After Reading a Post on this site...

The_Hero_of_Men · Post by **The_Hero_of_Men** » March 15th, 2011, 5:41 pm

I have decided that I was going to research Mexico, to determine if it could be a good place for me to move. I wonder, what are the safest parts of Mexico? Well, I do live in San Antonio, Texas, and there is a Mexican Consulate downtown. Would it be a good idea to talk to them about information, or... not?

The only reason why I am asking is because I am still new to all of this...

well-informed · Post by **well-informed** » March 15th, 2011, 6:15 pm

You should i cant see why it could hurt. Find about laws, visas, etc.

The_Hero_of_Men · Post by **The_Hero_of_Men** » March 15th, 2011, 6:19 pm

well-informed wrote:You should i cant see why it could hurt. Find about laws, visas, etc.

I must admit, I am concerned about all of the violence that is going on in Mexico. I also heard that is it like one of the most corrput countries on Earth...

Pokemon · Post by **Pokemon** » March 15th, 2011, 7:22 pm

Cities in southern mexico are supposed to be quite peaceful.

http://www.munknee.com/2010/08/top-10-p ... in-mexico/

onezero4u · Post by **onezero4u** » March 15th, 2011, 8:02 pm

dammmm

stay away from the northern areas....its all drugs and murder. life is cheap there...

southern mexico would be better....

MrPeabody · Post by **MrPeabody** » March 15th, 2011, 8:06 pm

If you want to try living in Mexico, just get a 6 month tourist visa (cost about $20). Then if you like it, you can switch to an FM3 visa which requires some paper work and is not hard to get. It doesn't require a lawyer, for example, the man who does my car insurance also does FM3 visas.

I live in Mexico, in the Baja, south of San Diego. I maintain a PO Box in San Diego, because the Mexican mail sytem is not reliable. I live in a facility that has 24 hour a day guards. There are well to do Mexicans who are leaving for San Diego because of kidnapping threats, however Americans don't seem to be targeted. You frequently see convoys of Mexican Marines on the highways.

If you don't speak Spanish, you are going to have problems. You could probably live in Tijuana though because many Mexicans who speak Spanish and English rent apartments out in the Baja. So, you can have a landlord who speaks English.

If you live in Texas, Monterrey is the closest big city to you, and is one of the more educated, high industry areas of Mexico.

One easy way to get into Mexico is to get a CELTA degree and then teach English. Mexico is always looking for English teachers.

Check out craigslist for apartments.

Tijuana and other areas of Baja

http://tijuana.en.craigslist.com.mx/apa/

keius · Post by **keius** » March 15th, 2011, 9:12 pm

Doesn't sound very safe to me based on Peabody's description. If you already speak Spanish, then i can see the appeal, otherwise, the Philippines or China sound much more appealing to me.

I like my freedoms. The freedom to roam around without worrying too much about my safety that is. Still, it is right around the corner from you and it would be relatively cost effective, cheap even. Can't hurt to try it out.

well-informed · Post by **well-informed** » March 15th, 2011, 9:23 pm

I forgot to mention, that if you want to move to Mexico you should at least learn spanish.

How you can be part of a country without knowing the language. You're going to need to know Spanish if you don't want to be taken advantage in different situations. What's the point of moving if you can interact with the locals

Luckily Spanish happens to be one of the easier languages to learn.

djfourmoney · Post by **djfourmoney** » March 16th, 2011, 12:33 am

Take Peabody's advice and learn at least some basic Spanish.

This overt sense of safety that Americans seem to always concern themselves with is a joke. Find yourself in a seedy part of any town, something might happen to you. Is there a Drug War in Mexico? Yes, but did you miss the one going on in the US? Just because there isn't a gun battle of blockbuster movie proportions going on every week, there is plenty of law enforcement activity that is directly or indirectly effected by our national policy on drugs.

Most of you live (for good reason) in places were drive-by shootings are fairly rare if never happens. What's happening in SOME parts of Mexico is basically a Drug Turf War that the Mexican Government (with help from the US Government) is right in the middle of. When that happens, the public at large sometimes gets caught in the crossfire and people get killed, but the majority of people getting killed are people that are targeted anyway.

If you want the real story on what's happening in Mexico, ignore our mass media and search for alternative sources. Its as bad as you think, but not because its dangerous for you as a person, but it threatens to topple the Mexican Government as the oil fields dry up....

If you're concerned about your safety doing a 1:1 exchange makes more sense. I don't understand about doing this 2:1 or 3:1 exchange that some people find interesting, which is one-sided its money related. The belief your dollar (buying power) will go further in this poorer countries. Only true when it comes to basic. Basic food, shelter and clothing might very well be cheaper. But basics that WE take for granted in a 1:1 country are very expensive in poorer countries because only so much of the population can afford it.

djfourmoney · Post by **djfourmoney** » March 16th, 2011, 12:50 am

keius wrote:Doesn't sound very safe to me based on Peabody's description. If you already speak Spanish, then i can see the appeal, otherwise, the Philippines or China sound much more appealing to me.

