Galvez knows these figures well. In San Diego, he rented a country house with his wife in the North Park neighborhood for $2,300 a month. Now, they pay $1,450 a month for a 1,500-square-foot home in a gated community a 10-minute drive from the San Ysidro border crossing. That closeness is important because Galvez, a commercial insurance broker for a US company, crosses the border five days a week to go to his office in San Diego.
Life in Tijuana, Galvez said, is more tense for him and his family. There is more noise and the air is not as clean. Despite Tijuana’s publicized problems with drug cartels, he said he is not concerned about crime, as violence is significantly higher among people involved in drug trafficking and is concentrated in specific neighborhoods. Many residents share the perception that crime statistics do not fully reflect reality, and some studies have even shown that, despite the high percentage of murders in Tijuana, most crimes are concentrated in three of the most hostile areas of the city.
Galvez said he misses the green spaces in San Diego and is fed up with the potholes that are on every street in Tijuana. But he has his sights set on his long-term goal.
“Living here allows me to save to build a legacy,” he said.
For Jodi Cilley, living in Tijuana has been a balm for her nerves.
Cilley, 44, teaches at San Diego City College and is president of the Film Consortium San Diego. When she moved from San Diego to Tijuana in 2018, she returned to a city she knew well; he had already lived there, from 2004 to 2010. He explained that the cost savings, not only in the monthly rent payment, but also in utilities, as well as in medical consultations and even dining out, allows him to work in a field that you are passionate about instead of having to pursue another profession that offers a higher salary.
“It’s a lot less stressful because now I know I can pay my rent every month and still have money left over,” she said. “I can eat wherever I want, and go to the most luxurious restaurants and bars in the city. Also, I can keep a job that I love instead of looking for another one that pays me more just to survive.”
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