How bad is the quality of life in Mexico? From everyting I hear and read in the media, it appears to be BAD?

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Oro Rubi

How bad for whom? for me it is GREAT I can tell you that, I live in a very nice house by the beach with air conditioning in every room, bought a new car, a woman cleans the house, go to a nice school. All my family and friends live in similar or better conditions. We live here by choice, of course, this is our country and we love it very much, that's why we work hard, care about the environment, etc.
I see no violence here or much pollution. Poverty yes, unfortunately a large percentage of Mexicans are poor, but then there are poor people everywhere, specially in the US if that's where you are. And the main difference is that a poor person here can go to the country and take a fruit and they will be fed for the day, the weather is very benign, also food is much cheaper than in the US so you can have a complete and good dish for a dollar.
There are very wealthy people (the majority with honest business) wealthy people, middle class, poor and miserable people.
Is the media distorting just how bad things are there? YES, media sells blood and they are a business not always telling the truth.

rhino72032

Is the media distorting just how bad things are there?

Well yeah. I was watching CBS news last week and they showed a body on the street in Juarez, then they showed the hotel zone in Cancun and I'm sure many people thought that the guy was shot in Cancun, but if you Google "tourist killed cancun" you won't find any mention of the drug cartels targeting tourists. If you see bodies in Cancun. it's just drunks sleeping off the night before.

Jose Nakagawa

When I lived in China, Chinese people thought the U.S. was this crime ridden place, where everyone owns guns, has a penchant for violence, and goes to school under the fear of death. Where do they get these ideas? You guessed it, the media and movies. Is it all true? NO. Is there SOME truth to it... well, the U.S. has some cities which I wouldn't want to be lost in at night... I've NEVER felt in danger in ANY city in China.

Are parts of Mexico more dangerous and more violent than the U.S.? I'd venture to say so. But it's not an unliveable place. Certain parts of the country have fallen prety to battles for trafficking routes headed for the drug hungry market of the U.S... but it's a functioning country. Don't ever associate us with Subsaharan Africa or South Asia. The media is always hungry for sensationalism

How many DEMOCRACIES have as much poverty, and violence as Mexico? We can go down the list, but I'm guessing much of central America, Egypt, IRAQ, South Africa, the list goes on and on. Democracies don't guarantee freedom from violence and poverty.

As for pollution... that's restricted to Mexico City and perhaps 2 other big cities in the country. The rest of the nation doesn't nearly have as many CO2 emissions as the U.S. per person.

When a country is your homeland, when the goin gets tough, not everyone gets goin to another country. You stay and try to make the best of it.

Hearty

The first time I visited Mexico (Mazatlan) was 28 years ago..At that time there were a lot of poor and very rich.

In recent years there has been a rise in the middle class and you don't notice the poverty as much. Lots of new cars on the road!

Border town statistics can be misleading as most of the violence has been in Cuidad Juarez and Tiajuana and now apparently in Phoenix, USA. The killings are between rival cartels and between cartels and police.

There is also a lot of drug related violence in my home city in canada.
As long as there is a high demand for drugs in North American the drug trade and its violence will exist. It doesn't help that American Gun dealers supply three-quarters of the assault weopons used by the Mexican cartels!

I enjoy my annual trips to Mexico and all the negative press generated by American journalists won't deter me from going.

DRocK

I grew up in white, suburban America with all of the opportunity anyone could want. At 28, I live in South-Western Mexico and am raising my family here. I have the choice to live in either the United States or Mexico and I chose Mexico to bring up my children and live my professional life. It's funny to think that life is actually more enjoyable and I have more opportunity here, but thats just the way it worked out.

I will say that hands down the United States is more beautiful with less pollution and for the most part is more organized, civil, etc... But I have lived in Mexico for 5 years though most of my twenties and where I live here I feel safer than MANY US cities. The border cities and DF are a different story, however and they are crime ridden. Maybe not as much as the news makes it out to be, but they are certainly not attractive places to be in the world from where I stand. Frankly I don't think that 'Border Towns' on either side of the border are very nice places to live, but if you grew up in one on the US side I don't think that one on the Mexico side would be that repulsive to you as it is to me.

Scabby

I went to Cozumel on my honeymoon and there are some very beautiful places there.However,when you go inland the communities are very poor and delapidated.We rented a jeep and went around the island and saw some bad places.Some people lived in what can only be described as shacks.In San Miguel the shopkeepers swarmed around us like bees trying to get us in their stores.Very pushy.For the most part the locals were nice people.I absolutely loved Cozumel and would go back in a second.

