Job Discussion Forums

[The Menace]

Hi there,
I may have an opportunity at a decent job in Mexico and would like to hear what people have to say on this issue.

What�s the deal with safety in Mexico, both personal and material? I lived in China and you never had to even think about being robbed or attacked- almost anywhere- same with Japan.

I�ve heard of stories about teachers in Mexico being kidnapped and having their credit cards drained, homes broken into, cars stolen, mugged etc.

I�m sure it will depend on where you are, if you live in a big city, are you out late at night getting drunk in bars, or walk around in Armani ( no chance of that here) etc.

What can I expect? I guess what I�m asking is, will common sense keep me safe. Or will I need 7 padlocks on my door and a Doberman to keep out burglars? Will my car be ok in a parking lot while I�m picking up some groceries? In an average residential neighborhood can I leave my car in the street at night? Can I even take a walk at night?

I may sound a little paranoid but you read a lot about the increase in crime in Latin America and I�m a careful guy. Looking over your shoulder 24/7 is no way to live in my opinion.

Do you feel completly safe where you live?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[MELEE]

[The Menace]

Thanks Melee

You ask, "where did I here these stories"
I worked with a guy who was kidnapped and had his credit card drained, it was late at night and they kept him for 24 hrs, scary stuff. News papers and magazines are full of stories about the rise in crime in Latin America, I'm not making this stuff up.
But I'm glad to hear you feel safe in your area

As far as parking is concerned??
I rented a house in Mexico a few years ago. I did park and I did buy groceries. Maybe things are different where you live. But thanks for your input.

I'm Canadian, so I get nervous going to the US let alone Mexico.

[moonraven]

I have always felt MUCH safer in Mexico than I did in the US. And that includes in Mexico City. Can't say anything about about Canada, as have not spent much time there.

[MELEE]

The stories in newspapers and magazines are not about English teachers. They are about upper class Latin Americans--people with way more money than English teachers! However Italian tourists do seem to have particularly bad luck. Mexican ATM machines now only allow 3,000 pesos a day to be withdrawn, and the thugs have figured out how to clone credit cards so they no longer need to steal them. Yes, people are kidnapped every day, people who are come from families who can afford to pay to get them back.

Shopping in Mexico--at least out of the boarder zone--is much more like shopping in England. You take your shopping bag and walk down to the shops to pick up what you need for the next day or two.

[scott wilhelm]

I haven't been in Mexico since '98 when I took a 2 month trip around a large part of the country. I had read and heard the horror stories about the country before I went. My own opinion is is that most of Mexico is quite safe. Certainly the small towns are extremely safe, much like small towns tend to be in most countries. I stayed in numerous mid range and sometimes extremely cheap hotels and never had anything stolen.
There was someone who obtained my credit card # and tried to charge about $ 500 (U.S.) at a business I never heard of. The only way I found out about this in time to stop it was that I called my Mom in the U.S. every couple of days and she told me that my credit card company had called and asked about an unusual transaction in Mexico. Chase VISA thought that the company submitting an authorization was a crop-dusting business. They declined the transaction and turned it over to their fraud unit. Their investigation never found out who did this. It could have been anyone working in a hotel or restaurant where I used my credit card. I am also careful not to leave my account # displayed out in the open. This is the only theft or attempted theft I was ever the victim of in my total of 11 weeks spent in Mexico. I have never been a victim of violence anywhere in the country and really didn't worry much about violent crime.
The only place where I was advised to stay near my hotel after dark was the very unattractive border town of Matamoros (just across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, TX, a city with a fairly high crime rate). In Guadalajara, Morelia, Oaxaca , Guanajuato , Zacatecas and many other places I took frequent walks a couple of hours after sunset and never had anyone even give me a wrong look.
My own opinion is that Mexico has a somewhat bigger problem with pick-pocketing and such than the U.S., Canada or most of Europe, but that its rate of violent crime is probably much lower than the U.S.. I'm probably less concerned with crime than most Americans are, whether their in the U.S. or abroad. I feel reasonably safe in big American cities. But I feel safer (for my personal safety) in Guadalajara or Monterrey. I can't really say much about Mexico City because I only changed buses there.
For a really good discussion of crime and safety issues in Mexico, you may want to pick up a copy of Lonely Planet's guide to Mexico. Near the front of the book is a section that discusses this. Keep in mind that some safety precatautions you may take in the U.S., depending on the state, such as carrying a handgun, knife or even pepper spray, are not an option anywhere in Mexico. Be sure you don't even think about taking anything like that into the country. The penalties are severe.
On a somewhat-related topic- Mexican police officers. Knock on wood, I have had few dealings with them and what I have had, have been very pleasant. I have heard the horror stories about them. But I was impressed at how polite they seemed to be. Since I am well into middle age and pretty ordinary looking, I am hopeful it will be that way in the future when I travel to or live in Mexico.
Sorry to be long-winded. In a nutshell, Mexico is safe enough that you don't as a toursist or modestly paid English teacher need at be overly concerned, as long as you don't take silly chances. Have fun there.

[The Menace]

Thanks for the long post Scott. I guess I need to here more of this.

