<p>If anyone has spent a length of time in Tijuana - what is the quality of life like compared to middle-class USA? Is it possible to attain dual-citizenship? What areas are close to downtown (ie Avenida Revoluci</p>
<p>Tijuana is a large slum. The TiaJuana river is an open sewer that dumps raw sewage onto US beaches. The government is corrupt, and the police are constantly asking for bribes. </p>
<p>[Tijuana</a> Slums - Canon Digital Photography Forums](<a href=“http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=421976]Tijuana”>http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=421976)</p>
<p>Drug lords have taken over the town, just yesterday there was a huge gun battle. The San Diegans who used to go down there a lot don’t go there anymore.</p>
<p>[Travel</a> | Travel Briefs | Travelers warned of Mexico crime | Seattle Times Newspaper](<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2004371184_trbriefs27.html]Travel”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2004371184_trbriefs27.html)</p>
<p>[SignOnSanDiego.com</a> > News > Mexico > Tijuana & The Border – 13 people killed as rival gangs clash in Tijuana](<a href=“http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20080427-9999-1n27tjshoot.html]SignOnSanDiego.com”>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20080427-9999-1n27tjshoot.html)</p>
<p>[Tijuana</a> News - Tijuana History - Ultimate News Database](<a href=“http://www.infopig.com/keywords/Tijuana.html]Tijuana”>http://www.infopig.com/keywords/Tijuana.html)</p>
<p>Getting over the Tijuana/San Ysidro border sometimes takes several hours, making morning commutes difficult for Mexicans who work in the US.
[Image:Northbound</a> cars at san ysidro.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Northbound_cars_at_san_ysidro.jpg]Image:Northbound”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Northbound_cars_at_san_ysidro.jpg)</p>
![http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Northbound_cars_at_san_ysidro.jpg]Image:Northbound](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Northbound_cars_at_san_ysidro.jpg%5DImage:Northbound){kind=link}
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.signonsandiego.com/entertainment/street/2008/04/morning_commute_the_opposite_o.html]Street[/url”>http://www.signonsandiego.com/entertainment/street/2008/04/morning_commute_the_opposite_o.html]Street[/url</a>]</p>
<p>^^^ Hard act to follow, but I will give you some first hand information.</p>
<p>We have a second home just south of Tijuana and north of Rosarito Beach (legally, we are actually in Tijuana, but it doesn’t feel like we are; as it takes about 15-20 minutes to get to Centro).</p>
<p>I don’t know why you would want to be near Avenida Revolucion - perhaps you could explain that.</p>
<p>Tijuana is a city of 2.5 million people. It has upscale areas, including some right in the heart of the city. Others are south of what feels like “city”, such as where we are. </p>
<p>A city of that size has crime, for sure. You could find links not dissimilar to UCLABandMom’s about Detroit, LA… However, I would certainly want you to know that there is some stirring up around Tijuana because current government is making a concerted effort to oust the drug lords, get rid of corrupt police who were in bed with them, etc. They are not taking it lying down and I have no idea how quick success will come, nor how thorough it will be.</p>
<p>I would not walk alone in some areas of Tijuana alone at night - but, frankly, I don’t even really know where those areas are. I have no occasion to go to them. I feel perfectly safe alone in some areas of Tijuana.</p>
<p>I have not had any occasion to go to Avenida Revolucion since I went there as a tourist ~10 years ago.</p>
<p>I spend several months a year in our home in that area and don’t encounter the kinds of problems UCLA~mom mentions in my daily life. Remember that coeds are murdered wantonly in Burlington, VT; Chapel Hill, NC; etc. You can’t rely on press drama to get a feeling of what a city such as Tijuana is really like, imo. Coverage of the routine of everyday life doesn’t make the news. BUT, again, there is unrest over the drug warlord culture and it has stepped up related violence.</p>
<p>I also cross the border 1x/2x per week. Crossing that border you should allow a minimum of 2 hours UNLESS you have a SENTRI pass, which we do. I don’t know what the prospects are for you getting one, but they are certainly not limited to US citizens. Mexicans have them as well and I don’t know why citizens of other countries couldn’t, but I am no expert on that. Having a SENTRI pass means border crossings can take from 0 minutes to maybe 30 minutes at very rare times (the month prior to Christmas when it seems everyone in Mexico wants to cross the border to shop in the U.S.).</p>
