Snowbirding in Mexico

[Tequila]

I am posting in this section as the question is aimed at those who normally snowbird in Az.

I have been snow-birding in Mexico now for 8 years after having done it in the SW for the first couple of years. Personally, I would never go back to spending the winter in Az, but maybe that is just me. I driven all over Mexico for 5 months a year, even led caravans, and never have had, nor seen, an "incident".

I have some questions, I am contacting some tourism officials in Mexico and trying to get them to promote the RV industry a bit more, so I have some questions.

1) Are you scared to take your RV into Mexico?
2) Do you think there are no modern RV parks in Mexico?
3) Does the lack of ULSD diesel deter you?
4) Are you simply just happy with Az?
5) Are you worried about drug cartels?
6) Are you too wary to do it on your own, or with a caravan, or buddying with others who have done it before?
7) Does the language barrier deter you?
😎 Have you ever considered going less than one day south, like Rocky Point, Kino Bay or San Carlos, all of which have modern RV parks?
9) Do you perceive Baja as safer?
10) Are you worried about road conditions?


Please no lectures on Mexico being a war zone, I have heard them all before.

[pawatt]

Tequila wrote:


I think its time for the mod to lock this topic down, I see little more being accomplished, once certain individals take it south (no pun intended)

Topic Closed, so sad it so often ends up like this.

[Tequila]

Chris: I asked a set of questions, others have turned thread into a forum to make uniformed comments on Mexico's drug trade. That was not its original intent. Everybody knows about the drug trade, just like everybody knows about the mass shooting plaguing your country over the last few years. The question is what is the relevance of either to RV'ers? The answer is little. Most of the comments in regard to that are from people who have never taken an RV here and likeley never will. (You know, the ones who say there is still toomuch of the USA to see). Fair enough, if you never will, that is your prerogative, if so why are you commenting on the subject? Purporting to be an expert on conditions here for RVers, when you have never taken your own down here, is counterproductive to say the least. (You haven't have you?) I see no one who has RVed in Canada commenting on the outbreak of drug gang violence in the Vancouver suburbs of Surrey & Abbotsford, one incident which has already killed an innocent bystander and another that peppered an elementary school with bullets. Neither has anything to do with RVing in Canada, nor does drug gang violence in Mexico. Nor does the murder of Canadians in Florida last season have anything to do with RVing in the US. I have now spent 8 seasons of 6 months RVing all over Mexico and have yet to see a single incident in my travels. That does not mean I am unaware there is violence down here, just as I am not unaware there is violence in your country. For eg, I bypassed I-10 in Phoenix this year because there was a nut job sniping at vehicles on the freeway at the time. One needs to look at their own house before trashing their neigbours. And yes I am selling the concept of RVing down here. I have come to love this country, its culture and people, and I think Canadians & Americans are missing out on a great RVing experience, due to overblown paranoia.

Nuff said. My daily rant.

I think its time for the mod to lock this topic down, I see little more being accomplished, once certain individals take it south (no pun intended)

[Tequila]

Hmm, looks like somebody from WA who has never heard of Roseburg, Ore. BTW there is on average, one mass shooting per day in the US on average(defined as being more than 3 victims). Which brings up the other point, nearly all violence in Mexico is related to the drug trade and people who stay away from drugs or people involved in them, are very unlikely to encounter any problems, unlike the guy in Abbotsford, Canada a few weeks back who got shot to death taking out his garbage when drug dealers mistook his house for another. As I have said on many occasions, if your idea of travel is the National Geographic Channel, wrap yourself up in a nerfball and stay on the couch. It sure ain't mine.

[Me_Again]

CKNSLS wrote:
Somebody writes a bunch of propaganda and you can't call it what it is.

Let people go down there, if they have a major issue, let them get themselves out of it.

Like they say, most Mexicans are great, nice and helpful. They are not the one's I would be concerned about.

On the other side of the issue is, who are the main users of all the drugs that are at the root of modern day Mexico's major problems?

If drugs were legalized and free would the issue self correct, culling the herd?
Why do they call it dope?

Chris

"Please dig another tunnel!"

[CKNSLS]

Somebody writes a bunch of propaganda and you can't call it what it is.

