| Pages:
1
2 |
jeans
Super Nomad
Posts: 1059
Registered: 9-16-2002
Member Is Offline
Mood: Encantada
|
|
There is one point that has not been touched on....make friends down here if you want to socialize. Your friends and family NOB most likely will never
cross the border to visit you (Not to mention justifying your decision to everybody..and they will ask!).
[Edited on 11-14-2013 by jeans]
Mom always told me to be different - Now she says...Not THAT different
|
|
|
Tesee
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: 11-13-2013
Location: Ocean Beach, San Diego
Member Is Offline
|
|
Thank you ALL for your posts giving me both the positive and the negative. Some of the negative aspects are actually positive ones for me (not knowing
anyone there, not knowing the language and the customs, etc.). I want to be out of my element, that's kind of the whole point. I crave new
situations; yes, even difficult situations. I want to expand myself, challenge myself. I want it to be hard. I blame my mom
for this personality trait, she is exactly the same way, haha!
Someone suggested I just join the peace corps for a couple of years and, well, that would have been a great idea before I had bills like student loans
and credit cards. I also need to be thinking about my financial future & retirement and I don't feel I can just give up any semblance of a
paycheck and go gallivanting around the globe. This is why I want/need to keep my job in San Diego. It can be really difficult to live on a
foreign-sized paycheck with American-sized bills, lol.
I know that the trolley doesn't go all the way to La Jolla. I've looked into monthly/long-term parking options and what I would probably do is get off
the Trolley, get into my car and drive the rest of the way. I know some people think this is a crazy idea, or a stupid one, but I'm fine with it.
Really I was just wondering if I could survive in TJ without a car not. Some cities are fine to live in without your own transportation, others not so
much. I accept that my commute is going to be 2+ hours. In all honesty though, the commute doesn't stress me out. I don't care that it's long given
that I don't have to drive the entire time. I have a job with a flexible schedule. I work in academic research and I'm a salaried, not
hourly, employee; they don't care when I come in each morning as long as it's some time before noon  And there's nothing else that I NEED to be on schedule for. I don't have any kids, husband/boyfriend, pets,
anything really.
There are multiple people also commenting that I'm unprepared for a move. You're right and that's exactly why I'm here doing some research, to
prepare myself! Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing? I won't be moving anywhere until next summer. I feel that gives me plenty of time
really make a decision and get myself in order. Also, I'm a firm believer in the saying "if you're always waiting for the right time, you'll always be
waiting." I certainly don't want to do something stupid rushing into it blindly but I also want to be proactive. I'm not getting any younger and it
won't be forever that I don't have any "real responsibilities" (as my sister puts it). 
I am worried about safety and I think that's a good thing; when you're not worried about it that's when you get into trouble! But I'm
also smart. Even living in San Diego (or when I lived in Providence or when I lived in Phoenix) I don't wander around dark, unknown streets by myself.
I'm not a serious partier or drug user. I generally roll with a "good crowd." I also don't think I'm an easy target. Sure, I'm a woman, but I'm also
close to 200 lbs. and a good percentage of that is muscle! I'm not small, nor meek, nor timid. I know that doesn't necessarily mean I won't be a
target, but I think it can go a long way in discouraging someone from making me a target when there are so many other easier targets out
there.
Wow, this is a really long winded reply, sorry about that! When it comes down to it I guess I'm not looking for advice on whether or not I should do
it, I'm looking for advice on how I can go about it, and what I can expect. I want to have a general plan before I jump into anything and although I
haven't made up my mind 100% on whether or not I will do it, I am at about 80% 
Again, I appreciate everything you have given me to think about. That's what I'm looking for right now, any information I can get my hands on.
[Edited on 11-14-2013 by Tesee]
[Edited on 11-14-2013 by Tesee]
[Edited on 11-14-2013 by Tesee]
|
|
|
bajaorchid
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: 11-13-2013
Member Is Offline
|
|
Word up sister! You'll do fine in TJ Town!
Behavind in Baja  |
|
|
mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 19325
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot n spicy
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by Tesee
Thank you ALL for your posts giving me both the positive and the negative. Some of the negative aspects are actually positive ones for me (not knowing
anyone there, not knowing the language and the customs, etc.). I want to be out of my element, that's kind of the whole point. I crave new
situations; yes, even difficult situations. I want to expand myself, challenge myself. I want it to be hard. I blame my mom
for this personality trait, she is exactly the same way, haha!
