Author Topic: Mexico mustachian nation  (Read 4996 times)

Matte

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Mexico mustachian nation
« on: November 19, 2012, 10:37:25 PM »
Just came back from a trip to Mexico, in-mustachian yes but please forgive me (it was booked before this site).  I know there was recently a thread about Canada but I think Mexico is way more deserving.  You don't see an incandescent light anywhere, all cfl.  It looks like almost all houses have black tanks on their roof for hot water, people drive standard trans vehicles, looks like till about the wheels fall off lol. And I saw a genius idea of a switch that turned all power to the hotel room off, minus a couple plugs for the clocks and stuff.  It sure made turning power off easy.  Also the markets and food looks delete great, the simpler life there sure seems good.  Let me know what you all think.

carolinakaren

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2012, 03:24:55 AM »
I've seen the switch too.  Several of the hotels I stayed in there had a place for you to insert the room key, which turned on the power....grab your key to leave the room and the power shuts off.  It's a really good idea!

liquidbanana

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2012, 09:32:27 AM »
How safe is Mexico? I grew up near the border and my family went there a lot for things like dental care with no problems, but I've always heard it's pretty corrupt and dangerous. I haven't actually read any objective data, though.

Russ

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2012, 10:10:24 AM »
How safe is Mexico? I grew up near the border and my family went there a lot for things like dental care with no problems, but I've always heard it's pretty corrupt and dangerous. I haven't actually read any objective data, though.

One of the drug cartels has a hit out on a friend of a friend for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Past that though, I'm sure most of the US's perception of Mexico is based on media fearmongering and our incredible superiority complex. Mexico wouldn't be my first choice of places to live (plenty of other more retirement-friendly places in the world IMO), but I think it's much better than everyone makes it out to be.

Reading some Wikipedia stats, it looks like Mexico has a higher murder rate and lower rates of everything else comapred to the US (in '04 at least). Most crime is in urban centers and drug-related, so stay away from those things and you should be set.

I definitely wouldn't hesitate to drive through on my way south, or maybe even stay a few months.
« Last Edit: November 20, 2012, 10:37:30 AM by Russ »

totoro

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2012, 10:35:09 AM »
Canadian tourists are murdered in Mexico on a fairly regular basis, but the rates of murder and violent assault are actually higher in China and Jamaica.  There is more media attention on murders in Mexico here: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/01/30/canadians-should-play-it-safe-use-common-sense-while-visiting-mexico-expert/

As for "Mustachian", I believe the measures you are seeing are the positive cultural norms effected by having less.   The simpler life is one that is embraced where consumption is more widely limited by lack of a market with more disposable income.  Against these standards, this is where the "We are the 99%" blog fails to impress imo. 

Matte

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2012, 02:54:07 PM »
It seems like upon further investigation most of the Canadian tourist murdered have drug connections.  Seems like most are from bc and sketchy, not to say that there are not some innocent people and mistaken identities too.  I did not feel in any danger on my stay.  People were very friendly, also i did not go to nightclubs waving tons of american money or anything stupid.  As for the poor, there minimum wage is 80 pesos per hour I was told, like 6 bucks an hour.  That's pretty compatible with Canadian or American yet the cost of living is way lower. 

totoro

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2012, 03:04:27 PM »
What is your source for the drug connections for BC murder victims in Mexico?  I haven't seen this reported.  Robbery seems to be the most reported motive.  Here are three from BC this year with no reported drug connections and definitely not sketchy folks - one a PhD student and two retired local fellows:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/11/07/bc-dead-canadian-mexico.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/01/05/bc-ubc-stduent-homicide-
mexico.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/11/08/bc-canadian-killed-mexico-friends.html

Russ

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2012, 04:49:27 PM »
More real numbers: would you feel safe going to Texas? Because it's actually quite a bit more dangerous than Mexico, for Americans who aren't tangled up in drug rings.

The data in the above link is pretty much what I expected. It's easy to get riled up over a couple of your fellow countrymen getting killed in a scary foreign place, but considering that 15 million or so Americans (I don't know the numbers for Canada) visit Mexico each year, even 750 murders would be on par with our national crime rate.

totoro

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2012, 05:57:55 PM »
Different in Canada.  In BC tourists aren't generally murdered for money. I can't think of a single reported case of this, although it may have happened.

As portrayed by the media, Mexico has become much more violent in the last six years, and this is highly related to the drug trade and this has impacted tourists.  Murder is fairly rare in BC and generally by someone known to the victim such as a family member. 

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=01786f85-1436-4924-9617-5404a11bbbb4

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/British+Columbia+crime+rate+falling+faster+than+rest+Canada/6984251/story.html

Matte

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2012, 06:08:28 PM »
http://gangstersout.blogspot.ca/2012/01/another-canadian-drug-dealer-murdered.html?m=1

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/03/05/bc-mexico-gangs.html

There's a couple I found.  I know there is a chance of a botched robbery or other, but I really don't think it's much higher then home.  Obviously much scarier in the city, near the border or if your in the drug trade or law enforcement.  The safety was not really what I was aiming to discuss in this post.  I was more bringing up living condutions

liquidbanana

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Re: Mexico mustachian nation
« Reply #10 on: November 22, 2012, 08:51:31 AM »
After reading this thread, I looked into real estate in Mexico. I may just not know where to look to find the cheap houses since I can't read Spanish, but all I'm finding is stuff over $100K. The apartments on craigslist are also not any cheaper than the one I'm already living in. If that's the reality of real estate there, I could do better in the midwest or south in the US.

I am drawn to the idea of living there just because there would be less pressure to have "stuff." And so many cities, like Oaxaco, would be a lot a easier to get around without using a car than most of the cities in the US.

Having family in the midwest, and a mother that I'll probably need to take care of as she ages, moving to Mexico would probably not be the best financial choice for me. If family wasn't a consideration, it would be very tempting, especially if I could earn US wages online/telecommuting for my income.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2012, 08:53:52 AM by liquidbanana »