TJ Owl

Critical Journalist or two??? I never heard anything about "El Gato Felix" or the presidential candidate shot in Lomas Taurinos tam poco. And I can not answer any questions about his private zoo of endangered species or the two White Tiger cubs seized at the border going INTO Tijuana. I find these accusations to be SHOCKING.

It is BETTER to carry BOTH. If you got pesos in San Ysidro on Saturday at 14.56 and you go to Soriana, which takes dollars at 14.75 pesos, the it is better to pay in dollar because you get more bang for your buck. But if you go to a mom & pop taco shop and they take dollars at 12.50 pesos, That pay in pesos and get an extra 2.25 peso savings for every dollar spent.

Hi! Welcome to the land of the Golden Taco. I'm glad you like it, although I just returned from Ensenada (Carnaval) and thought it was everything TJ and San Diego should strive to be. I didn't see any crime, (except prostitution), the streets were clean ecpet the confetti and things from the festivities and I foud a hotel for $200/night and a hostel for $18 Dollars/night. In all the food was good, inexpensive and desirable. The people were friendlier that TJ. It was a VERY good experience.

Hi Celestina,

I can anser SOME of your questions.  Most Motels won't car about small dogs.  To bring them back and forth you need proof of shots like Rabies.  When I had utilities in my name (1985) the FM2 was NOT required but I don't know if it is now or not.  Mostly, I would STAY AWAY from Mexican lawyers whenever possible.  Most are merely crooks.  In fact they have a saying about lawyers in Mexico: "Estudio los derechos para robar los derechos" (Study the rights to steal the rights).
I can check on the FM2 for you this week.  It is now required to have an FM2 for a bank account.

I have been going to TJ for about 28 years. In that time I have lived there about 7 years. I have had three attempts at robbing me. The first was on Constitucion between First and Second at about 4AM. I attribute it to the time of day and having my head up my butt, thinking about someone elses problems. One of the two guys went to jail, in part because he ran right into a cop as he was fleeing. The second the guy got away with my camera on Second between Madero and Negrete about 10 PM. (OH, there were two guys here as well.) I chased him but finally lost him in a maze of alleys by the old Hospital Belen on Third. That was about 8 years ago. The third time was this past December on Ninos Heroes and Seventh about 11 PM. On this one one of the two guys lost his eye to my pen, so they gave up and ran away. I had just walked Casa de los Gatos to her place and was returning home when I noticed someone about a block behind me and closing fast. First a girl passed on my right and asked if I would "loan" her a cigarette. I said I didn't smoke. Then she asked for the time and I said it was about 11. Then a guy passed me on my right, talking load on his cell phone. When that happened I slowed down. Then he slowed down, so I sped up. When I sped up, so did he, so I crossed the street and grabbed my pen. He crossed the street and confronted me with some boxers shuffle then punched me in the face. That was when I hit him in the eye and felt his eye burst. He just stood there with half the pen in his eye. Then his buddy jumped me from behind. I went down and banged my face on the cement but the two had run off when I got up. No need to involve the police, he would remember my lesson for life.
About two weeks later, Casa de los Gatos was walking home across the pedestrian bridge over the river when her purse got snatched. That was New Years Eve about 9:30PM.
Most of the crimes are non-violent. They will case your house and break in when your not home. They will steal your car or (strangely) just your registration. They will steal the cat off your car. These thing are FAR more common that actual violent crimes. The guy that got shot MAY have been targeted because of a bad drug deal or the likes.
Taxi drivers are robbed, and KILLED with an alarming frequency, mostly in the early morning or late night shifts. Most taxi drivers won't even admit it, but if your speak spanish you can listen in and hear things sometimes.