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Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere, but I could not find a thread about it.
Just curious about the various large border towns, ie, major cities along an international border. What are the dynamics like for border crossings, commuting patterns, and so forth? Most of the examples that I can think of show up as border city pairs, but certainly there can be some major cities on a country's border with much smaller cities/towns on the other side. I'll start with my observations but feel free to share more if you know more about some of these.
San Diego/Tijuana - Unique in that these are two large cities of pretty similar size. I've actually never been south of the border, and don't even really know SD that well. Although I've visited twice, the majority of my time has been in the suburbs to the north.
Detroit/Windsor - Finally had the chance to drive across this border a couple months ago. Based on the insanely long lines on Sunday evening (thankfully going the opposite way we were) I guess I can assume that lots of Canadians like to travel into Detroit on the weekends? Don't really know what it's like on weekdays.
Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls (Buffalo) - I have been to Niagara Falls, ON three times and always wonder what it would be like to live there. Really intriguing place to me. On one of those visits we walked across the border to the US side before hopping a bus into Buffalo. Last trip we got to take in a bit of Niagara-On-The-Lake, which is yet another reason to enjoy the area. I wouldn't think there are lots of folks commuting from the Canadian side to Buffalo though.
Shenzhen/Hong Kong - I have crossed this border only once, by ferry, and this was prior to the completion of the high speed rail. I believe over the last decade more and more people have been basing in Shenzhen due to proximity to HK (ie, commuting into HK on a somewhat regular basis). Political issues notwithstanding, this is a viable alternative.
Zhuhai/Macau - There is a walking border crossing (gongbei) and a vehicle-only bridge crossing (hengqin), and I've used both multiple times. Pretty simple. The walking crossing takes you from a busy, old area of Macau into an area of Zhuhai with lots and lots of development. The bridge crossing goes from the Cotai area with lots of casinos into the new Hengqin part of Zhuhai that the Chinese govt is focusing heavily on for economic development.
Zhuhai/Hong Kong - The new bridge crossing finally connects these two cities via land, and I got to ride across the bridge this summer. Fairly simple, but when not using a private car this requires multiple transfers. Didn't really seem to be as busy of a crossing as I expected...waaaay below capacity at least.
Hong Kong/Macau - Pretty much have to use a ferry to get directly between these two cities, but it is simple enough and takes about an hour. I think I've done this one half a dozen times, at least. There are also multiple ferry ports on each side and multiple ferry companies.
Singapore/Johor Bahru - I think I've done this crossing once, although it would have been a long time ago. Currently you can get across by train, bus or personal vehicle, I don't believe there are any pedestrian crossings. This is also a very heavily crossed border and extremely common for JB residents to commute into Singapore daily. There has been an often postponed plan to better integrate the two cities with a shared rail line, separate from the current train across the border that literally just goes across the border. When that happens, hopefully it improves the ease and speed of connection.
Bratislava/Vienna - I'd assume these European ones have the easiest crossings. I've done this one once and don't think there were any passport controls, though I can't remember for sure. Do people commute between the two?
Copenhagen/Malmo - Never been here, know basically nothing about these cities. Rome/Vatican City - Is there any border control here? Monaco/Nice - Traveled between these cities once...and again don't recall any passport checks although I might just have forgotten.
Geneva, Switzerland/? - What's this border like? Do people commute to Geneva from France? Antwerp/? - Again, does anyone commute from the Netherlands? Salzburg/? - I spent nearly two months in Salzburg...don't think there was much in the way of commuters from Germany...but the border is literally right there so it is possible...
At least per 2017 article here https://qz.com/1085125/san-ysidro-th...om-sept-23-25/ San Ysidro (Tijuana-San Diego) is the busiest land border in the world-I would like to try this one out at some point-perhaps on foot actually.
Detroit/Windsor: When I went on a Sunday afternoon, it was brutal... BOTH ways almost an hour waiting in traffic. Definitely not a positive experience for sure. I wouldn't rule out doing it again at some point... but would definitely seek to time it better.
I don't think I've ever walked across but I have definitely been across Buffalo-Niagara a number of times. It really is an interesting place.
I really wanted to go to Macau when I was in HK, but didn't manage-just too little time, and wanted to soak up HK.
