White guy thinking about moving to Leon Mexico (2014, pesos, loan)
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My best friend is Mexican and lives in Leon Mexico he wants me to move there permanently. I'm a white American and don't speak much Spanish. I've heard horror stories about Americans being kidnapped and tortured for ransom. Is this true? Is it safe for an American to move to Mexico?
This is what is reported. There are many more that are not reported. BTW, Mexicans are at also at higher risk than in years past, not just foreigners. A major problem is that you have no one to protect you. Law enforcement for the most part is corrupt and actually working with the criminals. You will most likely get replies telling you everything is fine. It is fine till it's not.
Don't you think you are getting ahead of yourself? Why don't you visit first, get a feel for the city and the culture, see if you like it. Then, go from there.
See the above post. I loved my time spent living in Latin America. Some of my friends came to visit me and they hated it. Go down, spend some time and see if it is for you.
My best friend is Mexican and lives in Leon Mexico he wants me to move there permanently. I'm a white American and don't speak much Spanish. I've heard horror stories about Americans being kidnapped and tortured for ransom. Is this true? Is it safe for an American to move to Mexico?
Leon is very calm. Almost undoable without proper spanish in the long run though.
My best friend is Mexican and lives in Leon Mexico he wants me to move there permanently. I'm a white American and don't speak much Spanish. I've heard horror stories about Americans being kidnapped and tortured for ransom. Is this true? Is it safe for an American to move to Mexico?
I think you misheard the stories. Most of the people being kidnapped and tortured for ransom are wealthy Mexicans. The drug cartel as it is risky to do so to Americans.
León is where Jeb Bush met his wife. Just outside of León (which is a big city) is Guanajuato (28 miles away) which is one of the jewels of Mexico. It's a cultural center where all summer long there are incredible fairs and music. You will love it.
León is known for its leather industry. It is considered one of the most environmentally friendly cities in Mexico and has a high number of cyclists, in part because of the integration a network of bike lanes.
The airport is called BJX (Del BajÃo International Airport) and is served by several airlines nonstop to the USA.León is part of the macroregion of BajÃo within the Central Mexican Plateau. Volaris is a low cost Mexican airline and will be the least expensive. There is a new border crossing right from San Diego to the Tijuana Airport ($10) only available to people with airline tickets.
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth
Delta Air Lines Los Angeles
Delta Connection Atlanta, Los Angeles
United Express Houston-Intercontinental, Los Angeles
Volaris Chicago-Midway, Los Angeles, Monterrey, Oakland, Tijuana
You will hear slightly more English in Guanajato than Leon, but it is not like a border city. You will undoubtedly have to learn some Spanish.
At some point I would locate the Consulate as it will be easier to negotiate if you need them in an emergency. Unfortunately, there are not enough Americans in Leon for it to have it's consulate. Combine the visit with a day trip to Guadalajara (about 120 miles away) . Guadalajara is also a charming, but larger city (closer to LA).
U.S. Consulate General in Guadalajara
Progreso 175
Col. Americana
Codigo Postal 44160
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Phone: (01-33) 3268-2100
Fax: (01-33) 3825-1951
U.S. Consulate General Guadalajara
U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez
U.S. Consulate General Hermosillo
U.S. Consulate General Matamoros
U.S. Consulate General Merida
U.S. Consulate General Monterrey
U.S. Consulate General Nogales
U.S. Consulate General Nuevo Laredo
U.S. Consulate General Tijuana
I would fly to BJX and check out the city. I think it is a great opportunity. If you end up driving it is about 600 miles from Laredo Texas (roughly 11-12 hours of driving). So it is best done with an overnight stop.
Last edited by PacoMartin; 11-15-2016 at 08:07 PM..
My best friend is Mexican and lives in Leon Mexico he wants me to move there permanently. I'm a white American and don't speak much Spanish. I've heard horror stories about Americans being kidnapped and tortured for ransom. Is this true? Is it safe for an American to move to Mexico?
There are white mexicans living in Leon.
Come on, you think being white makes you look as somebody who is like an aliens for another planet haha
My girlfriend is white blue-eyed an she was born and raised in Celaya and she had never suffered anything
I have flown to Leon many times, I speak no Spanish. My wife is from the area. It's very safe and the people are polite. Most Mexican people keep to themselves and will never stop you or ask you questions. It's very safe there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfsoto1988
Thankfully, the state of Guanajuato was spared from the cartel war. There is crime in Leon, but its like what you would find in any large city.
The colonial towns of Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, & Dolores Hidalgo are the safest in the state. Many retired americans live there.
A little snapshot of the Mexican economy may help with the following comments. The Mexican economy has had a nice upturn in 2014 and 2015. The table gives the GDP perperson in pesos, and in dollars using an average exchange rate for the year and an end of year (eoy). The table is not corrected for purchasing power.
Note that the average exchange rate for 2015 was 15.85 pesos/dollar. Right now it is at about 20.6 pesos /dollar having took a major plunge especially after Donald Trump's election. This drop is the worse since the peso crash of 1994.
In 1994 the value of the Mexican peso depreciated roughly 50% from 3.4 MXN/USD to 7.2, recovering only to 5.8 MXN/USD four months later. Prices in Mexico rose by 24% over the same four months, and by the end of 1995 Mexico's hyperinflation had reached 52%.Mutual funds, which had invested in over $45 billion worth of Mexican assets in the several years leading up to the crisis, began liquidating their positions in Mexico and other developing countries. Foreign investors not only fled Mexico but emerging markets in general, and the crisis led to financial contagion throughout other financial markets in Asia and Latin America. The impact of Mexico's crisis on the Southern Cone and Brazil became known as the "Tequila effect" (Spanish: efecto tequila).
Motivated to deter a potential surge in illegal immigration and to mitigate the spread of investors' lack of confidence in Mexico to other developing countries, the United States coordinated a $50 billion bailout package in January 1995, to be administered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with support from the G7 and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The package established loan guarantees for Mexican public debt aimed at alleviating its growing risk premia and boosting investor confidence in its economy. The Mexican economy experienced a severe recession and the peso's value deteriorated substantially despite the bailout's success in preventing a worse collapse.
While this crisis is nowhere near as severe as the 1994 crisis, the role of Donald Trump will undoubtedly be seen as the cause of the crisis this time. In 1995 President Clinton's effort were seen as a politically risky move on the part of the President that helped the situation in Mexico.
Generally anti-American sensibilities are much lower in Mexico than in many places in Latin America. But if you move down there in the post Trump era, you should probably be prepared for some backlash. It may not come as personal danger, but as unkind gestures.
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