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1.) It's hard dissecting the media buzz from the truth, but how safe or unsafe is most of Mexico? Especially Xalapa, Guadalajara, and Guanajuato. Are those three cities better off than other areas? Is Mexico substantially more dangerous than, say, the average American metropolitan area? Is it more dangerous to live than to visit?
2.) How difficult is it to find work that allows for a comfortable, though by no means ostentatious lifestyle? I know that housing and life generally is much cheaper than in the United States, but salaries are very low too. And work is hard to come by. That said, for a well-educated person who speaks Spanish fluently, are there jobs out there?
Get a FM2/3 for residency and be allowed to work. Your expertise (education/training) will determine the feasability. If it's a specialist field with limited competition...your in.
I spent 3 yrs in Mexico City with a Mexican wife...not permitted to work...but my background and experience was desired as a mentor and Maistro. Did give some FREE advice to some friends but still it was tempting to work...drawback was the people with low funds.
1.) It's hard dissecting the media buzz from the truth, but how safe or unsafe is most of Mexico? Especially Xalapa, Guadalajara, and Guanajuato. Are those three cities better off than other areas? Is Mexico substantially more dangerous than, say, the average American metropolitan area? Is it more dangerous to live than to visit?
2.) How difficult is it to find work that allows for a comfortable, though by no means ostentatious lifestyle? I know that housing and life generally is much cheaper than in the United States, but salaries are very low too. And work is hard to come by. That said, for a well-educated person who speaks Spanish fluently, are there jobs out there?
We travelled to Jalisco for two weeks at Christmas. My wife and two babies are wintering there, and I am returning for work/family next month.
I wouldn't have left my family in Mexico if I felt they were in harms way. They have the added security of living in a gated community.
My job in Agricultural Sales takes me to rural Jalisco/Aguascalientes where I engage with clients/producers who are usually very powerful/connected; they all mention the encroaching violence and the difficult political situation.
Having heightened situational awareness is imperative
However, life goes on; thousands of cows are milked, product is delivered, new clients are called, kids go to school, NASCAR races at Aguascalientes, we drive to PV for vacation, we play in the snow in Cerro Grande, girls shop at Andares, etc.
We travelled to Jalisco for two weeks at Christmas. My wife and two babies are wintering there, and I am returning for work/family next month.
I wouldn't have left my family in Mexico if I felt they were in harms way. They have the added security of living in a gated community.
My job in Agricultural Sales takes me to rural Jalisco/Aguascalientes where I engage with clients/producers who are usually very powerful/connected; they all mention the encroaching violence and the difficult political situation.
Having heightened situational awareness is imperative
However, life goes on; thousands of cows are milked, product is delivered, new clients are called, kids go to school, NASCAR races at Aguascalientes, we drive to PV for vacation, we play in the snow in Cerro Grande, girls shop at Andares, etc.
Pretty much all the Mexicans grow are pot and the littler crops for themselves they use to feed their families.
My wife recently went and was scared to death of all the narcos and kidnappers.
A person working on our building just got back from a trip to Mexico where two truck loads of gang members robbed him while driving on the main highway.
You have to be nuts to take your family there IMO.
Pretty much all the Mexicans grow are pot and the littler crops for themselves they use to feed their families.
My wife recently went and was scared to death of all the narcos and kidnappers.
A person working on our building just got back from a trip to Mexico where two truck loads of gang members robbed him while driving on the main highway.
You have to be nuts to take your family there IMO.
WOW a well informed comment! Mexicans only grow pot... right... no families, no college students, no business men, no factory workers, no farmers... pretty much only pot growers... I mean I guess the US does need 100+ million people growing pot to meet the demand of the US market, makes sense to me
I mean, its so easy to grow pot in Mexico that instead of normal grass you will have pot in your yard, doesn't even matter if its the front yard.
So... what was your wife doing in Mexico if all there is down there is pot? Was she trying to buy some? Maybe bring back some and sell it here, jump the middle man?
Pretty much all the Mexicans grow are pot and the littler crops for themselves they use to feed their families.
My wife recently went and was scared to death of all the narcos and kidnappers.
A person working on our building just got back from a trip to Mexico where two truck loads of gang members robbed him while driving on the main highway.
You have to be nuts to take your family there IMO.
Funny, I didn't see pot or littler listed. I know pot is a black market crop and there are no official statistics.
I have not seen littler growing anywhere. Where is it grown and what does it look like?
Dude, I really don't know how or if you go to Mexico, but if you have flown there you have to know there is more to Mexico than ranchitos and narcos.
I counted twelve construction cranes in Guadalajara in December. They are building a 40+/- story building (hotel?) near Lazaro Cardenas y Mariano Otero. Lazaro Cardenas is undergoing a multi-million dollar widening project.
Snow is going to fall in Monterrey, dams are being built, cranes are unloading ships at Manzanillo, Mennonites are making cheese in Chihuahua, combines/articulated tractors made by John Deere are being bought by clients, Dalton Toyota is busier than ever in GDL, folks are staying in cabins at Valle de Bravo, my niece is getting married soon and it will be a huge event, kids are going to university, etc.
Please don't make uninformed statements and keep your advice to yourself. Get out and look at what is going on in Mexico, because you seem to be clueless
Funny, I didn't see pot or littler listed. I know pot is a black market crop and there are no official statistics.
I have not seen littler growing anywhere. Where is it grown and what does it look like?
Dude, I really don't know how or if you go to Mexico, but if you have flown there you have to know there is more to Mexico than ranchitos and narcos.
I counted twelve construction cranes in Guadalajara in December. They are building a 40+/- story building (hotel?) near Lazaro Cardenas y Mariano Otero. Lazaro Cardenas is undergoing a multi-million dollar widening project.
Snow is going to fall in Monterrey, dams are being built, cranes are unloading ships at Manzanillo, Mennonites are making cheese in Chihuahua, combines/articulated tractors made by John Deere are being bought by clients, Dalton Toyota is busier than ever in GDL, folks are staying in cabins at Valle de Bravo, my niece is getting married soon and it will be a huge event, kids are going to university, etc.
Please don't make uninformed statements and keep your advice to yourself. Get out and look at what is going on in Mexico, because you seem to be clueless
Great post - bears repeating - and re-reading! [couldn't rep you again]. Some people, without much insight or knowlege and with time on their hands, have nothing better to do than bash Mexico...
I'll add from my area, the Bay of Banderas; the beaches and shops are filled with tourists, the airport is crowded each time I go and although things have slowed down some (fewer gringos), commerce is bustling in this beach area. Although fewer real estate sales, apparently and that can be fairly attributed to the US economy.
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Be aware, but live your life
