Is Mexico a ****/dangerous place to travel and live in?

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.*NeLly*.

Ok so I am Mexican, I have family in Mexico and I'm scared to death to go there! It's too violent right now over there and yes they can kid nap you for a ransom! I had a family friend come from Mexico with a magazine of people being decapitated and the guys showing the heads of as a sign of pride. I know people that pay the kidnappers money weekly just so they wont kidnap them!! Personally where My mom is from Michoacan Mexico after it gets dark a taxi will not drive anyone to the small town my mom is from because people will rob them! Where my dad is from Durango Mexico is where the magazine came from. Some other really dangerous places are JALISCO JUAREZ ZACATECAS and MEXICO CITY. Idk if you keep up with the news but there have been so many FAMOUS people being killed by these drug dealers in Mexico I will send you some links to check it out for yourself. MY best advise is for her not to go

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Gomez

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Elizalde

larpmanx

Most of Mexico is safe, but your sister is plan is terrible. She's going to drive a long distance in a country she doesn't know and can't speak the language. Bad idea.

Your negative views of Mexico are wrong, but your sister's plans are not well thought out.

Does she know that she will have to get Mexican insurance on her car. If she isn't fully insured and has an accident, she won't have to worry about a place to stay. The government will provide a place with plenty of roommates.

Does she know that you should not drive at night (for a number of reasons) unless you know a road very well.

Does she know that speed bumps cross highways as a means of slowing traffic. You don't want to hit one at full speed. (One of the reasons not to drive at night.

If she gets lost, how will she find her way. I have traveled and driven in countries where I didn't speak the language, but I'm an experience traveler. It seems that she is very naive.

mordgrim

Hello. I have lived in mexico for 15 years(currently in the u.s) and let me tell you that most of the violence are in the border towns,once you go deep into mexico,it is mostly calm and less populated except for mexico city, a better place to live is guadalajara which is one of the most modern cities in latin america.

Charlie

The great majority of violence is between drug gangs in border cities. There are over one million Americans and Canadians living full time in Mexico...quite safely. The great majority of Mexico is very safe. Mexico City does have big city crime problems....just like other huge cities. Unless she has a special reason to live there, she may find a very beautiful , more moderate size city better. It would be best for her to live in a place where she knows people. However there are very beautiful and luxurious parts of Mexico City too. I am a single American woman lining in Mexico and know many others We travel and live in Mexico perfectly safely. I don't know why your sister wants to live in Mexico, but she needs to now that is she needs to work, it is almost impossible to get a work visa, and jobs pay a small fraction of what they pay in the U.S. It is easy for wealthy people or retired people to move to mexico because they do not need to work. If she has never driven in Mexico before, it can be very challenging...it would be good for her to have a companion. Hope she speaks at least moderate Spanish.

coleblondehead

Ive lived in Mexico for 28 yrs aand there are nice places to live in and
*&**& places to live in just like in Chicago, new york, the bronx it
depends on where you go, even brazil, it has its hot spots full of
luxury and you cross one/two streets you can see poverty at its
worst. I would recommend her not driving all the way, why cant she
take a plane from La to Mexico until she gets acquainted with the
place, Mexico city is not a small town, of course she has to ask which
place she plans to live in, where there are no gangas or where crime
is low, since its a huge city the bigger the crime rate.
I lived in a small city near Laredo, Tx. and it was very safe, but ive
been hearing the rumors of the crime rate going up lately. But the
city that I lived in as a teenager is beautiful, clean, not a lot of
crimes. And in reference to the immigration issue, a lot of people
are coming over to the US, because of the overpopulation in Mexico
city and the lack of help for the agriculture so most people that do
come here are farmers, laborers from ranches or construction personel

Good guy

Mexico is as safe as any other country. It has its bad areas just like the US does, too. She will be safer leaving in a wealthy neighborhood away from where the poor people live. You don't buy a house in St. Louis, Missouri and expect to be safe, so don't do it in Mexico.

Jose Nakagawa

Mexico City can be a dangerous city. However, If her boyfriend can afford to live in a nice area, and they can affiord a nice pad together, it's not a bad city to live in. It's got everything any U.S. city has.

She really needs to be careful... 'chilangos' (mexico city's citizens) are hardened people, and they know how to get around and how to avoid crime, etc... and even they sometimes fall victims to anything from petty robbery, armed robbery, and sometimes kidnapping. She also needs to be careful of who she trusts... and she needs to make a concerted effort to learn the language... otherwise, she's at her bf's will.

The drive is INSANE. She needs to get a permit to import her car, #1 and #2 it's a LONG LONG drive. But it's beautiful. If the bf is from Mexico... she shouldnt have a problem.

The fact that she's 'white' isn't a problem. Mexico City has the highest concentration of 'white' Mexicans in the country outside of the North. The Spanish legacy, plus lots of reject Europeans that arrived early 20th century, gave Mexico city a lot of white people.

Sounds like a hasty decision and one that hasn't been thought about well, though.

Andy

Mexico city is one of the most populated cities in the world, for that reason you need to be cautious. There are just some zones to avoid and that's it.
Now to drive there, it sounds dangerous since people don't respect the signals much. And if you don't know the road you can get lost easily.
The highways are not like in the US, most are deteriorated and with many big trucks on the road. If she wants to live there, she should be fine, many Americans live in Mexico. But I would not recommend her to drive all the way to Mexico City.

Summerbreeze63

You may want to consider travel insurance on a trip like this. Here is a good article on it. http://vacation-in-vegas.com/?p=181

Joy

Right now, Mexico is pretty dangerous. The only places that I'd feel safe to go are resorts. I say she should wait for things to get better and really think about the risk of living in a place that tends to be very unstable.

Clown Knows

Mexico is in control of the drug lords and not the government. A lot can happen to your sister, of the not nice kind of experiences.

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