I have been traveling in Mexico for 2 months currently (october 2012). I was in MOnterrey for 2 days, Mazatlan, DF, zacatecas, oaxaca, guadalajara, guanajuato, queretaro, and now Xalapa. Some of those places I spent up to 2 weeks in. And in all of them I was walking around very late at night by myself downtown. Often with over a hundred dollars in my pocket. Yes, there are moments that can feel like "damn its late at night and I can get jacked". I was kidnapped for a few hours in Chang Mai Thailand so I know shit can happen. I was also robbed at kitchen knife point when I was in high school in Atlanta, GA.
I even ended up in a remote poor neighborhood in Guadalajara and made friends with some low grade "gangsters".
Generally I felt safer than in a bad neighborhood in my hometown in Atlanta. I never had more of a problem than someone trying hard to sell me something ,mostly during the daytime. In condesa in DF late at night there was one time that a sketchy looking guy may have been following me. But it was easy to avoid him, and he was smallish.
From what everyone says and my own feeling, there is a strong taboo about messing with tourists. We are definitely in a whole other caste, almost like an untouchable. Think about it, what common objective do mainstream mexicans and the cartels both have? MONEY.
If there are even just a few incidents of tourists getting killed, where its obvious there is fowl play, and Mexico as a whole loses money. This includes the cartels who own Resorts. I am sure its known that anyone physically attacking a gringo will be dealt with by the cartels directly. Sure, if you fuck some gangsters girlfriend then he is going to lose his head. But if you are just walking around, the worst that should happen is getting robbed.
Think about it. There are SO many rich MExicans who can be kidnapped, jacked, etc without drawing as much heat from the police and attention in the press, etc. Why would they choose a gringo? You have to come here to Mexico to understand that tourists are just not a big target because the return on risk is not as good as some of these loaded Mexican businessmen, etc..
Now if you are hiking in rural Michoacan or Sonora, then you might dissappear. And don't go looking for drugs near your hotel with a balcony. Both are good places for an "accident". But other than that, the risk to tourists is mostly just hype. Its FAR more dangerous to go walking in the Detroit ghetto. No one there gives a SHIT that you are white. There you will just be another statistic...
What IS dangerous here is the chance of getting hit by a taxi or bus. I am WAY more scared of crossing the street in the daytime here with 200 people around, than of walking down the middle of an empty street in the middle of the night. Cars and people are like a ballet here. Oh, and the absolutely MOST DANGEROUS thing in Mexico, bar none, is the potholes in the sidewalks. Those things are lethal and no one seems to care about them. WATCH YOUR STEP!!!! You can easily cripple yourself. I am not kidding I have seen so many giant holes that would swallow your leg right in the middle of the sidewalk I have lost count. I would love to see the statistics on those things...
Well time to take a nap in my $5.00 hotel room in Xalapa downtown. Its very basic but hey, its $5.00 and later I'll hit on the college girls...
By the way, Oaxaca city is not that great for chicks unless you are already a big lady's man. Could be alright for a month or longer though. Supposedly the Oaxaca coast is quiet this time of year too, because of the rain.
I even ended up in a remote poor neighborhood in Guadalajara and made friends with some low grade "gangsters".
Generally I felt safer than in a bad neighborhood in my hometown in Atlanta. I never had more of a problem than someone trying hard to sell me something ,mostly during the daytime. In condesa in DF late at night there was one time that a sketchy looking guy may have been following me. But it was easy to avoid him, and he was smallish.
From what everyone says and my own feeling, there is a strong taboo about messing with tourists. We are definitely in a whole other caste, almost like an untouchable. Think about it, what common objective do mainstream mexicans and the cartels both have? MONEY.
If there are even just a few incidents of tourists getting killed, where its obvious there is fowl play, and Mexico as a whole loses money. This includes the cartels who own Resorts. I am sure its known that anyone physically attacking a gringo will be dealt with by the cartels directly. Sure, if you fuck some gangsters girlfriend then he is going to lose his head. But if you are just walking around, the worst that should happen is getting robbed.
Think about it. There are SO many rich MExicans who can be kidnapped, jacked, etc without drawing as much heat from the police and attention in the press, etc. Why would they choose a gringo? You have to come here to Mexico to understand that tourists are just not a big target because the return on risk is not as good as some of these loaded Mexican businessmen, etc..
Now if you are hiking in rural Michoacan or Sonora, then you might dissappear. And don't go looking for drugs near your hotel with a balcony. Both are good places for an "accident". But other than that, the risk to tourists is mostly just hype. Its FAR more dangerous to go walking in the Detroit ghetto. No one there gives a SHIT that you are white. There you will just be another statistic...
What IS dangerous here is the chance of getting hit by a taxi or bus. I am WAY more scared of crossing the street in the daytime here with 200 people around, than of walking down the middle of an empty street in the middle of the night. Cars and people are like a ballet here. Oh, and the absolutely MOST DANGEROUS thing in Mexico, bar none, is the potholes in the sidewalks. Those things are lethal and no one seems to care about them. WATCH YOUR STEP!!!! You can easily cripple yourself. I am not kidding I have seen so many giant holes that would swallow your leg right in the middle of the sidewalk I have lost count. I would love to see the statistics on those things...
Well time to take a nap in my $5.00 hotel room in Xalapa downtown. Its very basic but hey, its $5.00 and later I'll hit on the college girls...
By the way, Oaxaca city is not that great for chicks unless you are already a big lady's man. Could be alright for a month or longer though. Supposedly the Oaxaca coast is quiet this time of year too, because of the rain.