Negative side to living in Mexico?

[Guest]

A friend of mine who lives in Morelia just sent this to me, - she says that about half of it is accurate - just wanted to get some feedback as I'm considering moving:

http://reasonsnottoliveinmexico.blogspot.com/

[ddavis]

Dear Guest,

Your friend states the facts and she has observed the culture. I especially liked her comment about noise. To complain is more puzzling to the Mexican than noise itself. It's like going to Starbucks and not expecting cell phone business conversations. We are imprinted by our culture and this is why it's always a pleasure to return home. She does needs an editor, however, as most won't read such lengthy blogs.

Best regards,

Dick Davis

[conklinwh]

Actually what your friend states is basically right and if these really critical, then he should leave. We are all very careful where we live in the US and how we choose. It is way more critical in a 2nd or 3rd world country. I lived in lots of places a lot more "interesting" than the US, Canada and Poland. I think that living in Mexico is a lot easier than say living in Beijing in the aftermath of Tiananmen.
We often feel for stray animals and are up to two dogs and two cats. Some towns such as San Miguel are stepping up with the SPA among others but many are lagging. I do have to remember a conversation outside Hanoi between a person from Guilin in China and a local as they discussed the pros and cons of eating a black versus a yellow dog. Needless to say, there weren't many strays in southern China or Viet Nam. I was a little indignant but they were non plussed and asked why I was offended when I ate beef, lamb, chicken, etc. Their view was that you raised animals for a purpose. Some were pets and some were food.
It is very true that most Mexicans hate bad news and typically want to appear helpful. Especially with gringos, they tend to try to tell you what will make you feel good.
With these two, you really need to decide your personal level of tolerance.
The rest are more locational.
With Mexico you need to try multiple places to see what you like. If you want to be in the center of things, you will get noise and seems more the larger the city. If you don't want noise, then you need to move out of the center. Won't be zero but more muted and infrequent. By the way, even with INA, don't expect that zoning will be any part of a solution.
Pedestrians are a lot better off here than a lot of places. I was told in Beijing for instance that red lights are for reference. Since I grew up around New York City, I always expected that crossing roads would require strategy. 1st time that I visited LA, I stepped off the curb and everyone stopped, amazing!
Going back to the premise, living in Mexico is about the easiest that I have found outside the US. Every place has it's own characteristics and you either take positively or you leave.