What's the crime rate against Americans and other expats in San Miguel de Allende?

The crime rate in San Miguel de Allende is very low. This is a small town. Of course there are also neighborhoods that are ghettos so you need to be careful there but overall, I feel safe here.

 

The dangers that are here in San Miguel de Allende are different from the dangers that exist in the States. For example, I would worry that someone would kidnap me here but I would not worry about that in the States. In the States, if I run into a ghetto, I would...

The crime rate in San Miguel de Allende is very low. This is a small town. Of course there are also neighborhoods that are ghettos so you need to be careful there but overall, I feel safe here.

 

The dangers that are here in San Miguel de Allende are different from the dangers that exist in the States. For example, I would worry that someone would kidnap me here but I would not worry about that in the States. In the States, if I run into a ghetto, I would worry about getting robbed but I wouldn’t worry about getting kidnapped there. Other than that, San Miguel de Allende is a pretty safe town.

 

We do have bars on the windows but I don’t have an alarm system because I live in the countryside so I am in the middle of nowhere. I feel pretty safe in my place and San Miguel de Allende is a pretty safe town. A lot of expats live here as well so the government here makes sure that the crime rate is low.

 

(Hacienda lodgings outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

I do not know how accurate are the statistics that we are getting from any of the governments anywhere in the world. I am a single woman and I don’t feel afraid to live here in San Miguel de Allende. I watch where I go and I am careful about what I do.

 

There are certain areas in San Miguel that I wouldn’t go into just like there are areas that I won’t go into in the United States. I don’t know that we have a crime rate for expats...

I do not know how accurate are the statistics that we are getting from any of the governments anywhere in the world. I am a single woman and I don’t feel afraid to live here in San Miguel de Allende. I watch where I go and I am careful about what I do.

 

There are certain areas in San Miguel that I wouldn’t go into just like there are areas that I won’t go into in the United States. I don’t know that we have a crime rate for expats here in San Miguel de Allende but I know that the crimes that people hear about from Mexico do not generally happen with Americans. It is usually Mexican to Mexican; not that it is any more acceptable but they are not going to get involved with US problem. They are not kidnapping Americans or Canadians here.

 

I know that sometimes when there are crimes that happen to expats here in San Miguel, we feel more impacted by it than we do when we live in the US or Canada in cities that have populations of over a million people because we didn’t know those people. We know many of the expats here in San Miguel de Allende since we are only about 12% of the community and we’re very visible since we are out on the streets all the time. If crimes happen against us, we get word of it and it seems like it hits closer to home than it does if you live in Atlanta, where I am from as we seem more disengaged there. Here one really feels part of a community

 

Overall, I feel much less concerned about crime here than I do in the States. I don’t think that there is ever any case in Mexico of people walking into Wal-Mart and opening fire or people going to a school and opening fire or any of that sort of crazy kind of crime that happens in the United States. Crime here in San Miguel de Allende is probably related more to poverty and to drug situations and just like anywhere else, if you get caught in the crossfire of a drug scenario, you’re caught in the crossfire of it. I am generally not in an area where that is happening just like in the US. San Miguel de Allende is very dependent on its large expat community and they work really hard to make us feel secure here. 

 

When I first moved here I promised my best friends that I would not walk by myself at night to my home no matter where I live because the taxis cost 40 pesos; they are about US $2. They said, I made them that promise because they said, “Just like anywhere else if you have a bad experience in your hometown, you will never feel the same again.” And we’re talking about a $2 taxi ride. So that’s what I do and that is my advice for people to do here because it is so much easier to be safe than sorry.

 

I don’t feel like I have to stay in in the evenings. I feel comfortable going out, but I call taxis. If it’s early evening and it’s not dark, I walk home just like I walk all around town. I don’t even have a car as a real estate agent because drivers are so inexpensive that I just hire a driver when I have a buyer. The more I walk the more desserts I get to eat, right?

