Well, to do my part in scaring potential expats away, air pollution and noise pollution (it's LOUD) are pretty bad here and you might find lead pipes and asbestos in your building. If you live in a bajo (ground floor) in the old town, expect cockroaches the size of mice (they are quick). Depending on where you are, the tap water tastes like the water from a children's swimming pool. Depending on where you live, your barrio might smell like a sewer on certain days (even the expensive ones). Population density is very high, so expect to hear a part of your neighbors' lives, walls are often thin.Never seen shirtless guys with machetes anywhere, day or night. Crime (apart from pickpocketing) never struck me as a huge problem (not above general big-city levels), neither pre- nor post-Covid, and I don't live in the best part of town for sure. But all the stuff above I personally experienced.
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