How are you feeling after the recent missing student situation?

Hello Everyone!

We're looking for a pulse on the impact of the Guerrero missing students situation. Our plans to move to Lakeside have not been without consideration for the safety of gringos living at Lakeside, but we've been reminded often by friends living at Lakeside, that the statistics for crime in US cities are often more disturbing.

Still, we must do our "due diligence" and ask if gringos continue to be safe living at Lakeside. Once we make a move from our home in Oregon, it will not be a simple thing to change our minds and move back.

We know this topic can be controversial, so please reply either on the forum or by PM.
Thanks everyone for guiding us in this big decision!

Mary and Paul, and the Kitty Cats

Never worried about it.....feel safer here than I did in Detroit.....LOL been here 8 years, and never with fear Mary.

Nothing to do with foreigners and/or Lakeside

Stuff happens down here,just the other day an American was killed by an angry camel in Tulum.

The missing student situation is sad and it hurts--just as mass shootings in the U.S. are sad and hurt. In neither case is my personal safety impacted. Few people are choosing to leave the U.S. because of gun violence and social unrest. But, some people are, just as some people choose to leave Mexico (or decide not to move here) out of fear. Your life. Your choice.

It's horrendous but people aren't disappearing in my barrio so I'm good.

I think you should consider how you would handle it if you get here and all of a sudden things start happening because it has happened and it could happen again. We had to just suck it up and stick it out for a while there but we thought it would get better and it did.
Would it just ruin everything for you if a mass kidnapping or body dump happened in your town, even if you knew you weren't a target ? If so, maybe you should think on it a little more.

The Guerrero incident would be comparable to the mass shootings in Columbine, Virginia, or Connecticut as those would have affected your community in Oregon. Horrible, but not in  your back yard, so life goes on.

Thank you all for calming me down.  This particular case with so many abducted students, seems to be quite gruesome, but the event happened some distance away from Lakeside in a state known for drug crimes.  Everyone has assured me that Lakeside remains a safe place not involved in such violent crimes.  As anywhere, one must take precaustions and be aware of those around you.  But life goes on, and this mass kidnapping (hopefully not murders) could certainly happen in any part of the US too.  And as a few wise members have said, you most likely wouldn't pack up and leave your home in the US, that had some crimes near your area, but not impacting or involving you.  It reminds me of the Rodney King riots in LA, in about the 1990's We lived in LA at that time.  The volatile looting and random crimes and fires were quite frightening at the time, but things settled down quickly and life carried on.
 
I hope to integrate in Lakeside with a supportive group that I could call up if I had need.  So I hope to meet many of you, and exchange cell phone numbers, so we ask or offer help if a house was being invaded for robbery, etc.  Is there a neighborhood watch already set up?  Thanks as always!!!
~Mary

I think the advice about thinking hard how you'd cope if it DID happen in your barrio is excellent and You should not consider the commitment of buying until you are sure of the answer. Everyone is different in their tolerance of risk and insecurity

Because the truth is we have had horrible things happen locally in the recent past & drug problems exist here as they do across the globe where there is desperate poverty & lack of opportunity. Mexico is Mexico whether it's Lakeside , Michoacan or Sonora -- and the governments (local & federal) are not capable of stopping it. you should recognize this is not the US & such matters are handled as you're accustomed.

That being said as a foreigner & single 60 yr old woman , i do feel very very safe here, have lived here for years & hopefully will have many more happy years here

Shame or hope for the families of the students?   News reported, mass grave are not missing students.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-81676855/

The news is too far removed to effect people here.  As some have already said, when the movie theater mass shooting happened in Colorado, how did it effect life in Bend, OR or even other towns in Colorado? There was a mass grave found on the other side of the lake at some point, a long time ago, and it didn't bother any body here because it was so old, no one here was involved.

News reported in English will be hit and miss, just as it is here in Mexico.  

Life in Mexico...your friends will warn you where and where not to go. Planning a trip, ask for a heads up on travel arrangements.  Live life like normal.  The biggest difference is the language for newbies and those not able to communicate well in Spanish.  The thought of being in a foreign country causes some a heightened alert because they can't understand everything happening so things seem more unfamiliar.  

At this point time, I wouldn't acclimate back to living in the US, it's not protected enough for me.  Not happy with the direction the US has gone.  If I could, I'd move all my family down here asap.  

Excellent post, court0503! Totally agree and hope the same for my future here too.

Mary, have you been to Mexico, apart from, say, Cancun, PV, or other tourist towns for a week or so? Have you read books on or researched the culture or history of this country? Do you speak any Spanish yet? What is your reason for wanting to move to Mexico?

It is so not southern California, Arizona, or Texas. They do things differently here and no foreigner will change that no matter how hard they try or how much money they throw around.

Moving to a foreign country is an expensive endeavor, both emotionally and financially - be sure you know what you're getting into before you take the jump. All the best.

