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jerezano

Nov 12, 2008, 5:21 PM

Post #1 of 27 (4264 views)

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Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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Hello,

Here is one of the best articles I have yet read on how to stay safe in Mexico. It is mainly advice for tourists but applies just as well to us residents.

http://www.sfgate.com/....DTL&type=travel

I would have copied it here if it were just a bit shorter.

jerezano

Anonimo

Nov 13, 2008, 5:11 AM

Post #2 of 27 (4207 views)

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Re: [jerezano] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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That was quite a bit better than some of the "advice" that often appears on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree, Mexico Branch: "Just use common sense, and you'll be all right".
At least there were some details about how to protect yourself.

Saludos,
Anonimo

robrt8

Nov 14, 2008, 3:49 PM

Post #3 of 27 (4131 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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I thought some of it to be rather stupid. I'm sorry, guys.

"This is no time to go shopping for sleazy trinkets in Tijuana." How many tourists have been harmed buying sleazy trinkets in TJ?
"Keep your head screwed on straight." Wow..insight.

Things like that.

DavidMcL

Nov 14, 2008, 4:04 PM

Post #4 of 27 (4125 views)

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Re: [jerezano] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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I would certainly be interested in this forum's readers' "Stay Safe" recommendations for traveling, touristing and being a resident.

David
David McL
WebJefe

Poncho32

Nov 14, 2008, 4:25 PM

Post #5 of 27 (4122 views)

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Re: [DavidMcL] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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We have been traveling all over Mexico 38+ years to date and I found the article right on.
Bud

azheat

Nov 14, 2008, 4:54 PM

Post #6 of 27 (4112 views)

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Re: [DavidMcL] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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In Reply To

I would certainly be interested in this forum's readers' "Stay Safe" recommendations for traveling, touristing and being a resident.

David

I would too, especially since we are about to embark on our
first trip into Mexico, and we're driving.

There is SO much press about the violence there, we've gone
round and round about whether or not we are crazy to do
this right now.

But we are forging on with our plans.

So, any comments on this topic would be appreciated.

Pushing onward...

Tina

robrt8

Nov 14, 2008, 6:06 PM

Post #7 of 27 (4091 views)

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Re: [DavidMcL] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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The Momias from Guanajuato were on exhibit recently at the end of Revolucion in TJ. I'm guessing many gringos visited, buying trinkets along the way.
The irony of that exhibit!
There is good info in that article. I was just saying that I felt some of it to be stupid.

robrt8

Nov 17, 2008, 10:40 AM

Post #8 of 27 (3989 views)

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Re: [jerezano] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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Here's another article somewhat similar to the first:

http://articles.latimes.com/.../16/travel/tr-safe16

What would be one's "stay safe" recommendations for travel to the USA? Think of how silly this is.

I would say to remember how and why news is reported (to sell stuff).

The chances of a gringo drowning or getting seriously hurt in an accident are far, far, far greater than being caught in the line of fire.

That gringo drowning story will be on the last page.
If the same gringo were caught in the line of narco fire, the story would make international headlines.
Same deal, though.

Georgia

Nov 17, 2008, 4:24 PM

Post #9 of 27 (3947 views)

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Re: [jerezano] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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While I'm not one to hang around in uncertain neighborhoods anywhere in the world, especially after dark, there is a certain amount of caprice to life. It is fatal, after all. I'm sure all those good folks who went to work at the World Trade Center thought they were living prudently. And the ones on the airplanes: well, they were off on a trip, perhaps and adventure. Both groups ended up in the same conflagration. In my family we've lost a child to a terrorist act and one to disease ... both were studying "abroad."

I've concluded we just don't know if we're walking out from under the falling piano or directly into its path. So, for me, I'll just keep walking.

That being said, when I drive to Texas I cross at the Colombia Bridge instead of downtown Laredo, both for security reasons but mosty for the simplicity of the Colombia crossing. Here in our town there have been a certain number of shootouts (never reported anywhere, by the way). I don't let it alter my life because it is so unpredictable and so random that I've concluded that I just have to live with the luck of the draw: as I did in New York, Madrid, Ecuador, Bogota, etc. etc. etc. If I tried to live safely, I would have missed a wonderful trek down the Amazon in a dugout canoe. I would have missed the Gold Museum in Bogota. I would have missed so many wonders under Franco's sometimes brutal regime in Spain. So, I guess we've chosen to live before we die.

Carron

Nov 17, 2008, 4:47 PM

Post #10 of 27 (3939 views)

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Re: [Georgia] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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An excellent reply and one I agree with completely. After all, didn't some of us at least move to Mexico to enjoy a bit more adventure in our everyday lives?

