Newbie Question on Lakeside Crime

Hello everyone. My husband and I considered exploring the option of retiring to your community several years agao, but settled instead on FL and bought a condo there in anticipation of the great day. As we tire of the rat race more and more, we are looking again to find somewhere that will allow us to expedite our plans and are once again considering Lakeside. We have not yet visited, but are strongly considering doing so withing the next couple of months. However, recent reporting on crimes (including the La Barca mass grave and stories of "hijackings" on the road from Guadalajara to Chapala) are giving us pause. And, of course, there are the gov't issued travel advisories. Can you give me your forthright thoughts on crime in your communities? How have events of the last 18 months impacted your lives, your sense of security and wellbeing, etc? Really appreciate any input!

I am a single woman. I live in a working-class Mexican barrio in Chapala and feel perfectly safe. I take the same safety precautions I took when I lived in the U.S. I stay aware of what is going on but I do not obsess about it. Every day I am grateful to be retired and living here. It is not perfect by any means but, so far, any trade-offs I have had to make are worth it to me. You will get many and varied opinions on this topic and only you will be able to decide what you need to be comfortable.

I'm a 38 year old single female that lives alone down here in Centro Chapala. I have no feelings of insecurity when walking to the store at night.

While there is crime going on (all over the world!!) you really need to come down and see for yourself how you feel. La Barca is quite a ways away, and as far as the road to Guadalajara, I drive in with friends all the time and have no issues.

the la barca thing is narco related and is on the jalisco/michoacan border. we have lived in a mexican barrio in west central chapala for over 7 years and nothing has changed.

It is interesting that you chose this section of the forum in which to post your question.
I suspect you would receive a broader response if you posted it in the Mirador.
We bought here 2 years ago, and have never had any problems.
I feel just as safe here, if not safer, than I did living in rural Ontario.
I feel MUCH safer than I did living in the Toronto area.   

It probably depends on just what your intentions are with Mexico? If you plan to hang out along the north shore of Lake Chapala with the rest of the Gringos and rarely go anywhere beyond the confines, the most you might experience is some petty crime? Should you be interested in experiencing Guadalajara and more of Central Mexico, then my opinion is that you need some developed "street smarts" to avoid putting yourself in a situation/place you might regret. All that said, we have been extensively traveling Mexico since the late 90's and to date haven't had a single negative incident other than some minor burglaries when we still had a home in the area.

Thanks for everything so far! Certainly sounds like nothing to derail our investigation! We will plan to visit in late Jan to see if we feel like the area warrants further visits. Appreciate the input so far....will likely wear you all down over the coming weeks/months with more questions!  

I didn't know there were any recent highjackings..is this from 3 years ago?

Most that post on here lived through the bad stuff...can't imagine that ever happening again.  Probably some in the mass graves that they're finding now, far from here, are some of those that went missing quite a long time ago.  It goes back to we aren't involved in that, pretty much doesn't effect us, although it frightened me while it was happening.  We're still here.  That says a lot.  This is home and it's lovely, economical and many friendly people with as much or little as anyone would like to do.  I live in a little "compound," per my request and i feel safer at home than anywhere.  I love it!  Drove in the dark on a back road from Guad to Chapala last night.  The horses in the road were more of a danger than anything else.  Learn what to do if there's a problem and live your life as you please. Everytime you fly in a plane they go over the saftey features and show you how to put on your mask and all the emergency exists etc even if you never need it. Look at all the angles and be smart and go.

Pedro has forgotten the murders that took place about three years ago, when two narco gangs were fighting. but since then , only an occassional robbery, murder , kidnapping.
I still feel more comfortable than I did in New orleans, and hear about in Memphis, Chicago, etc.
I live in a Mexican community in Chapala and feel comfortable.

Gosh, when was it May 2 years ago when Benno's dad encountered a large group of folks being taken up into the hills near Ajijic where they were murdered? Benno's dad escaped. But needless to say the family left Mexico.  Things were very bad for a few months there.

Several dealers working for the wrong gang, were murdered several streets below me, here in Ajijic. It was posted on this forum by JohnInAjijic when we were teasing each other about the value of his house.

Just curious about long time residents about your opinion about Narco presence in Our area ....has organized crime in Chapala been run out of town and is a thing of he past or have they have just sort of worked things out about who controls the area? Or what is your opinion about that?