Trailrunner wrote: What is your reason for wanting to move to Mexico?

It is so not southern California, Arizona, or Texas. They do things differently here and no foreigner will change that no matter how hard they try or how much money they throw around.

Moving to a foreign country is an expensive endeavor, both emotionally and financially - be sure you know what you're getting into before you take the jump. All the best.

yes indeed!

Please don't take offense but your question itself would indicate that perhaps you don't yet know enough / have enough experience with the Lakeside life and/or with life in Mexico to 'burn all your bridges '. Keeping your options open seems a idea until you know if life here works for you.
If however you are the flexible, adventurous type Go For It ! And if it doesn't work out , move on to Plan B

Hello Everyone!
Excellent thoughts and advice! We are forced to take things slowly right now, because the big selling season is over in Bend, and we may not be able to sell until the tourists are back in high numbers next summer. So we will continue to read and ask questions, and thank you all for your honest opinions based on your experiences!
Thank you all!!!
Mary

The night before I left on my drive to Lakeside with everything I owned in my SUV I had a minor meltdown and sat up reading Borderland Beat until the wee hours. I think I went ahead with the move because I didn't want to unpack everything LOL. I have never regretted moving here and feel safer than anywhere I have lived before. But things are different here. If you don't enjoy the learning curve and differences you may not last living in Mexico. It is definitely worth the effort.
Some great advice in this thread.

After living Lakeside for a couple of years, we came back to Ontario for what was to be about a 2 - 3 month extended visit.
Every day we were in Ontario, we missed our home Lakeside.
Unfortunately the trip dragged out to almost 6 months due to health problems.
We are coming home this weekend. Note that I said "home", because Ajijic is our home.
We fell in love with the area on our first visit and spent about a year prepping for our move. No regrets.
But we have known people who committed to the move, only to find that it is not really what they wanted.
If you do not fall in love with the area right away, you should try some extended visits at different times of the year.
IMHO.

Thanks Grizzy! I know what you mean... and we are just checking in with everyone... but we do see that the US holds no safer haven than Lakeside, for a good simple life.

I moved here from Colorado. I had a friend whose daughter was going to school at Columbine at the time of the shootings and the embattled sheriff was a family friend. I had lived less than a mile from the Aurora theater and attended many movies there. But I understood that both events were largely the results of poor gun control laws and lack of mental health funding. If I wanted to move back to Colorado, neither event would prevent me.

My heart goes out to the students and their families but it wouldn't send me scurrying back NOB.

There are drug problems here in Mexico. We have had several serious incidents here at Lakeside that have come much closer than I would like. While they cause grief and pain, they wouldn't send me back NOB either. Sounds like you need to spend some time in Mexico to see if you are comfortable with the possible dangers.

Oregon2LakeChapala wrote:Hello Everyone!
Excellent thoughts and advice!  We are forced to take things slowly right now, because the big selling season is over in Bend, and we may not be able to sell until the tourists are back in high numbers next summer.  So we will continue to read and ask questions, and thank you all for your honest opinions based on your experiences!
Thank you all!!!
Mary

Mexican and foreign friends and relatives have been gravitating to Guadalajara/Jalisco, from other Mexican states and not just because of safety, but also because of intangibles concerning family values. ETC"

Thanks for asking the question Mary. It is hard to get a feel for the impact felt(or not) locally, when we are not yet part of the community. Still facing a lot of negativity towards my decision from those around me esp. with this type of news. Love it that they're talking about the police corruption in the US as well.
Can't wait to begin my next adventure..

Paul St. Pierre, a great writer and storyteller, wrote that living in Mexico was like "living in a opera". That always struck me about right. The drama, the color, the spectacle, the noise. As you know some people cannot stand opera. Others love it. Many just fall asleep through it.

I'm sad to report that Paul St. Pierre has passed in November, 2014. He was one the originals we are so short of these days. This interview from 1988, I think before he had a winter place in Mexico.

I think that most expats living here are so unaffected that if they didn't follow the news or read these forums they would have no idea there was any problems in Mexico.

Ignorance is indeed bliss.......jaja.

Hi there fellow forum members!!!

I'm always stirring up the pot with my questions, right? I am really glad to hear everyone's point of view, and they fall on both sides of the coin, for sure!

Will check in with everyone soon!
~Mary

Go to

WWW.BORDERLANDBEAT.COM

There is a lot of uproar/protests in the college school system throughout Mexico over this happening.
Many students were on buses going to the area to look & protest, but were turned away.
This event is far from settling down and being forgotten.
Anyone that wishes to compare this with any event in the past in the USA is way off base
and not in touch with the Mexican street news.

I read the Borderland Beat blog everyday and have often found it to be a source of false and misleading information. Here's a link to the English-language version of El Universal, a leading mainstream Mexican newspaper.

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/in-english/