Something else to consider on making the move.

Something else to consider on making the move.

If you are considering making the move to Mexico you have probably already read in several places many of the pluses and minuses for making the change. In my case, moving to Mexico six years ago was perfect for me. I love living here. However, there's one thing that I haven't seen mentioned on the boards about moving to Mexico.

As a foreigner, you will be a guest in a country that does not have the same protections that you may enjoy NOB. For instance, if you get into an argument or a hassle with your Mexican neighbors you could find yourself threatened with being kicked out of the country. If they denounce you to the authorities you could find yourself out of here. One friend got in an argument with a Mexican over some money owed and the Mexican went to the authorities and told them that the gringo was selling drugs. He didn't get thrown out of the country but he did have to pay quite a bit of money to fight the extradition.

So if you move here, be prepared to be nice and get along with your Mexican neighbors. Do not get involved or comment on local politics. Do not try and change things to match what you had in the US or Canada. Go with the flow and enjoy living in this beautiful country with beautiful people.

Very good advice. However, don't let yourself be bullied unreasonably by a Mexican neighbor. Don't be either a bully or a victim. Know when to stand your ground and when to just let it go.

We have the adjacent property owner from hell, so we know about being bullied. The last straw was the large illegal windows looking into our property from his (probably illegal) new three story mini skyscraper, also known now as the neighborhood blight. We checked it out and he backed off on the window issue, probably because he didn't want to attract TOO much attention to his own mess.

Most things can be worked out peaceably without getting into a major kerfuffle, which is seldom worth the aggravation.

Obviously there must have been some really bad blood between the two that were arguing and the Mexican went waaaaay overboard and reported a falsehood to the authorities. I believe the Mexican would have had to do more than make an accusation and he would need witnesses. I would think he would have had to fill out a Denuncia.

I have never heard of this happening. I did ask my Physical Therapist (Mexican) one time about what you would have to do to get deported. His answer was if you were abusing a Mexican and had witnesses. In his many years of living and working in Ajijic, he had only heard of one case. In the end, we must always show respect for the Mexicans in our host country.

Here is an another story that I heard. A rich gringo hired a good looking young Mexican as a maid. After she had worked for him for a while he discovered that she was stealing from him. And he fired her. Her response was to fake an incident in front of the neighbors where it looked like the gringo had attacked her. The rich gringo was arrested and eventually had to pay big bucks in severance for a wrongful termination.

I also know a guy who had a tiff with the Chapala Police. A few days after, they picked him up while he was out jogging on the malecon. They said a woman complained that he scared her little kid down on the malecon. They held him in the local pokey from Friday until Monday. Once he appeared in front of the judge and told his storey, the judge laughed and told the Policia to release him after a few hundred pesos were paid to the woman.

Here is a story about Gringos dealing with Mexicans with a bit of a different twist:

In the summer of 2005, we made a decision to list our house for sale with a Mexican real estate firm. We agreed that a few repairs needed to be made and contacted a contractor we had used in the past for an estimate and schedule for the repairs. After agreeing to his bid, at the contractor's insistence we deposited money with the realtor with the understanding that he would pay the contractor incrementally as various stages were completed. Long story short, the realtor stiffed the contractor and the contractor walked. We immediately terminated the listing agreement.

Our neighbors (he a Gringo and his Mexican wife) knew the contractor well and as a favor to us, they did everything possible to find out how much the contractor was owed without any luck. The contractor refused to reveal how much he had been taken for. We also contacted him by phone and he simply wouldn't tell us. Finally when we returned in 2006 to sign the sale documents, Kathy and I were finally able to make contact with the contractor and in a face to face meeting he finally told us the amount after a bunch of verbal arm twisting. We went to pay him the original amount plus a nice additional amount for the hassle of waiting a year to get paid. He would have no part of anything beyond what he was originally owed!

Sure we got taken to the cleaners by the Mexican agent (no longer in business) but the contractor renewed our faith in the Mexican people!

Lots of stories (rumours) at Lakeside and that's just what they are. Unbelievable!!! I was told this by friends who had lived here for 4 years when we came to visit them in the year 2000.

CG's post does sound authentic.

