I spent some time in one of those neighborhoods in 2016. It's a stretch to say it's "nicer" than a major city in America: from all the razor wire and thick solid steel gates obviously designed to resist being rammed with a vehicle it's clear some serious shit goes down sometimes even in the nice parts of the city.
But I never felt unsafe walking around during the day. And the Feds made a good show at least of keeping order: they have vehicle patrols with SUVs with mounted machine guns and beat officers carrying (IIRC) M16s. But who knows if any of the weapons are loaded.
I spent some time in one of those neighborhoods in 2016. It's a stretch to say it's "nicer" than a major city in America: from all the razor wire and thick solid steel gates obviously designed to resist being rammed with a vehicle it's clear some serious shit goes down sometimes even in the nice parts of the city.
But I never felt unsafe walking around during the day. And the Feds made a good show at least of keeping order: they have vehicle patrols with SUVs with mounted machine guns and beat officers carrying (IIRC) M16s. But who knows if any of the weapons are loaded.
Definitely nicer than I remember Tijuana being.