Yesterday's Crime Protest Meeting in the Mileneo today

Veronica Navarro and Victor Alcazar are organizing distribution of information to the Mexican citizenry. This is - I think - an inclusive activity.

i didnt think of "staged" crimes for reward $. no should be prosecuted unless there are finger prints & seen running from the crime. or caught bragging about it, then matching prints. or finding the stolen goods in their car, the ovious. rewards to the police are the best way to go. i dont think its a terrible thing that this place loses much of its american clientele. there are many mexicans moving here, houses can be sold. so many businesses open & shut anyway. even if there were few newer mexicans moving here, i still dont think its a terrible thing that most people leave. there was more quality before, less b.s. & not so many temporary businesses. you cant control everything. we do not know how bad it will get w/crime, i have seen areas go way down. if the building stops, many transient boys will be gone. the problems here are generally caused by the same social factors as the u.s.a. thats another comment for another time.

well...evolutionary change in the place is inevitable. It will be interesting to watch what happens.

Solovino wrote:

raqueteer wrote:

Solovino wrote:

raqueteer wrote:
Yes, he took fingerprints, gave them to the cops and apparently they were known criminals.

WHO took fingerprints?

He had a kit, did them himself and presented them as evidence. Seemed to work just fine. What's more, when their families asked for lenience, the judge told them that there was no way. Presumably he had cops there when he took the prints. I'll have to ask him.

A civilian? Sorry, but sounds like BS too me.

Sorry, it's a very well known story in these parts. I might add that when anyone is working on our property he'll drop by and mention the incident, as a warning to behave. All eyes look downward and they just nod their heads. As I said before this guy has serious street cred. You don't get that with B.S.

One last story that I know about straight from the horses mouth was an incident some years back when the maid stole some jewelry. The husband went straight down to her house and told her he was putting a private detective on the case, and if she or any member of her family tried to sell that jewelry they'd be put in jail. Miraculously the jewelry turned up in the garden a couple of days later.

Just this week someone's maid tried extortion on for size and has been arrested. Can't find the story now, but it's true and was plastered all over earlier this week along with her photo.

things like this have been going on for decades. maybe its time to put away the collection cup. time for americans to learn what they are dealing with, & behave accordingly. stop patronizing the mexicans & treating them as cuddle bears. stop simpering around as a grateful guest. middle/upper middle mexicans have less robberies & incidents w/the help. why? they know how to take care of themselves, they are also in reality. happy to hear that the american retrieved the jewelry.

I agree with Susan....do not ingratiate yourself with your mexican workers. It puts you in a position to be taken advantage of. It is better to have strong boundaries, and don't let your pity buttons get pushed.

And of course it was proven without a shadow of doubt that the ones that went to jail were the culprits?[/quote]

Very funny Solovino.

"Round up the usual suspects."

Claude Rains. CASABLANCA. Circa the 1940s. The more things change the more they remain the same.

chevy: i have had 2 maids, never heard a "story". part was luck- i had good people. my instincts are usually correct. also it is the way i behave. (when i need electrical work, im not doing social work. lets not confuse). theres too much yabba yabba w/americans. & much too soon in the relationship. there should not be a pity button, as these conversations should not take place. if someones been w/you a long time, & a tragedy happens, thats anther story.

These forums go on and on about crime at Lakeside and one murder. Fer Christsakes folks, get a grip. Did you lose your brains when you crossed the border and completely forget about all the crime, home invasions, drive by shootings, rapes and murders in every US city and some towns? I think so. You all get your panties in a bunch over nothing.

Lakeside is still safer than any city NOB. Most everyone is going about doing their daily routine. It will be interesting to hear what happens and how many show up for the huge meeting tomorrow.

Some people have never been employers and as a result, they make "friends" with their employees, who then think the employer is some kind of fool.

johninajijic wrote:These forums go on and on about crime at Lakeside and one murder. Fer Christsakes folks, get a grip. Did you lose your brains when you crossed the border and completely forget about all the crime, home invasions, drive by shootings, rapes and murders in every US city and some towns? I think so. You all get your panties in a bunch over nothing.

Lakeside is still safer than any city NOB. Most everyone is going about doing their daily routine. It will be interesting to hear what happens and how many show up for the huge meeting tomorrow.

Wel said, John. Brigitte and I were informally discussing whether or not we might move back to Alabama or Florida if things got out of hand here as, especially in Florida, property values have declined so dramatically, that we could probably buy a home in parts of that state that would be significantly cheaper than a comparable home in the Ajijic area. Since we are both now old enough for full Medicare benefits, we were discussing such other salient issues as taxes, crime and the cost of living for such things as food and other essentials of life beyond the central issue of the price of a home. We also discussed the fact that the climate in the Southeastern U.S.or just about anywhere up there outside of Coastal California, can´t hold a candle to the climate at the Lake Chapala area and, upon reflection, we finally realized that to move to a place like Florida to escape crime or find similar equable weather was an absurdist notion even if we could find more affordable housing. We concluded that, perhaps the sole advantage to living in that area versus Highland Mexico was that; well, now I´ve forgotten what that might have been. Things would have to get very hairy around here to induce us to move back to that hell hole. Maybe rural France but Florida? I think not.

