# Moving 2 Mazatlan, MX



## tellitino (Mar 12, 2015)

Hello,
I would greatly appreciate a minute of you time, to provide me with your advice. I will be moving to Mazatlan,Mexico at the beginning of April. As I was sitting in a small room with others applying for my visa I realized I was in dire need of the knowledge from some seasoned expats in the Mazatlan area. I just have a few questions:
Is it safe to walk/drive the city at night?
Is there a problem with gangs/cartel?
Can I bring my car with me ( I have heard so many different stories, even from the Mexican Consulate)?
Are kidnappings prevalent? 
Can you drive a nice car, such as a hummer or small benz without getting car-jacked?
Where do you buy furniture and is it reasonably priced? I can not find any stores on-line.
I've heard stories about getting custom clothes made from a seamstress and custom furniture made that is less expensive ~ is this true?
I do realize how ignorant some of these questions are, but these were all topics of discussion at the Consulate. And I started thinking maybe I did not see every thing on my trip in November, or maybe something changed. I'm bringing my family and I just want to make sure. I appreciate any and all feedback. Thank you!


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Maz is safe as anywhere
Not good idea to have fancy cars
You can bring a car if you have a Temporal Visa .... no with a Permanete
Custom clothes .... this is not Hong Kong
Buy furniture at a store


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

sparks said:


> Maz is safe as anywhere
> Not good idea to have fancy cars
> You can bring a car if you have a Temporal Visa .... no with a Permanete
> Custom clothes .... this is not Hong Kong
> Buy furniture at a store


Just to supplement this a little, labor rates are low in Mexico so you can buy custom made furniture pretty cheaply and probably custom made clothes. Neither will be as low as big box schlock, but you can get exactly what you want. I had rustic furniture custom made and it wasn't very expensive, don't know about clothes.

I go to Mazatlan most Decembers for the marathon. You can walk around any time of day or night without issues.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

High quality furniture is expensive, rustic furniture is not, it all depends what you like.

Yes you can get clothes made but you have to first order something to see if the seamstress is up to the quality or the design of what you are looking for. Sparks is right this is not Hong Kong or Thailand...The good fabric is imported and expensive meanwhile good manta is very cheap again it all depends what you want.


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

About walk/drive at night, Sparks is correct, in many cities there are always places you would never go at night, and certainly not in one of those cars either. Maz is not Kansas.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

By the way you can only import one car so your spouse or partner woud have to import the other one


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

If you plan to reside in Mexico for more than four years, you will become Residente Permanente and not be able to drive a temporarily imported foreign plated car. Permanent importation is not likely to be an option. So, consider buying your car in Mexico, and consider keeping it modest to avoid attracting attention to it or to yourselves; especially if you have children.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Mazatlan and state of Sinaloa were both quite violent places for a number of years. Mazatlan had a higher crime and homicide rate than most major US cities. Cruise ships stopped making port calls there until relatively recently. Hopefully, things are improving for people who live there. I've never been to Mazatlan and I hear a lot of good things about the city from some expats. Best of luck with the relocation planning.


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## cuerna1 (Mar 7, 2015)

tellitino said:


> Hello,
> I would greatly appreciate a minute of you time, to provide me with your advice. I will be moving to Mazatlan,Mexico at the beginning of April. As I was sitting in a small room with others applying for my visa I realized I was in dire need of the knowledge from some seasoned expats in the Mazatlan area. I just have a few questions:
> Is it safe to walk/drive the city at night?
> Is there a problem with gangs/cartel?
> ...


You are moving there in less than a month and you are asking these questions now ? Is your current employer asking you to relocate there ? Do you already own something ? planning on renting ?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

There is quite a large population of expats living north of the city of Mazatlan in a string of high-rise condos. Living there would require a car or bicycle or long walks for groceries, restaurants, etc. Or you could live in Zona Dorado or Centro or anywhere a few blocks back from the beach in either of those places and walk to most everything. Then there is the bulk of the city that extends to a few kilometers inland.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

cuerna1 said:


> You are moving there in less than a month and you are asking these questions now ? Is your current employer asking you to relocate there ? Do you already own something ? planning on renting ?


I'm with you, cuerna1. I can't believe how gentle the regulars have been with this OP, who, IMHO, needs to give his head a shake.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Must have been a troll. An admittedly ignorant one. Ignorance is OK, but the questions were _________.
(fill in the blank)


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

The original post appears to me to contain honest questions, though probably asked by someone with little experience or knowledge of Mexico. It also appears to be someone who hasn't spent any time looking at the forum and may never return. They haven't visited the forum since 15 minutes after posting the questions.

Maybe the smart thing to do with posts like the one that started this thread is for one person to respond asking for a little additional info from the OP. Then wait to see if the OP ever comes back instead of half a dozen of us trying to be helpful but really just wasting our time.


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## Rod L. (Apr 5, 2015)

I am new on here. I have been to Maz many times . I am recently retired and just came back to Canada after 5 months there. I thought questions reasonable, just a bit naive as from someone who has not traveled much. I think you should give the poster a bit of a break. I agree that questions such as getting tailored clothes, are really not that important but others such as safety are a concern to many who have not traveled in Mexico much. Maz is pretty safe, etc. No sense going on, thanks for input from others. I am hoping this forum will help me with my retirement plans and questions that may seem silly to some, all the best, Happy Semana Santa, Saludos. RBL


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