You Don´t Need a Weatherman

[Hound Dog]

To Tell Which Way the Wind´s Blowing.

We´ve lived in Mexico full time for going on nine years; both at Lake Chapala and in the Chiapas Highlands at San Cristóbal de Las Casas. We are both in our 60s and in all of our years living in some pretty hairy places in the United States, we never had a home alarm system although, up there, we did have the obligatory 12 gauge shotgun home-invader deterrent when we lived in the Northern California outback and the South Alabama swamps. This type of deterrent is not encouraged in Mexico so here we have the more benign forms of deterrent plus home alarm systems that would scare the bejesus out of Himmler himself. These state-of-the-art home alarm systems are so, shall we say, ear-splittingly-in-your-face that they remind me of the tale folks used to tell in the woodsy back country of the Mayacamas Mountains in Northern California of the homeowner who had no shotgun but simply a realistic recording of the sound of the function of preparing a shotgun for impending doom for the burglar that was so forceful that any home invader planning a heist would instead need to wash his underwear upon arrival at his redoubt after fleeing the intended scene of the crime with utmost purpose.

Anyway, the point of my story is that when I recently called the alarm company to have this system installed at my home at Lake Chapala, I had to wait for a time for installation as the alarm company was severely backed up in its order backlog because their cash flow is directly in the inverse of the cash flows of many other businesses at Lakeside in that, when times are financially tough, they prosper which makes sense if you think about it. During these dark economic days, they do well indeed and folks like me who would have never considered a home alarm system in the past are now knocking on the door insistently in order to protect their homes from opportunistic burglars.

Now, it is important to remember that, outside of
(1)direct or collateral damage among drug traffickers or those peripherally involved in industries supported thereby or
(2) inter-community, inter-familial or inter-tribal internecine stuggles or
(3) often alcohol-related child or spousal abuse or
(4) exploitation of the powerless by corrupt officials
violent crime which results in physical harm to one or more parties, is less common in Mexico than in the United States - at least as I see it - you may wish to contradict me if your experience differs. Therefore, in Mexico, in my experience, one is more likely to be a victim of petty crime such as home burglaries or pick-pocketing than confrontational robbery at gunpoint.

Now, as I have spent almost all of my time in my adopted homeland of Mexico over the past eight plus years, I can only speak of my experience here.

For now, those of us resident here whether voluntarily or by an accident of birth, must keep this in mind. This financial unpleasantness will pass soon enough and the resulting increase in petty crime will pass with that unpleasantness. At least, for the most part, miscreants are not out to hurt you just for the kick they get from so doing so thank your lucky stars you don´t live in the United States where perverse crime is often not so much tied to hunger or financial deprivation as to boredom and hostility.

Anyone contemplating a move to Mexico and not, simultaneously planning to deal in drugs or perform other unlawful acts, should feel comfortable in deciding to move down here because while it is far from perfect here, you are less likely to get your butt kicked for the sole offense of simply strolling down the street.

Welcome to your new and exhilarating home.