Most of us in Mexico get annoyed at the overdone media “bad news” we hear about “Mexico” – the country, when most of it pertains to isolated or specific areas of the country. Yes, Ciudad Juarez, at the border, in Chihuahua, is a very troubled area with rampant drug related crime. We never suggest  Americans  or Canadians visit or cross the border there.

However, look at the attached map; there are many green and yellow areas of the country of Mexico (coloured by  State), where bad news is rare. Mexicans as well as we tourists or expats from somewhere, enjoy a wonderful tranquil life here.

The state of Jalisco, which includes Guadalajara, (Mexico’s second largest city) – and by the way...

 # 1 in Economic Recovery in Mexico (top 10% in the world) for the past 2 years, of 150 major cities throughout the world).(Brookings Institute-Washington DC-Metro Monitor.)

 Close by are, Ajijic and Chapala, home to 10,000 plus American and Canadian retirees, and Puerto Vallarta (a 4 to 5 hour drive to the Pacific Ocean).

We just drove over to PV for a weeks R & R. Friends are visiting there and many other areas of Mexico on a regular basis. In the past month, many “snowbirds” have returned from various parts of the US and Canada. No driving or border crossing problems that we have heard reported; we always ask.

We are not suggesting there is no crime in Mexico- there is everywhere. We recently put a blog with a video clip (from the Canadian Club in the Ajijic area) on our web site. It compares a part of Florida to Jalisco. Take a look.   http://www.youtube.com/user/wrightteammexico#p/u

One should be prudent, as you would be in any country.

Check the map and a few statistics- there is a lot of beautiful Mexico to enjoy!                        Don & Linda Wright Dec. 2010.  (PS-if there is not an Map of Mexico attached you can see it on the Blogs on our web site below)             www.wrightteammexico.com   to  Blogs