Troll replies notwithstanding, there is a lot to know about Visa's, temporary citizenship, car registration, drivers licenses, exchange rates, etc., so if anyone has any questions, feel free to DM me, if I can help, I will.
The DIPCHIT ADD, after a morning of drinking:
You despair, repeatedly, constantly! daily basis? A despair ninny. Sack up, despire ninny.
...the murder rate in San Miguel de Allende, considered by Mexican tourism board to be a very safe city for tourists and retirees, was 1 in 520 this year. Compare that to the specifically worst neighborhood in Chicago, Garfield Park, with a murder rate of 146 per 100,000, or 1 in 684.
So, vacationing in the worst Chicago has to offer is statistically safer than the best of Mexico...
Outright disinformation.
"There's more to optics than meets the eye."--anon
"...most of us would be better off losing half a pound around the waist than half a pound on our rifle."--dhg
The irony is, as anyone who has or has had Mexican friends prob’ly knows, the good ones can be among the warmest and most hospitable people you could ever want to meet.
Big difference in the native Texas Mexicans and what's been jumping the border the last 20 years or so. The late comers are largely scum.
NOBODY who enters our country illegally has the right to even ONE tax dollar!
But they get lots of tax dollars from day one.
Parasites.
Lots of good info on this thread, so I’ll keep it short.
I wasn’t referring to American Mexicans, most of them have much deeper roots here than me. I was referring to Mexican Mexicans I’ve known, among regrets I have now is that I didn’t prioritize accepting some invitations to go down and visit at the time.
Some Mexican Citizens I’ve known of late are refugees from the lawlessness down there, from having to pay protection to criminal scum and from having to worry about their kids. They don’t go back to visit much either.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
"One of the scariest parts of longhauling was that. How-the- feeuck-do-you-know?
A dumb country kid from the sticks. Spent the night parked by the curb outside Boston. Nowhere in the region to park, rolled the dice. Looked OK, went to sleep. The receiving guy woke me and told me to never do that again. I was lucky to not be robbed."
I'm a country boy from North Carolina. I picked up a load in the big rig in Greenville, SC. It was going to Camden, New Jersey.
I saw that I could drive at night and avoid the legendary New Jersey traffic, and arrive in Camden at 1 am. I called the terminal, it was right in downtown Camden. Got a gal on the phone, she had a Hispanic accent, and I said I could arrive at 1 am. I asked her if there was a spot out front where I could park, and sleep for the night, and I'd be ready to unload at 9am. I have spent the night "out front" at many terminals in Laredo Texas. No problems there.
And she said "Listen, baby. Don't you have a Mama or a wife, who wants to see you alive again and not at your funeral? If you do, you don't park overnight in Camden New Jersey."
I took her at her word and drove up in the morning.
"One of the scariest parts of longhauling was that. How-the- feeuck-do-you-know?
A dumb country kid from the sticks. Spent the night parked by the curb outside Boston. Nowhere in the region to park, rolled the dice. Looked OK, went to sleep. The receiving guy woke me and told me to never do that again. I was lucky to not be robbed."
I'm a country boy from North Carolina. I picked up a load in the big rig in Greenville, SC. It was going to Camden, New Jersey.
I saw that I could drive at night and avoid the legendary New Jersey traffic, and arrive in Camden at 1 am. I called the terminal, it was right in downtown Camden. Got a gal on the phone, she had a Hispanic accent, and I said I could arrive at 1 am. I asked her if there was a spot out front where I could park, and sleep for the night, and I'd be ready to unload at 9am. I have spent the night "out front" at many terminals in Laredo Texas. No problems there.
And she said "Listen, baby. Don't you have a Mama or a wife, who wants to see you alive again and not at your funeral? If you do, you don't park overnight in Camden New Jersey."
I took her at her word and drove up in the morning.
Camden NJ has been a war zone for more years then I care to remember. Campbell Soup is headquarterd there
The 39 migrants being held in Juarez that burnt up in captivity? Turns out they were being held until their relatives could be extorted for 200 bucks each for the immigration cops holding them...but the relatives couldn't or wouldn't pay...and oh, oopsie daisy, a fire broke out. Hmm.
Well this is a fine pickle we're in, should'a listened to Joe McCarthy and George Orwell I guess.
I have a beautiful blonde niece, 5-10 and stacked, 33 years old, she is flying down to Mexico City this week for a 3 week vacation. Going by herself. What is the chance she will make it back alive?
She better damn sure have a secure ride to and from the Airport! Being single, pretty, and alone adds up to pretty dicey outcomes to chance a taxi off the street.
You want to live there? Learn all the spanish you can as well the nuances of culture. That'll help some. I used to work down there....not going back!
Spent 6 weeks in the vicinity of Puerto Vallarta twice in 2018 and 2019. Always felt relatively safe. I know of two different American couples that own properties there; one is held in trust as per the 50K rule, the other is owned outright by the widow of a Mexican National that built the place 35 years ago. I was offered a chance to bid on a fixer-upper villa on the rocky coast without a road leading in; access by boat or foot trail. Woulda been held in trust. Was tempting, but there are obstacles; such as auto ownership and insurance, and prices are no longer what I would consider cheap. Things have changed a lot since I vacationed there in the eighties and nineties! Almost every school age child has an iphone, for instance; and a lot speak english and live in relative comfort. That being said, the region is isolated for the tourists, with roadbock type checkpoints on the highways leading out and in. Many locals, particularly cabbies, are reliable and helpful. Many have lived in the US and worked at jobs here and built a nest egg back home. One guy said he preferred living in PV over Sacramento because the pace is more relaxed and people are easy going. Wanted to sell me a couple of his children. "Is joke, Amigo!"