Comments on: Crime In Merida: A Mean Con

By: Kinbote

Kinbote — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 22:39:02 +0000

J Penn: Tell your husband to keep you in the United States. We have enough ignorant racist gringos living here.

By: BG

BG — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 20:27:50 +0000

You have a very wrong perception of Mexico. Merida, for instance, has more millionaires per capita than any city in the country. There are houses here that make wealthy suburban homes in the USA look like shacks. There are dealerships for BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar and other luxury cars. The malls have the best shops. I don’t know where you get your idea about backpackers and bad environments. Been in LA lately? How about Miami? I’d sure rather be here than South Beach Miami where there was a street shoot-0ut the other night among gang factions. And that is a very high-end area. Your comments are not well researched.

By: BG

BG — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 20:23:50 +0000

It is actually true that there is less crime in Merida than just about anywhere else in Mexico, although no one can know how long that will last. What we encounter in the neighborhoods is not so much violent crime as people breaking in when we aren’t home. The violent crime is not generally in the upper end residential neighborhoods. the biggest problem we are faced with is the drug cartels and how long our local police can protect us. they are doing a good job right now, but they are not doing a good job in Cancun. Even with what is going on in Cancun, it doesn’t hold a candle to LA or chicago, where it is far more dangerous.
There are certain things i won’t do – like drive in the northern part of the country. But I do feel comfortable walking around town at night by myself, something I can’t say for my home town of Seattle.

By: J Penn

J Penn — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:28:29 +0000

Also please let me know about high end restaurants (Italian/French/mexican)….
There is nothing wrong with Merida to promote itself for the wealthy from around the world as we all know people make their money in cold places but they want to go and rest somewhere sunny,pool,cocktails and clean areas….Mexico has everything that god could have given to one single nation and its time mexicans started cultivating that fact instead of this backwater style crimes and catering to backpackers that has made mexico comparable to some of the worst places on earth in every wealth nations eyes

By: J Penn

J Penn — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:22:06 +0000

Which neighbourhoods are good? which area do the “wealthier nationals” live and where do “highend expats” live? as for crime I can assure you that community needs to be educated to deal with criminals collectively because crime is everywhere however the areas that have less crime are the ones that residents keep an eye on everything that goes on and that fact alone sends the criminals packing…My husband wants to move us all to Merida and i’m not opposed to it but all i find is “merida is great or/and safe” which i know it can not be true…so how about people that live there let us know honestly the issues facing Merida today. Thx

By: BG

BG — Mon, 23 May 2011 02:07:00 +0000

Hey! We have Starbucks!

By: C.S. Phipps

C.S. Phipps — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:22:11 +0000

I have only lived in Merida for a couple of months now and honestly I feel completely comfortable living here. I decided to purchase my home in a central neighborhood that caters to wealthier nationals rather than expats due to the additional security as well as a stronger hand when it comes to homeless and poverty stricken people. The city is great, wonderful to walk, very nice restaurants and a strong community. This is not a place that you’ll find a Starbucks, Louis Vuitton or Hermes, but rather a well preserved active city that has a strong character. I recommend Merida to anyone who is open minded, energetic and looking to truly enjoy the culture, not to mask the Mexican lifestyle with frozen drinks and gringo mentalities.

By: BG

BG — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 23:56:28 +0000

It is actually true. There is much folklore as for the reasons, but there isn’t much crime in Merida. There are gangs in the southern part of the city. I don’t know what they are doing. The drug problem that haunts many cities in the country has so far been kept out, due, I imagine, to massive law enforcement efforts that we don’t hear about. Actually, there is bad stuff going on in Cancun, a four-hour drive away.
I have heard of strong-arm entry into homes with accompanying robberies. I know there are a lot of home burglaries, usually when no one is home.
There are numerous unsophisticated con games.
I think people from wealthy Mexican families are kidnapped and ransomed, but it is not in the newspaper. I do see uniformed police outside of nursery schools sometimes.
But I can still walk home from downtown alone, after 25 years. This is something I wouldn’t do in the US, even in friendly Seattle where I live p/t.

By: Ed

Ed — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:33:59 +0000

I have been planning on moving to Merida in a few years and have tried to look up information regarding crime in the city but (don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing) I can’t really seem to find anything everyone just seems to say it is a very peaceful city with almost nonexistent crime. I know Merida is going to be like every other major city in the world and have some sort of problems here and there but just wondering if there are actually any mayor crime/violence related problems in the city that anyone has had to deal with or heard about. Because if it is just petty crime like stealing wallets or the phone call thing that is not too big of an issue with me. I actually had something similar to that done to me several times here in the states. First it was someone supposedly calling from a prison and they asking me to accept their call and pay for it using my credit card or through a bank account quickly did some research and found out this was a scam. Happened again someone supposedly calling from a prison but this time in the background you could hear the voice of a young male screaming help me! get me out of here! and again did some research and found out it was a scam.

By: BG

BG — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:44:36 +0000

Be watchful.