Huge patio window imploded last night during high winds...

gringal wrote: What I get a kick out of is the people who can't bear the idea of bars on the windows, aka "living in a cage".

That's not even necessary. I had my welder make bars that open in the middle and lock from the inside. I can open up the bars if I want an unobstructed view. (But I seldom do- the bars are decoratively designed, not like prison bars). People have a hard time thinking outside the box (or the cage, in this case), it seems.

I lived in Mexico for a few years without walls and had no problems until one weekend we went to the beach for three days. When we returned there was a 155' long chain link fence installed across about 1/3rd of my property front to back.

The Cliff's Notes version is a gringo/Mexican lawyer decided he wanted my property so when I was gone he just took it. This family has been stealing land along lakeside for over 30 years and they had most every MP and notario on their payroll.

He filed a complaint on me Monday morning with the MP (on his payroll) after I threw him off my property. I was served by the police on Monday afternoon. We met at the Ministerio Publico on Tuesday. The MP asked if I had an attorney and I said yes and he is sitting in my car outside because I did not think I needed him. I threw down my attorney's business card and the MP looked at it and nodded. I was bluffing since there was no attorney outside in my car.

After the MP read the business card he said this is a gringo issue so the two of you just need to work this out between you. The plaintiff then got this deer in the headlights look on his face.

We then each presented our side of the case. The plaintiff lost. He then promptly left the country for 4 months. Smart move on his part.

I forgot to mention, the attorney whose card I threw down on the table was an attorney from Guadalajara that represented the CJNG in Jocotepec. He heard about the dispute the day before, Monday, and came to my house to "help" resolve the issue. I had told him I thought I could handle this myself but asked for his card just in case later I needed some help. That card came in handy.

I now live behind walls so no one can walk on my property uninvited.

I can't imagine living somewhere where others could dictate what color paint I use or whether I'm allowed to hang my laundry outside to dry.
And as far as I've observed, it's the places that look like a fortress, i.e. there must be something of value to steal there, that are the biggest targets for theft. If your place is modest-looking enough that no one could tell whether a Mexican or a gringo lived there, you're less likely to get targetted. And a good watchdog is one of the best deterents.

gringal wrote:Watchdog?  Requires feeding, vet services, walking and picking up poop. IMHO, the only good reason to have a dog is wanting its company, since your basic burgler just has to shoot the dog before going on with his business.

Definitely requires feeding, but my dog is 12 years old and has only needed to go to the vet once for any sort of issue. Other than that, I take her in for her shots, in and out in 5 minutes, about $200 pesos once a year. Walking and picking up poop? No. Never. I live in the countryside- she has acres of uninhabited land to use as a bathroom. She's so private about her business, she won't even pee in my yard.
I realize not everyone wants a dog- it's a responsibility for sure. I was just saying that it's good anti-theft insurance. Sure, pro thieves could kill the dog, but your average Mexican thief will pass on places with a barking dog, or other obvious deterents, and opt for the easier targets. Where I lived before, in town, pretty much every house got hit by thieves except the ones with large dogs with ferocious sounding barks. My dog is a pussy who's never harmed anyone or any other animal, but you wouldn't know that to see or hear her.

Trailrunner wrote:Using a metal saw to saw through these bars would be anything but quick. Better to do what Mudgirl did, have them made into quick release bars.

I learned the hard way and now my small oscillating saw with the metal blades is INSIDE the house... as is my back up power box (just in case).
The lock on my front door failed and I, literally, had to wait to be cut out of my house. I could have gotten out by opening another door to an interior courtyard and climbing up my ladder to the roof and then to my neighbours but it was easier to call them and use the set of my keys that they have. However, not even he could get it open from the outside.
It is damn near impossible to get into my house.

Same here- damn near impossible to get in. I even have a spare set of keys hidden outside in case I accidentally slam the door and lock myself out.
I had a friend who was housesitting for someone and was outside on a little upstairs balcony, 3 stories up and hadn't bothered to screw down the little knob on the lock that would keep the door from latching if it blew shut, which is exactly what it did. Of course her phone was inside the house. I just dropped by to see her, quite unplanned. She called down to me that she was locked out and directed me to go around the back-luckily she hadn't locked that door before going upstairs. Had I not come by (she'd already been stuck out there for about half an hour) she would have had to start screaming for help- there really weren't any houses super close.
I called her Rapunzel for weeks after.

Alfredo G wrote:I used to be Kiko's neighbor.

I eventually sold the place as much as i "enjoyed" being Kiko's neighbor (LOL).  Used to hear a lot of "WILD" sounds coming in the evening.

Yeah I hear you about the WILD sounds, I should have done a DNA test of my wife prior to marriage but those tests were not available 38 years ago. I did one last year and the results were:

50% Irish
25% Mexican
25% Chupacabra

Just my luck.

mudgirl wrote:Same here- damn near impossible to get in. I even have a spare set of keys hidden outside in case I accidentally slam the door and lock myself out.
I had a friend who was housesitting for someone and was outside on a little upstairs balcony, 3 stories up and hadn't bothered to screw down the little knob on the lock that would keep the door from latching if it blew shut, which is exactly what it did. Of course her phone was inside the house. I just dropped by to see her, quite unplanned. She called down to me that she was locked out and directed me to go around the back-luckily she hadn't locked that door before going upstairs. Had I not come by (she'd already been stuck out there for about half an hour) she would have had to start screaming for help- there really weren't any houses super close.
I called her Rapunzel for weeks after.

All my doors require a key to open to get out AND in but they will not lock on their own. I also have an extra deadbolt on each of the three doors which I engage when I am away from the house.
My lock failed and had to be replaced. JP Home Services sent someone over to cut the barrier bar on the door and Aragon locksmiths arrived within the hour to replace the entire lock mechanism. The locksmiths said they had never seen that happen before.
Yet another learning curve to go through.
The barrier bar prevents the lock from being jimmied from either side... I even tried a flexible grapefruit knife to try and slip it... not possible.