Having lived in Houston 25 years, and having had one daughter killed by domestic violence in her home, we suspect there is little real safety anywhere. We don't worry about it. We never go out at night, no discos or clubs. We certainly don't do drugs, our drinking is done at home or in restaurants during daylight hours, we drive old vehicles that never rate a second glance. An exciting weekend is a trip to our local flea markets. This is our lifestyle of choice and we haven't changed a thing since all the violence started several years ago.

Keep in mind, also, that we live along Mexico's dangerous northern Frontera and drug-related shootings and kidnappings are rampant in this area.

Rock

Nov 18, 2008, 10:06 AM

Post #11 of 27 (3880 views)

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Re: [DavidMcL] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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David...I've traveled to Mexico a couple times a year for the past ten years, spending most of my time in Guanajuato, Queretaro, and Michoacan. As I've become familiar with my favorite sites in those three states, I've developed a feeling of security based upon 1) as a 64-year old non-drinker, I have no need to be out until the wee hours of the morning; 2) even during the day, when visiting an unfamiliar location in the city, I ask both "official" police and locals alike, esta seguro alli por los gringos?; and finally, if my gut instinct is telling me to get the heck out, regardless of where I am, I leave immediately, even though my intellect may be saying otherwise. Thus far, these guidelines and those of other contributors to Mexicoconnect have served me well. Rock

Oscar2

Nov 18, 2008, 10:45 AM

Post #12 of 27 (3873 views)

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Re: [robrt8] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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I/we have lived a good life, a somewhat adventurous life by some standards, and we are still here to reflect and exchange stories about it, with great pleasure. Everyone has a story; their own story of what life is or shouldn’t be for them.

This is what makes life varied, interesting and sometimes bus stops open doors along the way to unexpected adventures. Some would call it chancy, precarious, very dangerous or whatever, but sometimes we walk through those doors and at best, have called it foolishness, of which we wouldn’t have had the really good time we did, should we have elected to always close those doors…

Life is, and can be an open book with chapters upon chapters of discoveries waiting to be sampled in “real-time.” How and why one chooses to read and experience life is purely personal and carries with it a sense of satisfaction only ones own “stretched” comfort zone allows them to enjoy.

We enjoy dancing and nightclub dancing, of course, is done in the evenings and late into the night requiring after dark exposure. Pleeeeeeez, should paranoia be allowed to seep into and dominate and incase our every move, at night fall, we’d have to stay home to meet daily, ongoing “ad nauseam” scare tactic publications writers are paid for to put out as the easy hot potato of fear, which predictably yokes attention and sells, sells and sells….

Well, yes, I hear it, I hear it, I hear it and Sheeeez, when will it ever stop????? The answer is “NEVER!” And I think we are all intelligent enough to know the multilayer’s of why fear is the main icing on the cake, so lets just keep biting into it….and just maybe the flavor will change, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

I really like what Georgia and some others have to say along those lines. She echoes the heart of the gutsy, who for one has moved around the world and done it her way. This resonates well and gives rise and more meaning to many of those adventure types who venture into strange places such as good ol’Mexico where they chop expats heads off after dark, conveyor belt style…… Laugh

Please don’t take that seriously, as should it really be the case. Listen to your own sensibilities and more important try and tune in on your own sense of self.

kathleengam

Nov 21, 2008, 1:24 PM

Post #13 of 27 (3748 views)

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Re: [Georgia] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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I like your line "we've chosen to live before we die." Nice style.

Kathleen O'Donnell
Queretaro

garrycouch

Nov 22, 2008, 8:15 AM

Post #14 of 27 (3674 views)

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Re: [jerezano] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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Been coming to Mexico for over 50 years, granted that today's Mexico is not what yesteryears was.
We have lived full time in Central Mexico now for seven years. We do nothing here any different
than anywhere else. Why not just enjoy but be careful in the truly big cities and tourist traps
just like you would in any country..... especially about the dress, cameras, blatant jewelry, and
such. After all, why are you here?

alex .

Nov 23, 2008, 6:10 AM

Post #15 of 27 (3610 views)

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Re: [Oscar2] assimilation

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I see here examples of what we all wish for: to totally and completely assimilate into the Mexican culture. Many contributors in this thread have adodpted the fatalist views:

" No pasa nada"
"Don't worry about tomorrow, it may never come anyway"
"Hey, if your number comes up....."
"Ni modo."

Me, I'm not buying it. I, personally, am risk averse, I won't go to stupid places with stupid people. I do not feel the least bit cheated or unfulfilled as a result. On the contrary, I still have all my teeth, no broken bones , and have never seen jail.

