommodation in San Luis Potosí? Is there any advice you can give?

It´s really easy to find accomodation, there are lots of options depending on your budget, as I already said I recommend the Tequis, Tangamanga or Zona Universitaria neighborhoods because of the centrical location and closeness to the UASLP and the downtown. Although if you´re going to study at TEC, Lomas and Lomas del Tec are closer.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

I really recommend trying the traditional Huasteca cuisine, La Huasteca is a more tropical region of the state (enchiladas, zacahuil, cecina) just be careful because it can be spicy. Also if you have a car or a friend that will take you, try the "mexican version" pizzas at el Nopal Cosmico in Cerro de San Pedro, a small gohst town that used to be a miner town (unless you´re Italian because you will probably be offended). And of course if you haven´t tried it yet, you should have some tacos al pastor which was declared the world´s best dish by Taste Atlas in 2019. Also try the aguas frescas (mexican fruit shakes) at Tacos Arandas.

What places would you recommend visiting in San Luis Potosí?

The city´s downtown is a great area where you can see the European architecture´s inffluence mixed with the traditional Mexican colors,
it´s full of life from morning till night with lots of restaurants, bars, stores and museums. Try visiting El Centro de las Artes, a former prison that was renovated and converted into an art school and museum.

A place you should definetly visit is La Huasteca, the tropical region of the state where you can do ecotouring and adventure tourism.

Cities you should visit near San Luis are Zacatecas, Queretaro, Guadalajara, San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato. I recommend visiting them on a weekend so you can enjoy the nightlife.

Is it good to eat out in San Luis Potosí? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

We have a wide variety of options you can choose from, going from fast food chains, taco places around every corner, healthy options with balanced meals which are a little pricier.

Some good spots are "El Jefe" (tacos and burguers), Carajillos and Santo Mar (good food and 2x1 drinks), La Consagrada (great pizzas and mezcal), Trashumante (fancy mexican food, you can try escamoles that are ant eggs and they are considered the mexican caviar)

Is the nightlife good in San Luis Potosí? Where is good to go?

There are almost no big nightclubs, but there are some good small spots downtown such as La Piquería (a mezcal bar that has live music on weekends), La Chopería, Pócimas (a bar/nightclub with good music that has drinks named after "magic potions" though I would be careful with the alcohol they serve there, I recommend ordering a bottle sevice or beer), Bovedas (a bar where there´s a dj playing electronic music and the mojitos are great), and Rockabilly.

What advice would you give future students heading to San Luis Potosí?

-If you eat out, always ask if the food is spicy before ordering in case you don´t like spicy.