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I've lived here in Rosarito for 2 1/2 years now.  My rent is $300 (large 1 bdrm, ocean view, nice location).  My utilities are about $50/mo.  Cable w/internet is about $40/mo.  Food is about $200/mo, depending on your diet.  Rosarito is about 20 mins from the border, where you can purchase your personal American items.  Ensenada is more expensive because of the tourism and is further from the border, about an hour or so.  Our parish can use an organ player for some Masses.  You can earn some extra dollars.  If you can play piano, you can learn the organ easily.  I don't eat tacos.   If you need more info, just ask.  Thx, Pax

Thank-You Pax.  I am considering selling my house in Florida and moving where the weather is nice.

Southern California and northern Baja California have the same climate.  Average temp is 72.  Never gets too hot or cold.  Slight humidity increase in August.  Perfect.  No hurricanes or swamps.  I never use a heater or air conditioning.  Sea breezes.  I'll post some pics sometime.  I'll be around.  Thx, Px

I am considering moving to Rosarito or surrounding area soon. I'm a single mom with 3 kids living in San Diego and I just can't cut it financially. I work from home for a software company so I wouldn't need to find work. I'd love to get some contacts who live there to have someone to communicate with as I move though this process. I want to be able to make friends there and enjoy the area. I'm super excited about this!

Since you can work from home, living here should be the solution to your situation.  You can get a large house with ocean view for + or - $450.  I know of one excellent property manager who's an American working down here.  Feel free to make inquiries.  Ill accommodate you all I can.  Try to be specific with your questions so I can fine tune the answers.  Once you live here, youll dislike the states more intensely.  Everything will be alright, Pax

Thanks to everyone for the information you've posted about Rosirita. My husband and I have lived in Ajijic for almost ten years but we now have a new grandchild in L.A. and I want to see her as often as possible. We plan on making a trip up North to check out the area from Rosirita to Ensenada. We live in Mexico so I hear the "aren't you nervous living there"? No I'm not but I would like to know if those of you living closer to the border have felt some improvement in the crime atmosphere.
We do not require luxury but as we both cook it would be best if we could have a somewhat more modern house with a nearly American kitchen? I totally redid this house to modernize it but once is enough. Any suggestions as to applicable neighborhoods would be helpful. We are accustomed to using Mexican products etc so that's not a problem but any help with generalities would be appreciated. Thanks!

I too am checking out the area. I was there a few weeks ago and San Antonio is a nice gated community by the beach. Homes vary from rentals to very nice large homes. DelMar is the place if you want north of town and modern. I spoke to several people who say the crime is not bad. It does exist just like anywhere else but not like people think from stories years ago. If you head south, you have two tolls to pay rather than one on the 1D.
I met with David Holt from playasdebaja.com who was very helpful.

If you want to consider   Playas,,,,,great place, beach community of 18,000 just 10 minutes south of  the borde..............send me a private replay.  Many american style homes, apartmenst and condos.  (no central heat or ac as a rule! ) Anne Stromberg  .

Hi and thanks for your reply.  I'm really anxious to get started on this move however I'm kinda dragging my husband along he thinks we live in paradise. The more information I have the better. A few questions, is there easy access to grocery stores, do you think the area is reasonably safe ( again I feel safe here even though there have been shootings a few miles away), where do you go for entertainment such as movies music. Ajijic has very little besides movie theaters we have to go to Guadalajara for anything else. I plan to check out San Diego's live theater situation if we're close enough, we can always do matinees.
Do you have any idea of the price range on homes 2 to 3 bedrooms.
Again I'm in research mode so everything helps. Ajijic26 (Diane)

Please look at Playas.  On the beach, 10-15 minutes from the border crossing, 6 theater complex, Walmart, 2 large supermarkets.
Lots of live theater in San Diiego.  I started in Rosarito but found Playas so much nicer.  $500 three bedroom, 2 bath, gated home.....near the beach.

I will be looking for an agent in the area so will contact you for that name.  I like the detail you include in your remarks so I may be a frequent visitor. We are planning on coming up in September to get the lay of the land, most maps show very few details so I see a lot of driving in my future. My husband has his needle stuck on Ensenada but I would prefer to be a little further North. As I said in my first post a modern kitchen is important to us so if that rings a bell with anyone I'm open to recommendations.

DIshwashers  and garbage disposals are not common but I have  a trash compactor.  I lived in  other (house, condo and apartment) before moving into present house.  All had what I would consider modern kitchens, but only this house has a garbage disposal.  I am not sure what you would define as modern kitchens.  I found double sinks everywhere and here a triple.