 

In general, I don’t feel like I have to look over my shoulder here. Things go on. If people tell you that they are not going on in other cities, they are not telling you the truth. People sometimes come here and because San Miguel is so beautiful it is kind of like being in Disneyland meaning that sometimes they do not pay attention to their surroundings when they need to. You just have to be observant, especially on weekends or holidays. We are a big holiday destination because we are on the Independence Route so we are packed with people, especially during Independence Day, Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and on Easter weekend. There are people who come from other cities and take advantage of these crowds. You would pay attention like you would if you were in any big crowd but on a day-to-day basis, I don’t feel uncomfortable living here and that is coming from a single woman.

 

(Ivy del Pozzo and her tango dance partner, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

We have had the odd and strange murder here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, but it was usually not premeditated. Usually it is the result of an interrupted robbery.  We have had a couple of times in the country where people get tied up and set in their bathroom while the house gets emptied but that happens in houses that are more on the outside of town and without an alarm. Yes, dogs have been poisoned. But overall, I think that the crime rate here in San Miguel de Allende is...

We have had the odd and strange murder here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, but it was usually not premeditated. Usually it is the result of an interrupted robbery.  We have had a couple of times in the country where people get tied up and set in their bathroom while the house gets emptied but that happens in houses that are more on the outside of town and without an alarm. Yes, dogs have been poisoned. But overall, I think that the crime rate here in San Miguel de Allende is definitely less than in other communities.  Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende, in general, are pretty safe.

 

When I came here to Mexico over 15 years ago, there were the same occurrences of crime. Sometimes, expats will build a nice big house because the land is cheaper in a very downscale neighborhood. I think it just brings resentment because you put up a construction site next door to poor people. People are watching and when the moment comes that they think you are not in your house, they break in only to realize that you’re in there. They know that you know them because you see each other every day so they’d decide that it’s better to just put you out. There were situations that are definitely unfortunate. It has happened. San Miguel de Allende has a population of about 130,000 including the surrounding ranches that use all the services and all the little communities around it.

 

In comparison, I feel pretty comfortable both here in San Miguel de Allende and in Vancouver, where I came from, but I am a person who uses my instincts and I don’t do stupid things. One basic thing that you learn when you came to Mexico over 15 years ago is that you don’t leave a jacket in the car or any other kind of valuables. Thieves can be in there and out of there in about 3 minutes while you’re buying milk. So you just don’t leave stuff in the car even if it’s locked. There is even a device now where these thieves could walk by your briefcase and if you don’t have your credit cards in those protective sleeves, they can pick up and duplicate your cards, and pick up everything about you. That doesn’t only happen in Mexico. That could also happen in New York. There is a device that is about the size of a DVD that they hold in their hand and hang it out their car window when they drive by all the cars that are parked and just like that they know whether there is something electronic in each car to steal. It immediately senses whether there is a battery-operated device in the car. I had my stereo robbed in downtown San Miguel at around 9 o’clock, 20 years ago. They took my stereo but they didn’t take my briefcase. At that time nobody had cellphones and iPads, but it happened.

 

Personally, I have been here in San Miguel for 15 years and that stereo that was stolen from me was the only time I have been a victim of crime here. All my windows have glorious iron covers that look like old Venice. Yes, they stop anybody from going in through the windows but they are absolutely glorious to look at. In Mexico, houses usually have walls around them, which are not that high but high enough so that it discourages thieves. I don’t have the iron bars on the doors of my inner patio but all my doors are double locked. 

 

Having dogs on your property is the best thing. Keep your dogs behind a roof so that if some horrible person wants to poison them by throwing some poisonous meat over the wall, hopefully, it wouldn’t happen. I bring my dogs in at night when I’m at home. They sleep in a cage. When I’m gone, they stay outside.

 

I have never had any fear living here in San Miguel. However, I would still never go down a dark street at night with a purse but I didn’t do that 20 years ago, either. I actually don’t do that anywhere. In my day to day life here, I feel secured in my person 100%. Most of the crimes that you would hear about here in San Miguel are interrupted robberies. 

 

(Decorative security bars over windows, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

I just saw the statistics in the paper coincidentally, in which they say the crime rate in San Miguel de Allende has dropped significantly in the last few years. It’s been a steady decline. I’ve always felt safe here in this town. There are places in Mexico where that may not be the case. There is crime here, but there is crime everywhere.

 

I think, statistically speaking, you’re safer here than you would be in a large city in the United...