Mr. Dawg, why do you only think of the US or France as alternatives? The world is a big place (as I think you already know). Ever consider Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Cuba, Belize, etc., etc. as other alternatives to Mexico if necessary? Just curious as to your thoughts on these places.

International Living is always touting the wonders of Ecuador. About Florida....I have been looking at housing prices, and I could get a very nice, newer 3-bedroom one-level home for cheaper than lakeside, in a gated community---about $150K. Homes that were $300K a couple of years ago. My friend who lives in Fort Meyers and stays in Chapala for a few months ever year, loves Fort Meyers. THere are some very nice areas, selling cheap, with golf courses and all the amenities. Since I have not purchased a home lakeside, I am up in the air right now.....Don't know what I will do. I am concerned about retiring and being able to afford the cost of living in the U.S. Also, I just like Mexico and the area around the lake. If Mexico is desireable to you Dawg, what about Queretaro? It's got some lovely smaller towns that have some expats, you don't have to live in the capital city of Santiago de QUeretaro, which is quite large - but clean, safe, and has alot of police vigilance. Have stayed in the city and loved it there, but it is big city living and having to drive or taxi everywhere. No real Narco activity there, lots of middle class and upper class areas, and lots of international factories, so people from all over the world live there.

CanuckBob wrote:Mr. Dawg, why do you only think of the US or France as alternatives? The world is a big place (as I think you already know). Ever consider Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Cuba, Belize, etc., etc. as other alternatives to Mexico if necessary? Just curious as to your thoughts on these places.

This is a very good point, CB but here is an indisputable point. Mexico is a major and long established nation and all of the countries of Central America including the much praised Costa Rica, are fragile constructs exhibiting poor infrastructural strength and weak social cohesion. Central America is bad joke and Mecxico is a nation, no matter how badly compromisied by cuerrent incivlity. Do not compare Central America wtih Mexico.

57 Chevy:

I have a friend who lives in Galindo which I gather is kind of a suburb of San Juan del Rio and due south of Queretaro. Interestingly, he feels quite safe there but his Mexican wife is quite paranoid about the cartels and just what they may be up to. There have been a few smaller incidents in and around the Queretaro area but from what I have read, they have been infrequent and somewhat isolated. From what he has told me, you are correct about international companies opening up plants there especially in the airplane manufacturing area. But on the flipside, I understand that traffic has been adversely affected.

hound dog wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:Mr. Dawg, why do you only think of the US or France as alternatives? The world is a big place (as I think you already know). Ever consider Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Cuba, Belize, etc., etc. as other alternatives to Mexico if necessary? Just curious as to your thoughts on these places.

This is a very good point, CB but here is an indisputable point. Mexico is a major and long established nation and all of the countries of Central America including the much praised Costa Rica, are fragile constructs exhibiting poor infrastructural strength and weak social cohesion. Central America is bad joke and Mecxico is a nation, no matter how badly compromsie by cuerrent incxiviity. Do not compare Central America wih Mexico.

Bingo, and pretty much all if not all of South America is much worse than here, as in many times worse. We have visited Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, and Uruguay and the answer is don't even think about it. We haven't been to Ecuador, but have heard some pretty big negatives about that as well.

We also thought about Costa Rica, and joined a forum, cross that off the list. Home invasions, worse than bad roads, and shopping sucks big time. Belize a crime capitol. Panama, friends moved there and are now back in Mexico.

In this hemisphere, taking everything into consideration, there's no place better than right here.

Well, Mexico is a next door to the U.S.....so if you ever need to flee you can get up there quick....Canadians as well. South America is far away. Costa Rica is, I have heard, very expensive....no real savings in housing costs. Back to Florida...there are some condo communities in Fort Worth and Cape Coral that are very nice. A 2-BR, 2-BA. in a 24-hour guarded complex with golf course, pool, party room, library, exercise room, etc, can run you $35K to $75K, and they tend to run much larger in space than say, the Birds of Paradise condos. The older complexes are cheaper and have more square footage, and are kept up very nicely. Have heard Arizona and New Mexico prices have come down, but haven't done any research.

susan wrote:chevy: i have had 2 maids, never heard a "story". part was luck- i had good people. my instincts are usually correct. also it is the way i behave. (when i need electrical work, im not doing social work. lets not confuse). theres too much yabba yabba w/americans. & much too soon in the relationship. there should not be a pity button, as these conversations should not take place. if someones been w/you a long time, & a tragedy happens, thats anther story.

Susan, I agree that there should not be a 'pity button'. Even with a good Mexican employee who one has known a very long time...I would say it is necessary to be careful. Find out if a tragedy is real - see it for yourself, look at receipts, talk to the doctor, etc, BEFORE you decide if you will help.