I accept that my commute is going to be 2+ hours. |
i think you will spend much time commuting and little time experiencing life in TJ. if experiencing commuting is your goal, then living in TJ may be
a good thing for you. i suggest you try living in a hotel in TJ for 2 weeks and commute to work in la jolla every day,... then you will know if it is
something you want to do. (p.s. i think doing that commute voluntarily would make for a very low quality of life)
|
|
|
Gypsy Jan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4275
Registered: 1-27-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: Depends on which way the wind is blowing
|
|
Hi Tesee
And welcome to the board.
You sound like an adventurous and open-minded person looking to enrich your life experience.
I have lived south of Rosarito Central in a gated community with a garage, so the safety of my car has not been an issue.
I moved down here with all kinds of plans to keep my professional life going and I have had several jobs in San Diego and some in Baja.
The commute over the border takes time and is subject to a certain amount of uncertainty depending on the various ICE attitudes towards commuters at
that particular point in time.
If you want to do a regular border commute to San Diego, an internal readjustment to expectations about traffic travel time is necessary.
In other words, you mantra should be, "It is what it is and you will arrive when you get there."
[Edited on 11-14-2013 by Gypsy Jan]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
|
|
|
movinguy
Nomad
Posts: 257
Registered: 3-19-2004
Location: Chula Vista, CA and Tijuana, MX
Member Is Offline
|
|
As other posters have suggested, you definitely want to "demo" it first. You could get by without speaking the language but it would be a MUCH more
enjoyable experience if you did.
Bicycle? No way . . . and perhaps bajaorchid won't run you over, but the other 99% of drivers will.
Saludos
|
|
|
tjsue
Senior Nomad
Posts: 520
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
|
|
The first time someone makes a right turn directly in front of you from the far left lane, you'll freak out. You can't be a polite driver, because
everyone will cut in front of you, and that includes at the border. People will constantly honk their horns, and you won't know if they're honking at
you or not.
I didn't know anyone when I moved to TJ. But when you're out walking around the neighborhood that you live, you get to know people. When you shop at
the local stores, you get to know people, and you'll get adopted by the street dogs.
I don't speak fluent Spanish, but I don't have any problems. I took Spanish in high school, and a few years ago took a basic conversational Spanish
course to make it easier to communicate with the parents of the children in the schools that I work in. I have a program on my computer that teaches
me Spanish, and my next door neighbor's husband speaks less English than I speak Spanish, so we teach each other words.
But you have to put forth an effort to learn in order to get along here.
[Edited on 11-15-2013 by tjsue]
|
|
|
aguachico
Senior Nomad
Posts: 602
Registered: 3-23-2007
Location: tijuana
Member Is Offline
Mood: logic cannot get thru to the illogical
|
|
Tesee;
you have the right attitude for your adventure. 200#'s? Well now you will have issues with local guys... as the saying goes "mucho carne por dos
huevos". The locals like rubenesque women.
I took the first semester college class at Mesa and it helped. I needed to take the other 2 semesters as my Spanish is really bad. But you are young
and smart so learning the language will be easy. start chatting online in spanish helps a lot.
The safety issue is this. The police force is centered around centro because it's safer(for the police) in centro and that's where the money is. In
15 years I have had my truck, attempted, to be stolen twice. I was pick pocketed for some dollars once. I had a truck stolen in Ensenada.
The police security is not like the states. Crimes are rarely solved in my experience and criminals when caught are not prosecuted the same way as in
the states. You will make life style changes when you live in TJ. Kinda like living in NewYork or Philly.
The good thing is that there's a large crowd of intelligent 30's hangin out in TJ that you can connect with and learn the city. There's so much more
to TJ then the tourist traps.
suerte
|
|
|
Chupacabra
Nomad
Posts: 476
Registered: 7-11-2013
Location: La Jolla, CA
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by Tesee
I want to expand myself, challenge myself. |
Unfortunately, you won't have time to expand or challenge yourself due to the commute. If you work eight hours and sleep eight hours, that leaves
eight hours of free time. At least six of those will be spent taking public transportation from TJ to north LJ. That only leaves two hours for
eating, bathing, laundry, etc.
