'CDMX is fine, you'll be in the tourist areas anyway. 2 weeks is too long just for CDMX imo. I figure a week is good enough because you'll most likely going to Teotihuacan (little over half a day), Xochimilco (couple hours), Plaza Garibaldi (few hours at night), and then centro historico could take a day or two for full exploration.';

'>>2645673
Oh and I'll add, if you stay in Polanco you're within walking distance of a lot more shit.';

'How bad is Juarez?';

'>>2645702
it basically sucks why would you go there';

'>>2645702
literally no reason to ever visit border towns
complete shitholes';

'>>2645734
I'm spending a month in Los Alamos and have never been to Mexico';

'>>2645702
It can be bad but there is a lot of cool things to see in that place. Authentic mexican food and tiendas. Dont listen to the FUDfeds trying to scare you away from the cool stuff. They want you in for the tourist locations and out back to make more taxes.';

'>>2645769
>Juarez
>Tijuana
>cool stuff
Do whatever the fuck you want. I'm mexican, I can vouch for those places being complete shitholes.';

'>>2645772
Tijuana isn’t so bad because it’s 5 minutes over the border and you’re in America’s finest city Juarez is across from El Paso yuck';

'>>2645758
Sample all the local foods there. It's good to try something new!';

'>>2645702
It's ugly as fuck, but I never felt unsafe there. Spent close to 10 days staying in hotels in Juarez centro while traveling from Miami to the California border in spring 2021. You can easily take Amtrak to El Paso (from California or Texas) and walk across the border. From the north, take a bus. Driving across is doable, but a bigger hassle than walking. Wait times in both directions can be very long. Be aware that you cannot drive beyond the border zone without an import permit for your vehicle. Driving without Mexican auto insurance is also a bad idea.
Many streets in Juarez are eerily quiet and devoid of life; some neighborhoods are full of abandoned buildings. The city has learned to live with its violence for the most part; you won't see cartel members cruising around downtown blasting narcocorridos like you do in some other narco towns. People are habitually careful and reserved around strangers, so don't expect smiles or warm welcomes. The tortas are bomb, they cost about 100 MXN or 6 USD. Turkey ass or colitas de pavo is the local specialty. Most hotels downtown do not take reservations. Always ask to see (and smell) the room before you pay. Bathroom drain odors can be horrendous, and bedding can be disgusting. 500 MXN or $30/night is the base rate for a decent room, though you can find shitty rooms for $18 or so.';

'>>2645772
Those two cities are the worst that Mexico has to offer aesthetically and culturally, true.
>>2645758
I recommend you consider Sonora instead of Juarez if you will be driving from New Mexico.
Agua Prieta was decent. I was denied an import permit for my van outside Juarez, so I took MEX-2 over the mountains to Sonora. Not a road I would drive again! Ascension was a hellhole of human smugglers, and the truck traffic over the mountain pass between Chihuahua and Sonora (picrel) was absolutely horrendous.
The Ruta del Rio heading south from Agua Prieta is reportedly very scenic, but foreign vehicles need either an import permit or a Sonora Only permit to drive it. Be aware that the mountainous regions of Sonora are cartel country, and any flare-up in regional tensions can make travel a seriously dicey prospect.';

'Cananea is Mexico's version of Bisbee, but without the tourists. It's worth a visit, especially in the warmer months.
Magdalena de Kino is the most touristy spot in the region, though only a handful of Americans visit anymore due to the unstable security situation. Gives it a nice "undiscovered" feel. Nice hotels are surprisingly cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV8EJqoJtS0';

'In case you are wondering where you can drive without a special permit for your car, it's anything north and west of the red line.';

'On second thought, three cartel leaders from across Sonora announced an alliance against Los Chapitos (Sinaloa cartel) earlier this year.
https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2024/01/new-alliance-announced-in-sonora-major.html
Two of their guys got turned into speedbumps near Caborca last Friday night.
https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2024/04/sonora-warzone-gruesome-discovery-of.html
A serious outbreak of hostilities across the state seems underway.
https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2024/04/sonora-warzone-los-fantasmas-and-05s.html';

'>>2646228
>Not a road I would drive again!
Yeah, the Mexicans (that have papers to cross) will avoid driving on that way and will cross into the US to take I-10 and then cross back if they're driving between northern Mexico states.';

'>>2646342
Your heart rate jumps up when you see the little cone on the median line, because it means an armed police (or enforcer) is going to step out into the road and stop your vehicle. You'll be searched and probably interrogated. Sometimes they demand money. Of course these sketchy informal checkpoints are always in the middle of nowhere.';

'>>2645666
Hello Anons, I posted a thread a few months ago about moving to mexico to learn spanish for a few months. Ive been doing more research and It came down to Guadalajara and Merida.

