Moving to Mexico

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

howejoyous

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2006
Posts
12
Hi Folks!  I just read just about everything I can find about moving to Mexico at least for the winter, if not longer.  I bought a  book and a phrase book, and I?m learning Spanish.  Except, I am worried about the recent rumor of outbreaks of violence against NorteAmericanos.  My friends tell me there have been hijackings and killings of people crossing the border into Mexico.  And that if I want to go there, I should fly.  That doesn?t work out very well if you are living in an RV as we are.  Can you give me any info from the inside?  Can you confirm these rumors?  My husband wants to go down the Ensenada way, and I am thinking Nogales.  Is there a best way to enter Mexico?

Thanks for any info you can give us.  We want to be careful, of course, and well-informed.

As always, the RV Forum keeps me going.  Thanks for all the time and effort you spend sharing info with us.

Joy
 
howejoyous said:
? <snip>
Except, I am worried about the recent rumor of outbreaks of violence against NorteAmericanos.? My friends tell me there have been hijackings and killings of people crossing the border into Mexico.?

Joy, personally I think that a lot of that stuff is highly over-rated.? I was motorcycling in Mexico in January and spent a night or so in Nuevo Laredo (the source of a lot of those tales) and didn't have or see a bit of trouble.? When I go there I make a point to stop in at the Applebee's (long story but it's become a tradition) and what everyone was telling me there was that if you stay away from drugs your chances of getting into trouble are practically nil.? Once you get past Nuevo Laredo, or any border town for that matter, things get dramatically more peaceable.

At

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3325331#post3325331_

there is a wonderful tale of a guy motorcycling around Mexico right now.? He managed to stumble into the middle of the rioting in Oaxaca complete with burning buses and road blocks but not only were the protestors friendly to him but the riot police let him pass their barricades so that he could get into the museums.

Mexico is different.? Attitudes are different.  There certainly is some violence at the borders, just like there is violence in many big cities of the USA. But in my experience if you stay away from illegal things (drugs mostly) and use a minimum of common sense, the locals are friendly and will look after travelers.  There really isn't a sense of animosity at all towards gringos, as long as you have a minimum of respect for the local folks and their culture (try to learn at least a few words of Spanish) and don't play at being the ugly Norteamericano.

I wouldn't sweat it too much.  Have fun!

 
I can only speak to Baja and really it is a matter of the same common sense you would use in the USA, Don't flash a lot of money, try not to stay in areas you are unfamiliar with by yourself, stay away from folks trying to sell you illegal items or obviously stolen merchandise and you will be fine.  I have only been robbed twice, both times in the USA...Never in Mexico.

We enter at TJ and usually around 4-5 AM with the idea of hustling down and away from the border as quickly as possible.  Since we are familiar with the roads/driving conditions we can usually make it to Guerrero Negro by the evening.  We try never to spend the night on the side of the road near Catavinia which is a beautiful area but where there have been many reports of robbery and vehicle break ins over the last 4-5 years.  If you do find yourself in that area park in the lot of the Hotel and you will be fine.  Don't go off down the side roads and boondock there, you are asking for trouble.

At GN the malarimo is a nice inexpensive place for a meal and room if you want.  From GN down it is a whole different place and you will encounter some fantastic places and people.

To much to talk about in just one post but thepoint I want to make is it is a once in a lifetime spectacular drive and as long as you are careful and use common sense you should by all means do it.  We first drove down there in 94 and ended up buying a place on the ocean.  Within 2 years we were living down there full time for 9 years with our own business.  We are now back in the states because our folks are getting old and we need to be around them plus the wife wanted to go back to NC State and finish her degree.  I still pine for our place and it is a shame that it just sits empty now.  BTW nothing is locked up and we have never been robbed just a simple lock on the driveway gate.  Elias Calles is a small simple town and everybody knows each other.

A good forum for baja info is http://forums.bajanomad.com/.  I post there as bajabus.

Do go and have a great time
 
I know someone who just drove from Dallas to Guadalajara.  It was 2 couples and 4 kids in 2 vehicles.  They were nervous in the border towns, but they had no problems and had a wonderful trip. 




 
Wow, you guys are so great!  Thanks so much for your advice.  I have bookmarked the links, and look forward to exploring them further.  It's nice to know you're out there  exploring and sharing your experiences.

joy
 
Back
Top Bottom