Commuting daily from TJ to LJ via public transportation is a non-starter. I just don't think it can be done on an ongoing basis, and your life will
be about the commute, not about experiencing Mexico.
Now if you have a Sentri pass and a car, that changes everything.
|
|
|
JoeJustJoe
Banned
Posts: 21045
Registered: 9-9-2010
Location: Occupied Aztlan
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mad as hell
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by mtgoat666
| Quote: | Originally posted by Tesee
Thank you ALL for your posts giving me both the positive and the negative. Some of the negative aspects are actually positive ones for me (not knowing
anyone there, not knowing the language and the customs, etc.). I want to be out of my element, that's kind of the whole point. I crave new
situations; yes, even difficult situations. I want to expand myself, challenge myself. I want it to be hard. I blame my mom
for this personality trait, she is exactly the same way, haha!
I accept that my commute is going to be 2+ hours. |
i think you will spend much time commuting and little time experiencing life in TJ. if experiencing commuting is your goal, then living in TJ may be
a good thing for you. i suggest you try living in a hotel in TJ for 2 weeks and commute to work in la jolla every day,... then you will know if it is
something you want to do. (p.s. i think doing that commute voluntarily would make for a very low quality of life) |
Very good idea about trying it for two weeks before you make it more permanent.
I want to add that when you're not driving across the border but instead walking, the wait is a lot less, especially in the early morning when many
workers are making their way to San Diego county jobs. The border agents know most of the walking travelers are going to jobs, and they whisk you
right through without a lot of questions. Now later in the late morning, and especially in the afternoon and early evening, the pedestrian line does
back up, but the pedestrian line in generally takes less time than driving across the border in a car.
Late at night after 10PM, the pedestrian line on the border, is very short, and on average my wait is from about "no wait" to about five minutes
especially around midnight, when there is almost no line, except on weekends when the lines could be long again because of night time activities.
The bus system isn't bad in Tijuana, and is pretty cheap. The only negative is that on many buses they have bad singers who jump on board the bus to
sing a few songs, and then pass their hat around. I have thought of paying some of them not to sing, but never actually did that yet.
Oh yeah, Tijuana is pretty safe, especially if you stay in the nicer areas. However, if you're a drug cartel member, or involved in the drug trade.
Then it could get pretty dangerous, but most homicides in Tijuana probably over 80 percent, or even 90 percent are almost always drug related and
turf battles. Americans tourists and ex-pats are pretty safe in Mexico,and this includes Tijuana.
|
|
|
neilm81301
Nomad
Posts: 134
Registered: 3-21-2012
Member Is Offline
|
|
'Pink Bus' in TJ:
Did you see this article re: women's busses in TJ?
http://m.utsandiego.com/news/2013/aug/01/tijuanas-bus-line-f...
TIJUANA — Riding public buses in Tijuana can be a trying experience no matter what your age or gender, with people pressed together in old and crowded
vehicles. It can be especially uncomfortable for women, who frequently complain about intrusive stares and inappropriate touching by some male
passengers.
With the encouragement of Mayor Carlos Bustamante, two private companies have begun offering segregated bus service. They have launched La Linea Rosa
— The Pink Line, a fleet of six buses limited to women, children, senior citizens and disabled passengers. The vehicles, which started operating late
last month, run from just south of the San Ysidro border crossing to the city’s far eastern reaches for a fare of 10 pesos — less than 80 cents,
slightly less than the cost for a regular bus trip.
They are painted pink on the exterior and feature interiors that are clean and new — a welcome change from the aging, recycled U.S. buses that make up
a large part of Tijuana’s fleet. Bustamante’s administration and The Pink Line’s owners hope to increase the number of buses and routes if enough
customer demand materializes.
“When it’s just us, it’s a very different atmosphere,” said María de la Luz Nicanor, a 40-year-old mother of two riding to her home in eastern Tijuana
on Wednesday after a medical appointment near the Otay Mesa border crossing.
“Here, the men can’t come and bother us and lean against us,” said Rosi Rodríguez, 38, a maquiladora worker traveling from her job at the Bose factory
near the same port of entry to her home in eastern Tijuana’s Valle Verde neighborhood. “There are times when all the men are seated and the woman
standing. There are few gentlemen,” she said as nearby passengers nodded in agreement.
