Sunday, July 31, 2011

Safety and Living in Mazatlan

Prior to retirement hubby and I decided to make a change. Tired of spending our spare time cutting the grass and shoveling the snow in Ontario Canada, and tired of consistantly paying taxes on top of taxes and watching our elected officials leave their jobs with enormous pensions and benefits WE paid for, we opted to make a change.


We had always thought Europe would be the place to spend our retirement, but with the huge currency difference between the Euro and the Cdn. dollar we looked to other areas....specifically Mexico...with warmer weather (as the Canadian winters were just tooo cold now), a more relaxed way of daily living and hopefully with close access to the ocean.


The first place we visited was Mazatlan a few years ago and fell in love with its world charm, warm weather, friendly locals and expats.


Since moving here we have heard from friends and family over and over again about how the news reports say that Mazatlan is dangerous with muggings, rapes, drugs and murders. If you've read about it, we've heard about it.
But after packing up in Canada and moving here, we can honestly say as far as safety goes...Mazatlan is NO different than any other large city!


There were muggings and rapes there...there are muggings and rapes here.
There was poverty there...there is poverty here.
There were murders there...there are murders here.
There was corruption there...and there is here too.


If you believe the news...it sounds like Mazatlan is the wild west with gun battles on every street corner!! That is SOOOO not the case.


Yes, is it can be dangerous just walking the streets in Mazatlan anytime of day or night...but not because of muggings or gun shots..but because you can twist an ankle on the uneven sidewalks or hit your head on one of the many A/C units that stick out of the buildings!! Now that is dangerous...so the code for the walking streets in Mazatlan is...constantly look up, look down and look up again, over and over again.


We decided to do what we've always done up in Canada...
a.)  don't go to unknown areas alone...
b.)  don't flash money or jewellery around...
c.)  don't do drugs or hang out in establishments that are known for drugs...
d.)  look out for the uneven sidewalks and A/C units
e.)  and just use your common sense!



Well, hubby and I are here, in Mazatlan...enjoying our retirement on a much smaller pension than those elected officials up in Canada are living on, and we're here to tell you...it's a big city folks...wake up!


We don't live in a fairytale...we live in a large, thriving city with people that enjoy life at a slower pace than anything we ever had before...and with an ocean right outside our doors...what could be better!


From Linda and Hub
Just a few thoughts from 2 Canadians living and loving it in Mazatlan!