Rodrigo B

becouse media exagerates stuff soo bad that people end up thinking we go to school on donkys

as a matter of fact, life quality in mexico is better than in most other latin american countries, school is free, gouverment helps you buy a house, universities ran by the state are also free.

everything you see on the news is a complete exageration of everything that's bad on mexico but trust me there is a huge amount of the population that do not need/want to migrate to the us becouse they have a good life quality of living, the problem is that from a coutnry of 109 million habitants there is still 20 million who dont so they choose to migrate to the us. this is a new problem caused by overpopulation as poverty was waay much lower on the 60's

here are some other non border mexican cities so that you can see how media exagerates our "thirld world banana no electricity reality",

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalajara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puebla,_Puebla
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterrey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_city

pd. yeah, we have starbucks too.

meh12

MEHECO ROX MON

Esmeralda

Yes Mexico is amazing I actually love it SO much more than the US! IF Mexico is sooo poor and bad how come they are the 14th richest country in the world?? Look it up if you don't trust me. Mei co is great they are just dealing with problems now but no one should label Mexico until they actually see it and learn that is is one of the most beautifulest country in the world!

big bubba

IÂ´m Mexican living and working in Mexico, few people here in this Forum have a clue of what they are answering you, most of them because they are USA citizens who have certain perception of Mexico but since they are not really here in Mexico they come with opinions some times showing more ignorance than solid facts.

Media always, since i remember specially in border towns have shown Mexico as the worst of the worst, all the time i hear a comment in english on ElPaso radio stations tend to diminish Juarez big time, instead of accepting the fact of how important the relation of the two cities mean to each other, commerce is great in El Paso due to Mexicans like me that cross tu buy stuff with Mexican money,
How come Mexico has all those American chain stores in our cities, Mac donalds, Burger King, DennyÂ´s, CarlÂ´s Junior, or car dealers in every middle city from Ford to Chrysler and Chevrolet? or even stores like Saks in Mexico city or Hugo Boss like the one we have here in Chihuahua city.

Mexico is your 2 biggest trade parter in the world and above any white European country that you consider develop countries. right now for example, Californias governor made a statement of how bad will be for the economy of his state if Mexico continues to rise import taxes on USA products.

How come a country that you degrated so much consumes so much that has become the 2nd biggest parter for the biggest economy on the world?

As for the standard of living in averege is bad, but we donÂ´t follow your perception of life, monetary success over here means nothing with out friends and family.

I lived in a middle class part of my city, there is everything that a neigborhood in the USA can offer me, in fact is better that a lot of places in the USA.

I studied part of my education in a military school in the USA, play football, went to "prom-night" with a "date" and made a lot of american traditions. I could easely live permananently in the USA, but i choosed not to.

Why? i live better here, In the USA we Mexicans are treated as 2 class citizens, no matter how well educated you are.

arpsy

Look unafortunatly we have a big problem that we can not change and its that we have USA as a neighbourgs, (i am not saying that you americans are bad people, in fact i have met several americans and i have good friendship with them) but since we are in your down border for years we have let you guys to use us as your backyard, and therefore as your garbage country. You say that there is too much pollution in our country, yes unafortunatly it is like this and specially in popullated areas like Mexico city and borders cities. From Mexico city i would say that big populatios always cause environmental damages in every where of the world, but in the case of borders cities in North, i have to say that in order to keep clean and free of Toxic materials and toxic residues to your country (USA) our freacking goverments have let you guys to come and throw in the dessert and border areas all of that toxics materials that your industries produce. And also because unafortunatly for a lot of mexicans is difficult to get a new car, since the aproval of NAFTA, beside all the advantages your country got one of them was a easy way to get rid of all of the old cars that are forbidden to use in your country and instead of having big car's junk areas they got the opportunity to sell almost for free to us the stupids mexicans, and as i told you alot of people who are poor are getting this as an "opportunity" to have something to make easier their lifes (with out taking in account the big damage their are causing to our environment in Mexico).
Mexico is a risk country? Unafortunatly yes, media does not lie this time, there are several reazons for that one of this is the lack of opportunities that our country gives to people, like employs, another is that not every one have acces to universities and one of the most important facts its that thanks to the great consumption of drugs that people in your country have, the bussines of drugs in my country became a big resource of easy money for those who are unnemployed or those who could not get a university degree, so it is proportional while the use of drugs is increasing in USA the producers are expanding theirs zones, before it use to be Colombia but for the lucky of the country and the unlucky narcotraficants, this country is far away of USA and therefore the cost of produce and distribution in your country was higher than being close to the big costumer, and then this is another thing why i am saying unafortunattly for us your country is our neighbourg, now we have narcotraficants here who are very happy to being well stablished close to you guys so that their monetary benefit will be less dimished by extra cost. and then problems of having them here is that they just not produce drugs they are fomenting all kind of bad things like murdering, kidnapping stealing in order to create a big kaos in our already weak society and also create the fear factor among the society so that they now have their owns kindoms within our country...If USA is not able to control the use of drugs our problem of unsecurity will never be solved in our country.