You can not to my knowledge be deported unless you have been involved in a crime, or somehow interfered with politics in this country. Do not allow anyone to bully you here, same as anywhere else. Mexico has signed treaties with other countries and in their constitution it states that discrimination against foreigners is prohibited. They are duty bound to investigate any acts of discrimination.

It also makes sense to have a few influential Mexican friends. Just saying.

E-raq wrote:You can not to my knowledge be deported unless you have been involved in a crime, or somehow interfered with politics in this country. Do not allow anyone to bully you here, same as anywhere else. Mexico has signed treaties with other countries and in their constitution it states that discrimination against foreigners is prohibited. They are duty bound to investigate any acts of discrimination.

It also makes sense to have a few influential Mexican friends. Just saying.

With all due respect, E-raq, that is a very dangerous mindset. ANYTHING can happen to you here. If someone wants you out of here, they can get the job done. Money and influence can trump law every time. Probably the truest statement is the last one, "it helps to have a few influential Mexican friends. . ."

Trailrunner wrote:

E-raq wrote:You can not to my knowledge be deported unless you have been involved in a crime, or somehow interfered with politics in this country. Do not allow anyone to bully you here, same as anywhere else. Mexico has signed treaties with other countries and in their constitution it states that discrimination against foreigners is prohibited. They are duty bound to investigate any acts of discrimination.

It also makes sense to have a few influential Mexican friends. Just saying.

With all due respect, E-raq, that is a very dangerous mindset. ANYTHING can happen to you here. If someone wants you out of here, they can get the job done. Money and influence can trump law every time. Probably the truest statement is the last one, "it helps to have a few influential Mexican friends. . ."

O.K. Trailrunner, how would they go about doing that? For example the worst thing we've ever done here is park in the wrong place for too long in Guadalajara. Yes, we paid the ticket the same day. You have to prove that the person has dome some illegal act. Can you imagine what an incident like that would do to the Mexico's reputation as a tourist destination, let alone retirement spot.

E-raq wrote:

Trailrunner wrote:

E-raq wrote:You can not to my knowledge be deported unless you have been involved in a crime, or somehow interfered with politics in this country. Do not allow anyone to bully you here, same as anywhere else. Mexico has signed treaties with other countries and in their constitution it states that discrimination against foreigners is prohibited. They are duty bound to investigate any acts of discrimination.

It also makes sense to have a few influential Mexican friends. Just saying.

With all due respect, E-raq, that is a very dangerous mindset. ANYTHING can happen to you here. If someone wants you out of here, they can get the job done. Money and influence can trump law every time. Probably the truest statement is the last one, "it helps to have a few influential Mexican friends. . ."

O.K. Trailrunner, how would they go about doing that? For example the worst thing we've ever done here is park in the wrong place for too long in Guadalajara. Yes, we paid the ticket the same day. You have to prove that the person has dome some illegal act. Can you imagine what an incident like that would do to the Mexico's reputation as a tourist destination, let alone retirement spot.

Disagree. They DON'T have to prove anything! They can say it happened even if it didn't and have their friends go in as wittnesses against you. Keep thinking like that and you'll be in hot water. This is THEIR country, not ours.

johninajijic wrote:

E-raq wrote:

Trailrunner wrote:

E-raq wrote:You can not to my knowledge be deported unless you have been involved in a crime, or somehow interfered with politics in this country. Do not allow anyone to bully you here, same as anywhere else. Mexico has signed treaties with other countries and in their constitution it states that discrimination against foreigners is prohibited. They are duty bound to investigate any acts of discrimination.

It also makes sense to have a few influential Mexican friends. Just saying.

With all due respect, E-raq, that is a very dangerous mindset. ANYTHING can happen to you here. If someone wants you out of here, they can get the job done. Money and influence can trump law every time. Probably the truest statement is the last one, "it helps to have a few influential Mexican friends. . ."

O.K. Trailrunner, how would they go about doing that? For example the worst thing we've ever done here is park in the wrong place for too long in Guadalajara. Yes, we paid the ticket the same day. You have to prove that the person has dome some illegal act. Can you imagine what an incident like that would do to the Mexico's reputation as a tourist destination, let alone retirement spot.

