25 year old moving to San Diego and interested in living in Rosarito

I would like to share more and first I must say unions are for the weak and please dont take it wrong;

Hey dlane,

I don't take it personally and I agree. Honestly I only mentioned that part to show that I have some stable income. Before the job I have now I was working construction/odd jobs and had a blast but I applied for this job for the hell of it and not knowing I would actually get it and I did which is why I have it. Honestly union jobs start to kill your ambitioun considering you get paid the same as the lazy guy so you lose motivation to do much. I large part of this move is for the kick in the butt and to get out of my comfort zone, get back in touch with my adventurous side, and to fuel this ambitious flame that seems to be dying. That said, I do plan on leaving the job once it gets me down there and honestly if I can find some decent work in Mexico I will take it....hell if I am unable to get a transfer then I guess I will have to decide between a stable job with decent pay that is sucking my soul dry or my dignity and ambition....I plan to choose the latter. I need a change in my life and I'm not running from anything....I guess I am running towards something....I just don't know what yet

Thank you gor your info and I really appreciate you replay

Hi Mexturk, your question is pretty broad. Are you looking for anything specific? There are thousands of people who commute across the border from Northern Baja to San Diego. Are you looking for assistance in a certain area?

Chuck

Hey Chuck,

Thank you for the reply.  I guess I mainly want to see what the daily commute is like for people who live in México but work in the USA.  I originally considered Ensenada but it would be too far then I thought about Tijuana but relatives in México say to stay away from border cities as they are more dangerous. So I guess I am interested in hearing about commute experiences and what it is like to live in México too

I agree that unless you are going to live in Playa De Tijuana to live more down the coast. It really depends on where you want to spend your non-working time. At 25, I certainly would have wanted to live where there were plenty of prospects for me to meet.

As far a commute goes, Sentri Lane and Pass is the only way to go for people working in San Diego on a regular basis. There are also the regular and ready lanes but there wait times can very much more significantly. For Sentri go to:

https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/pkmslogout

to apply. I would say that on average Sentri wait times are half hour or less. You can also find average wait times here:

http://traffic.calit2.net/border/border … ort=250401http://www.bordertraffic.com/California … juana.aspx

Living in Mexico is what you make of it. The people are amazing and the culture is much more focused on living for today and not tomorrow. Just like pretty much any other country and its' respective Cities, you will find crime and a whole lot of bad things. If you like to stand out, flaunt yourself financially, cause trouble etc... you will certainly more easily find the negative aspects of life. If you are respectful, treat others like you want to be treated, and respect their culture and way of life, you will likely find a much more peaceful existence. Again, just like any other place on earth where there are humans, bad things are going to happen and they could certainly happen to you for no reason at all.

I have been enjoying the Baja Peninsula for over 40 years, to me it is paradise and the people are wonderful...I am first and foremost an American and proud of it. But, many Americans could use a lesson in way of life from our Mexican neighbors.

You will find that once you leave the border area the majority of expats farther south are age 65 plus.  That has been a problem for me being just under that age range early 60's I find most places here on the boring side because of the age factor AND there's a lot of female expats age 65 plus.

OMG!!
I live in Los Angeles and want to move to San Diego and I'm interested in living in Rosaroto as well!! How are you doing?? How is it going??

dlaneD506 wrote:

I would like to share more and first I must say unions are for the weak and please dont take it wrong;

Really helpful comment there, chief. You're an idiot. Take that however you please.

As for the question actually being posed here (original poster) be sure to consider the wait getting across the border if you need to be doing that on a regular basis. It's not exactly a quick moving process.

I'll have to check that out... It can't be worse than sitting on the 405 fwy on a daily basis...

Hi MexTurk and Lauralor,

My wife and I have lived in Rosarito full-time for the past five years. We are part of the dreaded over 65 crowd. That said, I would like to offer up some information that might be helpful.

Regarding the commute. It takes 30-50 minutes to get from Rosarito to the Sentri lanes at the border depending where in Rosarito you live. Add another 30 minutes on average to get through the border crossing. As with any commute any where, that can vary depending on the day and time you are traveling. From the border to your destination you'll have another commute in San Diego traffic.