[rollingslow]

We spent a lot of time down there in the past but the gangs are taking over more all the time. I no longer go there becouse of that and i love it there

[unbob]

This is why I want to stay out of the US and live in Mexico (or elsewhere) - and why I dread returning to the US every year. As Tequila alluded to earlier in this thread, I'm not anxious and tense while in Mexico and have no fear of armed and dangerous mentally deranged people shooting me or anyone. Not necessarily so in the US.

"Since 9/11, the US has increasingly become Yellowland, a place where we assume danger is imminent. It's damaging to us individually and as a society. A lack of safety makes people anxious and tense, and the long term effects are debilitating. .... we believe we're living in an unsafe situation even if we're not."

http://fusion.net/story/200747/living-in-code-yellow/

[unbob]

Tequila wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
You will never see a helicopter gunship chase down a drug dealer with bullets flying in the U.S.

You will never see a military roadblock in the U.S.

You will never be asked to pay a "fine" to a Police Officer in the U.S.

Do I make myself clear?

There plenty of cases of US police offiers accepting bribes (try googling it). Also in Mexico you never hear of random nut jobs going into movie theatres or schools and shooting innocent people. Also there are few Mexican serial killers on the loose. To be quite frank, I actually feel a lot safer in Mexico than I do in the US. You are far more likely to see the average Mexican teenager sitting in the square with his family in a Saturday night than hanging around a 7-11.

Some bad people down there? Sure, but they seem to be much more defined and avoidable.

Totally agree. I spend 5-6 Fall/Winter months in BCS every year. Never had a problem in 12 years of traveling there. "Helicopter gunship chasing down a drug dealer with bullets flying" LOL! Military checkpoints? Yeah, but they're mostly a joke and a minor nuisance - nbd. Never been asked to pay a "fine" to a Police Officer or anyone else.

I too feel much safer down here and kind of dread crossing back to La-La Land. I'd rather just stay here.

But Norte Americanos live in fear and fear keeps most away from Mexico - and that's just fine with me!

[Tequila]

That is exactly what I love about it.

[Hpymils]

Mexico is Mexico. It's different. We shouldn't go to Mexico with the feeling that things should be like back home.

[Tequila]

Very true. I have also spent a lot of my life in dangerous places (syria, afghanistan, lebanon & others) and Mexico is one of the least from my personal experience. I now spend 6 months a year here, leading tours in the Fall and on my own in Spring. In what is now 8 seasons I have not had, nor seen, any problems.

[4X4Dodger]

I think it's easy in these kinds of threads to tell those who have real experience in traveling the world and those that have never left their home shores.

I have lived and worked in some of the worlds TRULY dangerous and challenging places...Cambodia, Nigeria, the Congo, Gaza...I traveled around Sri Lanka by motorcycle when they were at war with the Tamil Tigers. I have had a lot of automatic weapons pointed at me from arms length.

Mexico is a piece of cake. It is to my mind one of the easiest places to travel and very rewarding.

Most Americans need to get out in this world and gain some perspective on what they hear and see on the TV. It's a far different place than what you think you know.

[pawatt]

Please lets not get too far off topic, so many of these topics get closed or deleted when the arguing or bashing gets out of hand. Unfortunately those who bash the most actually have the least actual real time knowledge of the subject.

[qtla9111]

daily double wrote:
Mexico is a wonderful country!!! They have everything oil, gas minerals labor force. universities, etc how ever they also have corruption and unless and until that is fixed they will stay right where they are in the world order. I love Mexico and their people but if even their own people are afraid to travel openly, that should tell you something. I talked to my dentist last month in Mexico about a recreation spot he goes to and asked him if he was afraid of the violence. (Reynosa area) he said it is safe for me but probably not you.

Very interesting take on Mexico. I drive to Reynosa and Matamoros taking the old highway every two weeks. Never an issue.

Just the city of Monterrey dumps 3 billion dollars a year into the Rio Grande Valley on vacations, shopping and eating out not to mention business that is transacted between the two states (Texas and Nuevo Leon). The reverse is all the Americans and Canadians who love to spend time in Mexico on vacation, rving and not to mention the 1.5 million Americans who live full time in Mexico.

There is corruption and it exists in all countries. No one is exempt from human temptation and the list of the Seven Sins. Do a search for "Oklahoma Corruption" and you'll be reading there most of your life, or the list of 120 U.S. governors, senators and legislators convicted in the last 10 years on corruption and fraud charges not to mention police and city officials who have been convicted of corruption. Once you're done, give me a call and we can chat.