Greetings to all

I'm afraid I don't know except for a couple months in San C. in the late 90's. San Cristobal is indeed a magnificent city but too cool for me , I left in November. Put bluntly , here we're pretty much OK in the city , but goin outside town is risky at best. The bad guys even control the maxsipistas. It is the same in Chiapas and Oaxaca (all or some parts and what parts may be considered the most secure ?) as in Sinaloa?

Well, Kangfish, if I understand your comment, you meant to ask if the, what you call "maxsipistas" are under the control of what you designate as the "bad guys" so, as a public service, here is your answer.

* At the present time, the highways in Chiapas, whether autopistas or back country libres, are not particularly dangerous and narcotraficantes are not the problem they are for you (according to you) in places such as Sinaloa. If you travel by main autopistas all over Chiapas you are unlikely to experience any problems other than the occasional army/federales/immigration checkpoint checking your papers or the even more rare Zapatista or indigenous village roadblock soliciting small donations for everything from Emiliano Zapata's birthday celebration to a new village soccer field. At these inconveniences one is best served by amicably handing over residency or other requested documentation or a modest donation for that soccer field which can make one not only feel a personal sense of satisfaction for having supported law enforcement or a poverty stricken village but can also result in one´s having been permitted to remain alive on the planet for at least the present or until one has reached, say, Palenque or Tapachula or come upon another roadbock whichever comes first.

Now, if one is traveling back roads in the jungle or rural mountain terrains in Chiapas there are two other obstructions one might encounter:

* Young girls might raise flimsy ropes in front of your car which are intended to induce you to stop and buy a pineapple, mango or papaya or to donate to some local charitable cause. Unless you crave some of this fruit, it is best to slow down courteously but continue to move forward in which case the young ladies will in all likelihood lower the rope and allow you to pass without rancor.

* Secondly, and, fortunately, more rarely, one may encounter, upon rounding a curve or topping a hill in the jungle, a group, of drunks dismembering a member of a neighboring, antagonistic indigenous village or a Guatemalan or Honduran illegal immigrant with machetes which is a finely honed skill in Chiapas and one with which you do not wish to reckon so I would suggest that the best reaction to this scene if it comes upon you unexpectedly is to stomp on the accelerator and drive as if your life depended on it as it will at that point. As the Hertz Rent-a-car folks told me on Penang Island many years ago, run for your life because they will kill you if you stop and they are all kin to the cops in the next village who may also string you up so don´t stop until you cross the border in Singapore. In this case, as you will not entounter Singapore, settle for the next big city.


Just wanted to say thanks for the lucidity. I'm either going to RV in the U.S., head to S.E.Asia, or move to Argentina. I'm glad for all who are enjoying their lives in Mexico but it seems dicey enough to not even consider at this point. Enjoyed the essays however!

OK, Frito:

As it appears you are going to motor about the U.S. or Asia rather than risk driving in Mexico, allow me to modify my comments.

If you are driving the back roads in the U.S., please substitute the enraged drunks you may encounter in the wilderness in the process of dismembering Hondurans in the Lacandon Jungle for:
(a) In Alabama, enraged Kluxers in their sheets and hoods burning churches with African American congregations (most likely during services) or moonshiners preparing white lightenin´for the local judge´s birthday party.
(b) In Northern California, magic weed growers in the north coastal backwoods harvesting the year´s crop for anticipated sale down the road in Ukiah.
(c) In Texas, local deputies raising lunch money and attracted like flies to poop to that RV with the Wisconsin plates.
(c) In Arizona, any guy in a uniform with a ten gallon hat and spurs on his boots carrying a set of really big keys to the local hoosegow and a can of bologna and loaf of Wonder "Reglar" Bread.
(d) In New Jersey, large guys with shovels attempting to bury something smelly encased a a large plastic garbage bag.
(e) In Asia, armed elderly Viet Cong looking guys camping in the jungle waiting for Uncle Ho's OK to move to what they think
is still Saigon.


If, on the other hand, you change your mind and decide to travel around Mexico, as one who has lived here in both West Central and Southeastern Mexico for some ten years traveling extensively on all sorts of highways in all sorts of places without ever being accosted by anyone but those cute little villagers selling papayas, I say welcome and fret not about the dangers awaiting you unless, of course, you plan to import some weed.