Disagree. They DON'T have to prove anything! They can say it happened even if it didn't and have their friends go in as wittnesses against you. Keep thinking like that and you'll be in hot water. This is THEIR country, not ours.

Ixnay, calumny is a serious crime in Mexico. They can say what they like, however they would have to prove that you had in fact been in such and such a place or done whatever they claim.

E Raq - Since when does a Mexican court take the side of a foreigner if a Mexican is accusing the foreigner? What are you going to do about it, get a lawyer and spend all your pesos? Oh the lawyers would love that as they laugh all the way to the bank.

E-raq wrote:

johninajijic wrote:

E-raq wrote:

Trailrunner wrote:

E-raq wrote:You can not to my knowledge be deported unless you have been involved in a crime, or somehow interfered with politics in this country. Do not allow anyone to bully you here, same as anywhere else. Mexico has signed treaties with other countries and in their constitution it states that discrimination against foreigners is prohibited. They are duty bound to investigate any acts of discrimination.

It also makes sense to have a few influential Mexican friends. Just saying.

With all due respect, E-raq, that is a very dangerous mindset. ANYTHING can happen to you here. If someone wants you out of here, they can get the job done. Money and influence can trump law every time. Probably the truest statement is the last one, "it helps to have a few influential Mexican friends. . ."

O.K. Trailrunner, how would they go about doing that? For example the worst thing we've ever done here is park in the wrong place for too long in Guadalajara. Yes, we paid the ticket the same day. You have to prove that the person has dome some illegal act. Can you imagine what an incident like that would do to the Mexico's reputation as a tourist destination, let alone retirement spot.

Disagree. They DON'T have to prove anything! They can say it happened even if it didn't and have their friends go in as wittnesses against you. Keep thinking like that and you'll be in hot water. This is THEIR country, not ours.

Ixnay, calumny is a serious crime in Mexico. They can say what they like, however they would have to prove that you had in fact been in such and such a place or done whatever they claim.

Being a dual citizen with 33 years in Mexico, I have to agree 200% with E-raq. These other statements are just bogus hyper-ventilating.
Give some examples or anecdotes of your claims!

ok my friend is being harrased by Policticos, as her ex has the money to pay off judges etc. it' is a fricking joke, 4 years and counting, this is a 5th world country

Would that be you again, susan?

CheenaGringo wrote:Would that be you again, susan?

I do believe señor, that you are correct.

Well, you can bet that she ain't a member of the Mile High Club!

CheenaGringo wrote:Well, you can bet that she ain't a member of the Mile High Club!

Skanks! It appears that suzie q is being protected by one or more moderators. I shall return to my fainting couch in disgust.

milehighjane wrote:ok my friend is being harrased by Policticos, as her ex has the money to pay off judges etc. it' is a fricking joke, 4 years and counting, this is a 5th world country

Sadly, you live here with a double digit IQ!

Jim W wrote:

milehighjane wrote:ok my friend is being harrased by Policticos, as her ex has the money to pay off judges etc. it' is a fricking joke, 4 years and counting, this is a 5th world country

Sadly, you live here with a double digit IQ!

Correction, single digit.

E-raq wrote:

Jim W wrote:

milehighjane wrote:ok my friend is being harrased by Policticos, as her ex has the money to pay off judges etc. it' is a fricking joke, 4 years and counting, this is a 5th world country

Sadly, you live here with a double digit IQ!

Correction, single digit.

I was being kind Raq!

That damn shift key is so hard to press to capitalize letters!!

so you ask for an example and I give one, then all I get back are petty pot shots. I agree with Trailrunner, ANYTHING can happen here. And most of you said that you knew about having to pay off someone. So who is Susan?, cause it sure isn't me. E-rag why do only insult me? What have I done to motivate your wrath?

milehighjane wrote:ok my friend is being harrased by Policticos, as her ex has the money to pay off judges etc. it' is a fricking joke, 4 years and counting, this is a 5th world country

This is not a 4th or 3rd World country. Use Senor Google..

This IS a second world country or Emerging nation. Google it and you'll find out.

You couldn't stand living in a 3rd or 4th world country.