Is San Miguel de Allende a victim of its own success? What our readers think

San Miguel de Allende’s designation arsenic the No. 1 City successful the World for a 2nd twelvemonth successful a enactment has enactment this assemblage gem again successful the planetary spotlight. Its charm, civilization and particularly the kindness of its radical (as recently highlighted by MND CEO, Travis Bembenek) pull visitors from astir the globe. Yet growth, tourism and improvement bring some accidental and challenges, starring immoderate observers to rise concerns astir gentrification, strains connected infrastructure and the metropolis losing its precise quality that attracts truthful galore there. 

To recognize however radical consciousness astir the city’s changes, we surveyed 278 individuals —from full-time residents to occasional visitors — astir what they love, what concerns them and what their hopes are for San Miguel’s future.

For decades, San Miguel de Allende was a smaller metropolis without overmuch growth. In caller years, it has capitalized connected its assemblage vibe, thriving creation country and aggregate traditions to pull visitors funny successful a dose of what feels similar an older Mexico. (Gobierno de San Miguel de Allende)

Who shared their voice?

Just implicit fractional of respondents (51.5%) said they unrecorded successful San Miguel de Allende full-time, portion different 20% reported being occasional visitors. Another 16.5% divided their clip arsenic part-time residents.

Frequent visitors (6.6%) and those who had yet to acquisition the metropolis (5.5%) rounded retired the mix, ensuring insights that scope from profoundly rooted to admiring from afar.

Feelings astir the city’s planetary acclaim

Nearly 45% of respondents felt precise affirmative astir the city’s renewed “best metropolis successful the world” status, with different 16% mostly positive. Yet 25% shared mixed feelings, reflecting the nuanced interaction of planetary fame, portion smaller groups remained neutral oregon concerned, highlighting the equilibrium of pridefulness and a consciousness of unit connected prices and amenities.

Below we stock a sampling of readers’ responses, successful their ain words, with insignificant edits for abstraction oregon punctuation.

Asked what they enjoyed astir San Miguel de Allende, galore respondents cited the community’s welcoming warmth but besides disquieted that locals are being pushed retired by commercialized interests anxious to nett disconnected elite tourists and newer, wealthier residents. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)

What radical emotion astir San Miguel

1. The people

The kindness, warmth and assemblage tone of San Miguel’s residents were the astir cited crushed (90 times) that radical said they emotion the city:

• “When the city’s bosom beats strongest is erstwhile the radical of San Miguel de Allende and the surrounding campo [countryside] swell to bursting successful its streets connected immoderate fixed holiday, festival oregon spiritual event… We are each welcomed present by a genuinely magical metropolis and its loving people.”
• “I emotion the respect and genuine kindness that radical amusement for each other. The sounds of honking we endure backmost successful California are replaced with nods, waves and smiles successful SMA [San Miguel de Allende].”

2. Architecture and ocular identity

Many respondents celebrated the city’s assemblage streets, plazas and historical architecture for their beauty, walkability and consciousness of history:

• “The architecture and history; I similar the smaller size of the city.”
• “The cardinal plaza is usually afloat of locals with children and fewer tourists… Reminds maine of the mode it was 30 years ago.”
• “Cleanliness of the metropolis center, well-maintained sidewalks, awesome architecture…”

3. Culture, arts and events

Over the years, arsenic San Miguel de Allende has attracted wealthier Mexican and overseas transplants, high-profile taste events person travel to the metropolis with them, similar the Guanajuato International Film Festival. (GIFF)

San Miguel’s festivals, galleries, music, and culinary experiences consistently impress:

• “Culture, art, and the people!”
• “Love the GIFF (film festival), food, music, vibe, and culture.”
• “Since I americium successful the euphony scene, determination are large musicians, venues and festivals.”

4. Climate, manner and small-town charm

Many respondents mentioned factors similar walkable streets, mild upwind and a welcoming ambiance contributing to the city’s precocious prime of life:

• “I emotion the climate, the Parroquia, the restaurants and food, the accommodations, the comparative affordability compared to American prices…”
• “Although the metropolis has go acold much cosmopolitan… if you enactment distant from Centro, you tin inactive find the SMA that was determination 25 years ago.”
• “It’s specified a walkable city. I consciousness harmless arsenic a azygous older pistillate exploring thoroughfare food, aged buildings and neighborhoods.”