Alex

(This post was edited by alex . on Nov 23, 2008, 6:14 AM)

Oscar2

Nov 23, 2008, 11:51 AM

Post #16 of 27 (3571 views)

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Re: [alex .] assimilation

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Quote

Me, I'm not buying it. I, personally, am risk averse, I won't go to stupid places with stupid people. I do not feel the least bit cheated or unfulfilled as a result. On the contrary, I still have all my teeth, no broken bones , and have never seen jail.

Alex, congratulations, some people are just better and more fortunate than others, you should feel extremely proud......

Buena Suerte

alex .

Nov 23, 2008, 2:52 PM

Post #17 of 27 (3544 views)

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Re: [Oscar2] assimilation

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Nah, its the other way around: I feel belittled when told that by not taking risk,life is simply passing me by. Wrassling an alligator may be a hell of a rush, but I'll pass thank you.
You won't find me at the disco, rather at the gym. You won't find me hanging around drunkards, rather you'll find me at the range honing my pistolcraft. Taking risk so that I might write pretty poetry from the experience is not nearly as important as being around to take care of my family. Can't do that if the alligator eats me.
Alex

(This post was edited by alex . on Nov 23, 2008, 2:55 PM)

Oscar2

Nov 23, 2008, 5:41 PM

Post #18 of 27 (3516 views)

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Re: [alex .] assimilation

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I feel belittled when told that by not taking risk,life is simply passing me by.

I believe you’ve lived long enough to know that no one can make anyone believe they are less than what they think they are, unless they already believe it or you allow someone else to make you believe it. Having an underlying need to call someone out and challenge them by calling your lifestyle best, this late in life, again, says much more about that persons sense of self and questionable sense of insecurity.

But since you wish to go there, I too have listened to your Smith Wesson or some kind of cannon toten talk you busted yours and everyone else’s britches on, but hey, that’s your bag. Many can conduct themselves in ways that they don’t feel a overbearing need for that big ol’bad/hombre murder-mouthing gun talk to define themselves in the company of others.

But hey, there are sicko’s all over this world and you just may run into one who is really wacko and it may just not turn out to be too pretty. I’d like to leave judgments and other personal life opinions to the movie critics, especially about tensile town and make-believe. So, be it as it may compadre, you know what they say about life when the chips are down, just “KEEP DANCING BABY!” Laugh

drmike

Nov 24, 2008, 7:39 AM

Post #19 of 27 (3465 views)

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Re: [Oscar2] assimilation

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AMEN, Oscar!
Dr. Mike

http://www.smarthealthchoices.blogspot.com

There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,
all leading in the same direction,
so it doesn't matter which path you take.
The only one wasting time is the one
who runs around and around the mountain,
telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.

Hindu teaching

thriftqueen

Nov 26, 2008, 5:26 AM

Post #20 of 27 (3352 views)

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Re: [garrycouch] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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Garry, Carron and Georgia have summed up my feelings in total. We just arrived in the states after our usual journey from Alamos, Sonora to Albuquerque, NM. Safe journey as usual, didn't feel threatened in the least. Hwy 15 in best shape it's been in ages, lots of new stretches of new pavement. As others have said, simply keep your head up and be aware of your surroundings, don't frequent questionable places or take chances that you wouldn't take in the USA or Canada. Frankly I felt safer walking my dog at night at the Santa Ana motel than I did walking my dog at the motel in Sierra Vista, AZ.

We have this tongue in cheek joke, "don't eat in a place where the cops eat, if they come in to eat remove yourself immediately from that place"!

cauny

Nov 27, 2008, 5:40 PM

Post #21 of 27 (3278 views)

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Re: [thriftqueen] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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This strikes me as a "state of mind" issue. not unlike drinking Mexican tap water; flying in planes; cruising across oceans; driving at night or wandering through unknown chunks of the planet. States of minds are created infinitely more frequently by indirect perceptions (e.g., news reports, "statistics" or the infamous "word of mouth") than by direct objective experience.

In treating my cancer patients over several decades, I've shared/opined with them the following:

1. "LIFE", arguably, has two basic components: Quality and Quantity.
2. All of us fall somewhere on a Bell curve of the possible mixes or permutations-combinations) of those two components.
3. At one end is the very small minority of people who desire "pure" Quality; those who espouse the "live hard, love fast and die young" philosophy. Quantity of life is, for them, of little importance. They are not at all concerned about issues like "personal safety" in Mexico (or anywhere else).
4. At the other end is the equally small minority who covet "only" Quantity; those who are totally risk-averse and NEVER challenge the envelope of life. They are obsessed about personal safety in any place at any time.
5. The VAST majority of the remainder of us fall into some or another mix of the two components.
6. Where we find ourselves, as individuals, on that Bell curve changes during our lives and, at any given time, is a reflection of our "state of mind".

