Canadian looking to move to Mexico

cncolling wrote:

Hi everyone,
Unfortunately people I know keep mentioning how dangerous they think it is in Mexico. Is it safe to live in a single family home or a condo. I prefer single family. I'm looking to move to the Caribbean side or the gulf. Wondering which is better. I'm hoping for ocean front. I'm looking for lots of expats as I don't speak any Spanish yet and I'm aweful with languages.I'm also very social and looking for a sense of community and to making new friends.I have two little dogs and want them to be safe. Hoping you can get good satelite service here, and wondering are our tvs compatible. I don't enjoy high humidity or mosquitoes so which coast would be better. Which coast is less expensive and why.I also worry about hurricanes.  Any advise would be so much appreciated.

Welcome to the Mexico forum on Expat..com

Reading your questions, it would appear that you've never spent much if any time in Mexico, is that correct?

I would recommend that you arrange an extended trip to one of the more secure cities in Mexico, staying in secure accommodations, and begin venturing forth on secure day trips to explore the surrounding areas.

Because only you can decide what level of safety is good enough.

Just remember that a sense of safety is due in large part to your own feelings and fears.

So if you plan to travel down here to Mexico without any sense of the language, that will almost certainly contribute to a sense of fear when you don't understand what people are saying around you and you aren't able to ask them questions easily.

This is not meant to be a judgment, but you seem to be describing a desire to live within an Expat bubble.

You can certainly do that, but you'll find that your cost of living will exponentially increase the more you choose to only live around other expats in controlled housing situations, such as gated condo developments.

In order to feel really safe and be able to survive well, you'll need to be hiring someone else to do your shopping for you, or hire a private driver who will also accompany you when you shop and act as a translator and quasi bodyguard.

By the time you end up paying for premium housing and daily domestic help and transportation assistance, the cost of living advantage is going to quickly disappear.

But if your prime desire is to avoid cold Canadian winters, and you have enough personal wealth/income to afford it, then you should be able to carve out a way of life that's as safe (if not safer) than where you live.

interesting article. This is why people ask if Mexico is “dangerous!” Don't be part of the “yes” answer.

I am in Ensenada.No humidity, no hurricanes, close to the US border. Less expensive than the USA, CERTAINLY, less expensive than inland Mexico,no. One pays for that West coast and the proximity to the states. Still 1/3 of what CA has to offer. Voila!!!

The truth is that The news the Post pushes doesn't usually address the reality. It's been months not weeks and both cartels, as well as tourists, have been involved. The most recent violence happen in the north and involved Canadian criminals fighting each other.

Maybe consider Belize. They speak English there.

I have been looking at real estate near the city of La Paz - what kind of place is La Paz - Is it dangerous, what kind of expat community is there - are there any unusual things about the area that I should be aware of. Hopefully, someone familiar with La Paz will respond. Thanks

mrpres wrote:

I have been looking at real estate near the city of La Paz - what kind of place is La Paz - Is it dangerous, what kind of expat community is there - are there any unusual things about the area that I should be aware of. Hopefully, someone familiar with La Paz will respond. Thanks

That's going to be much more likely to happen if you create a new thread in the Mexico forum.

Unfortunately this website doesn't seem to have a sub-forum for La Paz.

It's actually preferred by admin that a new thread be created instead of taking an existing thread off topic.

If your looking for safety Ixtapa is the safest place in Mexico.

I think Mexico overall is no more dangerous than any place in USA or Canada. I am a single woman in my 70s traveling alone. It is useful to know some Spanish. When people who have not traveled to mexico ask me how dangerous it is I tell them the most dangerous thing is tripping on the uneven sidewalks.  I spent a few months in La Paz in 2013 so not recently. there was an expat community there and I would guess that community has grown. I was living on a boat at the time so I haven't information about neighborhoods.

You are more or less correct Alecia, in that Mexico is not a sort of escape to a Disneyland that is totally safe and happy. Canada and the US have major problems, as does Mexico. So like anywhere else one must be alert and aware of where the problems might be,