Mexico is a diverse and interesting country with many opportunities to travel and discover it. But If you are planning a visit to Mexico most likely you will be spending hours or days looking for those specific questions in search engines:
- Is it safe in Mexico?
- Safe to visit Mexico?
- Is it safe to travel to Mexico?
- Will I be fine in Mexico?
and so on...
Talking to my friends and close relatives are hard when you plan your visit to Mexico because they will ask the same questions repeatedly and very rarely they will ask questions like "Wow! What part of the country you are going to?", "Do you like the food there?", "What is your impression of that colonial town?". No, most likely nothing like that.
And that where the hard part comes, my friend. It's not the easiest task to think about the world as a whole and analyze a bigger picture, we are all getting influenced by the news and what it dictates to us.
Reality
The thing is that everything depends on where you plan to go. If you are going to stay in established tourist locations or places that locals know and recommend for visiting - most likely you would be totally fine. It doesn't mean that you need to be completely reckless and walk around alone at night in places you don't know. Follow the regular precautions, don't take too much cash with you, follow the law and be respectful to everyone - that's the best avoid to avoid most of the problems
Statistics
If you want to see for yourself the crime stats and how it compares with the city that you live or visit I recommend using service like numbeo.com.
- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico vs San Francisco, USA
- Mexico city, Mexico vs Chicago, USA
- Queretaro, Mexico vs Phoenix, USA
As you can see, it all depends on the location. Even within one city (anywhere in the world) it all depends on the neighborhood where do you plan to live.
Mexico city neighborhood recommendations
I've spent quite a long time living in Mexico city and I can recommend a neighborhood that I walked safe and enjoyed my stay there. Neighborhoods are called "colonias" in Spanish, so get familiar with this word.
- La Condesa: my favorite neighborhood. Quiet, green and beautiful
- Roma: many people like and prefer Roma neighborhood. I don't like it as much as La Condesa, but it's also a good, safe place to live
- Coyocan: if you like colonial architecture and very authentic experience - the is your kind of place. It's running at a slower pace than Mexico city overall, but it's also great, right?
- Santa Fe: probably the most luxurious neighborhood of Mexico City. It's very clean, a lot of highrises can be visible all around it and it's very safe. The only problem is that it's far away from the other parts of the town and the metro doesn't operate there
- Polanco: it's a beautiful and luxury place, almost like Santa Fe, although it has fewer high-rises. There are many expensive shops all around this place and it's much more accessible than Santa Fe. All in all, also a great place to live
Conclusion
All in all, there are more neighborhoods and each has its own character. Rather than looking at the city as a whole, look at each place individually within the city and decide where you would like to live.
Don't let the news stop you from exploring beautiful places in Mexico. Play it smart and everything will be fine.
For a frequently asked questions and answers about Mexico refer to this page.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETA2vdTB9gU
Visiting Mexico city, Mexico on Turibus