Safe at home?

Thanks to Fidel Rodriguez for this:

I’m thinking of moving back to where I’m from.

Before I moved to this small ciudad, I should’ve taken precautions and done some research because I had no idea that it was this bad.

Today, I decided to write this because I just want to give others an unbiased point of view from a local’s perspective.

So, I moved here the first time in 1999 and then again in 2009.

Since then:
My good friend’s father-in-law was killed because somebody broke in and murdered him as he slept in the living room. The murderer was never caught.

Just last year June 2016, at a large chain grocery store, a man took two hostages and was killed by la policia. Crazy thing is that this was just 7 minutes from my house and we shop there often. And for some perspective I live in the so called “good” part of town.

I also should have researched the city a little better because we are situated along a major autopista known for human and drug trafficking. Just last year la policia confiscated more than $90 million worth of money and drugs just last year 2016.

And I won’t mention another city’s name as to not deter others from moving there but there were 5 people killed there just last week. A 53 year old man, outside a shopping center, 56 and 54 year old couple shot in their apartment as well as a 28 year old mother and 2 year old daughter found dead in their home and all in the same week. And this ciudad is only a short drive away from where I live. WTF

This may sound naïve but if only I would have checked the FBI report I would have known that the small ciudad where I live ranks number 6 amongst the most dangerous cities to live in the state. And #2 and #1 are only a short two and four hour drive, respectively.

That being said, I feel totally safe. I leave my door unlocked when we go to dinner or to the store. My kids play outside and even walk home from school sometimes. My wife is out and about all day and never ever feels threatened, concerned or unsafe.

Here are the details:

-I live in Amarillo Texas.
-The large grocery chain store where the hostage and killing situation occurred is Walmart.
-The highway is I-40.
-The city where 5 people were murdered last week was Dallas.
-And the #1 and #2 cities with the highest crime rate in Texas are Odessa and Lubbock and are very close to where I live.

The reason I wrote this is because I’ve been researching crime statistics and safety in Mexico and it occurred to me that I’d never even checked those statistics in the city where I’ve lived off and on for 10+ years here in the U.S.

And even knowing all of this, I still don’t feel unsafe and it hasn’t changed anything the way I’m going to live my life. I then realized that personally I was putting way too much emphasis on cold hard statistics and although statistics are important they almost never show the entire picture.

Amigos, I ask you con todo el respeto del mundo to please don’t take offense to this post as it’s written with the intent to demonstrate how anything can be made out to look worse than it really is. I mean I didn’t even scratch the surface and didn’t even get into real details of the city where I currently live.

Someday, I do want to move back to where I am from because I am originally from Mexico but have lived in West Texas since 3 months old. Looking forward to learning more about Moving to Mexico and hope see you in Mexico someday amigos. Saludos!

Atte.
Fidel