Hi Jaye thanks for the information. Is San Antonio a suburb of Rosirita. We will look at everything from Rosirita to Ensenada but I prefer to be more north Ensenada seems a bit far from my goal, seeing that baby in L.A.

20 minutes from the border?  Sorry I don't think so!  Unless you are cruising at high speed and want a ticket  and on the toll roads. Its 30 miles.

I guess by modern I mean American. Gas stove, dishwasher, disposal, double sink stainless steel preferable. We may have better luck with a condo and evidently my husband is ok with that, that surprised me. We will probably rent at first but buy once we get familiar with the area.

I opted for electric stove always. I have had a life long preference for electricity over gas......so much cleaner not getting that gas "film" on cupboards et al.   DIshwashers and garbage disposals are RARE!. Stainless steel sinks are not out of the question but not likely. Ceramic is more popular but the use of ceramic is upscale.  I have a red sink (triple) which fits the decor.  I have had double stainless steel in 2 other places I have lived.

Even when buying the most modern of houses, you will probably have to plan on added the DW and garbage disposal to any home you buy.  Good luck!

Thanks! I have no problem making a few changes, my husband says we've never lived in a house that I didn't start right off knocking walls down. That's a bit of a stretch but not too much.

Installing a garbage disposal does take a bit of know how so when that time comes, make sure any plumbing you do is done  by a master craftsman. Not some guy who says he is a plumber.....and probably knows the basics.  The 'locals" are used to only water and pipe accordingly.  I know putting a disposal in, was a bit tricky until  this issue was resolved,

Will do. Thanks!

We are retired Arizona couple interested in moving to Baja, what ex-pat organizations might be available for us to meet other similar individuals. We have been living in Costa Rica for over 10 years, we are semi-fluent in Spanish, and we think we'll find it easy to adjust to living in Mexico.  What we're really wondering is if Baja is mostly for the young, or if we would find it omfortable living there as an older couple.

The Tijuana blog connects expats in that area.

I moved to Playas in January 2006.  Great place to live. I did not get involved in the expat community per se although I did make some contacts through the Tijuana blog. Please feel free to send me a private reply for more info.

Forgot to mention I was 75 when I went to Playas, no Spanish language.

Perhaps you could tell me how to connect with that blog. I've search this site and I cannot locate it.

We are investigating too and are retired so not youngsters, We are going there to check it out in September.

I'm also a Catholic of the Ages, recently retired, and ready to leave San Diego behind.  I was in Rosarito last Thursday, and I liked what I experienced.  Paxvobiscum, I'm also somewhat of a scholar with an M.A. degree, and I'm very in tune with your thoughts on life in the United States and adapting to a new life in Mexico.  I would be very interested in starting a dialogue with you and perhaps arranging a future meeting, maybe at your Rosarito parish.  I look forward to your hearing your thoughts.

Pax I have a few mundane questions just to prepare myself for moving North. We will buy a house so my issues may vary a bit. Here in Ajijic we have bug issues, ants that destroy plants and the ever popular cockroach. Is it the same in your area? Our internet is a bit unreliable and when it rains we often lose our cable, also power outages are fairly common. And then there are those loud fireworks like we had last night.
Any input will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Diane

Im not sure where Ajijic is, but the further south one goes the bug issues become more severe.  Rosarito is basically a desert, dry and with the drought even drier.  I haven't noticed a roach issue here, but around summertime the ants come.  But the ants are a problem even in the states.  Bugs are all over the world.  The States spend billions on creating a sterile environment for Americans.  I lived in a chemical "paradise" in the USA, relatively bugless and covered in cement.  I had an exterminator well paid to spray my buildings every year to kill a myriad of insects and rodents.  Mexico is not the states.
Fireworks are common on Cinco de Mayo. Much like July 4th and New Years Eve in the states.
Internet is ok here.  Occasional service cut offs for upgrading and just glitches..  No more than a few hours.  Occasional power and water issues.  Once again, Mexico is not the USA.  I paid a lot more for "reliable' internet over there.  Now I pay about $20/mo for it here and the rare outages don't upset me.  But that's me.
If you want Mexico to be like the US, forget it.  You will always be miserable down here.  Adapt and survive.  Mexico is not the USA.  Never has been, never will be.   Good Luck.

Thanks for your input. Ajijic is near Guadalajara so I'm pretty well adjusted to the Mexican side of things just trying to get a feel for how often I'll need an exterminator. Does being on city power and water make a different as far as you know, our power goes out for 12 to 24 hours at times especially during the rainy season. I bet you don't have much of a rainy season.
Thanks for you help.