<p>The US has an Embassy there, but I’ve never had occasion to go there. My Spanish teacher does a lot of work teaching Embassy staff Spanish. Your being fluent in Spanish would make the transition easier, but Spanish is not necessary. Most Americans don’t really learn it, which I think is a shame. I’m intending to be fluent within the year (don’t know if I’ll make that time goal, but I will make the goal).</p>
<p>The adjustment would be, imo, like the adjustment to any different culture. But Baja California Norte is an area where one would have feet in both cultures simultaneously. It is really the San Diego/Tijuana metropolitan area - hence the 2-3 hour border crossing because so many live in TJ but work in SD. We listen to NPR San Diego and our satellite dish brings us American TV as if we were in San Diego.</p>
<p>It is an extremely friendly and hardworking culture; and I do not find a culture of animosity towards Americans; no pervasive anti-Gringo feeling at all. That is one of the things I wanted to know before buying a second home there. </p>
<p>It is a poor culture, despite affluent areas. And there are many areas of poor infrastructure along with better areas. It is a relatively low cost of living. It is also a culture of “manana.” There is the bad side of that - things don’t happen as fast as one might like. There is the good side of that - one can learn to live more in the moment, sort out whether everything really does have to happen lickety-split.</p>
<p>That’s a bit of an overview.</p>
<p>Avenida Revolucion only interested me because Wikipedia pointed it out as a central attraction (looking back at the Wiki article after reading what’s posted above, however, I feel it is maybe misleading). </p>
<p>Thank you for both informative responses.</p>
<p>Zona Rio is one of the nicer shopping/restaurant areas - not far from the border, either. Not sure about residential areas there. Some of the nicest homes are further down Agua Caliente, surrounding Club Campestre (golf course/country club). There are other middle class/upper middle class areas but I don’t know them by name. About 300,000 of Tijuana’s total population live in the area well south of Centro called Playas (ie, it is near the beaches). There is a range of housing there and it has more of a suburban feel. Further south, going toward Rosarito Beach are a number of areas which don’t feel like they are in Tijuana at all, but are, such as San Antonio del Mar, Real del Mar…</p>
<p>Food for thought: this happened yesterday in downtown Tijuana: [Gang</a> shootout in Tijuana leaves 13 dead - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-me-tijuana27apr27,0,6818429.story]Gang”>13 die as gun battles jolt Tijuana)</p>
<p>Also linked in the article above is this: [Tijuana</a> tourism plunges amid drug violence - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-trw-tijuana17feb17,0,4616586.story]Tijuana”>Tijuana tourism plunges amid drug violence)</p>
<p>I can personally vouch for the fact that tourism is down and the tourist district is dead. I visited a couple of months ago, and there were few of us shopping the tourist trap strip, which used to be bustling. Contrast that with our return across the border: it took us two hours of standing in line (we parked in SD) with what must have been thousands of Mexicans also waiting to cross.</p>
<p>Tourism is definitely down and businesses are suffering in Tijuana/Rosarito due to the publicity on the drug-related crime.</p>
<p>If you are only looking for a retirement place in Mexico and it doesn’t have to be driving distance from California, try Bucerias. It’s the town just north of Puerto Vallertia (10 miles north of the airport).<br>
I’ll admit it was 10 years ago, but we rented a great house there and met several ex-pats living in the area. Right on the beach, cheap. Just don’t be like the guy in the Post Office who had been there for 15 years and still couldln’t buy a stamp in Spanish.
I think moving away from the border removes that sector of crime related to smuggling people or drugs. Is there still crime? Yes. Is there crime in Sacramento or Dallas or Chicago?</p>
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<p>The air can sometimes have a dangerously high lead content. Just ask those 13 unfortunates from yesterday.</p>
<p>^^–^^</p>
<p>Has to do with the high volatility of particles …</p>
<p>[About</a> the Consulate](<a href=“http://tijuana.usconsulate.gov/about_the_consulate.html]About”>http://tijuana.usconsulate.gov/about_the_consulate.html)</p>
<p>The US Consulate looks pretty nice in that picture.</p>