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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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 Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Landon wrote: |
I didnt mean to offend anyone. I know you will defend the country you are living in.
Again, I am sure that I am wrong about a lot of Mexico because it is huge. I just know what I hear on the news and from people that have family there. And I hardly think it is just my American informants that filled my head with these stories. It is all over the news every day. The police and media left most of the border states long ago. Juarez and Laredo are officially war zones run by drug cartels. I think the last number I heard was 40,000 murdered by gang violence. And isnt it Mexico city that has the highest kidknapping rate in the world? There are even reality TV shows about the cartels, gang wars and violence south of Texas. A new one about the violence in Laredo started last week. I am pretty sure it is called Border Town Laredo. I think it is about how the Americans have finally assembled an operation to start to fight against the cartel takeovers of these Mexican states because Mexico doesnt know what to do and has basically given up.
My good friends father flew into Monterrey last weekend (because no one will drive across the boarder anymore) to visit some of his family. The agreement was that he would call home every time he left and when he returned to the house because the violence is so real. Saturday afternoon my friend was upset because he hadnt heard from his dad in a few hours. A coworker has family in Guanajato. He will only fly in and out and will not drive a car there. Says that they carjack everyone, Mexican or Gringo. He says that there are 20 corrupt policemen for every honest cop Mexico City and it is widely known that the police are involved in the cartels and ransoms. I know a couple guys that were pulled over by cops this year, put in handcuffs and taken to a Mexican jail, when all they wanted was bride to let them go.
But, I do not live in Mexico and have not been kidnapped myself. You are there now so you know better than I do. I do know that the Mexicans that I know would never say they feel safer in Monterrey or Mexico City than they do in say Houston or Saint Louis. In fact they would think it was a joke if I asked them that. |
I am not defending Mexico so much as explaining why I think that the information you have been getting from the media and from some of your friends (and from so-called reality shows!) is partial and not reflective of the reality of living here.
It sounds as though your friends live in a different Mexico than I do! I still stand by by comment than I feel safer here than I have in many cities in the US, but that's based on my experiences living here for the last 4 years. And no one I know here, many of whom have lived here all their lives, have had the kinds of bad experiences your friends have had. Of course, parts of the border area have become dangerous in the last few years, but since I don't go in and out of the country very often, and, when I do, I fly into Mexico City and take a taxi to my apartment. I don't have a car, but I don't know anyone who's been car-jacked, Mexican or Gringo. Corruption in the police force is old news and has been a fact people who live here have learned how to deal with. I fear your friends in Texas have filled your head with all sorts of negative information about Mexico, just like the media in both countries are prone to do, without mentioning any of the good things about living here. What their motive is, I have no idea  |
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Landon
Joined: 26 Sep 2011
Posts: 90
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| Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| Landon wrote: |
I didnt mean to offend anyone. I know you will defend the country you are living in.
Again, I am sure that I am wrong about a lot of Mexico because it is huge. I just know what I hear on the news and from people that have family there. And I hardly think it is just my American informants that filled my head with these stories. It is all over the news every day. The police and media left most of the border states long ago. Juarez and Laredo are officially war zones run by drug cartels. I think the last number I heard was 40,000 murdered by gang violence. And isnt it Mexico city that has the highest kidknapping rate in the world? There are even reality TV shows about the cartels, gang wars and violence south of Texas. A new one about the violence in Laredo started last week. I am pretty sure it is called Border Town Laredo. I think it is about how the Americans have finally assembled an operation to start to fight against the cartel takeovers of these Mexican states because Mexico doesnt know what to do and has basically given up.
My good friends father flew into Monterrey last weekend (because no one will drive across the boarder anymore) to visit some of his family. The agreement was that he would call home every time he left and when he returned to the house because the violence is so real. Saturday afternoon my friend was upset because he hadnt heard from his dad in a few hours. A coworker has family in Guanajato. He will only fly in and out and will not drive a car there. Says that they carjack everyone, Mexican or Gringo. He says that there are 20 corrupt policemen for every honest cop Mexico City and it is widely known that the police are involved in the cartels and ransoms. I know a couple guys that were pulled over by cops this year, put in handcuffs and taken to a Mexican jail, when all they wanted was bride to let them go.
