There is a place where the weather is always warm, the food is always tasty, and people are always smiling. Where the best beaches in the world are combined with some of the best resorts, and where you can relax and enjoy life to the fullest. They called it Mexico.

What happened to that quiet, beautiful and tropical paradise that used to be Mexico? That is a question that many people are asking these days because, judging by some media outlets, Mexico has been dragged into a chaotic situation where nothing works as it should.

The reality is very different, if not, Mexico would not be the perennial host of international summits, such as the United Nations Conference on Climate Change that will be held from November 29 to December 10, 2010 in Cancun, or the Pan American Games that will be will be held in Guadalajara next year. If Mexico were a country devastated by President Calderón’s drug war, the international community would not trust Mexico with these important facts. Security issues would be an obstacle.

But the number of foreign visitors arriving by air to Mexico in the first eight months of 2010 increased nearly 20 percent over the same period in 2009, with 7.1 million visitors. Most of these visitors have come from the United States with 4.33 million tourists and Canada with 1.3 million. In third place, but still too far, is Spain with 200,513 travellers.

This does not mean that there are no problems in Mexico, it is true that something is happening in Mexico that simply was not there before. Felipe Calderón’s zero-tolerance policy has disrupted traditional drug routes on their way to North America, sparking an upsurge in violence among cartels trying to maintain control of their business. But, this is happening in some certain areas of the country, specifically in the states closest to the US border. Far from those territorial fights between gangs, Mexico continues to be that dream paradise that it was.

There is another sign that seems to hint that things are not as bad as some media make them out to be. The American Association of Retirees (AARP) has just selected the best cities to retire abroad in the United States, and Puerto Vallarta topped the ranking. Would the world’s largest magazine, in terms of distribution, pick a city for American retirees if it wasn’t safe? Of course not, because what they are doing with this ranking is endorsing Puerto Vallarta, and Mexico in general, as a safe place to invest, and investing is the keyword to move on to the next point.

In addition to all this, Mexico, like all other countries in the world, had to deal with the financial crisis that affected many real estate companies that started building developments before everything went to hell and the crisis hit them hard. As a result, there are many real estate developments along the Mexican coast that are unfinished or in desperate need of cash. That is what they call a buyer’s market, since the construction business is very bad, the offer is great, the money is scarce and, consequently, the prices are low. It is the best time to invest in Mexico and if you do a little research you will surely find great real estate opportunities.

And the same great value for money can be found in the vacation market, as Jack Richards, president of Pleasant Holidays, a Westlake Village, Calif., travel agency that specializes in Mexico vacations, recently told the Los Angeles Times. and posted on the Dallas Morning News website: “All-inclusive resorts offer exceptional value for the vacation dollar, which remains important to American travelers as they emerge from the economic downturn,” he said.

Finally, there is yet another great advantage to all this bad press surrounding Mexico today, and that is that the normally busy destinations of Cancun, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta are at half full and we all know that beach towns much more fun this way. The service is better, since the clients are less, the tour operators offer some personalized options and you can even find more privacy on the beaches.

So, while others stay home listening to media alarms, it’s your choice to enjoy all these benefits, have the vacation of a lifetime, and even find your dream retirement home.