Are you safe?

Reading some of the posts and misinformation on this topic, I am thoroughly convinced that some of the posters here definitely should move back NOB where crime is 10 times worse than in Mexico or see a Shrink at Lakeside ASAP. You people are totally out to lunch spreading uneccesary fear because YOU are paranoid over NOTHING! You are totally frigging NUTS!!! Stop worrying and complaining and get a frigging life.

CanuckBob wrote:I agree with locking the bedroom doors and keeping your cell phone with you and a lot of the other common sense security measures however if I feel that I need attack trained dogs, high walls with razor wire, security cameras and guns I will be finding another place to live. WTF would anyone choose to live in those conditions?

Actually Bob, our Fracc is planning on putting in security cameras. Apparently one other Fracc. has done so with excellent results, it really dropped the crime rate according to them. Attack dogs and guns scare me so we wouldn't be doing that. Two of our neighbors are Mexican, so generally if they think something is necessary, I'd be doing pretty much the same thing. When in Rome......

I agree with Bob that there are rathional limits to how far people should go to protect their lives and property. I'm on the common sense side of this one.

John has a motive for his point of view. He wants to sell his house because he wants to move back to the States. We've all been made aware of that.
If everyone is scared silly to live here..........that gets in the way of a sale. No blame, John......but you're not exactly unbiased.

As in everything else..........unless you want to build a bunker and live there.............relax a bit on the security issue. Back in the olden days, some people were building bomb shelters. Enough, already.

johninajijic wrote:Reading some of the posts and misinformation on this topic, I am thoroughly convinced that some of the posters here definitely should move back NOB where crime is 10 times worse than in Mexico or see a Shrink at Lakeside ASAP. You people are totally out to lunch spreading uneccesary fear because YOU are paranoid over NOTHING! You are totally frigging NUTS!!! Stop worrying and complaining and get a frigging life.

Let's see how that attitude changes if you get robbed, and the guys have a knife, or other weapon. BTW we were robbed NOB in our homes four times, once at my mother's house and a business near my husband's was robbed as well. The cops didn't come for four hours at the business, then said they were too busy to follow up. All you need is a meth addict in your house all hopped up and holding a weapon, for crap to happen.
Here it happened once, so you tell me where it's more dangerous.

The M.P. told me there are a lot of druggies out there, and we know they're are a lot NOB as well. Different ball game these days, everywhere.

Believe me just as soon as we have all the necessary stuff in place, as in tomorrow, the guys had to postpone due to a delivery problem, we'll be back to life as usual. That is not called paranoia, it's referred to as a realistic assessment of the facts and instead of burying one's head in the sand in denial, taking action.

But Raq after being robbed 4 times NOB did you do out and get electrified razor wire, security cameras, attack dogs and a gun? I agree with a security system, walls, heavy doors with good locks and bars on windows but not much more than that for a place I would want to live.

If after having those security measures I was still assaulted in my home at knife point, I may likely move somewhere else.

gringal wrote:I agree with Bob that there are rathional limits to how far people should go to protect their lives and property. I'm on the common sense side of this one.

John has a motive for his point of view. He wants to sell his house because he wants to move back to the States. We've all been made aware of that.
If everyone is scared silly to live here..........that gets in the way of a sale. No blame, John......but you're not exactly unbiased.

As in everything else..........unless you want to build a bunker and live there.............relax a bit on the security issue. Back in the olden days, some people were building bomb shelters. Enough, already.

Yes John, you are not a very good poker player......jajaja.

I can certainly understand one's feelings after being violated and if you own your home, what choice do you have?

CanuckBob wrote:But Raq after being robbed 4 times NOB did you do out and get electrified razor wire, security cameras, attack dogs and a gun? I agree with a security system, walls, heavy doors with good locks and bars on windows but not much more than that for a place I would want to live.

If after having those security measures I was still assaulted in my home at knife point, I may likely move somewhere else.

Back then Bob, there was not a major drug problem. In those days they entered while you were out. Nobody came in while we were there, ever. Nobody was even aware of home invasions and assaults, at least not where we lived. In one town we didn't even have a key. It's a whole different deal these days, and if God forbid I was ever to move back, I'd be in a highly secure condo with a doorman and security cameras thank you, which was how we lived before moving here.

About a year before we moved to Mexico, the assaults started on the street in Toronto. Now it's a lot worse.

BTW they had a knife, but we weren't assaulted thanks to our family dog.

My in laws live out in the country, busy road and freeway not far and when they were robbed the 2 nd time mil had a security system installed like ADT and got a rotty.

I'd take a secret panic room. You have them in Kansas for tornados :) hehe

John has something in his favor. No record of violent crime in his little frac. Hopefully it will stay that way. Neighbors are close whereas the areas being hit are pretty wide open, easy access to highway.