However, feeling that I may have been overly concerned about safety in Mexico, I did a little digging. There is no doubt those feelings are there for a reason.

Here�s a sample of what I�ve found; this one from the Lonely Planet web site; and I�ve use their books for travel all over the world and they have been bang-on every time.

Warning for Mexico

Crime in Mexico has reached critical levels, particularly in Mexico City. The incidence of violent crime and, more specifically, sexual assault in crimes committed against women is on the up. Travelers should also be aware of the potential for political unrest in southern Mexico.
Commonly reported crimes involve taxi theft, armed theft, metro theft, pick pocketing, purse snatching, credit-card fraud and ATM robbery.

In my youth I did a lot of dangerous things like kayaking down some nasty rivers, skied down steep couloirs and flew paraglides in big air. I also traveled to risky places like Jammu and Kashmir, but I always understood the dangers going in and kept my wits about me when I needed to.
I was always suppositious of those who told me things weren�t dangerous when I knew they were.

Just seeking the truth brothers and sisters. Where I live and work I don�t want to have to bury my belongings and hide behind closed doors when the sun goes down. I don�t want to have to play a cheap guitar because I had to leave my Stratocaster back in Canada out of fear of it being stolen.

I'm hoping I'm way out in left field on this.

[Gringo Greg]

I know people who had problems in Mexico City but it normally involved around being out late night at night in less than hospitable sorroundings. Lots of people go through their lives with no problems in Mexico City, but some do suffer from the crime. I think Mexico City is as safe as any big city in the US and it should be treated with as much caution as any big US city. Smaller cities in Mexico are generally as safe as their counterparts in the states. If you are out attracting criminal elements and tempting them, you will be a victim of crime, no matter where you are.

[moonraven]

Menace,

Relax. Stay home in Canada. You don't have to prove anything to yourself or to others at this point in your life. If you go someplace expecting something catastrophic to happen there, it just may. Considering your feelings, better safe than sorry....

[MixtecaMike]

Hear, hear, Moonraven.

People (mainly Canadians) who base their major life decisions on what Lonely Planet says deserve whatever comes to them.

Lonely Planet is a (beep) guidebook for dirty long-haired backpackers, nothing more, nothing less.

Posters here all told you the truth, if don't want to believe them, why ask?

[MELEE]

[thelmadatter]

I think exclaiming the "horrible" dangers of Mexico is something of a sport for us gringos (Ill speak only for Americans here). I just got done explaining to a compatriot of mine that she has nothing to worry about in Mexico City if she uses the same precautions as she would someplace like New York City. Common sense stuff. Granted there are no guarantees in life.

I think that at least some people, by telling these kinds of things, get the same thrill they get by telling horror/ghost stories.

[The Menace]

Thank you all for your posts, although I could have done without the insults. The sarcasm I can relate to.

Melee I looked for your comments on bringing stuff down and I found this: (sorry, couldn't figure out how to get the quote box)
"It was somewhere around year three that I started to bring the "valuables"--both monetary and sentimental. What good does it do to have that nice watch, if its at my parents house thousands of miles away??? I don't want to part with it because I like it--so better to wear it and take the risk of it being stolen."

I�m assuming (I know, a mistake) that you may have had concerns similar to mine when you first moved to Mexico. No?
And I agree with you, stuff shouldn�t stay in storage.
After my mom died, we were sorting out her stuff when I came across some beautiful bone china I had not seen before. I asked my sister about it and she told me my mother cherished them too much to see them broken. Pity.

I also found this from you:
"Yes, posters deserve honest answers, and sometimes they need to be told their plans are based on illusions. But they don�t need to be insulted in the process."

Indeed, I�m prepared to have my illusions shattered but who needs the other.


FYI
I received a couple of private messages about this topic from people who preferred avoiding potential attacks. Telling, don�t you think?

[MELEE]

I was never concerned about being kidnapped when I first came to Mexico. I didn't bring stuff with me at first because I honestly believed I'd be here for a 1year, 2 max. I came with no more than I could carry on the run, probably just as you probably never loaded unnecessary equipment into your kayak (I hear that there is great kayaking in Veracruz state if your still into that.)
It was after I realized that I was settling in that I said--wait, I need my stuff!!!

I'm sorry if I was insulting (I thought the other two took care of that )

The message I was trying to send is yes, bad things happen--The US State Department Report on Mexico is true, the things on the news are true, but Mexico City is a city with more than 25 million people. And I've never met an English teacher who was a victim of a violent crime in Mexico--I do know Mexicans who have been. Keeping your wits about you is really all you need to do.

[MixtecaMike]

Melee said "And I've never met an English teacher who was a victim of a violent crime in Mexico"

I've never met one, but know of an English teacher who was shot in Mexico City.

However it was a family dispute, her own son shot her, so I don't think it really counts.

PS If I was offensive it was because someone asked, got more than one reply, and then basically said that he or she didn't believe the answers.

To the offended party, please come to Mexico expecting a great time and you will probably find you have one.

Dogs always bite the person who is scared of them and fear stands out a mile to thieves, as well.

Love and peace