Living in Tijuana and working in San Diego as American citizen.

Hi,

I posted this on r/sandiego as well and any input would be amazing. Should I be posting this in Spanish? Thank you.

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I just accepted a job in the Gaslamp District and I am thrilled to moving to San Diego. However- I don't want to end up living in a pod or cramped room like back in college. I would much rather live in the Inland Empire or Tijuana and commute to work. I have never considered Tijuana and I have honestly only visited the place once while in going to comic con eons ago.

I see there are great rental prices and people take USD for rent apparently. I am also reading that Uber is apparently really safe, and that there are more and more San Diegans / Americans living in Tijuana due to this exact same reason.

I just have a few quick questions.

- How common is it for people to be living in TJ and work SD as Americans?

- How is the border crossing, or pedestrian west, and is it a stupid idea to place such border between me and my employment?

- How do I legally live in Baja California if I'm a foreigner and paying rent with USD? Do I just need basic 90 day visa or do I need a certain type of none working visa?

- What do Mexican customs need to see from me when entering Tijuana so I don't cause any problems? I keep hearing from my buddies they don't really care about American wearing work or tourist outfits and just let us through.

Lastly, and I know this is a really stupid question to be asking, how safe is Tijuana for Americans? What areas of Tijuana should I as none Mexican citizen be avoiding and I will only be traveling to and from San Yisdro to my room. I keep hearing Downtown Tijuana, Sánchez Taboada, Tres de Octubre and Camino Verde are the spots to avoid.

It would be amazing if people who live in Tijuana and work in San Diego could answer these questions or reach out to me.

Thank you,

Alex