But, I do not live in Mexico and have not been kidnapped myself. You are there now so you know better than I do. I do know that the Mexicans that I know would never say they feel safer in Monterrey or Mexico City than they do in say Houston or Saint Louis. In fact they would think it was a joke if I asked them that. |
I am not defending Mexico so much as explaining why I think that the information you have been getting from the media and from some of your friends (and from so-called reality shows!) is partial and not reflective of the reality of living here.
It sounds as though your friends live in a different Mexico than I do! I still stand by by comment than I feel safer here than I have in many cities in the US, but that's based on my experiences living here for the last 4 years. And no one I know here, many of whom have lived here all their lives, have had the kinds of bad experiences your friends have had. Of course, parts of the border area have become dangerous in the last few years, but since I don't go in and out of the country very often, and, when I do, I fly into Mexico City and take a taxi to my apartment. I don't have a car, but I don't know anyone who's been car-jacked, Mexican or Gringo. Corruption in the police force is old news and has been a fact people who live here have learned how to deal with. I fear your friends in Texas have filled your head with all sorts of negative information about Mexico, just like the media in both countries are prone to do, without mentioning any of the good things about living here. What their motive is, I have no idea |
Fair enough, and I guess I shouldnt judge something only by reviews. I will try and check closer into what greater Mexico is looking like today. Still have my reservations though, just like my family and friends do and basically everyone this side of the border. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Landon wrote: |
Fair enough, and I guess I shouldnt judge something only by reviews. I will try and check closer into what greater Mexico is looking like today. Still have my reservations though, just like my family and friends do and basically everyone this side of the border. |
The key phrase in the above message is "everyone this side of the border". If you think that Mexico might be a good place for you and your wife to move to, you should pay attention to the comments of people who are actually living here before making up your mind what to do. When was the last time you've spent some time in the interior of the country? Perhaps you could come down for a long visit, and that would help to change your perception of the country. If you come to Mexico City, I'd be happy to show you around  . |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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Dear Landon,
I'm on "this side of the border," in Santa Fe NM. I teach ESL at the local community college and many of my students are from Mexico. On breaks, they often go back home to visit, (even to Ju�rez  )
I've asked them, "Aren't you worried at all about the violence? I see so much in the papers and on TV about all the drug cartels, the murders, etc."
I haven't had one yet that told me, "Yes, I am." The gist of the answers I've gotten is that what I see on TV and read in the newspapers isn't really a good reflection of what the average person experiences in everyday life.
Now that's something I should have figured out for myself because I spent over twenty years in the Middle East. Sometimes people would ask me, "Aren't you nervous about being there; there's so much unrest and violence."
I felt safer there than I would living in, say, Detroit or Memphis - or, for that matter, even Albuquerque. Well, expect for the drivers ; they're SO crazy there.
