Originally Posted by MIA-SAT

Walk in the wrong places at the wrong time in LA, Miami, New York or New Orleans and you will get robbed. Flash money in Mexico City, walk around like you don't have a clue what you are doing in the wrong places and you are asking for trouble. What I don't put much stock in are the alarmist warnings on the Consular Information Sheets. These sheets have a not-too-well hidden political agenda. What you cannot do in Mexico are some things that you might do in a large city in the US, like hail a street taxi or leave valuables unattended in airports. (In this TSA era, you can't do that here either.) Mexico City has great restaurants, museums, parks, archealogical sites and other attractions. Many of the objections that are raised in this thread can be also stated about most major third world cities, the cities have substantial poor areas and if you are careless, you can be a victim of crime. Geez, there are even kidnappings in places such as Mendoza, Argentina, but they don't target tourists unless you advertise your wealth.

I have seen passengers at International Arrivals in Mexico City who immediately flash a money clip and head off to the exchange window with lots of luggage. They don't pay attention to what they are doing as if they were at the ATM line at Smallsville back home. They might as well have a sign on their foreheads that says "Robame". I have friends who were crime victims in MEX, they called me at my hotel for help, but it was no surprise what happened to them. They were stupid enough to board a street cab on Insurgentes Sur at 12:30 am. They were robbed at gunpoint and she was threatened with sexual assault. She is Mexican to boot, and she admitted their abject stupidity in taking a street taxi at that hour (or at any hour.) Bottom line to all travel, if you are stupid, you set yourself up to be a crime victim. All of the third world is less forgiving of such stupidity, because law enforcement is far below US standards and the countries have pervasive poverty. If you expect US security standards, visit small towns in the US or Canada. The third world is not Mayberry.