Job Discussion Forums

[tvik]

"How long is a piece of string"? God, if I read that line one more time I'm going to pass a kidney stone.

Any reasonable generalizations out there? Any personal experiences with rising levels of violent crimes? (ie:being held up at knife point)

And please, we all know the story about general safety in a foreign country.

[Tretyakovskii]

I'm out and about the city from early AM to late PM, daily, taking cabs and buses. I work in two different places, both government institutions intentionally built in bad neighborhoods as part of a program to improve them. In one year, I've never had an incident of any kind, nor been approached by anyone in a way I've considered threatening. I rate the personal safety, here, as equal to that of a medium sized, U.S. city (no better, no worse).

[TheLongWayHome]

[sarliz]

Nothing's shakin here in small-town Jalisco, crime-wise. A student's bike got stolen a few weeks ago, but no one uses locks here, they just lean them against the curb. So you can count that, if you'd like.

[mattytee]

It's the border. Ciudad Juarez, right across from El Paso (where I live), is the most dangerous city in the world at the moment. Violent crime is *mostly* confined to narcotraficantes, but not wholly. There is a very slight danger of being caught in the crossfire or being mistaken for a target.

However, the main danger is from the focus on the violence; the police and army are so busy and understaffed from dealing with the narcos that "normal" crime is *way* up. Car jackings, kidnappings, and muggings are frighteningly common.

It is not this bad in every border town, but I would not stick around in any of them -- just get South and you'll be fine. Well, maybe not Culiacan or Chiapas, but gringos have had to exercise care in those areas for a long time.

[gregd75]

I live in Guadalajara and I haven't seen any increase in crime in the 5 years that I have been here.

I must agree with the prvious post that the violence is centered around the US / Mexico border. I would also add that the violence involved narcotrafficers.

If you're a good, law abiding, honest citizen then you have nothing to worry about.

[mejms]

I`ve lived in Mexico for just over 4 years now. I`ve never had an incident of crime or violence and never seen anything.

[Mekyn]

I have been living in Cuernavaca for the past 5 months and have not had any problems. However, my date canceled on me tonight because the government issued a warning asking that people stay in their homes after 8 pm. I guess a lot of people were killed last night in relation to the drug wars. Interesting, I didn't think it was that big of a deal this far south.

[Dragonlady]

Okay. For some time now I�ve read threads here and on other forums asking how things are in Mexico, and responses are usually the same. My gut instinct was to jump in with a retort, but after heeding my �think about it for 24 hours rule�, I always walked away, until now.

IMHO, I don�t think the OP was referring to petty-any-where-in-the-world-type crimes � granny being held up on the subway, bicycles stolen, apartments broken into and laptops missing� or the ever-common Mexico experience of hijack-cab drivers demanding more money on the way to the airport knowing your plane leaves in less than hour, being charged gringo-prices� being hit on or accosted even if you�re not young, buxom and blue-eyed�

IMHO the business is not restricted to border cities, and anyone who thinks their life is untouched because of where they live here is naive. To those living in central and southern Mexico, where do you think it�s grown? To those living in port cities, from where do you think it�s shipped? To those living anywhere, where do you think the labs are? To those of you living/working in/near posh neighborhoods, where do you think the kingpins live?

I live in a port city. We don�t use the �n� word here. We don�t go out walking alone after dark. We don�t trust anyone wearing a uniform. We check our back. We�re nervous jogging in broad daylight or standing in a long line in a glass-front bank. We cringe a little when any expensive black vehicle passes or follows us when we�re driving. We panic a little when the parking lot at Chedraui has been cordoned off by soldiers for the second time in one week. We don�t like to sit in the front row on a bus, nor next to windows, nor next to the group of six Armani-shirted snake skin-booted dark-sunglass wearing men and their drop dead gorgeous escorts and/or celebrity guests in a restaurant. We make a mental note to never return to the restaurant or club where the owner and chef come out to personally greet these guests. We�re not stupid enough to think that every thing that goes on in this country is reported in a newspaper, or that just because we are law abiding keeps us safe and warm�

We DO love living here. We DO carry on day-to-day like every one else in the world trying to make ends meet, loving our families and being with our friends, singing, dancing, enjoying life one day at a time, eating healthy or overindulging in tacos al pastor , exercising or lazing at the beach, making excuses for the foibles of our politicians�

No, I�m not paranoid nor do I regret for a moment making Mexico my home away from home, and I love to show off my new city proudly to my family when they come to visit.

Yes, I have first hand knowledge of every example I�ve listed above, and I�d bet centavos to pesos others here do too.

Regards,
Dragonlady

[Phil_K]

[tvik]

Dragonlady, is that "we" like "the royal we"??? Thanks for providing counterpoint but my guess was that the violence was limited to the border towns and to those involved with the "N word" trade. I've been to Mexico twice for visits and getting sick of working in the Gulf with all these terrorists under every desk (there's one in the DOS's office now actually, except I'd describe her more as a terrorizor)

Another guess is also that the news coming out of Mexico must make the job market a lot more fertile.

Spend a few years in a more interesting/fun country and then back to the Gulf to top up the savings!!

[Tretyakovskii]

[Samantha]

mattytree wrote:

[Oreen Scott]

Samantha mentioned she was more paranoid about a hit and run driver.

I don't drive here in Oaxaca, and generallty don't use public transporation, or taxis. My feet are my major form of transportation. I've often said if I'm killed in Mexico it won't be because I've been mugged, kidnapped, or got caught in the cross fire of some drug dispute, it will be because of a vehicle going through a red light while I was crossing the busy intersection close to my house, or some other traffic mishap.

Some very nice people here in Oaxaca turn into terrorists when they are behind the wheel, others simply don't know how to drive.

[Guy_Courchesne]

Coming up on 10 years in Mexico and nothing worse than having my bike stolen.

Violent crime in Mexico seems to have a purpose such as in the drug trade whereas random bell tower shooters are uncommon. I've never once feared for my safety here.