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May 11, 2013 at 5:41 PM #761942May 11, 2013 at 5:43 PM #761943
Anonymous
GuestAnd again where is the proof that it has gotten worse?
May 12, 2013 at 8:45 AM #761946desmond
Participant[quote=deadzone]And again where is the proof that it has gotten worse?[/quote]
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/mar/20/us-expats-want-tourists-return-baja-california/
North of Ensenada, Rosarito Beach saw roughly a 70 percent drop in U.S. visitors from 2005 to 2010, said Hugo Torres, owner of the hotel and the city’s former mayor. For the first time in years, the downward trend was reversed, he said, as his hotel registered a 17 percent increase in Americans in 2011 over 2010.Looks like most people really don’t care if you can get back from your trip to Baja, alive…..
May 12, 2013 at 9:35 AM #761948GuestOr maybe not everybody is brainwashed by sensationalist media.
Again, still nobody has provided a single example of am American tourist being kiled in Baja so I assume the “getting back alive” comment is sarcasm.
May 12, 2013 at 4:29 PM #761949Participant[quote=deadzone]Or maybe not everybody is brainwashed by sensationalist media.
Again, still nobody has provided a single example of am American tourist being kiled in Baja so I assume the “getting back alive” comment is sarcasm.[/quote]
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/06/americans_killed_baja_mex.php
One of killed was an American down in Rosarito with his family, his kids saw their father killed.
May 12, 2013 at 7:31 PM #761950SD Realtor
ParticipantMy friends didn’t get killed. They just had over 10k in personal property stolen, their trucks stolen and were told to lay down on the hillside with guns pointed to their heads.
No media involved. They lived.
It was good enough for me not to go down anymore.
May 12, 2013 at 8:04 PM #761951ctr70
ParticipantI know I’m getting off the topic of “South of the Border”. But I like SE Asia a lot better for a warm weather, low cost vacation or retirement area. Yes it is crazy far away and that is a deal breaker for many. But what I love about places like Thailand and Malaysia is there is pretty much NO violent crime! Many regions of SE Asia are still very poor 3rd world-ish developing areas (like Mexico and Latin America), but a huge difference is it’s SO much safer and less violent. When I was in Thailand recently I had absolutely zero fear of violent crime anywhere I went. Even a lot of western women travel alone in SE Asia and I never hear of any issues.
On the contrary, I hear so many horror stories of Mexico and Central/ South America. My sister had a friend who was raped on the beach in Mexico by locals. Another acquaintance had a friend who took a cab in Colombia to never return. And another guy told me about some tourist he knew being robbed at gun point in Brazil. All stuff you never hear happening in SE Asia.
May 12, 2013 at 10:00 PM #761953GuestWhat man wouldn’t want to retire in Thailand. Makes me think of that hilarious SNL Rosetta Stone skit. If you haven’t seen it, you need to check it out on nbc.com or youtube.
May 12, 2013 at 10:06 PM #761954Guest[quote=desmond][quote=deadzone]Or maybe not everybody is brainwashed by sensationalist media.
Again, still nobody has provided a single example of am American tourist being kiled in Baja so I assume the “getting back alive” comment is sarcasm.[/quote]
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/06/americans_killed_baja_mex.php
One of killed was an American down in Rosarito with his family, his kids saw their father killed.[/quote]
None of the men in those stories appeared to be tourists. In fact, they were all Mexicans who happened to have US papers. Who knows what they were doing in Mexico, the stories lack any detail. So let me be more specific, I’m fairly certain that none of the piggs debating this topic are Mexican Americans. So can you find me an example of a non-Mexican US citizen who has been murdered? That would be more relevant to those of us in this forum.
May 13, 2013 at 10:58 AM #761958earlyretirement
Participant[quote=SD Realtor]My friends didn’t get killed. They just had over 10k in personal property stolen, their trucks stolen and were told to lay down on the hillside with guns pointed to their heads.
No media involved. They lived.
It was good enough for me not to go down anymore.[/quote]
Exactly SD Realtor. That’s more of the stuff that happens over and over. While deathzone (appropriate screen name) seems to be obsessed about death/murders, most reasonable people keep in mind what happened to your friends.
That kind of thing there in many countries is normal and like your friends, they lived to tell about it and didn’t tell it to the media, police, etc.
When my taxi got pulled over in Brazil and a group of police officers had their guns out and asked my friends and I to empty our pockets we were ready to give them all our money. Fortunately another group of friends was behind us and stopped. And my co-worker in the other taxi spoke Portuguese. (mine is conversational) but he was totally fluent and fortunately he knew other people in their government so he threw out a name and we were on our way.
