# Newbie with a dream, is this possible?



## alanrudy (Aug 7, 2013)

Hello all,

Newbie here. I am like 75% committed to moving from Los Angeles, California to Mexico soon or in the next few years for the rest of my life. I am 33/M and know about 50% of Spanish, and am researching places to live and what would be best for me based on various preferences. I do have an ideal situation, but I do know I'm a bit of a dreamer so I don't know if this is even possible. Hopefully someone with knowledge and experience can help answer my questions if this is possible and guide me to an area it could be possible.
What I exactly want is a location that I am not too far away from commuting to California sometimes for family/friends/certain events, with an option to be near an English speaking expat population, in a safe location, with weather similar to LA/SD California, with the option to continue my career in real estate investing (I have maybe $200k to work with) or start a career as a teacher.
Besides the weather and my desire to be commuting to California, I keep coming back to Guadalajara (with Lake Chapula option) or Mexico City to fulfill all my other criteria.
Would anyone recommend anywhere in Baja that would be a shorter drive/similar weather to California and that would fulfill the rest of my criteria? It seems TJ, Rosarito, or Ensenada may have pockets of places that fulfill all of my criteria; however, people keep telling me these areas are not safe, dumps, and not as good as an option as Guadalajara/Mexico City. 
Please help with your advice/opinion. I would like to make my decision soon so any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.


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## Marishka (Feb 1, 2009)

alanrudy said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Newbie here. I am like 75% committed to moving from Los Angeles, California to Mexico soon or in the next few years for the rest of my life.


Hello and welcome to the forum. 

Why do you want to move to Mexico and live there for the rest of your life? You're pretty young to be thinking of living _anywhere_ for the rest of your life. Have you spent much time in Mexico? 



alanrudy said:


> I am 33/M and know about 50% of Spanish, and am researching places to live and what would be best for me based on various preferences.


What does it mean to you to "know about 50% of Spanish"? Are you at least at a B2 (upper intermediate) level, meaning:


Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation.

Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.

Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.



alanrudy said:


> What I exactly want is a location that I am not too far away from commuting to California sometimes for family/friends/certain events, with an option to be near an English speaking expat population, in a safe location, with weather similar to LA/SD California, with the option to continue my career in real estate investing (I have maybe $200k to work with) or start a career as a teacher.


Are you saying that you're interested in investing in real estate in Mexico, or that you will continue your "career in real estate investing" in California, but want to have your residence in Mexico?

Before anyone can give you advice on working as a teacher in Mexico, it would be helpful for you to clarify what it is that you are qualified to teach and at what level.



alanrudy said:


> Would anyone recommend anywhere in Baja that would be a shorter drive/similar weather to California and that would fulfill the rest of my criteria? It seems TJ, Rosarito, or Ensenada may have pockets of places that fulfill all of my criteria; however, people keep telling me these areas are not safe, dumps, and not as good as an option as Guadalajara/Mexico City.


If you want weather similar to that of San Diego and want a short drive to California, your options are those you listed--Tijuana, Rosarito Beach, or Ensenada. Just about any location, either in Mexico or in the U.S., has safe and not so safe areas.


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## gwizzzzz (Apr 21, 2013)

La Paz has direct flights to California and is big enough to make a business viable


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## tepetapan (Sep 30, 2010)

If you are really interested in Real Estate investment I would do some research on Mazatlan. With the new highway opening up soon and being in full swing in the next couple years, things are going to change there. 
I really think that area is going to grow, although the new east - west autopista will be expensive. The infrastructure seemed a bit dated last time I was there, plenty of room for buying low and making some money. 200K will not get you very far but it is a start.
Do your research using a site like worldweatheronline, for monthly averages. The places you mentioned, besides the real estate problems, are far colder in the winter than you seem to want.


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## alanrudy (Aug 7, 2013)

Thanks all for your replies and answers, I would really appreciate any more input. For more information and to answer Marishka's questions, various personal life reasons lead me to be that sure if I somehow achieved my dream scenario I laid out. I cannot answer yes to any of your questions on my spanish literacy but I can understand, write, read a lot and would try for full literacy when there. As for my career of real estate investing, I would like to invest in real estate in Mexico once I am fully eligible to and feel competent too. As for teaching as a backup/2nd career, I would work towards becoming qualified to be an English teacher.

I agree Marishka, would you or anyone be able to give your opinion on whether TJ, Rosarito, and Ensenada would be best for having the expat population and everything else I am looking for in my dream? Or maybe a suggestion of a nearby area to them that would be best? I have been to these cities and am planning on a longer visit to the places I can narrow it down to really try to be more sure of my decision. Thank you all in advance for any help/advice because I really have to get on making this final decision to move there or not soon. Thank you.


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## Marishka (Feb 1, 2009)

alanrudy said:


> I agree Marishka, would you or anyone be able to give your opinion on whether TJ, Rosarito, and Ensenada would be best for having the expat population and everything else I am looking for in my dream?


I’d be glad to give you an opinion, but please understand that I’ve never been to any of those three places, so I’m basing my opinion on what I’ve read about them. 

If those were my three choices, I’d definitely choose Ensenada, unless I had to commute to San Diego on a daily basis. Ensenada has only about 1/3 the population of Tijuana, but is large enough to have several universities, a lot of cultural offerings, and it’s close to the vineyards and olives groves of the Guadalupe Valley. You could rent a condo there with a beautiful view of the Pacific ocean. The homicide rate of Ensenada is almost half that of Tijuana. If you like the weather in San Diego, you would have no complaints about the climate of Ensenada. You can check the average monthly highs and lows in this Wikipedia entry on Ensenada.

