100 Reasons Why You Should Not Move To Tijuana In 2020

Hello loyal readers. I’m fresh off the heels of a life changing trip to Mexico City. I am in love with that city and it takes a lot for me to say that about anything/anyone/place. This was my first time in the capital and I am still gob smacked. So much so that I haven’t been able to put into words how beautiful my experience was.

Since returning to my beach-side home of 2 years in Tijuana I have fallen victim to a great depression of sorts. Choosing Tijuana was a more economical way for me to live by the beach and still be able to enjoy events stateside without having to fly. Originally hailing from Canada this was convenient to get to LA by car in 3 hours and San Diego in 20 minutes. However, Tijuana has officially worn out it’s welcome with me. For that reason we are going to dig into an in-depth review of “100 Reasons Why You Should Not Move To Tijuana In 2020“.

Infrastructure
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
Well… This is awkward
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
Garbage burn in my gated community. Nowhere is regulated from this moronic behavior.
20 – Exposed low hanging live wires in residential communities

Culture

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
33 – Gangs & gang culture paraphernalia everywhere

324 stands for DBG when you dial a number on the phone. It stands for “Down Below Gangsters” which just screams positivity for the community. Said no one.

34 – Narcos hiding in plain sight everywhere
37 – Violence towards women at an all time high
38 – Lack of awareness
39 – Lack of education
40 – Racism

Entertainment
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
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)
Environment

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

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 
Economy

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.
The devils in the details and up close the view is the only beauty of Baja.
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.
Brown On Brown On Brown

Style Breakdown:

Vintage 2 Piece Suit Creations Of Lily: $5
Total Look Cost: $14

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

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