But if we DID get robbed, we wouldn’t have reported it and just chalked it up to cost of being in a corrupt country. Just like most locals do and don’t report it.
May 13, 2013 at 12:09 PM #761959Guest[quote=earlyretirement][quote=SD Realtor]My friends didn’t get killed. They just had over 10k in personal property stolen, their trucks stolen and were told to lay down on the hillside with guns pointed to their heads.
No media involved. They lived.
It was good enough for me not to go down anymore.[/quote]
Exactly SD Realtor. That’s more of the stuff that happens over and over. While deathzone (appropriate screen name) seems to be obsessed about death/murders, most reasonable people keep in mind what happened to your friends.
That kind of thing there in many countries is normal and like your friends, they lived to tell about it and didn’t tell it to the media, police, etc.
When my taxi got pulled over in Brazil and a group of police officers had their guns out and asked my friends and I to empty our pockets we were ready to give them all our money. Fortunately another group of friends was behind us and stopped. And my co-worker in the other taxi spoke Portuguese. (mine is conversational) but he was totally fluent and fortunately he knew other people in their government so he threw out a name and we were on our way.
But if we DID get robbed, we wouldn’t have reported it and just chalked it up to cost of being in a corrupt country. Just like most locals do and don’t report it.[/quote]
You guys are still not making any valid points. For one thing, things have been corrupt down in Mexico for decades, nothing new there. If you are still trying to make a case that things are worse now than say 10 years ago, you have no evidence to prove it. If all your information is anectodal (SDR knows somebody who got robbed), what does that prove? Are you telling me that nobody gets robbed in the U.S.? Or that the same thing couldn’t have happend in the U.S.? If as you say nobody reports crimes in Mexico, then how can you prove that crime is worse? By your logic there would be no data points. In the case of SDRs “friends”, are you telling me that they didn’t report that to anyone? Is there any documented evidence that it actually happened? Sounds fishy to me.
May 13, 2013 at 12:32 PM #761961GuestBy the way, I’m focusing on murders for obvious reasons. Most petty crimes would not be reported in the media. However, if an American tourist was murdered in Mexico, that would absolutely 100% of the time be reported, probably front page news in the home town newpaper of the murdered.
May 13, 2013 at 12:40 PM #761962GuestAustralian tourist beaten in Ocean Beach. http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/metro/20080320-9999-1m20suspects.html
Remember this from a few years ago? By your guys logic, if I were Australian, I sure wouldn’t want to visit San Diego. The irony is this Australian kid was supposedly on his way to Baja for a surfing trip. He never made it to Mexico on account of the brutal violence in San Diego.
May 13, 2013 at 1:16 PM #761964zzz
ParticipantForgetting about crime for a second, for those considering living in LATAM, who are not of latin / spanish descent, some things to consider:
1. you are considered a gringo and will be treated as such
– people will assume you have more money than they do, if not consider you rich. you are rich by their standards, even if you are not rich by US standards
– you will get gringo pricing2. things are SLOW there. stuff does not get done efficiently. if you buy a home, prepared to take forever to get work done on your home. things will not make sense to you and if you take your American expectations there, you will be frustrated ALL the time
3. most American friends I know who live there also have private insurance that allows them to come back to US for treatment of major medical issues- like cancer
4. the quality of life – it really depends on what you are used to, which country you pick, and whether you are in a major city. if you have a pretty high standard of living now – its not necessarily cheaper to maintain that standard of living. eating out at nice restaurants or drinking at high end establishments is not that much cheaper. expensive clothing is not cheaper.
pros- you can have things like cooks or maids clean your home super cheaply, you can likely live ( rent or buy) more cheaply than comparable to US.
you can eat out at average / local spots more cheaply
local grocery is cheap – if you still want to enjoy your American food brands, or buy fruits from outside LATAM, CA wine, or french wine, be prepared to pay WAY MOREAll of my friends- even the ones of latin descent who have gone to places like Panama, Rio, Sao Paolo to work and live, have all opted to come back to the US. The quality of life is better here. Its safer, its more efficient. And ultimately, its where friends and family are- a little extra cash can’t replace that.
May 13, 2013 at 1:36 PM #761965GuestAll valid points zzz. These are the main reasons that I personally would never choose to live in Mexico, nothing to do with the real or perceived crime rate.
If I had to choose one 3rd world country to live, it would definitely be Thailand. Distant 2nd is Brazil. Alot of bad perceptions towards Brazil too, by the way. But outside of Sao Paula and Rio, I don’t think crime rate is that bad. When I travled to Brazil, I felt a lot more comfortable than Mexico or any other Latin American country I have visited.
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