Regarding social opportunities. If you are going to confine your prospects to American men or women it is true that there are far more retirees than younger people. But if you are open to relationships with non-Americans there are plenty of opportunities. Of course, Spanish language skills help expand those opportunities.

I echo cnjslanding's about living in Mexico. The lifestyle is much more relaxed, the people are great, and Mexico is much more welcoming to Americans than America is to Mexicans. He also provided good information about safety and security. No one we know feels unsafe in Mexico. That is not to say we don't know people who have experienced bad things, but no more so than would be expected any where else.

You should also consider Playas de Tijuana, but the only real advantage is shaving 10-20 minutes off of your commute time.

Good Luck.

dlaneD506 wrote:

I would like to share more and first I must say unions are for the weak and please dont take it wrong;

Your opinion about unions shows a lack of understanding or history about unions. That said, you should keep that opinion to yourself. This is not a forum to discuss the value of having a union or not.

Mexturk wrote:

Hey guys,

New here and I have been researching this ALOT. I am 25 years old with dual citizenship (US and Mexico). I have lived in the USA all of my life and recently went to visit Mexico and fell in love with the culture and more so the people. I love the USA and it is great here but let's be honest it is expensive and I am pretty much working to pay bills so I thought maybe trying out Mexico. I have a job backed by a powerful union so stable income is not a problem for me. I currently live in Sacramento California but I will be getting a promotion soon and will be eligible to transfer to San Diego. Are there any working people also living there who work in San Diego? What is it like? What are some things you should and shouldn't do?

Thank you for your help guys 

Hello,and welcome to the forum. There are thousands of us everyday that cross the border to work in San Diego. There are Sentry lanes,Ready lanes and Normal lanes. There is a facebook page dedicated to the lanes. It's called "Como esta la linea Tijuana" you can get up to date info on this page. It is in Spanish but I have seen people ask questions in English and they receive an answer as well. Since it's the commuters who place the info there most of them speak English. If you have an interest in doing it then you should. I came down to try it for 2 weeks. That was 42 years ago and I'm still here.
Here you can get a beautiful home close to the beach for a very reasonable price. Where as in the US it would not be  affordable for most. If you have any specific questions go ahead and ask. The people on this forum are always glad to help.

I am 40 years old, married with a new born baby on the way.  I have lived here in Rosarito the last four months.  I was in the military and stationed in the San Diego area for 20 years.  When I was 18 Mexico was the only place for a young guy to party so I ended up in Rosarito at least two weekends a month and once I retired I knew I just had to move there.

I have a fixed income and my retirement is probably about as much as a 25 year olds wages working full time for the month so I might be able to provide an example of how things work for me if its helpful.

My wife and I are extremely active and I work out at a crossfit gym, train in mixed martial arts, eat dinner at a nice restaurant each night, regularly do activities like offshore fishing, biking etc, I pay my vehicle insurance in Mexico and slowly able to improve my quality of life.  I own two vehicles that are older than 2008.  I was able to have all the mechanical issues fixed and one of the cars painted.  it only cost $700 to have the car painted!! in the US the lowest cost estimate was $5500.  I only mention this because in the US I would have never been able to afford this level of everything but here in Mexico it is all within reach for me and my family.  A crossfit gym membership in the US would be $150-$200 a month and down here you will pay $30-$40 a month.  A meal at a good steakhouse in the US would be roughly $25-$35 per person.  The same meal here would be $10 and come with so much more.  I had a powor window part go out on my car and checked how much the part would cost to order win the US and it would be $155 and then I checked on the same part in Mexico and it was $55.

If I had it to do all over again I would have moved here years ago and worked in the US and just make the commute.  The border is still an issue for us because we are waiting on the SENTRI pass and I wouldn't want to make a daily commute without it and travel back and forth on a daily basis.  Thats the only issue that I have right now.

You can find a trashy apartment in the tourist area (extremely safe area) for $250 or spend $1200 a month for a two bedroom condo on the beach with the highest security.

Message me for anything.  Hope this helps.