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Comment by OfSanguineFire | Hacker News Reader

You might want to go back and see if that “crazy city” conclusion merits revision. I visited Tijuana last winter and was amazed how little it resembled stereotypes from two decades ago. No longer are there any safety concerns about walking or cycling across the city during the day, and I discovered that thousands of Southern Californians are now living across the border and commuting to work everyday, because cost of living is much cheaper in Mexico and crossing is fast with Global Entry.

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https://www.statista.com/statistics/243797/ranking-of-the-mo...

Second most dangerous city in the world. You got lucky. It is foolish to advise people that Tijuana is safe.

I left out the world "[city] center" from my comment. Crime may well be a risk in certain neighborhoods that a visitor need not go to. But walking or cycling across the city center does appear to be safe based on the following:

* Upon arrival at the bus station I ask staff if they can recommend a safe route for me to cycle (I had a touring bike) the several km to near the US border. They say the center is safe, the bad barrios are elsewhere, and it was a bit silly that I would even be worried.

* I ask the first police I see the same question and get the exact same answer.

* I am occasionally passed by lycra-clad locals on expensive bikes. Here and there I see a lot of conspicuous American tourists of the fanny-pack variety walking around, mainly elderly. These are the sort of things that would not be done if people had to fear for their lives.

* I go into an Oxxo for some snacks and ask the clerk about safety. He says it hasn't been a concern in that central area for a long time now.

* I stand in a queue for two hours to cross the border. The people around me in the queue, Mexican and American alike, say safety hasn't been an issue in the city center for a long time now.

That is a difference from a couple of decades ago, when one was warned about even the city center and even in daytime.

You asked people whose job (and thus life) depends entirely on tourism if the place is good for tourism. Clever.

Which of those people I listed has jobs depending on tourism? Even the bus station staff I asked hardly count for that, as the bus in Baja is used mainly by locals, and the long-distance bus station is in a part of the city center some km from the city's touristic strip.

The first thing you see driving in to TJ are decrepit and destroyed buildings. We always made our way out of TJ as fast as possible, either on to the toll roads south to Ensenada or east out to La Rumorosa. Everyone I know, whether from Mexico or not, knows you don't really hang around TJ for long if you can help it.

Mexico is a beautiful country but it still has its problems. You've just kept to tourist areas if that's your view on it.

> Mexico is a beautiful country but it still has its problems. You've just kept to tourist areas if that's your view on it.

I spent last winter cycling the length of the peninsula, avoiding the highway. Didn't see a single touristy place until a month into the journey when I reached San Ignacio and Mulege. Then didn't see another touristy place again for weeks until La Paz.

On a previous trip to Mexico I cycled the length of the mainland from Mazatlan to the Guatemala border mainly on unpaved roads. I am well aware of the country's challenges and the need to ask about safety conditions. I stand by my assertion about Tijuana -- if safety in the city center were an issue for tourists and people passing through, local people would readily tell you that and elderly Americans wouldn't be strolling around carefree.

> The first thing you see driving in to TJ are decrepit and destroyed buildings

That describes a considerable portion of the world, including places where safety is not a concern.

Two decades ago thousands of Californians lived in Mexico and crossed via Sentri. That hasn’t changed much.

I was told that there has been a massive construction boom in recent years to build housing developments specifically for Americans who want to live on the Mexican side and commute, and the COVID era brought unprecedented interest. If this was already trend, it seems to have accelerated.

It’s likely that the wealth of those willing to do it has increased; when I had experience with it it was mainly blue-collar laborers stretching their dollars.

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