nl_inc2000

It is and isn't that bad over there. Like most other places if you really want to make it you can. Not all Mexico is full of violence, poverty, pollution. Why do you think so many tourist go there? If you talk to someone who is actually from there they will be able to give you a better picture of how Mexico really is. Just letting you know Mexico isn't the worst country like you think. The media isn't always truthful so looking up other sources will help.

I'm from Mexico and I can say that Mexico is basically a victim of a corrupt government.

.*NeLly*.

No one can really judge Mexico unless you live there, and or have family that lives there and hear their stories! No not all of Mexico is bad and not all of it is poor! Yeah the citizens still live there by choice where else do you expect them to go? where can they go? Most of the stuff you hear in the media doesn't happen in ALL of Mexico just in parts. I read a question a few days ago someone asking if it was safe to go to Mexico because of all the drug cartels and what we hear in the media (I personally answered NO ITS NOT SAFE because of what relative tell me) and a girl living in Mexico responded "I wanted to travel to NYC but i don't know if i should because a plane might crash into my building don't listen to everything the media says" I personally was very insulted that she used that example it hurt that she had to use 9-11 but I kind of understood her point. With all this said i'll tell you a few things from experiences my family have had. Last winter my mom visted Michoacan and after it gets dark she had to be at my aunts house because no cab or bus would pull into the town they were from bc they were scared someone would kill them for the little money they had my mom had no idea that no bus or cab would take her home she was desperate to get home so she ended up paying triple the amount to a cab driver in order for him to take her. Now in Durango where my dad is from NONE of my relatives have gone to visit because kidnapping for ransom is BIG over there especially when it comes to kidnapping someone from the states. In Zacatecas Where my aunts mother and father in law live they say that there are about 5 families left in their town because everyone has left because they would go take people out of their houses for their money and what not at random times of the day they say there is even families who pay these kidnappers money WEEKLY in order for them not to hurt them! I've seen a magazine that a relative from Durango brought where there is guys cutting off innocent peoples heads and taking pictures of it and publishing the pics in that horrible magazine holding the heads up with pride. it's DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!! they're cold hearted! Me being Mexican and having family there you couldn't pay me to go visit Mexico!! I will not put my life at risk, so no it's not as bad as the media makes it seem it's WORSE in parts, there is still decent parts over there you just have to be careful.

[yvonne;;<3]

look yes, there drug cartels and they kill people, but it's rare that they messed with civilians. In tijuana the situation it's always been *****y and the town s*cks. But really it's nice living here, I want to live in the states ( i live in a USA community) but the narcos and the cartel and the goverment they are the ones making the trouble. really all the problem here in mexico is corruption and goverment.
i haven't experienced bad stuff here, and really it's a different culture and well I'm a teen, i've spend summer's in the US and the way i see it, teens have it WAAAAY HARDER than us, here it's so free, over there it's like gun shootings in schools, here? well, that's not happening. sure, we have drugs, but hey, im telling you the quality of a life of a tennage boy's or girl's life. and well it's not hard compare to the US. i hope i get my point seen

jake

Mexico consists of two classes.

Filthy rich and dirt poor.
The poor do not dwell on what they don't have, they are thankful for what they do have.
Reduced tourism is killing them.

I've seen both sides during many visits to Mexico.

Today, daily life is lived in Fear.

Drug cartels have so much cash, they can buy just about anyone, but the alternative is to be killed.

Lordi22

well, considering that Mexico is one of the biggest drugs country's
in mexico most of the ppl are poor,
only few are rich (many from drugs).
i don't really like mexico because its scary in there, if ill sometime go to New Mexico, i might go inside mexico, but ill stay near the US army forces.

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