living in Rosarito, working in San Diego?? need advice please.

I am retired and when in Playas I do not cross daily.
I have friends that do.  Some cross as pedestrians keeping a car on the other side of the border on a monthly parking rental as well as on the Mexican  side or taking a bus to and from  the Mexican side of the  borde rOthers get a sentri pass and drive across.  A lot depends on  your distance to and from the border once you cross and how much time you want to spend communting.  Going into downtown SD.....consider the trolley????

Personally I would live in Playas (or Santa Fe  if you don't want to be        near the beach).  It will be a much easier commute.

anne stromberg wrote:

Some cross as pedestrians...taking a bus to and from the Mexican side of the border. Others get a Sentri pass....A lot depends on your distance to and from the border once you cross and how much time you want to spend commuting.  Going into downtown SD.....consider the trolley....

Having lived in San Diego and visited Mexico frequently from there, my suggestion would be to find out whether the Sentri pass will allow you to cross the border without delays on a consistent basis.

If not, Anne's pedestrian-friends probably have the right idea.

Getting stuck in a vehicle line waiting for Customs to clear hundreds of cars at a bad time would be frustrating for a commuter, and could put one's job in jeopardy if arriving late for work even a few times a month.

cccmedia

A sentri pass permits travel in a special lane without the wait in line.
A must for any commuter.

My cousin and family live there...have been all of their lives.  Her husband has worked for a company in Otay for the past 20 years and crosses every day with his Sentri pass.  They tell me many of their neighbors do the same.  In fact, some of their neighbors are Mexican nationals that built a life in the US and had children.  Now the parents and their grown children moved back to Mexico, but work in San Diego.  They all have nice homes and drive nice cars.  And that's why they moved there; to get a better quality of life.  As you know, living in Southern California can be very expensive and owning a home is not that easy for a lot of people.  I've owned 3 homes and I lost the last one in the wave of foreclosures we had a few years back.  If I had invested that money into building my own, I'd have an awesome beach home completely paid for by now.  So, that's my new plan.  I bought some land in Rosarito and will build my final home there.  I plan on working part-time when I move there, and hoping to get my son to follow me.

We are considering moving to Rosa Rita or even Playa. I have some questions if you don't mind...what are the medical services like? We have Kaiser but eligible for Medicare...what about Internet and cell service? How well does that work? Also, sounds like going back and forth ove r the border is not that hard with a pass...is that right ? Thanks for your help.

You need to contact Kaiser about reciprocal agreements.  I strongly advise anyone who considers moving either in Tijuana (including Playas) and/or Rosarito do a lot of research and read Baja expat forums both online & Facebook as this site has very limited info.  About Sentri...not everyone can qualify for a Sentri pass which is why only 20% of people who cross have one.  The whole TJ/Rosarito corridor has had a spike in crime in the past 2 years so you need to be aware of that.  The farther away from the border you live the better in terms of quality of air and traffic and safety.  I've lived in TJ, Rosarito and now the Ensenada area and you see a different in the type of expats living here versus closer to the border.

Thank you for the advice... These are important thimgs to consider!