I don't know what is the big draw for Rancho del Oro. Is that the big subdvision above La Floresta?

A big, mean looking dog is also fine with me. I have owned Pit Bulls, Dobermans, Black Labs & Rottweilers when my kids were little and I owned a hobby farm. None of them were attacked trained nor would they have ever bitten anyone without feeling threatened (if they did I would put them down). I just don't like those attack trained dogs as I have found them to be unpredictable.

As the famous robber answered when they asked why he chose banks:
"that's where the money is".

Everybody in our quiet subdivision in Orange Co., Ca, had ADT or something similar. But then, they actually responded and were effective. I don't know about here. Anyone?

gringal wrote:As the famous robber answered when they asked why he chose banks:
"that's where the money is".

Everybody in our quiet subdivision in Orange Co., Ca, had ADT or something similar. But then, they actually responded and were effective. I don't know about here. Anyone?

Now someone recently said to me, "If my Mexican neighbor's have it, I figure I should too." That's smart thinking!

I think I read on TOB, that there was a home invasion of a big place w/lake front property. Read they tied up the help, backed up a truck, loaded up & drove away. Does anyone else recall that story recently?

When we lived in Guadalajara, our friends offered to stay in our home because they said it wasn't safe for it to be empty while we were gone. We appreciated it. Our rental home there was 2 story, fully gated w/no see through gated parking area, had a chain link fence around the roof terraza w/a wire alarm system. Our friends told us to never be walking after 9 p.m. because the gangs would be out. One night our kids happened to be walking home from our friend's house & gangs were out fighting. Another night, my son was with other Mexican friends of ours and they went to visit their parents. They ended up sitting in the car while a shoot out between gangs was taking place. They hunkered down till it blew over. I'm talking about Guadalajara. When I was looking for a rental one time, my Mexican friends told me not to go driving around "that" area because gangs had murdered a pregnant girl recently. Stuff has always been happening that folks didn't know about it. If you can't read or listen to the news in Spanish, you're not going to know unless someone tells you. I never felt threatened there. Never read the news or watched cable tv, never worried about statistics or a personal security dog. I trusted my Mexican friends. Drove them home in the dark & would roll the window down to chat w/the guy washing windows at the stoplight, would ask how his family was doing? For nearly 4 years I never felt threatened living on the popular side of Guadalajara where no gringos live. Sometimes, I wanted to go home so badly that I'd leave the apartment in the village here & drive home late at night. I felt so safe there, I was content sleeping in my house alone, until my husband was assaulted by our Mexican neighbor over a parking space. That was the first time living there I felt scared. They were running a private security company and didn't have a lot of space for their vehicles. Even though we had permission from the owner to park there, the time had expired that evening. I think there's always been things happening around here anyway. Should I write it? Probably very few people know that an American girl was raped many years ago, before our arrival, in a popular country frac. She was playing outside and became a victim. It's not something I typically think about but do consider it when walking alone here. The last time I walked alone, I felt two men were following me in their car. I called my husband crying, he caught up with me & walked me home. Yet I know that others walk alone with no problems ever. Just saying that we can't pretend that we shouldn't take precautions & you take a chance nothing will.

I took a look at one of the more recent home invasions tonight and wouldn't have thought that one would have been the one picked. But I didn't see the back of the property, where the bad guys hopped over the fence. Probably a bit of razor wire would have kept them out. You do what you can and live in peace. Being I'm a woman, it will make me feel empowered to have a dog, that I love, whom I can say, "Sick em!" and figure the bad guys will stay away.

One of my first days here, while I was left alone in the house, my husband and son went for another load. Due to a pile of dirt, that has since been removed, a suspicious man climbed the pile of dirt & peeked over our wall appearing to look for a way in. I felt helpless yet wanted to make some noise. Frightened & panicked, I stood outside and whistled as loud as I could. I could have just hit the panic button on the car but I forgot it was there. This is rather humorous to me now but I was out of my element. What can I do? We called the police and no one ever came. Finally, my husband returned & he & our son went after him. In fact, it was my son who had warned me of the suspicious man before they had left. When they found him he claimed to have wanted to know if he could do any clean up for us. What a lier. We have a bell & intercom if he was soliciting work. He was looking for a way in. My husband told him to watch out as this neighborhood is very vigilant. I have pictures of the police, coming up to peek in the crack of our gate door. I took the picture from the intercom camera, want to see it? Hopefully they were just looking for a bad guy but several times they just parked out in front. Finally, after this happened a few times, I called the frac office, was told it should NEVER happen & haven't seen them sense. Someone gave us a good scary looking dog and we've added a couple more to the pack. Once a trained dog is told to guard, they are to guard & bark to keep intruders away. We have plenty of barking but some dogs that are known to bite are good too or at least have question if they do. Especially when you live away from the village. A snarly looking dog & razor wire will do the trick here at this point. A good alarm that doesn't have a lot of false alarms is good too. Otherwise the neighbors will never be able to differentiate when there is need to be alarmed and call the police.

