So, my wife and I aren't really "adventurers" so to speak. When we go to JA we use trusted drivers, travel during the day when possible, avoid the hot spots, all the usual travel security, and it would be no different than if we were going to Miami. Watch yourself, use people you trust and keep your eyes open. Mostly we are on or around the beach. In a post I wrote sometime ago about the changing "vibe" in Jamaica I couldn't completely put my finger on it. The bigger hotels, the money, increasing costs and the edge on the salesmen all seem to be symptoms to me now. In the gradual change in prosperity of the island and the influx of media showing what life could be like, I think we are witnessing the usual paradigm shift you might see in any country edging closer to a second or first world country. The gap, not unlike first world countries, between the upper and lower classes may be widening. Dare I say a new middle class may be taking a hold in Jamaica. The have not's with the means and numbers may be resentful that their status isn't changing as fast as they feel it should, and they may be taking matters into their own hands. The social economic period they are going through has happened in many other countries, it's not unlike the old west was in the united states. This might be the new edge I have felt from the salesman as the laid back pitch has more urgency to it than I used to see. In my humble opinion the crimes of passion and crimes of opportunity don't surprise me in this type of environment. What surprises me about this crime is that at first glance it appears to be premeditated, as if they were chosen as a mark. This appears to me to be outside of the obvious gang and drug premeditated crime. My wife and I are pretty much fly by the seat of our pants travelers and I'm sure we could go to Jamaica many more times and be unnoticed by the locals. Having said that, moving to Jamaica in retirement and trying to start a small venture to subsidize retirement seems more and more like a far off dream as that may get us noticed. Of course this entire post is just my feelings about the situation and maybe I'm off the mark, but I usually trust my feelings.
