<p>""My parents wouldn't let me go (to Mexico) because I have blonde hair and blue eyes," said Ward, 18. "They said I'd get kidnapped."</p>
<p>Mexico</a> violence factors in spring break plans - Yahoo! News</p>
<p>I’d rather send my kid to Iraq, at least he’d have a gun or tank.</p>
<p>edit: That’s in regards to Mexico near the border. Places like Oaxaca are a lot better. Anywhere that the drug trade is huge though, pff I wouldn’t be caught dead there. Which is ironic because I’d probably end up dead there.</p>
<p>Mexico is not safe now - there is violence in alot of areas. Your parents are right on this one.</p>
<p>I agree. I would not want my kids going to Mexico, especially border towns, with the recent violence. The fact that couple that were killed a few days ago had their young child in the car with them did not give the murderers any qualms at all.</p>
<p>I agree. I would rather spend spring break in the states, or even in the dorm with some buddies.</p>
<p>I thought Mexico was a good place with all the beaches and the Historical sites that are there! Didn’t Mexico used to be a prime spot for Spring Break tourists? How did Mexico get so violent?</p>
<p>^^ You should pick up a newspaper. A lot of places in Mexico are safe, but the areas known for drug trafficking, the big cities like Mexico City, and places like Baja have seen a major uptick in violence because of ongoing wars between different drug gangs. </p>
<p>I’m sure the resort areas like Cancun are fine. There are probably drug lords that own a stake in the nicest resorts and want to see tourists come and prosper in them. The border areas are definitely dangerous. I think the problem is that Americans are not really good at geographic differentiation. They hear about violence in one part of the country, maybe 100 miles or more from where they’re actually going, and they start telling their friends how the entire country is a dangerous hell hole. I’m all for safety, but some of these reactions are a bit much. </p>
<p>Still, I wouldn’t want to go to a foreign country where I had to stay in a resort full of Americans the whole time, and couldn’t go out and experience the actual local culture. I’m sure the resorts in Mexico are really safe and beautiful, but if I’m going to travel abroad, I’m going to go somewhere where I can connect to another culture, not where I have to sit in a sanitized area.</p>
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<p>Mostly the increased demand for illegal drugs from US consumers.</p>
<p>Anyway, one of my good friends here is from Juarez and refuses to go home and visit his family. Another guy I know in my lab took his family on a drive down to more central Mexico to visit relatives and was held up in the middle of a road by a gang that would sit at the top of a hill and roll boulders down it to get you to stop. Thankfully they only took his money and left him his passport and car.</p>
<p>Further reason why I support a barrier on both the Northern and Southern borders.</p>
<p>I would rather recommend North Korea instead</p>
<p>Only the border towns are bad, the rest of Mexico (especially the resorts) is perfectly fine. I was there 1 month ago (in Mexico City). And PS there ARE people with white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. Don’t be so ignorant people.</p>
<p>The rest of Mexico is perfectly fine, when compared to the border towns where being caught in crossfire is a very real possibility.</p>
<p>It’s like going and vacationing in Mogadishu, because there’s more order there than in the rest of Somalia. Thanks, but… no.</p>
<p>Why not just vacation somewhere else?</p>
<p>Oaxaca’s pretty safe actually. My sister just came back from a school trip there, not a single crime occurred to anyone in the group. </p>
<p>I’d definitely stay away from Mexico City, Juarez, Laredo, anywhere near the border really.</p>
<p>Mexico City isn’t near the border.</p>
<p>I know, I shoulda put an “and” before “anywhere.”</p>
<p>I honestly have no idea how things managed to get so bad over there. Stupid drug cartels and their empires. It would be cool to be them, though. lol.</p>
<p>P.S I agree with N. korea being safer.</p>
<p>doesn’t affect my spring break plans because I don’t have the expendable cash to go anywhere really. :)</p>
<p>It’s really interesting to see the huge effect this is having. A lot of businesses on the Mexican side of the border are closing down simply because they do not have the tourist traffic to keep them going. Those that aren’t completely closing are opening locations on the American side of the border (particularly restaurants) to try to keep some of their clientele. There’s one restaurant that’s been an establishment in Reynosa, Mexico for at least fifty years that just opened a fast food version of itself across the border. The American border towns are being hit really hard too, because not only is some of the violence spilling over, but with people not coming down to places like South Padre Island for Spring Break, they’re not getting the money they usually do. That compounded with the recession, and it’s really tough on those businesses.<br>
To be completely honest though, very few civilians are getting killed. Yes, members of the cartels are roaming the streets in armored cars with machine guns, but right now, it’s not just random violence. This is cartel members targeting police, military, and other cartel members. They really don’t care about tourists. In a lot of the shoot outs, tourists and civilians were cleared of the areas long before anything happened. It’s good to be cautious, but for tourists, it’s really not as awful as people are saying. At least for now.</p>
<p>Mexico is really messed up in the north border town, like juarez. </p>
<p>I just came back from cancun and its perfectly fine, safest place in the country. lots of springbreakers and lots of blonde and blue eyes, so dont worry. Most springbreak destinations are fine, specially cabo and cancun, those cities live on tourists and springbreakers so dont worry about crime, the cities are very secure.</p>
<p>Springbreak is crazy by the way, going back every year, Cancun is the top spot, try going there in springbreak some time. OASISSSS</p>