Regards,
John |
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Landon
Joined: 26 Sep 2011
Posts: 90
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| Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| Landon wrote: |
Fair enough, and I guess I shouldnt judge something only by reviews. I will try and check closer into what greater Mexico is looking like today. Still have my reservations though, just like my family and friends do and basically everyone this side of the border. |
The key phrase in the above message is "everyone this side of the border". If you think that Mexico might be a good place for you and your wife to move to, you should pay attention to the comments of people who are actually living here before making up your mind what to do. When was the last time you've spent some time in the interior of the country? Perhaps you could come down for a long visit, and that would help to change your perception of the country. If you come to Mexico City, I'd be happy to show you around . |
Interior? Been a while. We were in Yucatan this March for a week vacation. Spent a week in Merida and saw Chichen Itza which was cool. Trying to knock these Wonders of the World off my list. But I know those places dont really count as Mexico. It was nothing but tourists. I did feel perfectly safe, but it is Mexico so I had one hand on my wallet and one on my wife. Maybe I will come check out Mexico City. I will just have to tell my mother Im doing something else because she will have a heart attack if she hears this.  |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Landon wrote: |
| Isla Guapa wrote: |
| Landon wrote: |
Fair enough, and I guess I shouldnt judge something only by reviews. I will try and check closer into what greater Mexico is looking like today. Still have my reservations though, just like my family and friends do and basically everyone this side of the border. |
The key phrase in the above message is "everyone this side of the border". If you think that Mexico might be a good place for you and your wife to move to, you should pay attention to the comments of people who are actually living here before making up your mind what to do. When was the last time you've spent some time in the interior of the country? Perhaps you could come down for a long visit, and that would help to change your perception of the country. If you come to Mexico City, I'd be happy to show you around . |
Interior? Been a while. We were in Yucatan this March for a week vacation. Spent a week in Merida and saw Chichen Itza which was cool. Trying to knock these Wonders of the World off my list. But I know those places dont really count as Mexico. It was nothing but tourists. I did feel perfectly safe, but it is Mexico so I had one hand on my wallet and one on my wife. Maybe I will come check out Mexico City. I will just have to tell my mother Im doing something else because she will have a heart attack if she hears this. |
M�rida certainly counts as Mexico. Just because there were a lot of tourists around when you were there doesn�t mean that it isn't a "real" place . If Mexicans are such a dangerous group of people, why on earth were you concerned about your wife's safety if you were seemingly surrounded by tourists? Over the years I've spent a good amount of time traveling around Mexico alone and never felt in danger. Sure, when I was much younger, men I passed on the street may have given me the eye and thrown a piropo my way, but that's about it. A piece of advice - if you do come down to look Mexico over, try to shed some of the mistrust and fear you have picked up from your friends and family on the other side of the border. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:56 pm Post subject: |
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Dear Isla Guapa,
" . . . why on earth were you concerned about your wife's safety if you were seemingly surrounded by tourists?"
I don't know about him, but that's when I'd be worried about MY wife - when she's surrounded by tourists.
Regards.
John |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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There's an article in Newsweek that speaks to how "dangerous" Mexico is, An excerpt:
"One reason Americans fear Mexico is that they genuinely misunderstand its danger. Each new atrocity produces reams of copy. But if you look at the number of Americans killed in Mexico since the drug war began in 2006, and then isolate the number of innocents �caught in the crossfire,� it amounts to only 10 or 20 killings per year, according to research compiled by the University of San Diego�s Trans-Border Institute. This is in a country with hundreds of thousands of American expats and more than 17 million American tourists. �It would be naive to say there is zero risk,� says David Shirk, the Trans-Border Institute�s director. �But it would be alarmist to say the risk is much higher than �very low.�
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/10/02/mexico-wants-tourism-to-return.html
"Crime statistics are listed for U.S. cities with a population of 250,000 or greater. Rates are based on cases per 100,000 people for all of calendar year 2010.
St. Louis, MO: 2010: population: 355,151 Murders: 40.5 Rapes: 52.9
New Orleans, LA: 2010: population: 356,317 Murders: 49.1; Rapes: 40.4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate
Regards,
John |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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Dear John,
Thanks for posting this article. It reflects the reality of my life in Mexico much more than all the alarmist stuff that you see in most of the media.
Cheers,
Marsha |
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petertrinh10
Joined: 07 Dec 2011
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:09 am Post subject: test |
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no
Last edited by petertrinh10 on Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:43 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:34 am Post subject: |
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| You have to make 5 posts (I think it's 5) before you can send pms. |
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petertrinh10
Joined: 07 Dec 2011
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:42 pm Post subject: Hey Greg |
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Which recruiter did you talk to? Kinda in the same situation here and it's very frustrating.
| Gringo Greg wrote: |
My wife is from the Philippines and has a Philippines passport, but we lived in Saipan(US territory) for three years and she was a teacher there. I helped my wife put together a resume that focused heavily on the US teaching experience. I included two letters of recommendation from the schools in Saipan with her application. She specifically asked the letter writers to focus on her English skills and they happily called her English skills as like a native English speaker. (her skills really are near native English speaker)
When we applied in China through a recruiter, we were both hired at the same school at the same decent salary.
Just sayin' what you can expect. |
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