I tell you what. You want to feel safe, perhaps people should consider Bolaños. It gets hot there & lots of mosquitos as a river runs through it but this time of year the climate is almost equal to Chapala. Cool nights, warm days. In all the years I've lived here, during my recent visit, I never felt safer. It was an amazing feeling & I was told crime is low and people leave their doors open there. Not a lot of amenities but it has amazing mountain views! Expats are allowed to live there. Old Mexico I guess. I asked my husband if he'd like to retire there & he said no. :) I'm good here. I love it here really.

Someone mentioned getting the gun into the wrong hands. We've heard plenty of gunfire and very few dead bodies around here. When bad guys came in to jump our police, 2 of the bad guys ended up dead. That was that. We're just not used to it nor welcome it but stuff happens everywhere.

Chapalagringa,
Rancho del Oro is west of Ajijic.
Chapala Haciendas is where the most recent and frequent home invasion/robberies have taken place. It is located just off the highway to Chapala from Guadalajara BEFORE the bypass/turnoff to Ajijic.

Chapalagringa (and I'm not being mean here just an observation)...you are not decisive or strong enough to control a maid. IMHO, you would never be able to control the kind of attack dog you're talking about. A cherished family pet raised from puppyhood will protect your family by sounding the alarm if nothing else...our 60 pound Belgian Shepherd just did...a few barks, a few growls and her neck ruff standing straight up...but it was just other residents walking up the street.

On another thread somewhere here, I broached the concept that "druggies" were doing some of the robberies to feed their habits. I got shot down in flames. The same thing has been mentioned here...have people changed their minds about the possibility???

what? no drug addition here? no one steals for drug money? which idiots said that? oh its the economy, the this- the that, whats the deal w/these hayseeds? 1/2 the construction crews are on drugs. btw, did i tell you they were mexican?

ferret, I'm sorry, I didn't think we had actually met in person that you would write, "you are not decisive or strong enough to control a maid. IMHO" Didn't your mama teach you if you don't have anything nice to say than say nothing at all??? The thread was a few pages of laughs, it was meant for entertainment. Shall we make this one entertainment too? ;)

I think the typical professional thieves are doing some moving too. The latest home break in in Rancho del Oro. Broke locks, stole the norm: cash, jewelry, electronics. Why doesn't that fracc get some security cameras??

The home invasions w/gunman, it wouldn't surprise me if they're with a cartel, no? Otherwise, why are they stealing appliances, some clothing & cars? Need to set up house somewhere? Or was it a good deal for a tienda in Guadalajara? Someone saying, yes, we can get that for you in a week. Maybe. Unless they watched some crazy movie or played a violent video game that they wanted to act out. I'm certainly not used to hearing about the extent to which they're going to near me. 3 weeks in a row, twice on a Thursday following the previous Thursday on basically the same street? In most violent crimes, aren't drugs involved? probably, no? idk

Yes, I would agree with you that some thieves are probably druggies. What would be stopping them from doing it high? Some people get friendly drinking. Fortunately, I don't need either. All natural :P The thing is that they know where to look. To the point of getting checks out of order from your check book so you won't notice they're missing until they're cashed. And they have someone at the bank to whom will cash a forged check. The bank will not release a picture of the thief even though it was paid for by the victim. And when you call the police and tell them the bad guys probably jumped off the balcony to the street, no one goes to look for him but 9 cops run into your house to see if there's a gunman still hiding under the bed. UGH! INJUSTICE! can't think about it.

Belgian Shepherd, natural instinct. Nice dog :) I'm not planning on doing police work with the dog. The dog will attack at command and is trained to do what you want him to. Unless they're a sentry trained dog, it's not a problem. Sentry trained dogs are trained to kill. They are left alone to guard property or are trained to let no one get close to the owner or one person. I'd train dogs myself but my back can't take it. Wolfs is very reputable & believe me, they are able to train a family dog for protection & it won't bite them.

scroll down this link of references and tell me all those families aren't content with their personal security dog:
http://www.mrazovack9.com/us/references.php?lg=us

drug cartels have the $ to set up house. they do not need to steal your things. they live right here in my neigborhood. drug ADDICTS break in & steal. then sell the goods for drugs. sometimes its a quick hit, break in when your not home, take smaller things. & know exactly where to bring them for the cash. about police, i have seen them chase thieves, several times. also arrested someone right under my bedroom window. he ran to hide under my tree. to change the subject: you were not kidding about the maid.

you were not kidding about the maid.

No, i was not kidding about the maid, but it was funny!

regarding cartels: why do they rob businesses, extort & kidnap people if they have enough money? They probably live in a lot of neighborhoods here and around the world. I had a realtor point one home out that was for sale not to far from me. They're people caught up in a very unfortunate line of living & hopefully will survive and get out as there isn't much of a long term future in it.