I like my freedoms. The freedom to roam around without worrying too much about my safety that is. Still, it is right around the corner from you and it would be relatively cost effective, cheap even. Can't hurt to try it out.

Roam around? Are you the explorer type? To be frank anything could happen to you, even in the United States "roaming around" here it might not be people that's a threat but nature. I doubt you'll slow down a Mountain Lion (Cougar) if she/he believes you're a threat to them. When Nature attacks is mostly things caught on camera in the United States... As I said in my other post, false sense of safety is the problem with Americans in general. Maybe because I'm Black and I think the Police are much greater threat to me that regular people might have an effect on my POV.

Stay out of seedy parts of town after Midnight, period. 2am in areas known for drug trafficking, prostitution, etc is just asking for trouble.

Use Call-In services if you need to use "those" services.

US staples can be had, there are Costco's, Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowe's in Mexico just for example.

Want to be out at 4am? Move to a 1:1 country like Sweden.

The_Hero_of_Men · Post by **The_Hero_of_Men** » March 16th, 2011, 8:10 am

keius wrote:Doesn't sound very safe to me based on Peabody's description. If you already speak Spanish, then i can see the appeal, otherwise, the Philippines or China sound much more appealing to me.

I like my freedoms. The freedom to roam around without worrying too much about my safety that is. Still, it is right around the corner from you and it would be relatively cost effective, cheap even. Can't hurt to try it out.

But how much would it cost for a plane ticket to the Philippines, on average?

djfourmoney · Post by **djfourmoney** » March 16th, 2011, 8:48 pm

the_hero_of_time wrote:
keius wrote:Doesn't sound very safe to me based on Peabody's description. If you already speak Spanish, then i can see the appeal, otherwise, the Philippines or China sound much more appealing to me.

I like my freedoms. The freedom to roam around without worrying too much about my safety that is. Still, it is right around the corner from you and it would be relatively cost effective, cheap even. Can't hurt to try it out.
But how much would it cost for a plane ticket to the Philippines, on average?

Most expensive part of the Philippines is getting there, currently from the US its $941 R/T. But its usually around a $1,000 give or take a few hundred.

Philippines and China only sound appealing to those with Yellow Fever. You can find attractive women everywhere, I just like ass, tities, a tinge of eye color that isn't BROWN. I'm gravitating slowly towards Latin America, as I'll find those types of women there and its less expensive than flying halfway around the world.

odbo · Post by **odbo** » March 17th, 2011, 3:12 am

is it possible to take a ship to asia?

if time isn't money. no tsa body scanners for you!
they probably all go to china/japan/korea but you can take a cheap flight or another ferry from there.

i want to look into this. i remember hearing that container ships sometimes rent rooms for passengers. the one i heard about was $25 a night but breakfast included! i also remember transporting your car from new york to europe or vise versa was $1000 in the 90s.

it would be easy to find a good deal if you had a friend who worked in shipping or at the port of oakland or somewhere like that.

djfourmoney · Post by **djfourmoney** » March 18th, 2011, 12:29 am

LinuxOnly wrote:is it possible to take a ship to asia? if time isn't money. no tsa body scanners for you!
they probably all go to china/japan/korea but you can take a cheap flight or another ferry from there.

i want to look into this. i remember hearing that container ships sometimes rent rooms for passengers. the one i heard about was $25 a night but breakfast included! i also remember transporting your car from new york to europe or vise versa was $1000 in the 90s.

it would be easy to find a good deal if you had a friend who worked in shipping or at the port of oakland or somewhere like that.

You can avoid TSA by flying out of a country without that BS. On the West Coast, some have resorted to going down to Mexico and flying from there. That's how US citizens go to Cuba which you can't do conventionally.

US Government can't control what happens outside of America even if they would like to make you think otherwise.

I am not aware of any cruises to Asia, the cruises from NY to London are horribly expensive for what it is. Cruises are best sutied for fooling around South America, cost wise.

Post by **fschmidt** » March 19th, 2011, 10:15 pm

the_hero_of_time, I have a suggestion for you. Try visiting Cuatro CiÃ©negas and nearby towns. These are near the border but are nicer than most other border areas. They are small towns, which means friendly people. From San Antonio, go to Eagle Pass and cross over to Piedras Negras. This is a safe crossing. Go to the bus station there and get a bus to Monclova. From there, either take a bus or taxi to Cuatro CiÃ©negas. There are hotels in Cuatro CiÃ©negas since it has a small tourist business because of the biosphere reserve there. You can also visiting neighboring towns that have no tourists at all. This trip should give you a nice cheap introduction to Mexico. Of course you will need some Spanish.

As for where to move, it depends on your needs and how you plan to make money