Do you live in Mexico City? Or have family/friends in Mexico City?
Son’s apartment is in the Santa María la Ribera area.
==>==> Could you recommend someone, perhaps an uncle/good friend who would be available on 6/1Saturday whom we could PAY for their time to:
meet/receive my 19 years old son at the airport (we’d pay for the Uber ride),
ride to son’s airbnb, help him settle in,
drive around to locate the nearest supermarket, a convenience store, a few great restaurants, nearest hospital, gym, etc?
I am a very nervous mother,
and I’m about to just fly down to CDMX with my son.
His roommate and project project partner is arriving 5 days later.
The other MIT students are arriving on different dates and staying in different parts of CDMX, doing different projects, so he doesn’t know anyone there.
When I traveled abroad w/ my college, I had my 2 teammates (including 1 roommate) and a few other students who flew over together.
We had 1 college professor who was there the whole project, and a local liaison who we can contact with any questions/problems.
My son doesn’t have any of this.
I want to be able to send son a picture of the person receiving him, so he knows who to look for at the airport.
When he traveled alone to Dominican Republic in 8th grade, he knew to look for his cousin who received him at the airport.
Recognizing that OP would prefer a personal contact, it still might be worth checking and posting on City-Data and Trip Advisor Mexico City forums. People do discuss hiring personal guides and drivers; perhaps someone like that might work for this situation.
Who are the sponsors of this program- a university? research organization?
Your son can/should get the contact information of one of the administrators/staff of the sponsoring organization and ask them for a suggestion of a “local liaison” who can help him get settled. He should have the contact information anyway (phone number, email, physical office address) “just in case” and this will be a good prompt for him to get that.
He has a program person here in US.
He has a project advisor in Mexico, who he’ll report to for the project with IPN.
But nope, no one there, other than the other random students scattered all over the city.
My friend’s daughter at another college had the same experience with ?London/France?. Daughter flew there on her own, grabbed some Uber, and got to her Airbnb.
But I’m a bit more nervous with Mexico safety.
I hesitated to respond to this post because at this point your son has already made a decision to go to Mexico City for a school program. Mexico City is unlike European cities where public transportation is readily available. Yes, they have public transportation, but it is not safe. Most expats have driver/bodyguard to get them around. It is a beautiful place with a lot to do, but one needs to be very cautious. How is son going get around? uber is safer than taxi.
This is the best American hospital in Mexico City:Home | ABC Medical Center
Tell your son to be careful of food and water he eats/drinks, especially when he goes out. It’s best to eat cooked vegetables rather salads. If he should get a stomach virus, he should go see a doctor right away and not wait it out.
It sounds like it is a well established program. As mentioned by Blossom, it’s probably best to get in touch with the project advisor in Mexico to find out best practices in staying safe.
I have traveled to Mexico City many times, mostly for work but sometimes for fun. There were periods in which my clients would send a driver who clearly had military training (and was likely armed). I later hired a driver recommended by the client for the week I was there. Later, the clients did not worry about transportation. My recollection is that I asked which taxi service was OK. But I have not been there since the beginning of the Pandemic. But both of my kids have visited and used Uber without problem. And, I believe we asked in advance and people told us it was among the safest ways to travel in CDMX.
I can’t speak to getting help moving into or setting up and apartment. I would call one of my friends/clients who live in CDMX.
Incidentally, probably not relevant to your son, but Michelin just issued ratings in Mexico for the first time. One of my favorite restaurants just received two stars. Alas, I’m guessing their prices will double.