This is a very broad topic especially in Tijuana which has zero city planning. Let’s get into the specific bullet points that I have acquired after living here for several years.

1 – Lack of pedestrian sidewalks in high traffic zones

2 – Lack of paint on roads for pedestrian cross walks

3 – No night reflectors on highways & city streets for night driving

4 – Little to no visible dividing lines for day driving in the city

5 – No wheelchair accessible sidewalks

Unless your wheelchair can fly your S.O.L

6 – Constant water pipe leaks & rationing

7 – Constant sewage overflow on city streets

8 – Open sewage drains throughout the entire city

Exposed drain pipe stairway to bile. This is inside the gated community where I live.

9 – Pot holes on most streets

10 – Pot holes on the majority of sidewalks

11 – No community zoning. New homes built right beside shacks is of common place here.

 12 – No public garbage bins

 13 – No public recycling bins

 14 – No parks 

15 – Constant landslides due to improper zoning 

16 – Sinkholes due to improper zoning

17 – No construction building codes enforced by the city

18 – New homes being built cheaply (no insulation, cheap & improper materials) charging the greatest value

19 – Garbage fires

20 – Exposed low hanging live wires in residential communities

Culture or what should actually read as lack there of. Baja California has this strange way of wanting desperately to be like America but at the same time wanting to be Mexican. Which attracts the worst qualities of America mixed in with a lackluster sense of what it means to be a Mexican. It’s a 50/50 split of the worst qualities of Mexico combined with the worst qualities of America colliding.

21 – Dollars vs. Peso. No one wants to use the local currency and will always ask for dollars first.

22 – Rent in dollars. Almost all the rentals in Tijuana demand you pay in dollars not pesos. 

23 – Your rent in Dollars is constantly a different price each month with fluctuations of the Dollar vs. the Peso.

24 – Lack of accountability due to the influx of transients from the border

25 – American criminals at mass move here to avoid jail time in the US

26 – Deportees at mass end up here as a last resort

27 – Migrant caravans contributing to high homeless rates & overflowing shelters

28 – Most locals take advantage of international travelers & lack attention to detail in skilled trades

Leather handmade belt..zoom in for spelling errors in the Motor Cycles detail.

29 – Overly aggressive drivers

30 – Deadly car crashes weekly on highways

31 – Improperly trained local police force

32 – Under staffed police force

33 – Gangs & gang culture paraphernalia everywhere

34 – Narcos hiding in plain sight everywhere

35 – Daily shootings across all areas of the city

36 – Weekly kidnappings of minors

37 – Violence towards women at an all time high

38 – Lack of awareness

39 – Lack of education

40 – Racism

41 – Lack of art & exhibitions

42 – No theater

43 – No Ballet

44 – Few and far between international musical acts

45 – Repetitive DJ’s (You are guaranteed to hear the same song 3 times in any nightclub here)

46 – Dirty Strip clubs

47 – Too much exploitation of women

48 – Sex trafficking

49 – Too many brothels per ca-pita (I’m pro sex work but not if it’s unbalanced in a community)

50 – High risk area to be out at night male/female

51 – No non smoking nightclubs

52 – Caters to underage college/frat boys

53 – No active local single community

54 – No sense of  local community 

55 – Lack of attention to detail

56 – Lack of/no training of most wait staff at restaurants

57 – Poorly curated wine lists (which is a shame with wine country 1 hour away!)

58 – Lack of healthy eating options

59 – Most places are closed on Sunday’s

60 –  Very few experience options for bar hopping (If you don’t know what that means read this)

61 – Zero consideration for nature

62 – No tree planting

63 – No community gardens

64 – Overly dense industrial zones

65 – Constant citizen littering

Empty Coke bottles, tamales shells & sneakers waiting to greet you on the streets daily

66 – Illegal garbage dumping

67 – No street cleaning

68 – No exhaust check for vehicles

69 – No water treatment plants

70 – High toxicity levels in city water

71 – High toxicity in the surrounding ocean from city sewage

72 – Increasingly colder & longer winters

73 – Inevitable flooding during rains

Due to flooding behind my house I lost use of my entire backyard which was to be an outdoor metal art workspace this winter.

74 – Increase in strong Santa Ana Winds leading to dangerous debris

75 – Never ending fire season

76 – Increase in sea levels affecting ocean front property

77 – High levels of dust due to extreme flooding during rains

78 – High fecal content in the air from open sewage pipes which affects air quality & smell

79 – No city planning to reduce carbon emissions

80 – No respect for biodiversity/animals 

81 – Low value of local currency

The almighty US Dollar is king of this landscape.

82 – Lack of skilled workers

83 – Lack of local investment

84 – Slow decrease in foreign investment in property

85 – High taxes for local businesses

86 – High tax breaks for foreign corporations

87 – Low minimum wage ($5/day)

88 – No tax incentive for Entrepreneurs

89 – Many businesses close during bad weather due to lack of infrastructure  

90 – Baja California is tens of millions in debt due to decades of corrupt politicians funneling sate money into their own pockets/investments

91 – There are more poor than any other income level

92 – There is no middle class

93 – Most of the money goes elsewhere with Narcos using this border land solely to transport illegal cargo

94 – Most fear Narcos therefore little is spoken on the subject of heavy trafficking & it’s direct impact on the local community

95 – China owns the majority of the factories here

96 – Too much value on the American Dollar detracts from Mexican sovereignty

97 –  Extreme levels of greed due to decades of corruption

98 – High scarcity complex in individuals

99 – Lack of sustainability leads to massive waste in materials & time

100 – Lack of natural resources (Which will be an even worse issue as climate change ramps up which I wrote about here) 

I’m only going to feature one look this week instead of the usual 3. I am truly saddened by the fact that I have lived in Tijuana almost 3 years and continue to see its rapid decline in both physical,  social, environmental and economic security. I’m not a blogger crafting overly relatable material. I’m an artist who also happens to blog because I feel things deeply. I don’t wish the worst for this place or any place. I want everyone to have a decent place to live whether I like the place or not. Nowhere is perfect or ever will be but places like this can do a lot better than they are. I came to Tijuana with an open heart and an open mind. I will be leaving with a closed heart to Tijuana but a much more open mind. Personally, I would love to see this list be able to be redacted or ancient history in the future. It would mean the world is pushing forward in the right direction collectively if that comes to be true. However, I have to give you my best unbiased, fact based perspective based on research and life experience here now.

I urge you to think twice before moving to Baja California Norte. Especially as an expat for the price and proximity to the border. You get what you pay for in life and sometimes the price is just not worth it.

A view from above TJ

Also, my book titled “Tijufuckinguana” is coming out May 2020. It will be a mixed media compilation of all the places, people, and things I’ve seen in my years spent living here accompanied by written word. The original book will me made out of Metal and there will be a paperback copies available as well. In other words. Stay fucking tuned.

Vintage 2 Piece Suit Creations Of Lily: $5

Shoes Stuart Weitzman Creations of Lily: $4

Hat Creations Of Lily: $5

Total Look Cost: $14

 About Me: My name is Tiffini Truth and I’m a Metal Artist living in Tijuana.