Who was the member that posted that he and his wife had moved to Guatemala? I wanted to show my wife the post and can't find the thread.
Guatemala would be a pretty dangerous move. You're probably thinking of Gary Schreiber, who moved a lot farther south. He's in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Oops; wrong country. Guatamala would be preety close to Meico.
Guatemala Dangerous?? OH CRAP!!
I will doing a paper at a conference in Guatemala in Oct. Should I purchase a bullet proof vest?
Keep your head down. A recent study found Guatemala City one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Ranked #12 out of the 15 top places. Most of them are in central America and Mexico. Gotta have our drugs, y'know.
Fred,
Just wear a vest labeled USA-DEA. That should deter anything.
Seriously, it wasn't Guatemala, but a place next to it and I had a long business trip and an 'escort' provided by my host that I only learned about at arrivals. (No you silly guys not THAT kind of escort!) Alessandro was 'packing' and that alone made me nervous! The Ford Aerostar van had funny looking wavy glass that turned out to be really thick! Now so nervous that it was hotel/work/hotel.
One night I'm in my hotel room, its about midnight and I decide to just amble down to the hotel bar and have something.
Sitting on my stool I eventually notice over behind a building column a forehead and eyes peep from time to time. I eventually figure out it is Alessandro and walk over. I asked him how he knew I was in the bar and he should have come over. He said, "Mr. George it is my job to go where you go, be where you are, be awake when you are, even when you don't tell me!"
On the one hand that was extremely comforting...on the other hand it was a 'really? does the protection have to be this tight?"
Not to scare you Fred, but just be cautious, you hear?
Terry, if I was considering a move to South America I'd take a long, careful look at Uruguay. Just my $.02. Bob
I emailed my boss and told him that I had other plans for Oct -(Germany and Beer) so Guatemala was out.
His response was "Guadalajara Dummy" and you can drink all the Corona you want!
Last time I was there I had to walk thru a metal detector at the hotels but I figure that it will be like going to Phoenix, San Diego, and LA with the language et. al.!
Guatemala city is safer than Bogota, Columbia or Mogadishu Somalia.
Guatemala has high crime rates all over the country, and they are highest in its capital. There are problems with drug dealers, gang warfare and high murder rates, and there is not an efficient system to solve these problems.
Guatemala City has a problem of ongoing crime, partially due to lack of efficient law enforcement. The majority of officials are inexperienced and underpaid, so do not have the resources to begin with to handle the high volume of crime. Apart from the police, the justice system is also inefficient, overworked and not effective. Police officers usually work on bribes, leading to corruption. These factors have contributed to the surge in murder and other crime that has been going on for the past decade.
Apart from law enforcement, Guatemala City is subject to its social problems, like street gangs and rival drug dealers, which often affect the lives of everyday people. The country of Guatemala has a wide separation of wealth as well, leading to unrest. There are also issues of kidnapping and organ harvesting around the country, and this city is not necessarily safe from these incidents.
Different parts of the city are more dangerous than others. Zona 1 is noted to be very dangerous, full of drug deals, gangs and other illicit activities, so it is advised to not be there at night. Zonas 2, 6, 18 and 21 should also be avoided; Zona 10 is known to be a safer district.
People who visit Guatemala City are warned to not walk around alone at night, especially not through dangerous areas. Even during the day, they should not draw attention to themselves, and not wear flashy clothing or jewelery, nor look like they are lost. Though most of the crime committed has to do with Guatemalans, tourists are also victims of armed robbery, rape and murder.
It is recommended to avoid taking buses inside Guatemala City, as there are incidents of people getting robbed by gangs on buses, and sometimes the driver gets murdered. People who take taxis should also make sure that they are registered.
Source:
http://www.mostdangerouscities.org/
Since we are already off the subject of Model T's and talking about unsafe places, Some 15 years ago I did an oil field related trip to Karachi Pakistan. Customer met me at the airport and out front was a waiting car complete with an ARMED GUARD.
All went well and we arrived at the oil camp, all the comforts of home were there. (Food, rooms etc)
I finished the job and headed back home with the armed guard to the airport.
I don't know of that level of security was needed, but I was glad to get out of there.
Oh, I did not see any Model T's, a lot of Ox drawn carts and other primitive carts.
I'm sorry for all the Off Topic posts on this thread. I forgot to put "OT" in front of the subject, and I didn't expect so many posts. Once again, my apologises for the slip up.
A company my wife worked for and several friends still do has a location in Juarez. One friend has to travel there from time to time. At first he stopped in TX and was picked up by the plant manager at his hotel in TX and driven across the border. Then it was a body guard group. Now they come across to meet him in TX and he stays in TX. It seems it has become too dangerous for him to cross anymore. I also have distant in-laws that are from Mexico and they told me recently that it is too dangerous for them to travel to his Dad's house in MX anymore. Kind of scary I think.
Doug. I can give you a parallel story about Torreon MX where it was safe a few years ago but now even the locals don't dare go out at night. It is a bit unnerving to see army guys riding around in pickups with machine guns mounted in the back The Crown Plaza hotel will not run their scuttle to and from the airport when it is dark and taxis are out of the question between 5 pm and 8 am
Sounds a bit like Detroit when the sun is down
Forgot to mention. I am currently in Shanghai and feel safer than most big US cities
Terry,
I just noticed this thread. If it were Ecuador you
meant, send me an e-mail. Thistime4you(at)gmail(dot)com
Would be happy to exchange e-mails.