Drug Wars Make Retirement Paradise of Baja California a Little More Hellish

(Dec. 14) -- Just a decade ago, Baja California struck many Americans as a kind of retirement paradise. But in recent years, the Los Angeles Times reported, escalating crime throughout the peninsula has made some expatriates wonder whether they are paying too high a price after all for their ocean views and gated communities.

The ongoing battle between the Mexican government and organized crime is the fly in this particular ointment, said the paper. Since 2008, more than 1,000 Mexicans in Baja California have died in drug-related violence.

Earlier this year, the Times reported, a notorious local crime boss, Teodoro Garcia Simental, eluded capture by running down one of the area's pristine beaches. Police launched an exhaustive search with helicopters, boats and trucks, but failed to catch Simental.

One 67-year-old American resident, Bill Kirchhoff, found the manhunt rather unsettling. "They were chasing some of the most heinous criminals in Baja," he told the paper. "That ought to give anybody cause for concern."

Still, most of the 14,000 Americans living in the area seem determined to stay, the Times said. Richard Cargill, a retired mortgage banker, argued that his 2,300-square-foot beachside condo would be completely unattainable in the U.S., just 35 miles or so to the north.

"Look at this," Cargill told the paper. "I can't live in La Jolla like this. I call this the smart man's San Diego."