100 Reasons Why You Should Not Move To Tijuana In 2020
February 5, 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
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
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.
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.