I just saw the statistics in the paper coincidentally, in which they say the crime rate in San Miguel de Allende has dropped significantly in the last few years. It’s been a steady decline. I’ve always felt safe here in this town. There are places in Mexico where that may not be the case. There is crime here, but there is crime everywhere.

 

I think, statistically speaking, you’re safer here than you would be in a large city in the United States. Personally, I’ve only had one incident where I was robbed- they sort of broke in to my house and stole my computers, which was not nice. Mainly the thieves are looking for electronic devices.

 

As far as violent crimes, there have been some here but they happen everywhere, and that’s not something I worry about. On the other hand, I don’t go walking the streets at night because that’s just not something I do. I probably wouldn’t recommend it, but then again I would say that’s true in a lot of places. As far as safety in San Miguel, I would rate it pretty high.

 

We can compare how I feel about safety in Davis, in northern California, with how I feel about safety in San Miguel de Allende.  I don’t really think about safety in Davis. Here in San Miguel de Allende, I suppose it does cross my mind, but that’s because, in a certain way, I’m foreign, although I do have dual citizenship- I’m also Mexican. There’s a lot more poverty here. Davis, on the other hand, is an exceptionally low-crime community, so that’s another comparison that I suppose isn’t quite fair. If I were walking the streets at night, I might feel safer in Davis, but during the day I never give it a second thought.  

 

(Plaza Soledad, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

The crime rate against Americans and other expats here in San Miguel de Allende is a lot less than a lot of cities in the US. When there is crime, everybody hears about it because there is such a small percentage of expats living here. It comes up in the news and gets blown to a bigger proportion. But in general, San Miguel is a pretty safe place to live without a doubt.

 

When I am in New York on vacation, I watch what I have in my wallet, I watch what...

The crime rate against Americans and other expats here in San Miguel de Allende is a lot less than a lot of cities in the US. When there is crime, everybody hears about it because there is such a small percentage of expats living here. It comes up in the news and gets blown to a bigger proportion. But in general, San Miguel is a pretty safe place to live without a doubt.

 

When I am in New York on vacation, I watch what I have in my wallet, I watch what I’m carrying, I don’t have my purse just hanging loosely, and I’m cautious. That’s how you should travel in certain towns in the middle of Mexico but as a whole, as far as living here personally full time, I know my neighbors and since we’ve been here long enough, I feel safe. I don’t look around my back and worry about things. I feel safe. 

 

In Centro (the central part of San Miguel de Allende), all the homes are adjacent to each other so anyone can jump over and through if they ever wanted to. It has happened in the past but it’s not a big issue because it does not happen often. There are some places in the countryside and in the outer parts of San Miguel where the houses have very high walls with barbed wires and wrought iron on the windows but that is just a safety precaution.

 

You will see houses in Centro where you only see walls, windows, and doors when you’re outside of the house. The wrought iron grills on the windows have also become a part of the architectural style of the houses in San Miguel de Allende that if you have a house that didn’t have wrought iron grills, it would look unusual.  

 

(Wrought iron grills on windows, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

There are certainly crimes in San Miguel de Allende. Please tell me where there isn’t. San Miguel is no different than a town where you live or any town that you visit. 

 

I am taking a class in Chicago for a year-long course, so I’m in Chicago for 3 weeks during a course of a year. Last September, when I was going there for the second session, my friends here in San Miguel de Allende told me, “Oh my God, I can’t believe...

There are certainly crimes in San Miguel de Allende. Please tell me where there isn’t. San Miguel is no different than a town where you live or any town that you visit. 

 

I am taking a class in Chicago for a year-long course, so I’m in Chicago for 3 weeks during a course of a year. Last September, when I was going there for the second session, my friends here in San Miguel de Allende told me, “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re going to Chicago. I hope you’re going to be careful because it’s so dangerous.” 

 

In San Miguel de Allende, you’re safe. I know that the past cartels have given the news media an awful big opportunity because the news media makes the situation look worse than it is. But the truth is I feel very safe here in San Miguel de Allende. My daughter lives here in San Miguel de Allende, and she also feels very safe here.  

 

(Burro on a street in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)