I found some interesting information on Ensenada in a book by an American expat who had lived in Ajijic and San Miguel de Allende, and currently lives in Ensenada. The name of the book is _A Single Gringa in Mexico_, by Rebecca, H. Fass. Rebecca sold her house in Ajijic after her husband died in an accident, losing $100,000 on the sale. Then she moved to San Miguel de Allende and bought another house. She was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and needed to be close to San Diego for free medical treatment, so she sold her house in San Miguel, losing $50,000 on that sale.

Yes, she did learn her lesson! She moved to Ensenada and this time she RENTED a condo. Here’s some of what she wrote about the comparison between living in Ajijic, San Miguel and Ensenada:

“After living first in Ajijic, a sleepy fishing village on Lake Chapala, then San Miguel de Allende, an artist enclave and historic city full of culture and life, I can say that Ensenada is so very different from either. It is a fishing town, but it does have culture and a life. So it compares in some ways to both places. But the big difference is the closeness to San Diego, and that it is the frontier."

“Ajijic was full of loud fireworks constantly for one festival or another, but mostly just loud. San Miguel de Allende had fireworks almost nightly that made sound and light. Indian dancers, music all night, and church bells for festivals or weddings seemed a nightly event. Ensenada is amazingly quiet. In my year of living here I heard fireworks only 2 nights. There is no reason for a man to run ahead of the garbage truck banging a bell to announce he is coming as every house or business has a cubby hole in their front wall for their garbage cans. I used to sleep with ear plugs and a sound machine and in the summer an air conditioner I did not need except to drown out the sounds in San Miguel de Allende and Ajijic, not in Ensenada.

“Unlike Ajijic and San Miguel de Allende, which have cobblestone and ancient stone streets, Ensenada has streets paved like the US with real sidewalks you can walk down next to each other rather than in a line. You can wear high heels in Ensenada, as they don’t have sudden holes in the sidewalk or large cracks.

“There are, of course, fishing charters and whale watching charters. We have 2 golf courses, malls with movie theatres, hot springs, lakes, canyons, casinos and horseback riding, museums, flea markets and a cultural center.”

Rebecca also mentioned in her book that far less English was spoken in Ensenada than in either Ajijic or San Miguel. 

There have been some interesting discussions on this website about Ensenada, Rosarito Beach and Tijuana, so I would advise using the handy search box on this forum to find those posts.

Since you have already been to those three places, what kind of vibe did you get in each of them? Did any of them "call your name"?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Marishka said:


> I’d be glad to give you an opinion, but please understand that I’ve never been to any of those three places, so I’m basing my opinion on what I’ve read about them.
> 
> If those were my three choices, I’d definitely choose Ensenada, unless I had to commute to San Diego on a daily basis.


I concur and I have been to Ensenada and Tijuana. I have never been to Rosarito. I like big cities but I am not sure that Tijuana has many of the amenities that make big cities appealing: universities, foreign film opportunities, museums, lectures etc. Maybe someone who knows it from living there rather than just passing through can correct me. Ensenada is much smaller and more laid back. It was very quiet when I spent a few days there. Because of the 2010 flu scare, none of the cruise ships were in town. I think the downtown may be overrun by them when a cruise ship docks, but it probably doesn't affect much of the rest of the town.


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## alanrudy (Aug 7, 2013)

Awesome post Marishka! Thanks for the help and advise Marishka and Tundragreen! I'm having some other signs point to Ensenada as well; the only thing that doesn't sound ideal is the distance from California. That's not an absolute deal breaker, but would you guys know of pockets of TJ or Rosarito that are safe and also have some fellow speaking expats that would ease the transition (something somewhat similar to Lake Chapala)? Ideally something with the buzz of a big city with options for quiet as well.
Unfortunately, I don't think it would be objective to rely on my vibe when I was there because they were different places in each city and wasn't looking/researching the idea of living in any of the places at the time either. I do plan to head out there this weekend and in the next couple weeks to get a better idea.


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## Marishka (Feb 1, 2009)

alanrudy said:


> That's not an absolute deal breaker, but would you guys know of pockets of TJ or Rosarito that are safe and also have some fellow speaking expats that would ease the transition (something somewhat similar to Lake Chapala)?


If I moved to Tijuana, I'd probably look for a place to live in Playas de Tijuana. You can read about the different neighborhoods of Tijuana here. There's a lot of gang activity on the east side of the city, so I wouldn't venture to that part of town. 

I don't have a clue as to what is going on in Tijuana these days, but here are some articles that I saved last summer when I was researching Baja:

A New Breed of Younger, Hipper Expats Flock to Tijuana

Tijuana is Safe Again

If you decide to move to Baja and need to go back to California very often, you should definitely look into getting a SENTRI Pass.


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## alanrudy (Aug 7, 2013)

Thanks for your help Marishka and others. I've done more research on these places in person. I'm interested in purchasing a house so although Playas de TJ had the location I was looking for, all the houses were two stories, not great, without many amenities. There was a location 15 miles south of Rosarito that have brand new houses with all the community amenities you'd want. So it's tough deciding between these two areas still.


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## DebMer (Dec 31, 2011)

I would check out the talkbaja and bajanomad message boards for detailed information about the Baja peninsula and specifics about city dynamics, expat connections, cultural activities, neighborhoods, rents, etc.


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