Living in Maracaibo (Caracas)

Hello,
Unfortunately there is no city group for Maracaibo, so I thought I should ask those of you in Caracas already as expats about the city.
My husband and I are American international teachers/administrators, and we are considering moving to Venezuela in July. We currently live and work in Bangkok, Thailand, so we'd be making a pretty big jump around the world.
Everything that I have read about Maracaibo, from daily life, its people, inflation, safety, etc. has just been negative, negative, negative.
We are both hoping that someone out there has something positive to say about what it is really like there and if it is really as dangerous as what we call the "CNN Effect" makes it out to be on the Internet.
Can you fill me in?
Thanks!