Who each one is for, and the catch.
Pick it ifFirst months: you will meet people, find a café, and nothing will be hard.
The catchIt is the expat default, which means dollar listings, Airbnb churn in the building, and a year that can pass without much Spanish.
Pick it ifOlder newcomers, anyone who wants a clinic nearby, and people who walk everywhere.
The catchIt is quiet at night the way a museum is quiet; the young, social version of the city is a taxi away.
Pick it ifFamilies with a school to be near, and long stays that want a base, not a scene.
The catchThe name covers four places — R, C, Chico, the river edge — and a listing rarely says which.
Two or more points apart on the 1–10 scale, widest gap first. The tick is the median barrio.
Alike onwalkability (8–9) · cost value (4–5) · healthcare (all 10).
Each lens weighs the marks differently; what each one weighs is in the note below.
First landing — Walkable, transit-rich, English-friendly, food and culture on tap — with reported crime included in the comparison. With kids — Schools and healthcare first, then the clubs, safety, parks, quiet and walkable streets. On a budget — Lower asking prices first, with transit, walkability and reported crime in the mix. Creative & nightlife — Culture, food and walkability — and the louder, the better. Quiet & green — Calm streets and green space, with reported crime and asking prices in the mix. Car-free — Transit and walkability only — live here without ever owning a car.
Averages of asking prices; crime as reported robberies and thefts per 1,000 residents.
Scores run 1 low to 10 high; “data” means derived from a source, “our read” is our considered opinion. Rents are averages of asking prices — the city statistics office for barrios (43 m² one-bedroom), the Zonaprop index for Zona Norte (50 m²) — converted at each table's bank rate. A missing dimension is left out of fit, never counted as neutral. Methods and every source with its date: how we score.