Merida is much safer and everything I need is going to be in walking distance so I think thats what ill choose. Atleast for the first 2-3 months

My question is do any Anons here have any tips or advice for living in merida. I hear its safe and to live in centro. Outside of that idk anything else';

'Yeah CDMX is great. It's very safe if not moreso than a lot of American cities.
>>2645677
Condesa is better than Polanco in my opinion. Polanco is a lot like Ginza in Tokyo. Lots of pricey shops that the average tourist probably won't bother with. I think I stayed in Juarez. They're basically right next to each other and CDMX has a really good rail system too
>>2646229
People actually go to Bisbee for tourism? I only know about it because of Doug Stanhope';

'>>2646540
>People actually go to Bisbee for tourism
Boomers';

'>>2646225
>Be aware that you cannot drive beyond the border zone without an import permit for your vehicle.
Is this actually the case? Are there checkpoints blocking every road or something or can you get around it

Also what is
>Turkey ass';

'>>2646540
>Yeah CDMX is great. It's very safe if not moreso than a lot of American cities.

LOL';

'>>2646857
>Is this actually the case? Are there checkpoints blocking every road or something or can you get around it
Yes, to get from the border states like Baja and Sonora into the interior of the country there will be one on the highway. Yes you can probably get around it creatively, and Mexican government functions are extremely hit or miss so they might not stop you, but the permit isn't hard to obtain.

As an aside, there are checkpoints every 100 miles or so where they have military guys purportedly searching your vehicle for drugs and gun running. Nothing bad has ever happened to me but I find it intrusive especially since it seems to be doing jack shit to deter cartel activity.
Seriously, go to Thailand, Mexico sucks.';

'I went to CDMX, Guadalajara and TJ last year. CDMX and Guadalajara are great. They actually felt safer than some US cities. The locals were helpful and kindly put up with my awful Spanish. TJ felt sketchy and I didn't feel safe there.';

'>>2647393
>They actually felt safer than some US cities
Why do you fat americans keep saying this shit when all you did was go around the tourist sections lol';

'Tijuana is becoming los angeles. Its great know really
1. Any medical procedure . Usually usa trained doctors. Any plastic surgery . Tons of cancer shit. I did stem cells.
U can hyporberic chamber
Hair transpant. Teeth..all cash
.new tits. Tattoos. Ibogaine..
Vodddoo

2. It is a legit city know. It has gigabit internet and the millitary police is everywhere know patroling...its quite female freindly

3..food..foe some reoson a ton tourist thats is mex americans flooded tijuana with sushi burgers steaks..they are everywhere know..tacos

4. Americans. A ton of boomers have moved there and a ton of americas..for some reoson u always see white amishn families.

5. If u cross at night its 30 min train ride to dowmtown san diego
Mall is also there and weed store at the border

6. Rent is cheap. U can get a room for 20a day
Or rent
Luxury condos are same as usa rent

7. Mexicans for the most part dont care who u are. Ukranians were there when the war started.';

'>>2647500
8. Hookers ..brothels

9..beaches rosarito is near

10. Female freindly .. a fuckton of women go to sschool there. Also my mom told me a ton of dicorcees spend there money there';

'>>2647399
Mexico lacks blacks, that's why
Americans generally feel safer in such places
>>2647200
The military are hardasses and can make a mess of your things, but it's the municipal and state police that sketch me out a lot more, especially when they start with a handshake like they are expecting to do business with you. Usually they stake out the roads which evade the military checkpoints. Visiting El Colorado, Sonora via Sonora Highway 61, I had to go through two informal checkpoints. They saw me as a tourist, so I was waved on through after brief questioning of origin and destination. When you see two cops wearing gold chains and luxury watches manning a roadblock in a remote section of desert highway, you know they ain't on the up-and-up.';

'>>2646857
it's also known as the pope's nose
very fatty part of the turkey which is quite tasty when fried up with spices and put in a toasted bolillo with avocado, lettuce, tomato, mayo and dressing
Mexicans love using odd scraps of meat in their food.';

'The most adventurous roadtrip I took in Mexico was across the Sierra Madre Occidental from Durango to Tepic. Not having a map or a GPS, only some jotted notes, I took a wrong turn in El Mezquital and ended up in some rough 4x4 mountain country before regaining the highway and descending from the cool pines into the torrid cactus scrublands of Huazamota.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San+Francisco+del+Mezquital,+Durango,+Mexico/Los+Charcos,+Durango,+Mexico/Jes%C3%BAs+Mar%C3%ADa,+Nayarit,+Mexico/Ruiz,+Nayarit,+Mexico/@22.4943654,-104.9447396,9z/data=!4m26!4m25!1m5!1m1!1s0x869c7ea1224834f1:0x6195a355bd6cf0b5!2m2!1d-104.3948761!2d23.4744535!1m5!1m1!1s0x869c5f4b58369931:0x24925bd34d7fa268!2m2!1d-104.3024993!2d23.0114754!1m5!1m1!1s0x869d96dd222aaca7:0x14baf4a7ac3bb7ab!2m2!1d-104.5172111!2d22.2558492!1m5!1m1!1s0x869e02339314f803:0xab78deb25feda531!2m2!1d-105.1434387!2d21.950564!3e0?entry=ttu';

