[angdis]

I got to visit Guadalajara for work a few times and was blown away by it: a mega-city with mile after mile of factories, major CM's with enormous campuses, high skill educated workers, low cost of living. I got the feeling that it is on the verge of something great.

[HillRat]

I love Guadalajara -- one of my favorite cities to do business in, though it's not really a tourist-friendly city, unless you want to day-trip to Tequila or the Primavera Forest. I agree that it feels like it's ready to go big, kind of like Shenzhen in the '90s, and the tech community is rapidly expanding (though, I was told, government meddling with the higher education system and student obsession with finance has severely restricted the number of Mexican computer scientists). There are some great nearshore development firms in addition to the local startup scene, which have the advantage of being in the same timezone as US firms.

Unfortunately, the ambient level of violence and corruption in Mexico is still too high to support a vibrant commercial scene, but the locals aren't letting that slow them down.

For anyone who might be visiting there, I recommend staying at the Fiesta Americana Grand Guadalajara Country Club, and dinner at La Tequila on Avenida Mexico -- you can't miss the flights of hyperlocal tequilas, and appetizers of escamoles and saltamontes.

[IndianAstronaut]

Mexico needs to manage it as well as Shenzen was and protect it from the rest of the country like Shenzen. If drug violence enters the city, it's done.