Job Discussion Forums

[Guy Courchesne]

[scottmx81]

I agree 100%. What has changed is that Calderon made it his mission to go after the cartels. That is the cause of the escalation over the last couple of years. If the government was in any danger of collapsing due to the drug wars, I think they'd relax their assault and let the US deal with their own drug problem, long before they'd let their own government collapse and welcome US soldiers in their territory.

[bardolf]

Guy, the idea that's being mooted is far worse than what you are thinking. The idea is that the drug cartels could COMPLETELY overwhelm the government, leaving the country in approximately the same situation as Somalia; that is, a land dominated by rival warlords, with no government AT ALL.

I don't think things will get quite that bad; but the past year has been rather alarming. Mexico could be entering its Columbia phase.

[Guy Courchesne]

I've read many of the stories and have taken many phone calls from abroad on it. It's funny (wrong word, but anyway...) but it looks so different from here in Mexico City that it makes you wonder where these things come from sometimes. I know things are different in other parts of Mexico, but even then people from those parts of Mexico often say the same things I would, wondering where the fuss comes from.

It's too easy to simply blame media. They play a huge part of course, but when stories spiral so far away from a reality most of us (foreign teachers on this forum anyway) live here, you start to really question what's wrong with things in the world.

Over the last little while I've gotten defensive about what's being said about Mexico. Annoyed, often. I've been taking it too much to heart. Just passed the 8 year mark here in Mexico, having lived in a few different places in that time and since day one Mexico has been on the brink of collapse, or I'm warned that I'm going to be kidnapped, or that a sextenio crisis is just around the corner, according to media, Pedro, and the guy that sells tamales on the corner.

and yet, nothing happens but the same thing that happened yesterday, except that life gets just a little bit better each day.

I dunno...what can one do but wait and see? [/i]

[corporatehuman]

I found this whole collapse report interesting too. I'm not sure if anyone feels like way, but I feel like it will not happen because of the character of the Mexican people. These drug cartel guys are just not representative of the people that live here; they're like uneducated drunk teenagers with guns and money and power and prestige.

I think fundamentally Mexican people want order and want their country to mejorarse, or improve. Here it really is true that neighbor watches over neighbor, and that's a chain that spreads through the whole country. So my final point,

CHARACTER.

And there is a lot of it here.

[bardolf]

Well I must say it's encouraging to hear long-term expats in Mexico suggest that these reports of "imminent collapse" are premature.

[veroax]

For the OP and others in the same dilemma�

I was in Mexico for three years and then made the leap to Korea about 6 months ago. For me, Mexico has a special place in my heart, but I decided on Korea out of an interest in expanding my horizons, and� admittedly� paying for a pricey master�s degree.

I�ve been very pleasantly surprised by Korea, especially considering the venom that you read on the Korea forum. Honestly, my conclusion is that �it�s not where you are, it�s where you�re at.� I really think that a person who is genuinely happy in Mexico could be equally as happy in Korea, and visa versa. It�s more about your attitude, your savvy, and your adaptability. Contrary to what some might say, Mexico doesn�t have a monopoly on quality of life. There are lots of people in Korea�and other countries�who are happy with their lives and their jobs.

Some people have talked about how rough the new visa reqs are in Korea. Honestly, I didn�t find them that bad. In fact, I found getting my FM3 in Mexico much harder. In Korea, people helped me through the process in English. In Mexico, it was �learn Spanish ASAP or you�re bent.� That was fine for me, as it�s what I wanted, but for some people it proves very stressful. Surely it does depend a lot on your employer and location.

What�s my ramble about? I guess it�s just� Go where your heart takes you. With the right attitude and expectations, you�ll be fine.

[isabel]

In 2002 I left Mexico to work in Korea. I had the same worries as everyone else- made worse by the fact that we were in one of those saber-rattling periods with North Korea.

I'm not sorry I went. I made a good living, had a good time and saved a lot of money.

Korea can be difficult, and you have to be careful choosing your job. That is where Dave's comes in- post on the job discussion board, and soon you will have good responses and advice on jobs. Find some of the old-timers there, and they will help you vet schools.

I'm now working in Saudi Arabia (now there is a place that lives beyond its (bad) reputation). But I have been here almost 2 years, on a two year contract, and am buying land in Tepoztlan. A few more years somewhere else in the ME and the house will be built.

I guess if you are comfortable enough to hang in there for a while in Mexico, you can live well there. But if you are interested in putting together a stake in short time, well, it seems like it is Asia or the ME.

I'll be back to Mexico for the summer, and probably back to a different job in the ME in September.