'368 kilometers without a gas station, only plastic jugs of gasoline sold at roadside shacks in the villages.
These remote Sierra villages were never conquered by the Spanish or the Mexicans.
The men appeared particularly hostile to outsiders; I only stopped to refuel, and camped out in a spot far from town and hidden in the forest.
Only in the past decade did the villages get electric power and paving of the mountain highways.
Someday I'd like to drive MEX-24 between Parral, Chihuahua and Badiraguato, Sinaloa. The highway was completed only a couple years ago, IIRC.';

'Sections of flawless brand-new pavement like this one leaving San Francisco del Mezquital have a tendency to end abruptly and inexplicably.';

'>>2647500
More like LA is becoming more like TJ. Culturally, LA is a a Mexican city just like Miami is a South American city.';

'>>2645673

Isn't CDMX in the middle of a water shortage? With everybody relying on water trucks?';

'>>2647807
that's what happens when you build in the middle of a desert. las vegas soon.';

'>>2647817

To be fair, it was a swamp like 500 years ago, lake Titicaca';

'>went to mexico
>got the shits';

'>>2647500
Hi, I live in Phoenix and I have never been to Mexico. My coworkers tell me to visit Puerto Panasco, but my friend who lived in San Diego says I should visit Tijuana. Is one better than the other? I like to walk around.

If I were to visit Tijuana, is it a hassle to drive over from San Diego, or should I leave my car in SD and use alternative transportation? Would you recommend using Hotwire.com to book a room in Mexico? Where do you find the hookers?

Also I look Hispanic, and my Spanish is weak. I have been told that some Hispanic-looking Americans have been kidnapped and their identities stolen, so that border hoppers could pretend to be them. Is this a serious concern or paranoia? Are there checkpoints along the way to Puerto Panasco?';

'>>2648494
Rocky Point is in a hassle free zone. No paperwork required, though auto insurance will save your ass if you wreck. Sonoyta is known for traffic cops shaking down foreigners who roll stop signs, run yellow lights or drive faster than 25 km/h in town. American tourists are sacred cows there, even with Sonora getting ever more violent.';

'>>2648494
Rocky Point is boring, expensive, and hot as hell in summer. TJ is much more exciting, has a full range of price offerings, and a better climate. Rocky Point has a much cleaner beach and better condos. Your car will not be safe on the street in TJ; "guards" will hustle you to pay them a security fee. Walking across at San Ysidro seems the better option. Save yourself the insurance and parking cost. You could also visit Mexicali if you want a more relaxed nightlife scene.';

'>>2647807
Infrastructure leakage is so bad that the water never makes it to the tap in many outlying CDMX neighborhoods. Rich areas are fine, but they def do not need more people living there.';

'>>2645677
In 2021 I've visited Polanco - one of the most expensive district in the world - and it was fine.
Too many globohomo stuff in my taste tho.

I've met a couple of aussies who told me they were extorted by local corrupt policemen (take passports and force tourists to withdraw 100$). So despite being a weathy area you can get troubles.

Always take prints of your passport with you, if they take your passport by force and refuse to give it back, tell them they'll have to proceed further with the anti-corruption office and your country's diplomatic services.';

'>>2648669
You shouldn't carry your passport on the street in Mexico. Only federal officials are allowed to enforce immigration law, and this usually occurs at highway checkpoints.
Drunk foreigners are often targeted by criminal cops when stumbling around in the street late at night. I've had it happen once to me around 2:30 AM in Tuxtepec, but I told the cops preemptively which hotel I was heading back to, and they said "good night" and left me alone.
Driving in Mexico, you are far more likely to experience petty shakedowns than you are when traveling without a car.
Drunkenly threatening thuggish, corrupt cops with exposure is not a course of action I would ever recommend. Your body may never be found.';

'I got mugged at Mexico City at knife point. Also had to give money to cops because they said they would take me to jail (I was drunk).
My friends say Mexico city is one of the safest places in Mexico, the federal gov puts a lot of money in it and have deals with the cartels.';

'There are many beautiful places in Mexico but there is disproportionately more wasteland-like rubble. Also, the poorest plumbing I've ever experienced.';

'Diarrhea for 2 days. Couldn't enjoy much';

'>>2645702
Stop by i need a new kidney';

'>>2647198
>Yeah CDMX is great. It's very safe if not moreso than a lot of American cities.
>LOL
Not sure what you’re LOLing about, although I agree that 99% of people who are afraid of all American cities are pathetic soft losers who are afraid of their own shadows. Mexico City is a world-class metropolis that is both safer and more sophisticated (and enjoyable) than most people think. Agreed with above anon that Polanco is quite a lot less interesting than Condesa or Roma, though.';