$750 mo. USD in Tijuana plausible?

[NightWanderer]

I have a few questions:
1. if a person is willing to live in a modest 1BR apartment within bicycle range to the U.S. border, would they be able to handle rent, groceries and utilities and have anything left over if they ate frugally and didn't use AC?

2. I'd need broadband internet access, and I know it's offered there, but is it common enough to where I won't have to ask if it's possible to set up service before moving in somewhere? Are the highest speed options up to par with what's available in the U.S.? (I'm an avid computer gamer, hehe)

3. I do happen to be in a wheelchair, so I'd be mainly getting around with a handcycle (just as fast as a bike basically) since I assume public transportation there isn't accessible. Therefore I'd be carrying non-lethal self defense items such as tasers/pepper spray. Are those things legal there?

[arturo_b]

1, Yes. Look into Colonia Federal and the western part of Colonia Libertad. There is almost no air conditioning anywhere in Tijuana other than some office buildings.
2. Yes, You can get 1Mbps from Cablemás but their upload speed is about a tenth of their download speed. Telnor, the phone company, offers DSL.
3. Not really, those are considered to be weapons. You might get special permission from the police department if you asked. Some people carry pepper spray without police permission.

Public transportation here is decidedly not wheelchair-friendly even though recent laws require it to be so. Private taxis will probably be accommodating to you, however.

Check the city out before you make the move. Park at the Border Station parking lot at the last offramp of the freeway and take the Mexicoach into town. From the Mexicoach station you can board that same bus company's City Tour bus, which takes you around the main tourist areas and allows you to get on and off at two-hour intervals. When you're ready to go back home, Mexicoach will return you to the Border Station parking lot.

Your wheelchair will draw attention to you so you will want to have your immigration papers in order. An FMT will allow you to stay here up to six months, but you're better off getting an FM3. If you have no family with Mexican citizenship, you will need to demonstrate that you have a bank account and a reliable income. Check with the Instituto Nacional de Migración. It is not uncommon for ill-behaved gringos whose papers are not in order to be deported summarily ... not that you plan on being ill-behaved, of course.

[NightWanderer]

Originally Posted by arturo_b

3. Not really, those are considered to be weapons. You might get special permission from the police department if you asked. Some people carry pepper spray without police permission.

I'm glad to know that ahead of time, thank you. In Venezuela my gf's family wouldn't let me go outside at alone at all, because they say it's simply a matter of time before someone spots my wheelchair and decides to rob me for it, etc. I just figured it'd be safest to assume Mexico wouldn't be any different and want to protect myself accordingly since I would be staying long term.

Public transportation here is decidedly not wheelchair-friendly even though recent laws require it to be so. Private taxis will probably be accommodating to you, however.

I figured as much, hence wanting the handcycle. I hadn't considered the taxis as a possibly affordable option though, thank you.

Check the city out before you make the move....

Your wheelchair will draw attention to you so you will want to have your immigration papers in order....Check with the Instituto Nacional de Migración. It is not uncommon for ill-behaved gringos whose papers are not in order to be deported summarily ... not that you plan on being ill-behaved, of course.

What I plan to do when I move back to California U.S.A., is to make regular trips
back and forth for at least a few months while I improve my spanish, and immerse myself in the culture over that time, so when I make the move I can function well among the locals and not come off like a tourist, etc. I don't plan on going there and indulging in various vices the way it seems most gringos want to do, either.

[RVGRINGO]

There is only one problem that you must figure out how to solve: You can't 'live there' on an FMT and will have to apply for, and maintain, an FM3 Visa. That will require you to prove more than your stated $750 USD income per month and/or sufficient savings or investments to meet the financial requirements.

[El Toro Furioso]

Originally Posted by RVGRINGO

There is only one problem that you must figure out how to solve: You can't 'live there' on an FMT and will have to apply for, and maintain, an FM3 Visa. That will require you to prove more than your stated $750 USD income per month and/or sufficient savings or investments to meet the financial requirements.

I have been wrong before, but I don't think that one would even need (nor be given) an FMT on entering Tijuana. One could sign a lease and live there forever without any documentation whatsoever. Who would check for what reason and what could they do to you if you had the same thing that all the other tourists from NoB had...which is nothing? All you would need is a passport to cross back across the border to the US. If you stayed 10 years in Tijuana without documentation other than the US (or other) passport, you would have broken no laws. It is a free zone. So the bottom line issue is the cost of living. Can't help you there.

[NightWanderer]

Originally Posted by El Toro Furioso

I have been wrong before, but I don't think that one would even need (nor be given) an FMT on entering Tijuana. One could sign a lease and live there forever without any documentation whatsoever. Who would check for what reason and what could they do to you if you had the same thing that all the other tourists from NoB had...which is nothing? All you would need is a passport to cross back across the border to the US. If you stayed 10 years in Tijuana without documentation other than the US (or other) passport, you would have broken no laws. It is a free zone. So the bottom line issue is the cost of living. Can't help you there.

I was thinking that worst case scenario, I could simply ask for the full 6 months on the FMT. I don't think I'd be comfortable signing a lease for longer than that during my first year anyway. of course they wouldn't be obligated to give it to me, but even then it's not like I can't renew whenever I had to, even if for any reason it meant eating 1 month's living expenses and staying with family in CA once or twice a year while waiting on renewals, etc. Ideally, I'd find a half decent job in San Diego eventually anyway and could then apply for the res. visa.

[El Toro Furioso]

Originally Posted by NightWanderer

I was thinking that worst case scenario, I could simply ask for the full 6 months on the FMT. I don't think I'd be comfortable signing a lease for longer than that during my first year anyway. of course they wouldn't be obligated to give it to me, but even then it's not like I can't renew whenever I had to, even if for any reason it meant eating 1 month's living expenses and staying with family in CA once or twice a year while waiting on renewals, etc. Ideally, I'd find a half decent job in San Diego eventually anyway and could then apply for the res. visa.

But my whole point is that you don't need a visa to live in Tijuana. It is in the free zone and no documentation is required except a passport to return to the USA. If you ask for an FMT I don't think they will give you one. You would have to drive south of Ensenada to hit INM.

[RVGRINGO]

The lack of 'need' for an FMT is probably correct if going back and forth. However, I think the free zone is only free for something like 72 hours.....not sure. There are also a lot of things you can't do without an FM3 in most of Mexico. Tijuana, Sonora and Baja are a different world from what we are accustomed to in the interior.

[rebelde]

Originally Posted by NightWanderer

I have a few questions:
1. if a person is willing to live in a modest 1BR apartment within bicycle range to the U.S. border, would they be able to handle rent, groceries and utilities and have anything left over if they ate frugally and didn't use AC?

2. I'd need broadband internet access, and I know it's offered there, but is it common enough to where I won't have to ask if it's possible to set up service before moving in somewhere? Are the highest speed options up to par with what's available in the U.S.? (I'm an avid computer gamer, hehe)

3. I do happen to be in a wheelchair, so I'd be mainly getting around with a handcycle (just as fast as a bike basically) since I assume public transportation there isn't accessible. Therefore I'd be carrying non-lethal self defense items such as tasers/pepper spray. Are those things legal there?

with that amount i don't think you will get far....

[bournemouth]

Originally Posted by RVGRINGO

The lack of 'need' for an FMT is probably correct if going back and forth. However, I think the free zone is only free for something like 72 hours.....not sure. There are also a lot of things you can't do without an FM3 in most of Mexico. Tijuana, Sonora and Baja are a different world from what we are accustomed to in the interior.

You are right - no tourist visa is needed for stays of 72 hours or less - over that time something is necessary.