Time to look elsewere

[airswift]

Think of it this way. Tourism is the life blood of Negril. What tour company is going to send their people to any hotel in the west end.

[vucko]

I think the main difference in your comment about Michigan and the vibe in Negril is "we had cops all over our area". I'm not from Jamaica but I'm not sure the people there get the same feeling from their police coverage.

[Miss Honey]

We just did our first cruise in 4 years this past September. We stopped in Belize and in Roatan. We found an awesome beach in Roatan it is called West Bay Beach. We want to go back. It only has 14 hotels and a few houses. A really nice vibe as spent the day with some locals. Really good prices. The water is the most beautiful that we have ever seen. One of the largest reefs in the world. Is it safe to go out on your own? Probably not. We will go and check it out. Its dangerous everywhere anymore. Some more then others . We will be in the West End in a few weeks . At this time I'm not sure we are gonna walk the road like normal. I guess we will see when we get there. There is no right answer.

[mwenvlay]

The thing that disturbs me about this latest murder is that the victims, as far as we know, were not drug dealers flashing big money and expensive jewelry. Instead it looks like a house robbery. Like you, I used to feel safe in Jamaica. Not so much now.

that wasn't a simple house robbery.

[Odinson]

Just got back (27Nov) from a beautiful 6 days in the west end. Absolutely beautiful, left the property every day walking or with road taxis, not a single bad vibe or even a hair raising (usually feel that a once or twice/trip).

I feel horrible about the violence and will always be vigilant, heck I bicycle commute through 2 of Chicago's 3 worst neighborhoods every day, all year long - I know the horror, see it, shrug sometimes, fight other times. I and I and the world is not perfect but I can't live without the hope of returning to Negril, so I will. I will shrug and fight there if I have to, but I don't expect to ever Have to.

Also, I will always think about this event every time I see a ketchup packet for the rest of my life.

Peace and Love

[BikerMike]

You can run but you can not hide from the violence in today's world ! Wherever you travel in today's world can be you last day on earth, its scary out there, you know where you are, always be careful. I live in a small town in Midwest Michigan, last night there was a shootings here where 2 young men were shot, 2 miles from my home so as they say "**** happens" they didn`t make it . Live your life the way you want to but always keep your head on a swivel and stay out of places you know to be bad you know where you should not be ! You can die crossing the street, look right, look left and always know where you are, its a beautiful world we live in but trouble is behind every tree so always be careful, understand ?

I am the one that has to die when its time for me to die, so I will live my life the way I want to. ( Jimmi Hendrix) !

Live well walk good !

semi(and crew)

[Irine]

I don't consider myself an adventurer. I have a belief that people are mostly good and you can go most places, even very poor places, and people will treat you well if you treat them well. I don't travel around with a driver or with "security". We're all human beings sharing a planet. I travel to make connections with my fellow human beings (regardless of whether those fellow human beings are rich or poor, black or white, or whatever). I like this video by a young American couple who went to Haiti with an attitude to travel similar to mine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41xaVQ7KOJ8&t=644s

I don't really know why Jamaica's crime rate is so high, but I still feel like *most* people are nice and I'm still going to trust that I'll be fine if I treat people well and am friends with the good people. If I start feeling unsafe I will leave. I will not live behind big security walls with security guards.

You might be on the right track, Irine. My guess is the disproportionately high crime rate has to do with the juxtaposition of rich tourists vacationing in luxury, right alongside the poor rural communities. That, together with the history of being a brutal slave colony, probably leads to resentment, and may account for the high crime rate. Higher for example than in neighboring Haiti which is much poorer but does not have the huge tourist business that Jamaica has. Just a guess. I'm not a sociologist. There is a new book by an actual Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson (who is Jamaican) which I have not yet read, but it appears to explore these issues based on the book reviews. https://www.amazon.com/Confounding-I...5489533&sr=8-1

I agree with you about the style of travel. We love to meet and talk with the locals. My wife is fearless. I have often watched from a distance as my wife wanders into a group of Jamaican men and strikes up a conversation like she's at the mall (Bnewb has witnessed this first hand ). Thanks for the book reference, I'll read this one for sure.

[BikerMike]

There is a new generation in Negril, I wish them the best, gotta be harder than we think getting old in Jamaica. Walk Good my friends.

[JDd]

3rd generation....

[BikerMike]

It has changed a lot since 1984 for sure !

Respect

semi(and crew)