As their bus lurched from stop to stop, passenger after passenger told similar stories. The riders included medical and law students, maquiladora
workers, a store employee, an office worker and two women who travel across Tijuana to clean offices in the Río Zone business district.
“It’s uncomfortable, more than anything, even if it’s just harassing looks that follow you,” said Glenda Hernández, a 20-year-old medical student.
“This feels safer, especially when we go out at night,” said fellow student Yesenia López, 34.
The new bus line comes as Tijuana’s municipal government is moving ahead on a huge overhaul of its mass-transit system, which is widely considered to
be antiquated, chaotic and long beholden to special interests. The existing system consists of private bus companies that operate under a municipal
concession, and many of the vehicles are old public-transit or school buses from the United States that are brought south and repainted.
Mexico’s federal government, the city of Tijuana and the state of Baja California have committed more than $75 million in infrastructure improvements
for the first phase of a modernized, municipal transportation network. The revamp would include special bus lanes, bays, sidewalks and bridges.
Once that phase is completed, the plan is to collaborate with the private sector to build two major terminals — one near the U.S. border in Tijuana’s
Zona Norte, the other in eastern Tijuana. Private companies would operate those new routes and use an electronic fare system.
photo Rosi Rodríguez, 38, rides a bus for women, children and the elderlyas she returns home from her job in a maquiladora that manufactures plasma
televisions. — David Maung
Compared with the magnitude of the city’s overall plans, The Pink Line can seem like a drop in the bucket. But city officials said it is an important
step to immediately boost conditions for some of the current system’s riders.
Bustamante said the goal is to offer “dignified, secure and peaceful” transportation for female passengers. “We see here on occasion that some men are
not respectful, especially when the bus is full,” he said last month as he inaugurated the new buses.
The notion of female-only buses has caught on for years in other parts of the world, from Pakistan to Guatemala to Japan. The service also has been
introduced in several Mexican cities, including the industrial northern city of Monterrey, Guadalajara in central Mexico and the working-class Mexico
City suburbs of Ecatepec and Ciudad Netzahualcoyotl.
But this is a first for Tijuana, where an average of 800,000 passengers use public transportation on any given day. A few days after The Pink Line
started, some people were still getting used to the idea.
“This bus is only for women,” driver Efrain Parra called out Wednesday, turning away astonished male customers who could only watch as women stepped
inside.
The mayor and some bus company owners seized on the pink-bus concept when they noticed the service during a trip to the state of Mexico, said Obed
Silva, Tijuana’s secretary general and a key player in negotiating the broader revamp of the city’s public-transit system.
Two companies signed on to the venture: ATT and Untima have teamed up to offer Pink Line service from downtown Tijuana to the outskirts area of Valle
de las Palmas, cutting a swath through the working-class neighborhoods that make up eastern Tijuana.
Untima purchased four 2013 Volkswagen buses, each with 32 seats, and hopes to expand to 10 buses once the city approves an extended route, said J.
Mercedes Zavala, a retired high school principal and a partner in Untima. ATT provided the remaining two buses for the present fleet.
Zavala also wants to eventually play instrumental music on the buses — to soothe and inspire passengers. He is thinking of selections such as
Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” and the Beatles’ “Let it Be.”
In the short term, he predicts that ridership will increase significantly starting Monday, when the school season starts.
Ultimately, Silva hopes segregation won’t be necessary.
“We need to reach the day when half of the population, which is male, and the other half of the population, which is female, respect each other, treat
each other with dignity and operate from a position of equality.”
sandra.dibble@utsandiego.com (619) 293-1716 Twitter: @sandradibble
[Edited on 11-15-2013 by neilm81301]
|
|
|
DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
|
|
Ohhh Lordy.........I hope all those boys over on the Gay thread don't see this. They'll be demanding equal transportation methods.  
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
|
|
|
JoeJustJoe
Banned
Posts: 21045
Registered: 9-9-2010
Location: Occupied Aztlan
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mad as hell
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
Ohhh Lordy.........I hope all those boys over on the Gay thread don't see this. They'll be demanding equal transportation methods. |
A little lipstick and a dress Dennis, and I'm sure you could get on that pink bus too.
|
|
|
Tesee
Newbie
Posts: 5
Registered: 11-13-2013
Location: Ocean Beach, San Diego
Member Is Offline
|
|
Ha! I like you guys
|
|
|
| Pages:
1
2 |
|
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
