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And no, the serial rape and muder of literally hundreds of women in a single town with the authorities doing nothing about it has never happened in the U.S., despite what you might think from watching Hollywood movies. The fact that it took international outcry to get the poice to perform even a rudimentary investigation goes to show you the value of human life in your Mexican paradise.
As for classrooms being shot up... I live in Canada where this kind of thing doesn't happen, so I am not sure what kind of point you are making with that comment (if any).
A friend of mine went to Mexico with his wife. They had rented a car and were driving down the road when the police pulled them over and wanted them to pay a fine for running a red light that didn't exist. They were told if they didn't immediately pay the fine, they would be taken to jail.
Nice place.
You keep talking about Juarez as if it's representative of anything except Juarez. It's widely documented that the city has long been a main drug-trafficking route and that's one of the main reasons it has had so much violence the last decade, including violence against women. No one is arguing that the perpetrators are nice people or that the problem is not a big deal. It is... for Juarez. I still fail to see how this should indict an entire nation with over 100 million people, the vast vast majority of which do not commit any crimes and have zero involvement in government corruption. The US has a rape rate of more than 2x what Mexico does, so regardless of whether or not it's happening in a single city or multiple, you can't seriously sit there and act like Mexico is some singularly violent place. I also suspect you have no problem crossing the border into the US without fear of regular violence.
Also, you forget that the past Mexican president sent in the military and was fighting the cartels, but there is a huge problem... the US is the largest consumer of illegal drugs in the world. Fighting the cartels has, so far, just created power vacuums that created even more violence. That's why the drug war in Mexico was so nasty the past 6 years. Without reductions in use from consumer nations, which would require wholesale policy and cultural changes, Mexico's cartels are probably not going to go away, even if every single person in Mexican government was legitimate. The US (and yes, even perfect Canada) has drug dealers and pushers and yet, by your implication, government corruption does not seem to exist there.
You can find examples of crime happening everywhere, so your friend's story, if even true, does not indicate Mexico is any more dangerous than most other developed nations. Nor does Juarez. But you know what, please stay in your Canadian bubble.
Mexico's economy is not dependent on tourism, it is only one part of the economy.
Mexico's main industry is oil.
Oil is the number one industry. A lot of people don't know what is the second largest source of income for Mexico. It is money sent by Mexicans living in the US to their families in Mexico. That is larger than tourism.
Please stay where you are, thank you. We are well aware even in Canada how much difficulty you lot have at leaving the countries you visit after your visas expire - if you bother to obtain a visa in the first place, that is.
Canadians with an attitude like you are enough to dissuade anybody from visiting Canada.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm...not sure what a Mexican needs for a Canadian Visa since I'm a Naturalized American Citizen while being a former Canadian born.
Travelling as a Tourist to some countries means ZILCH w/o actually living in the country for an accurate opinion of the same country.
CUBA means nothing here...NO comparison since we are on a MEXICO topic.
Canada......the United States.....Mexico being close together can be intelligentally discussed here.
As for the Warnings about Mexico travellers.....I have visited more then once all the Mexican Cities mentioned......and for a additional info Married a Beautiful Intelligent woman in a traditional Mexican wedding in Mexico City.
JTUR88 posting of the warnings re any visit to Canada says something....actually a three way street (countries) so to speak.
Your story is very similar to mine except I no longer live in Mexico. I was born and raised in Canada but live in the US and am a Naturalized US citizen. I am not a dual citizen because that was not an option at the time I became a US citizen. I am also married to a beautiful intelligent Mexican woman from Sinaloa. We were married in Culiacan many years ago. She is now a dual US/Mexican citizen. We lived in Culiacan for 4 years. I started a business in Mexico and I also worked there in various locations. I am fluent in Spanish. We have traveled all over Mexico except for the extreme South. Our son played pro baseball in Mexico.
We choose to live in California simply because we like it better than anywhere else. We have lived in several areas from coast to coast as well as Canada, Mexico and Venezuela. ( Caracas ). However we visit Mexico frequently to visit family and do the tourist thing on both coasts of Mexico.
Last edited by JohnSoCal; 02-16-2013 at 04:01 PM..
The USA puts more of its citizens in prison than any other country in the world. So, obviously, Americans are more inclined to commit crimes than any other county in the world. If all those people are not criminals, then you are very high risk in America of being arrested and thrown in jail even if you are innocent. How safe does that make you feel?
That is not really true. The US has a high rate of incarceration because we jail more criminals and generally have longer and tougher sentences. That does not mean that the US is arresting and jailing innocent people. Mexico has a very low arrest record vs crimes committed. It has a very low percentage of crimes that are reported. Yes, there is institutionalized corruption in Mexico that has existed for years and years. Canada has very lax laws and sentencing.
However most of Mexico, especially the tourist areas are pretty safe and are great places to visit.
VISA!!!!!!....... shows the persons lack of knowledge about the US or Mexico....where to go and for how long w/o actually doing so.
A VISA is needed to visit the US or Mexico but under what conditions is important.
Do still have my old expired Canadian Passport and with the new laws can become a Dual Citizen (Canada/United States) while still living here in Baja Mexico.
Here in Baja a person can live within in a certain number of miles (KM) w/o a VISA. Many Americans do while still working in Calif during the week......OSHAWA is learning something.
There are about 14,000 Americans or others living in the Rosarito area alone.
Maybe OSHAWA can say HELLO to my family in Welland/Port Colborne for me.......Naw....doubt it.
Technically speaking, you can only stay in the free zone of Mexico for less than 72 hours without having a FM-T, ( Tourist card ). The free sone is the area of Mexico along the order though in Baja California it extends to south of Ensenada. Hoewver very few people ever get a tourist card for this area.
I've always been a little fascinated with Mexico City because of its size, diversity and history, in much the same way I am with other large and notable cities throughout the world. I'd go if I had the opportunity to visit - pictures of MX City fascinate me. Ive honestly never been to any of the Americanized vacation spots. The coastal resort crap is of little interest.
I don't have an FM-2 card while being here 17 yrs in April.
Bought 2 view lots overlooking the ocean...built a 1450 Sq ft Bi Level home...went to the Rosarito Palacio (City Hall) with my papers/US Passport and they gave me a Seniors ID card. Use the card as ID along with my CC card when making a purchase...they never ask for my Calif Drivers license etc.
There is a Customs and Immigration post at certain points below the US/Mexico border and a Visa is needed to enter further south in Baja or parts of the main land that I experienced some yrs back from New Mexico into Mexico....been that route.
Hate to be repeating a fact that about 14,000 Americans and the like are in this area......good reason for TJ/San Ysidro is the most travelled border crossing between the two countries.
Visit the crossing at 4-9 AM and see the Calif plated cars in line for 1-3 hrs some days.....they are all AMERICANS.
Please. Stop the crazy posts here. My family is from Mexico. You are nuts if you think a breakdown in the US is worse than one in Mexico. NUTS!
I agree 100%. My wife is from Mexico and we lived there.
I laugh when people say that they haven't experienced any trouble so it is safe. Well I have been in downtown Detroit, Compton CA, Oakland, etc. and nothing happened to me so obviously they must be safe. These are all very high crime areas in the US. Do I think they are safe? No, and I certainly wouldn't vacation there.
Having said that, most of the tourist areas in Mexico are pretty safe but I wouldn't go off wandering around on my own too much. Stick to the resorts and tourist areas. One of the biggest problems in Mexico is the more often than not, the police are also the criminals. And just remember that your chances of being a crime victim is pretty slim in even the high crime rate areas unless you are asking for it by wandering around drunk or flashing a lot of money or bling.
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