22 replies to this topic

[George Costanza]

I get a lot of questions like how much can you really save on housing in TJ so i decided to put up a thread of the costs. Feel free to chime in with your experience.

You can get a decent house for around 500 to 600 and we are talking 4 bedrooms, parking and the whole nine yards. If you want to live top notch you can get really really nice places for 700 to 1k.

I was spending around 900 dollars for a 1 bedroom apartment in Chula Vista and found a home in Otay, Tijuana for just 4 dollars a month and it is right near the border with gated parking for 2 cars.

if you want beachfront homes you can go further south and rent for around 600 plus for homes with oceanviews from Tj playas down to Rosarito.

Electricty is a bit cheaper asnd so is the phone service, Grocery stores is about the same as San Diego, maybe a but cheaper but not by much.

I have also seen a lot of military move south as well to save on housing costs. If you have intentions of buying a home you can move south for a few years and save 10 to 20 k in no time.

I will add to this and perhaps make a whole page on living in TJ and the pros and cons but this will do for now

[YankeeInExile]

Let me add, if you are a cheap sonnofagun ( I squeeze every penny until it squeals ) you can find very low-cost housing here.

My first house in Tijuana was a 1 bedroom in Villa Fontana for USD 80 per month.

Every year, I have moved up a notch as business improved, and now pay US D 425 for a four bedrrom two bath.

The key to finding low-cost housing is: Know how to read spanish, and look at the bulletin boards at the grocery stores. Any landown rich enough to put an ad in the newspaper will not take less than $300 a month.

[erikd212]

Does anyone have info on living in Mexicali? I've partied there a few times and loved it. However I cannot seem to find anything about living there on the internet. I'm trying to find apartments and houses for sale. If anyone has any information or tips I'd appreciate the input.

[YankeeInExile]

Does anyone have info on living in Mexicali? I've partied there a few times and loved it. However I cannot seem to find anything about living there on the internet. I'm trying to find apartments and houses for sale. If anyone has any information or tips I'd appreciate the input.

How do you feel about heat? Extreme heat.

The classified ads for La Cronica are online for both Houses for Rent and Apartments for Rent

[erikd212]

How did I like the extreme heat? Lets just say seeing all those girls wearing close to nothing was worth it. Its hot there in the dessert but the ladies are hotter. The hotel I was staying in had a pool there and some local girls were swimming. I saw enough to make me want to try living there. VIVA MEXICO!!!! anyone know how far TJ is from Mexicali? I partied in TJ last summer but met mostly San Diego White girls. I'm into the latina look right now, anyone have any recommendations on a cool club?

[YankeeInExile]

Hey there.

How hard is it for an American to live in Mexico and commute into San Diego? Are there hassles at the border? Is it hard to live in TJ and commute. San Diego is REALLY expensive and TJ sounds a lot cheaper to me.

Anybody have an idea or some help?

Thanks

I did it for about a month a few years ago on a motorcycle. I had a client in Kearney Mesa, and I was living in Otay Mesa, so I would use the Otay Mesa border crossing; being on two wheels it was easy enough to split up to the line, and the crossing itself took two seconds. From my house to the 7-11 near the line was about 20 minutes; then another hour through San Diego morning traffic to work. Repeat in reverse on the way home.

After your first week, they know what you're up to, because every crossing is recorded in their database. One guard in twenty five crossings asked me to take off my helment so he could see that I really was the guy in the passport foto.

[Chiquito]

I have a little longer commute from Playas to Scripps Ranch. It also helps that I don't have to get there until around 10. Without sentri, life would suck big time.

The other side of the coin is that I avoid coming back into Mexico between 4 and 7 in the afternoon. The border crossing can get really crazy at those hours and there's nothing like sentri going south.

[jsuriano_81]

i am thinking of moving to Tijuna. i currently work in the hotel industry in Florida. is there alot of oppertunities in Tijuana for hotel industry? i am looking for a nice luxury oceanview apartment/condo. does anybody have any names of places to check with.

[Chiquito]

You'd be better looking for hotel work in San Diego then commuting from TIjuana. The pay rate between what you are used to in Florida and what you could make in Tijuana is quite drastic.

[jsuriano_81]

i figured that was the case but wasnt sure with tijuana being a tourist area.
what if you have a suspended license in the us, could you get a license in mexico?

[Chiquito]

To get a license in Mexico you will have to have proof of residency, an FM3 or 2 visa, and take the tests. It won't matter if your US license is suspended.

Most of the tourism in Tijuana are day trippers who come across the border, wonder around Avenida Revolucion, and go back on the same day. There are some very large, nice hotels. But the pay would be much lower as mentioned and you would most likely need a work visa.

[jsuriano_81]

Can you drive in the U.S. with a license from Mexico. for transporting to and from work? if not is there other ways to get around to work from the border into san diego? and i here everyone taking about needing proof of residency for a period of time and also proof of income through 6 months of bank statments? is this all correct and are they refering to U.S. or Mexico? ( i want to thank everybody that is helping me with all this valued info)

[Chiquito]

Yes you can drive in the US with a Mexican license. Tens of thousands of Mexicans do it daily. Talk of needing bank statements etc. are to get an FM3 visa. You need the visa to get the drivers license.

[jsuriano_81]

does this mean you must live in Mexico for that period of time with proof of income or can it be proof from the states

[jmbesq]

If your license is suspended in California, you can't drive in California with a license from anywhere including mexico. Technically, they are suspending your privlege to drive, and that privelege can not be got around with a different license.

[Chiquito]

Interesting but how would they know your license is suspended in California if you don't present that license number? The only commonality would be the name and there are a lot of people with the same name.

What hasn't been mentioned in this thread is that if you are using a Mexican license you should be driving a car with Mexican plates. If you have California plates you should have a California license. This could be one way the US would relate you to the suspended license. Also, Mexican cops can confiscate a foreign plated car being driven by a Mexican with a Mexican license. I'm not sure if this applys to anyone with a Mexican license.

[jmbesq]

its pretty simple, name, date of birth etc and then thethe officer runs it through the computer in the car and it will show the status of your license. driving on a suspended/revoked license is big business for law enforcement and the courts.