What radical don’t emotion astir San Miguel de Allende

An aged Mexican sells artisan bags to tourists successful San Miguel de Allende’s downtown. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)

1. Tourism and overcrowding

Respondents often cited rising tourism arsenic a menace to San Miguel’s authenticity and said it was straining the city’s infrastructure:

• “With much tourism, I’m acrophobic San Miguel is turning into a tourer trap and volition beryllium overcrowded each the time.”
• “What I bash not emotion are entitled radical who bash not respect Mexicans and their traditions.”
• “Hate that costly shops, hotels and restaurants are taking over.”

2. Cost of surviving and gentrification

Many respondents disquieted that rising costs are pushing retired longtime residents and changing the city’s soul:

• “Hate the gentrification! The outgo of surviving adjacent Centro has driven long-time Mexican residents out, leaving lone costly boutiques.”
• “Everything priced to lucifer USD, locals cannot devour oregon portion oregon adjacent store astatine the City Market.”
• “What I truly hatred to spot is calles successful Centro that erstwhile were chiefly residential streets present overtaken by gringo-oriented commercialized enterprises. Where bash the archetypal residents go?”

As tourism has exploded successful San Miguel de Allende, luxury hotels and different businesses targeting affluent clients person moved successful to conscionable the demand. (Booking.com)

3. Infrastructure, services and governance

Growth successful San Miguel de Allende is outpacing planning, creating concerns astir safety, postulation and the unit connected nationalist services:

• “Lots of insecurity, small infrastructure, excessively galore communities without entree to basal services…everyday beingness for section residents volition go unsustainable.”
• “Traffic is often a effect of mediocre municipality planning, deficiency of alternatives and insufficient concern successful mobility solutions.”
• “I emotion the city, but I americium acrophobic astir excessively galore radical draining our constricted h2o resources.”
  

Airport concerns

Many respondents tied infrastructure worries to the possibility of an airport coming to San Miguel de Allende. While 57.5% of respondents supported the thought (45% strongly), astir one-third opposed it, citing imaginable antagonistic impacts:

• “The city’s charm lies successful its humanities streets and slower gait — an airdrome mightiness disrupt that and bring excessively galore visitors excessively quickly.”
• “Don’t fto overdevelopment fueled by an airdrome ruin SMA.”
• “Of people an planetary airdrome would beryllium a convenience, but I’m acrophobic it would person the aforesaid antagonistic effect arsenic cruise ships astatine large tourer destinations… A small inconvenience successful getting present makes the reward sweeter.”
• “It is simply a precise tiny municipality for the amenities available. I would alternatively spot bid work to determination airports than a section airport. Train work would payment much people.”
• “An airdrome and planetary accolades volition alteration the postulation and concern patterns. SMA volition turn into a large internationally renowned city. Obviously, this volition alteration its character.”

Currently, the closest cities you tin alert into to scope San Miguel de Allende are León, Guanajuato, and Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro. You past look astatine slightest an hour’s thrust to San Miguel. (John McArthur/Unsplash)

Looking ahead: A metropolis astatine a crossroads

While San Miguel de Allende’s world-renowned beauty, civilization and lukewarm assemblage gully radical from astir the globe, preserving the city’s psyche requires mindful growth, said respondents.

The responses we received bespeak a assemblage profoundly arrogant of its home, alert of its challenges and nostalgic for the city’s past:

• “San Miguel de Allende is genuinely special. Most days, I person to pinch myself to guarantee myself that I americium not dreaming, I truly unrecorded successful this astonishing place!”
• “The inherent kindness present is specified a alleviation for maine and helps reenforce my determination to determination my beingness to San Miguel.”
• “It is inactive ‘authentic’ and precise real… San Miguel de Allende is 1 of the existent repositories of Mexican grace and hospitality. Viva San Miguel de Allende!”
• “The municipality was funky with an exceptional arts community… The funk is diminishing.”
• “Although the metropolis has go acold much cosmopolitan and blase implicit the past 10+ years, it’s truthful acold inactive managed to support its soul, and if you enactment distant from Centro, you tin inactive find the SMA that was determination 25 years ago.”

For San Miguel de Allende, occurrence volition mean balancing its cherished traditions, vibrant civilization and welcoming assemblage with the realities of modern life, ensuring that the city’s magic continues to thrive for generations to come.