My wife and I had the "pleasure" of living in Saudi Arabia (an earstwhile bastion of ne plus ultra conservative thought and behavior) a few years ago. Crime? Miniscule!...Retribution against criminals? Total and Instant!... Sense of "personal safety" for American expats? Acceptable (providing one exercised a modicum of care and awareness of surroundings). Real "personal safety"?...NONE as it turned out when 4 terrorists attacked our high-end-gated-guarded-fortified-apparently impermeable housing compound and, as in Bombay/Moombai two days ago, sought American and British passport-holders and, ultimately executed a dozen of our neighbors and severely wounded an additional four dozen.

My points?

1. The license plate "_hit Happens" tells the whole story.
2. We can plan, plot, undertake or avoid any given action. What we end up doing is a product of a Bell curve and a "state of mind". Who we "are" dictates what we do (or don't do).

So we permanently move to Bucerias next week..."secure" in the "knowledge" that the Quality of our lives will increase exponentially...but keeping in mind that que sera,sera (which is precisely why we're doing what we're doing).

Craig

thriftqueen

Nov 28, 2008, 9:01 AM

Post #22 of 27 (3229 views)

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Re: [cauny] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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You are absolutely right on with the diagnosis. Enjoy your life in Bucerias.

sioux4noff

Nov 28, 2008, 10:38 AM

Post #23 of 27 (3215 views)

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Re: [cauny] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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I'm looking forward to meeting you soon after you relocate to your new home in Bucerias!

cristalhombre

Nov 28, 2008, 4:07 PM

Post #24 of 27 (3176 views)

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Re: [cauny] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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Cauny

I assume you got out of the unexpected trip to Veracruz?? (container importation issue??) Tell us about that......

Now to your topic. I look at it slightly different. Rather than a Bell Curve, I sense that how we choose to "LIVE LIFE" comes from our individualized polar-linear equation/experiment. On one end is DESIRE and the other FEAR. (I think it was Goldberg who wrote the "Emotional Intelligences" - very cool stuff)

We are all motivated, in some degree by the circumstances we see and experience. If we transfer those images to interpretations of GOOD(+) and EVIL(-), then our brain begins to plot on this linear line. How we "filter" this data, from our inner lens (I believe the psych community calls this......."id"....... source of instinctive energy) as Positive + or Negative -..............we are emotionally energized to interpret the WORLD and how it works, and as you would expect we respond to this as individuals. Tons of research on this, and you are right "fear" is more strongly identified by most individuals.

Your story about the Saudi incident is evidence to me that you have the ability to process data and move beyond it. Most people do NOT. I am certain it heightened your awareness, but likley you did not live in FEAR.

I am not a researcher, but I tend to examine things............. One thing I have noticed is the type of expat I encounter. There is the "living lean" camp (fiscally prudent - careful - cautious - getting by) and then there are the Cultural Creatives, those drawn to a cultural experience that is very different than life in the USA. The CC's are more "risk takers" and explorers of life and the Mexico experience. Not much fear or sense of defeat with this group. I find their visions refreshing BOLD and personally energizing. These folks are plotting the "desire" points on the linear experiment quite heavily. BTW money and income is not a decider in these classes. Risk and reward is.

Unrelated.......but an example of emotional responsiveness..........I look at the financial down-turn at the moment as an "opportunity"............(that may sound weird, but that is how I process). I am not happy about it, but I am not fearful either. Yes I have taken the same hit as everyone else on investments etc. and my business is in decline...... The data looks grim but how I ADAPT to it, will be the source of my survival. Clearly there are opportunities in all situations. My mind rarely moves to the FEAR side of the equation. At the same time I have been standing in shit many times (waist deep). But I always try and evaluate the data and seek an outcome that clarifies the "positives".

OK....... sorry for the psycho-babble. In closing I will say...................with all decisions there are risks.....but YOU, Cauney sound like the type to see past the inhibitors and able to take advantage of the positives.

Enjoy MX + LIVE LIFE intentionally!

Godspeed amigo.

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."

BajaGringo

Nov 28, 2008, 4:10 PM

Post #25 of 27 (3173 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] Common sense advice on how to stay safe in Mexico.

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You can count me in the CC camp...

Our House Building Project in Mexico...
Lomas de San Martin
Loving Life on the Baja Peninsula

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