I have my opinion, I think they are still around but it does not affect our daily life. Newbies don't really need to worry about such things.

How long do you think there has been "drug activity" in the Lake Chapala area and how long will it last?
Longer than anybody alive can remember and longer than anybody will live.
When you say "who controls the area", I assume you mean the drug business. Different subjects control different entities of commerce, both legal and illegal.
Organized crime in chapala? They are only organized when there isn't any competition...when there is...all hell breaks loose and it is anything but organized.
Same scenario when the Volstead Act was the law of the land in the US.

Ukrascal, this board tends to have Lakeside diehards so the answers you receive a going to be biased. Personally, I'm tired of all the bad news and am in the process of finding somewhere else to live. I've met three ex-pats who were later murdered. We've been burglarized. There are burglaries in our neighborhood all the time. I've met someone who was car-jacked. One local businessmen I liked was kidnapped and was lucky to escape with his life, minus a pinky finger. La Barca, currently in the news, is only a 1.25 hours from here on the route to Morelia and beyond. I no longer want to drive in Mexico any more then I have to. The tragedy two years ago with completely innocent people still haunts me. Before that there were the buses set on fire on the highways in Guad; the shootout near the Coffee Tree. The legal system and law enforcement is incomprehensible. It is impossible to really know how bad things are because crime isn't reported as in the states. Families just deal with their loss privately so we can't know how many go missing. In the states, you have police logs, often even published in the newspaper. Here, nada...

That's just my take on it. There will probably a lot of nasty and the usual "Why don't you go home?" responses. Yeah, I'm working on it...

There you have it--and it is an important viewpoint that Explorador shares. I am not sure why s/he says previous answers were "biased" when they were just the same as his/hers: a picture of what we focus upon and where our thoughts and energies go. I have lived here for five years and have seen/been a part of the same things Explorador has. They are all part of life here as are many other wonderful/beautiful/joyful things. Those committed to this area understand this is not the place for everyone and we understand those for whom it is not. In the end, each of us has to decide if this can be “home” to us. It certainly is not for everyone.

Anywhere in the world, you can compile a "collage" of negative happenings.

when i said nothing has changed in my community,i was referring to my immediate neighbourhood, lourdes, which has remained the same for the over 7years we've lived here.

We are coming up on two years here.  I feel safer here than I did in Alabama.  We were warned by many people about what life here would be like, crime, murders, kidnappings.  All those things happen in the US, same as here.  Back in Alabama, there were places that were not safe.  I assume that the same is true here.  Life in Mexico is not for all, but for those who it suits, life here is wonderful.

Well said, Charliej.   

Yes he is correct, much negative news, but it has gotton better. Last year there was a kipnap, (a doctors wife) she was murdered. They grabbed her near Walmart. The taco man was shot across from Lloyds. The Guadalajara phramacy was robbed @ 4am new years eve. They came in w/masks & guns. There were also 2 home invasions down the block from torittos, mid day, an expat was tied up. There were many breakins during lasy year. It seems to have slowed down.

Was that an extrapolation to encourage or discourage prospective newcomers. It could be taken as an infomercial or a saracastic take on things.
Anywhere, where there is a population equal to Lake Chapala and there has been a reduction in crime......there is still crime.
The effect of crime for those other than the victims...is how much time do you dwell on it, mentally, and how much does it affect your physical activity.  A very subjective yardstick to measure every individual who lives here or plans to move here.

slainte39 wrote:Was that an extrapolation to encourage or discourage prospective newcomers. It could be taken as an infomercial or a saracastic take on things.
Anywhere, where there is a population equal to Lake Chapala and there has been a reduction in crime......there is still crime.
The effect of crime for those other than the victims...is how much time do you dwell on it, mentally, and how much does it affect your physical activity.  A very subjective yardstick to measure every individual who lives here or plans to move here.

You know, that's an excellent point. The measure of the incidents is somewhat meaningless except for getting a feel for the severity index.
But, how much time you spend dwelling on it, and how much it affects your daily living. That IS the true measure.
And for me, it is only a passing thought this past year.
Nicely stated.

What i meant was that last year at this time is was bad. Here it is a year later, no kidnaps, home invasions. All has been quiet since last winter. I came here at the worst time, 2 1/2-3 years ago. It was so bad that i left because i could not handle listening. There were road blocks, bus burnings, but now all is fine.

My personal credo.....

It never was that bad and now it's not that good.