Here are some of the pieces I've put together over the years:
Driving on the highway to PV I stopped at an ATM .. it wasn't there. I mean the mechine had been physically removed. Driving down the highway looking for the next one I found it had been removed .. then four more. Is that bold enough ferya? All in all seven were removed during that night on that stretch of highway.
Take note of the armament contained on many homes, razor wire, electrified cables, barking dogs security cameras. It's all there for a reason.
A Mexican's home often looks like a fortress. Why? Because it is. Children learn at an early age it's a jungle beyond these walls. They devote a large part of their daily life with concerns about security and their well-being while on the streets. Why shouldn't you?
Beware of your schedule of comings and goings. My neighbor picks up his daughter from school at noon five days a week. Two weeks ago he was robbed, and I do mean robbed. Poisoned his dogs, jumped his fence and took EVERYTHING of value .. just after he left.
Scams .. there's one behind every bush. You know who I trust? The guy who speaks no English, never been to an English-speaking country, as Mexican as a taco with chewy meat with extra chile and lots of lemon and salt.
Theory: Asians are indeed bad drivers, suicidal beyond belief! If they're Buddhists they believe in after life. Mexicans have confessionals. Think about that for a few seconds.
In reality, IMHO, there are no laws here. Sure, there are books full of them. But it's all idealistic. It's unlawful to pay a mordida .. no it isn't. If you overstay your visitor's visa you'll be deported .. no you won't, not if you have a handle on how things work.
I once read in The Mexico City News about some polling. The question was; "Who would you prefer rob you in a dark alley, a ratero or a cop?" "The cop will take it all, the ratero will leave me with bus fare home." 
Note: I taught school for years. Eventually the theme of occupations comes up. So the children are asked, what does your father do? All those years, a thousand students or more, not once did lil Johnny raise his hand and say, my daddy is a policeman. Why?
Three years living in this tiny community and I know of four people who were murdered. Not one crime was investigated. You'd have to mortgage you home nine times to pay that bill. What happens when a foreigner gets topped? They call your consulate, they clean up the mess. In other words, you are easy to kill. Who's going to come to Mexico looking for justice, your mom in Alberta?
Your daughter's date rapes her. What do you do? You oil your gun and go to his house. Or just suck it up. It's like a cowboy movie round here 
No money = no justice, no security.
What we should know about security in Mexico.
No security anywhere. 50 people mowed down at a concert in Las Vegas . A whole church slaughtered in a small town. The country is crying for 17 innocent children killed at a high school in Florida. Our politicians will do nothing because they are getting money not to do anything. My neighbor and a friends store in a very small town in Florida robbed within days of each other.
We're the good news guys eh?
Damn, if I were with school-aged children living in the USA I'd be mortified!
I had a neighbor retired in La Paz BCS. We were in a so so housing plot, quite average around there. Her grand daughter came to visit and lost it! "Grandma, how could you live like this .. broke into tears on several occasions. Granny went home. I guess it's all relative.
Yes over all, things are much worse in the U.S. than in Mexico, and the area in the first post Jalisco has deteriorated a lot in the last 5- 10 years.
My friend has an uncle in Mexico cd. and he apparently is robbed often, yet he feels it is a city worth living in even if he gets robbed often, and it takes him an hour to get to work.
Those are choices, the people murdered in the U.S. while trying to just live their lives did not make that choice. 50 women a month are murdered in the U.S. every day children die. There is no city they can move to where it will for sure to be safer. Everyone in Mexico is not entitled to have multiple guns.
Yes relative , I am retired and my standard of living is much higher than in the USA. I rent my home in USA for twice what my México home cost me and it is much nicer. The politicians response to all the death is to arm the teachers , which makes the gun people giving them money happy . The teachers are not happy too say the least.
No picnic in the USA either. Had a tenant in a 2007 built home in Florida. She broke the lease after someone sprayed my home with bullets. Couldn't argue with her.
Almost every time I leave this place, my neighbors toss some meat to the dogs and comb things over. I'm unsure if they prefer theft or vandalism.
My Denver home was robbed regularly until I started using two deadbolts.
In Mexico the bad guys have an easy time getting firearms while the good guys have no defense. In America, over 90% of the shooters are taking anti-depressants. Americans spend more on popping pills than they do on oil and gas. Think about that for a second.
American cops kill over three citizens/day. SWAT raids are all the rage. Our police steal more than our criminals do.
Lot to be said for building underground? Something I am considering. Why? I consider it possible that things may get "exciting" within the next decade.
Even in the late Seventies and Eighties, Mexico was never a safe place. But I never knew of anyone murdered. Some home invasions and lots of petty theft. No justice system. We came back to live in San Miguel and we lasted just over a year. Over development had caused chaos with tourists, traffic and fireworks all the time. Security had become a real issue with murders, kidnappings, home invasions and burglaries. We also didn't feel safe driving throughout Mexico. Gangs and extortion were now rampant in San Miguel. Our next door neighbor was stealing our electricity. Our landlady became very abusive because because we wouldn't pay for big repairs on the house. our car was vandalized,, our beautiful dog died of a heart attack - we are assuming because of the stress and the noise of the fireworks,
We realized we didn't have to live like that and came back to the US. We miss the people, the friends we made, our lovely housekeeper, our vet, the culture,, Las Grutas, the markets, the gardens, Next time, we'll go as snowbirds to Mexico and other places.
People needs to be very careful and be aware of who is around them. Mexico has no working justice system and is disorganized chaos. RTJ
Thanks for offering your perspective Renne.
Many of us have lived here for years, and other than some robberies have felt pretty safe. I think many who live in SMA might feel quite different from what you think.
I know I have heard of no school shootings , casual strolls through the park shootings, Mall shootings, church shootings , or bombs on the porch to blow people up. I know of no people being run over by cars on purpose, and have seen no white supremacist marches . I am not afraid to walk on the street, or go to the store or market. If you feel the U.S. is safer it is obviously the best place for you to be.
I also know I have seen more non violent police action here than there. No one has pulled a gun on me when checking my I.D. Of course there is the U.S. initiated, armed, and funded cartell issues. Which continue to take many Mexican lives, yet there are more daily deaths in the U.S. Close to a hundred or more every day just from shootings. If you add drug sponsored deaths, toxic environment deaths etc. the numbers are staggering
buena suerte
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