Desperate SoCal workers forced to rent homes across border in Mexico to make ends meet

High housing costs in San Diego are pushing some local workers to live across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, where rent is significantly cheaper, while continuing to commute daily into the United States for work.

Amy McEfee, a warehouse stock clerk in San Diego, previously paid $1,200 per month to share a room in a house with four roommates. She now pays about $400 for a one-bedroom apartment in Tijuana. Each workday, she travels from Mexico into the U.S. for her job.

McEfee begins her mornings by taking an Uber to the U.S.-Mexico border, crossing on foot, and then riding the San Diego Trolley to work. She said the move has reduced her financial stress and daily anxiety. When she lived in San Diego, she said she constantly worried about expenses such as car repairs and fuel costs.

“I was always worried about my car breaking down. I was worried about having gas to get to work,” she said.

Another worker, Vered Familiar, a 27-year-old shipyard safety technician, previously paid $2,100 for a one-bedroom apartment in San Diego. She now pays around $550 for a five-bedroom home in Tijuana. Familiar, who grew up in Tijuana, said financial pressure made it difficult to keep up with living expenses in California.

“I was trying not to get in debt,” she said. “I was trying to live in the bare minimum and I couldn’t do it.”

Zachary Gabriel, a 35-year-old manufacturing technician, also lives in Tijuana and commutes to San Diego. He said he leaves home around 2 a.m. each day to avoid long border wait times, ensuring he arrives at work by 6 a.m. He described the decision as necessary to support his family.

“This is survival for me. I am the sole provider for my wife and my children at a minimum,” he said. “I have nobody to lean back on.”

San Diego’s housing market remains among the most expensive in the United States. The median rent in the city is about $3,100 per month, with luxury neighborhoods reaching as high as $7,500. The city ranked ninth in the nation for cost of living last year.

Across California, overall living costs remain the highest in the country, according to national rankings.

Despite lower rents in Tijuana, the U.S. State Department has issued a level 3 travel advisory for the Mexican state of Baja California, advising travelers to reconsider visiting due to concerns including crime and kidnapping risks. Tijuana has also experienced high levels of violent crime, with 1,807 homicides reported in 2024, compared with 71 homicides in San Diego during the same period.