Water and power are municipal here.  For some reason the service gets interrupted more in the summer than winter.  Rosarito is a growing town, so the city must shut off service to upgrade and repair.  The longest water/power outage was a day.  That was over a year ago.  The water here is from California and Ca is in a severe drought.  We got more rain this year than last, but not enough.  However, there's enough for necessities.
The landlords here spray for ants in the summertime.  I bug bomb my place once a year.  That's it.  The summer humidity seems to bring occasional mesquito swarms. 
If you demand stable internet, go with telnor.  They have the original phone infrastructure.  Cablemas and Izzy are the new competitors and are still getting the glitches out.
Come up here and spend a week and look around.  We're only 20 minutes from San Diego.  To be honest, there's no paradise on earth.  Rosarito cuts both ways.  It totally depends of your personql needs.  Thx

Thanks this is helpful. Since we've been living in Mexico for a while I'm rarely surprised by outages any more tho they can be annoying. We will probably rent for a while to make sure we have found the right neighborhood, I am expecting to live in Rosarita due to easier border access. We just drove to Guadalajara to go to Costco and driving back in crazy traffic I thought I sure won't miss this.
Thanks again for your help.

Contact my friend David Holt.  He's an American who's been living and working here for about 20 years.  He manages several nice properties and is a great guy.  Check his website PlayasDeBaja.com for listings. His number is on his site.  Good luck!  Thx, Pax

You're a good sales person. I was reading this thread thinking about moving to Rosarita for a while but now I'm thinking Playas might be a better place for me. I'm on the waiting list for subsidized senior housing here in the Bay Area but who knows how long that will take. I used to spend a lot of time in Ensenada when I was younger and really like Baja. Thanks for the info.

Playas is more populated, urban and closer to Tijuana.  Hence, Playas de Tijuana.  I think one should test drive an area before committing.  Common sense.  Try the website for listings in the thread below.  Don't worry, Im not getting paid.  Maybe I should.  David has housings in P de T too.  Good Luck!

I need someone to translate English to Spanish for me.  On a more academic scale.  An hour or two a week.  Paid position.  Email me if interested.  Thx.

A professional translator friend, several years ago, recommended that people translate into their native language unless highly educated and experienced.  My limited experience indicates that was good advice.

You drove to Cosco in Guadalajara????

I haven't been to Costco lately but there has always been one on the East side of Tijuana. ?????

I have lived comfortably playing  $500 a month rent for very upper middle class 3 bedroom 2 bath house fully secured    in Playas on $1000 a month which included $100 a month for a driver (as needed).  Cable, high speed internet, electric, gas, bottled water....eating out several times a week etc.
I started out in Rosarita but preferred Playas.  Close to border, airport, Zone Rio shopping.

Hi Everyone!
I am a thrity year old female who is from B.C, canada. My partner lives in san diego and works full time, I have been spending my winters for the last two years with him in la mesa but I am interested in moving somewhere in baja near the border but as far away from T.J as possible so that I can teach yoga and live walking distance to the surf.  I have a dog and am hoping to find a relativly low cost apartment or small house to rent. Do you think it would be safe for me to move down there and live on my own, with my bf coming to visit on weekends and when he can on weekdays? I really stuggle in socal suburbia as I am from a small town in british columbia and have also spent five years living in central and south america. Thanks for your advice!

I lived in Rosarito Beach for 3 years in several locations.  If you live near the Centro/Tourist Zone you will find it very noisy on the weekends.  Also the whole Tijuana-Rosarito area has had a spike in criminal activity in the past year.  You can find this info on the Spanish language newspaper La Frontera, AJN or El Mexicano.  Also the former police chief there was supposedly associated with cartels and kicked out.  I think it was 5 years ago that another mayor there was assassinated so I think many expats have a false sense of security living there unless you are in those gated communities.  I lived in a condo building in downtown on the beach and we had 24/7 security where no one entered the complex without an ID.  If you didn't have ID you weren't allowed to enter.  If you are younger than 60 you will find that it is mostly age 65 plus expats so not a very exciting place.  I lived in Tijuana in the past and I much prefer TJ as there is a lot more to do and more to offer in the way of entertainment.  In my opinion, Rosarito is way overpriced for housing considering the area and what's available.  The beaches are are a little cleaner than TJ but not much; same with air quality; a little better than TJ but not significantly.  Also that area has a lot of deportees because they are not hassled as much as in TJ.  So you have to decide what is your priority in a living place.