It seems safer to live in town than in a Fracc these days.

mikey1953 wrote:It seems safer to live in town than in a Fracc these days.

Can't give a blanketed answer. No one has been killed in a fracc or brutily beaten, that I'm aware of in past year whereas there were 2 expats murdered in the villages. No one can say for sure anymore. And once they do, it seems there's problems. I don't know enough about rancho del oro. Is it not gated?

Before these past 4 recent home invasion, i would have said it's safer in the country. Each person has to make sure they do their best & take precautions. Most men will blow it off. Most women I talk to do not.

Chapala Haciendas is where the most recent and frequent home invasion/robberies have taken place.

There were two, early in the moring incedints while people let their pets out. The 1st one left their door open for their cat. This happened in a very remote valley of CH.
Then, Brisas was hit. Gunmen jumped over back wall & waited for owners to return.
Then, 2 weeks in a row on a Thursday, gunman hit CH.
One home, easy access to enter & see home, gunmen rushed in on 8 persons having breakfast at 10:30. Anyone passing by thought they were having work done as person on the lookout had a construction hat.
Last invasaion was at 7:30 a.m. Gunmen jumped wall from carretera and when homeowner opened door to let dog out, they came in.

Not having seen all the houses it just sounds like there are a few things owners can do to protect themselves more. We added more razor wire & dusk to dawn security lights. Have dog training at Wolfs. Beefed things up a little like raq. What a bummer thread but this is real. I still love it here & have no plans of leaving, so those of us staying need to do everything they can to protect themselves. In the event something happens, you can at least say you tried your best.

mikey1953 wrote:It seems safer to live in town than in a Fracc these days.

Where do you get your assumptions or "so called facts" from? Having pipe dreams lately.

MyHomeSweetHome wrote:

mikey1953 wrote:It seems safer to live in town than in a Fracc these days.

Can't give a blanketed answer. No one has been killed in a fracc or brutily beaten, that I'm aware of in past year whereas there were 2 expats murdered in the villages. No one can say for sure anymore. And once they do, it seems there's problems. I don't know enough about rancho del oro. Is it not gated?

Before these past 4 recent home invasion, i would have said it's safer in the country. Each person has to make sure they do their best & take precautions. Most men will blow it off. Most women I talk to do not.

What 2 expats were murdered??? A Gated Community with an electronic gate and a guard is the safest.

I don't know how long you've lived here, but, you don't seem to know much about the Gated Communities or Fraccs here. That's not an insult. Let me educate you.
GATED COMMUNITIES: Los Arroyos, Los Arroyos Sur, Arroyo Alto, Los Sabinos, La Reserva, Mision del Lago, Lomas del Lago, Lomas del Tepalo, Lomas de Ajijic, Los Olivos, Mision Chula Vista, Las Terrazas, Chula Vista Norte
FRACCS: Mirasol, La Floresta both Upper and Lower, La Huerta, Villa Nova, Rancho del Oro. No gates, no security, houses border the streets. I might have missed a couple. Easy access in and out.

I can't recall when the expat was murdered by the 2 young Mexican/American brothers. Was that 2 years ago now? And the more recent victim, Chris, in the village of Ajijic. Statistics aren't bad here John and before coming across as slamming people yourself, just ask the question. You're talking to someone that's lived here nearly 10 years.

The gated communities appear to be safer at this point in time so you're in a good position. Let's hope it stays that way. Not that they don't get any crime. El Dorado had an expensive bracelet stolen by a fumigation company while owner was present. Why the owner left it out, we don't know. Not a good idea as it makes people a target when those with less may see it. No, I've never personally lived in a gated community. Chula Vista fraccs aren't gated either nor are the out lying fraccs, Brisas de Chapala or Chapala Haciendas. That doesn't mean they are entirely unsafe. The home owners must secure their "fortress" themselves. It is possible.

I would think the absolute safest would be a condo on the 3rd floor or higher of a high-rise. You would only have one door to worry about (unless Spiderman pays a visit). The whole building itself would also be fairly easy to secure.

The guy murdered in Riberas was last year. It was an unusual situation in that 2 gay men were friends with two young Mexican men who had just returned from LA. A very bad prescription of how things could turn out and it unfortunately did.

I didn't slam you. I don't know where you got that idea. How do I know how long you've lived here when you asked if Rancho del Oro was gated? Your statement made it sound like you hadn't lived here very long. If you drive in West Ajijic often enough, you will realize it isn't gated.

I too have lived here 10 years and knew after looking at houses which communities or fracc's were gated and which were not. I suspect Brisas de Chapala and Chapala Haciendas are good targets for robbery since escape to the highway is easy. I think Chapala Haciendas is more sparsely populated. Not sure.