Guatemala City - Post Report Question and Answers
What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
There are really two options for embassy housing. One is Cayala in Las Ramblas. There is a beautiful gated community with a gorgeous pool, an airy gym, tennis courts, several playgrounds, and views of the city and the volcanoes. You can walk to an excellent pre-school. There are playgroups and lots of American kids at the playgrounds and soccer field. They can walk to shops and restaurants and can walk to the embassy in ten minutes. They are close to lots of activities, a grocery store, a print ship...pretty much everything you need. The others might live downtown in apartment buildings with a 1-2 hour commute at night (Fridays are terrible. If it is raining don't even try). Others live in smaller communities without amenities. For $2000 to $3000 this group can join the American club or the German Club or pay to be a member in Las Ramblas and use the pool and gym. Everyone, of course, tries to get into Las Ramblas. - Mar 2023
Many diplomatic families live in Zona 16, up near where the new US embassy is being built (expected to open early 2023). Zona 16 has several gated communities. One is directly in a cobble stone outdoor mall-like area. It is very pedestrian-friendly and has some parks. I live in a nearby gated community that has more grass, trees, and nature. My family of two people has a spacious three-bedroom apartment with five bathrooms. Huge sliding glass doors and large balconies are common, and make apartment living lovely. We do not have air conditioning or heating. That's expected in Guatemala City, and it's comfortable most of the year, though climate change may make it so people will need A/C in the future. In addition to having a huge apartment with ample closets, we also have three parking spaces and an additional storage space in the parking garage that's as big as a studio apartment in New York City. - Oct 2022
The new embassy is opening this winter and it is in Zone 16 in Cayala, an upscale, cloistered area that was built outside the main city as a refuge for wealthy Guatemalans. Cayala contains a large housing compound that most families with kids want to live in. It contains a mix of townhouses and condo units, all very new and nice. Four bedroom housing is much rarer than three bedroom housing. I believe it is the only housing in the housing pool that contains all of the following: large and safe green space for running around, playgrounds, tennis courts, a fitness center, and a beautiful pool. It's built right next to the retail section of Cayala, which is car-free most of the day, so walking to shopping/restaurants/cinema is safe, convenient, and pleasant. There are many activity options for kids and multiple preschools in walking distance and the embassy community has hired teachers/coaches to lead activities for kids in the compound (soccer team, tennis lessons, swim lessons, etc). Unfortunately, there isn't enough housing there (or even the greater Cayala area, currently) for everyone that wants it. We were placed in a Zone 16 neighborhood that isn't easily walkable to Cayala, and it's been difficult. There are only two children close in our neighborhood that are close in age to ours and our nanny doesn't drive (I've never met a nanny here that does), so our kids are mostly stuck at home all day. - Oct 2022
Most housing for Americans is in the city of Cayala which is very convenient you have everything at your door step. The housing is very spacious with small yards/gardens in a gate area, with easy access to all the shops/restaurants. The apartments are huge with balconies in every room on a clear day you can see the volcanos. - Jul 2021
Our first apartment seemed small and isolated, and we weren't terribly happy there. We lucked out and ended up transferred after four months to a different neighborhood, where many of the Embassy personnel currently live. Our house is large and beautiful, with huge ceilings and tons of natural light. We have a tiny garden (but most have decent-sized yards where you could entertain) and a three-car garage. Most homes are in little clusters with an interior courtyard area connecting the garages where the kids run wild. There are three different playgrounds in our neighborhood and a beautiful pool and gym. We absolutely love the neighborhood, especially with our young children. I (the EFM) can walk to the grocery store or restaurants or a good preschool. While we do get a little stir-crazy at times (it's a bit of a fishbowl), the benefits of the community and the incredible outdoor options make it worth it. Watching your kids play at the park with three volcanoes in the backdrop is something I'll never forget. I will say that the homes, while new, have some quality issues and we've had some problems getting repairs done in a timely fashion. Several of us have had issues with major water leaks. Still, in the grand scheme of things, we love our housing. - Jan 2020
We LOVE our housing. We have a three-bedroom house (which was an initial surprise, since smaller families than ours here have been given larger homes with more bedrooms). The house itself is gorgeous, and the neighborhood is fantastic. The homes in our neighborhood are all in the colonial style: terra-cotta roofs, whitewashed walls, huge wooden doors. The new Embassy is currently under construction not too far away and new families seem to be increasingly placed in this neighborhood to prepare for the big Embassy move in the years to come. The gated community in which we live has green spaces for kids to play, several playgrounds, a fire pit, an outdoor pool that's open year-round, a gym, and a large community space for rent for birthday parties/weddings/etc. There's a large, high-end open-air shopping plaza that abuts our neighborhood, with a large grocery store, excellent restaurants, bars, hairdressers, a karate dojo, and more. It's safe to walk on during the day and at night, and is a popular destination for Guatemalans looking for a pretty, safe place to take a weekend outing with their family. The commute to the Embassy is miserable as traffic is awful here. Since there's practically no parking available at the Embassy, the majority of people have to take an Embassy shuttle. It's not fun for the employee, but it has meant that our family can easily get by with one car here. - Mar 2019
Good housing. Housing varies, but is generally older, gated, established neighborhoods with nearby 'other' embassies, or Class A high-rise apartments with all the amenities; near high end dining and shopping; commute is generally 10-15 min drive or can be up to an hour on bad days or some can walk. A new US embassy is being built, so a lot of housing is transitioning towards new location in 'Cayala' (z15). Currently commute 15-20 minutes, up to an hour. This newer housing can still have 'new construction' problems to include many are smaller spaces, tiny yards and very close or attached housing (like compound living).However, it does have vibrant shopping, dining and social area (think mixed use) of Paseo Cayala. The future new embassy will be within walking distance. Entire area is being built up, and traffic is already difficult at peak times and during events (they host a lot of events in the area). - Feb 2019
Housing is great, though this post is transitioning from LQA to housing pool and it's hard to say what it will be like in the future. Most people live in large, luxury apartments in buildings with pools and gyms, though many families live in gorgeous houses in gated neighborhoods. All buildings and neighborhoods have several layers of security, and at least the apartments are constructed to near-U.S. standards and solid enough to avoid worry during the regular, small earthquakes. The U.S. Embassy is located downtown and is a very short commute for most people - for me it's a 15-minute walk or a 5-minute drive - but they are constructing a new building further outside town. - Jun 2015
This is currently an LQA post but that may be changing in the near future. It was fun picking our apartment here, and I think we have loved this post mainly because we ended up living in the same building as many of our friends. There are lots of beautiful houses and apartments here, with new buildings being built all the time. If you see an apartment and want to have changes made to it, often the landlord will make changes for you. Our commute to the Embassy is about 10 minutes driving or 30 minutes walking, depending on traffic. - Apr 2014
Renting options are plentiful and generally very high-quality and comfortable. Living close to the workplace is advised as traffic can be tough during rush hours. - Jan 2014
This is one of the few LQA posts in the world. You can choose your house or apt, as long as it falls within the space/cost limits and is located in zones 10, 14 or 15. - Nov 2011
Fabulous housing with great views. Most of the people we know live in zones 10 and 14, which have great apartment buildings. Most are highrises. - May 2010
The apartments here are great - there are a lot of new high rises going up all the time! There are also houses but they seem to be older. And it can take a while to get maintenance work done, so I would recommend an apartment. I think apartments also have better security. If you are with the embassy, remember this is an LQA post so you are on your own for finding and furnishing an apartment. - Mar 2008