Actually I have a hobby that most here probably can't relate to: teardrop trailers. Fact is the infrastructure in the States makes it the perfect place to practice the hobby, taking advantage of discounts at national and state parks to stay cheaply. And I really don't want to cut the satellite tv umbilical cord which would keep me close to the border. Things are too weird in northern Mexico lately. And there's always "Mexico Lite", the southwestern U.S.! With all of it's faults fact is I can surf the 'net here in pretty remote locations, enjoy a Barnes & Noble or Borders, enjoy unique movies that might not make it overseas where the latest blockbusters rule. Mexico certainly has the climate and scenery but I'd be handicapped trying to fit in with limited linguistic skills. And at 6'2" 285 lbs(and not a gordo!) I'd always stand out. I admire your sense of adventure! I'm eventually going to the Philippines to look for a wife and will see where that takes me. Vaya con Dios amigo!

"Just wanted to say thanks for the lucidity. I'm either going to RV in the U.S., head to S.E.Asia, or move to Argentina. I'm glad for all who are enjoying their lives in Mexico but it seems dicey enough to not even consider at this point. Enjoyed the essays however!"

I have to agree with Dawg on this one. I am lucky enough to be able to choose to live in whichever country I please. So, I went about investigating. Turned out that all the countries that were "safe" were expensive and all the countries that were "unsafe" were cheap. So, I realized that if I chose a country other than Mexico I would encounter the same problems (garbage, corruption, crime, political instability, insurgent groups, injustice, etc. etc.). So, I figured it may as well be Mexico since I speak the language, know the culture, and it's not too far from home. If you look into it, I think you would find that S.E. Asia, Argentina, etc. have a lot of the same problems. The Philippines certainly is not considered a "safe" place. I personally felt much less secure in Manila than I did in Mexico City but that may be because I am not as familiar with the Philippines. YMMV.

For some reason, I have found people seem to have a positive idea about Argentina. This may have to do with Argentina's former glory before its meltdown or the Argentinians tendency to think themselves above the rest of Latin America. Nevertheless this is from the U.S. State Department website on Argentina:

"Along with conventional muggings, "express kidnappings" occur. Victims are grabbed off the street based on their appearance and vulnerability. They are made to withdraw as much money as possible from ATM machines, and then their family or co-workers are contacted and told to deliver all the cash that they have on hand or can gather in a couple of hours. Once the ransom is paid, the victim is usually quickly released unharmed. There have been some foreign victims. Visitors are particularly advised not to let children and adolescents travel alone." (sounds just like Mexico to me).

http://travel.state.gov/...cis_1130.html#safety

And Buenos Aires is home to one of the most polluted rivers in the world:

http://buenosairesperception.blogspot.com/...er-pollution-in.html

It just seems to me that when one is trying to make a choice it is less about individual countries and more a choice between two types of countries.

Check out Bariloche on Google Images and Youtube. Buenos Aires and Mexico City are both world class cities, but I'd never live in a city that big. Argentina is slightly smaller than India, yet only has 44 million people. Violent crime is much less than in the States or Mexico. Same for Uruguay and Chile. It's not perfect by a long shot but what is? Northwest Argentina has alot of mestizos. With it's desert, mountain, and canyon geography it reminds me of the southwest U.S..

Another country that's making a huge comeback is Cambodia. 6 years ago there wasn't an ATM in the entire country. Now they are everywhere, and they give U.S. Dollars. The world's largest religious building, Angkor Wat, gets 2 million visitors a year. The small city near it, Siem Reap, greatly benefits from it. Nice lifestyle there. And very safe. The capital, Phnom Penh, has every kind of restaurant imaginable. Good air connections to the rest of SE Asia. Unlike the Thais, who can be very xenophobic, the Khmers are very welcoming of westerners. And unlike Thailand they make it easy to live there. Pay about $240 a year and you can come and go as you please. Again, not perfect, but improving. And why I don't know but English is widely spoken in Cambodia.

Whether I end up overseas depends on finances. I know of places in Texas where I can camp for $75 to $150 a month plus food, entertainment, etc. Not knocking your choice at all, there's alot to like about Mexico. One thing I know I'd miss there is large bookstores. Interesting thing about SE Asia is with quick discount flights to Singapore I can visit a well stocked Borders bookstore and several others. That's one of the reasons I'd prefer to be near the U.S. border if I lived in Mexico. But the border region has gotten crazy lately. I'm not trying to go native or reinvent the wheel or anything. Just want a nice quiet and safe retirement doing things I enjoy with minimal hassle. Regards.