Copenhagen/Malmo - This is probably the most relaxed one of this group to do, almost without realizing it because you can just take the train from Central Copenhagen and like 30 minutes later you're there. Again, I've been to CPH a couple times, and have thought about doing this during each (esp. for going over the bridge and the possible accompanying views.. but I just haven't yet. Next time I visit CPH (which I anticipate, as it's a hub for Northern Europe and you sort of just "wind up there" when visiting the Scandinavian-Germanic world), this will be at the forefront for me.
Rome/Vatican City - I was only 17, and it was about 11 years ago so I don't remember it super well, but all I really remember was going with tour group through line and walking through a security counter I think where we emptied our pockets, but I think that's just to be expected.
]Monaco/Nice[/b] - Our cruise landed during in Monaco port I think... so no experience since we just stayed in Monte Carlo for the day.
A few others I'll add:
El Paso-Ciudad Juarez: A bit like the San Diego-Tijuana one, but neither city is quite as large. In this case though, Ciudad Juarez might be of greater importance than El Paso.. however, also known for being more foreboding and dangerous, though I don't know if that reputation still holds. I walked right up to the border to where I could see Juarez skyline, but did not cross (it was 2012, so at that point rep was worse yet).
Victoria-Port Angeles: a Ferry crossing, I remember doing this when I was like 10 vaguely. I've also visited Victoria since once... a beautiful city. Not much more to add.
As described here, and interesting, and unresolved one. I went on a ruins tour to Cahal Pech sight last November, which is in the town of San Ignacio, less than 10 miles from Guatemala. In fact, we were originally scheduled to go to Xunantunich, a slightly larger/more acclaimed site that was unfortunately flooded, and is virtually on the actual border (within a mile). This one is kinda disputed, though I'm not sure what crossing would actually look like.
The border crossing at Iguazu Falls is one of the highest on my list. Not only getting a chance to see probably one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, but then also seeing 3 distinct countries and border cities with different styles, viewlines, etc.
Thanks for the additional details! Yeah I guess I'm more curious about the movement of people over the borders at these border cities. Regular commuters, or just people traveling across for leisure/daily living. How open or closed they are, etc.
Glad you brought up the Helsinki-Tallinn one. I saw it on the map but disregarded it thinking that was a bit too far. But apparently there are Estonians who commute to Finland. And this one is also particularly intriguing cause it is the two capitals/primary cities for their respective countries.
I should have also mentioned, with Singapore, that you could reasonably commute to Indonesia from there. In fact, my uncle did that for over a decade. The region of Indonesia closest to Singapore is actually an economic investment zone that the Indonesian govt established to create lots of jobs. I believe the ferry takes less than an hour. I wouldn't be shocked if there are also commuters into Singapore as well.
Oujda, Morocco used to be a thriving border town, but Algeria closed the border 25 years ago, and now you have to sail across the Mediterranean and back to go across north Africa. Even though Algerians and Moroccans need no visa to visit each other's country, nobody has crossed their border in decades.
Chuy is a city of 20,000 that straddles the border if Brazil and Uruguay, with the main street forming the border. Anyone freely walks back and forth across the border. Immigration is a few miles outside town in each direction.
Letica, Colombia is is a city of 40,000 that has spilled into Brazil without anyone taking notice of the border. But it is only accessible by air, so once you are through the Colombian airport, nobody cares what country you're standing in. From Letcia you can also hop across the river to Peruvian towns, with the same lack of effect.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing. Your description of Chuy reminded me of this place that I read about awhile back. On the border between Quebec, Canada and Vermont, USA.
Oujda, Morocco used to be a thriving border town, but Algeria closed the border 25 years ago, and now you have to sail across the Mediterranean and back to go across north Africa. Even though Algerians and Moroccans need no visa to visit each other's country, nobody has crossed their border in decades.
Chuy is a city of 20,000 that straddles the border if Brazil and Uruguay, with the main street forming the border. Anyone freely walks back and forth across the border. Immigration is a few miles outside town in each direction.
Letica, Colombia is is a city of 40,000 that has spilled into Brazil without anyone taking notice of the border. But it is only accessible by air, so once you are through the Colombian airport, nobody cares what country you're standing in. From Letcia you can also hop across the river to Peruvian towns, with the same lack of effect.
never heard about that. I think Tabatinga (the Brazilian city bordering Leticia) grew on its own. Strong BR military presence in the city. According to this, only 3,44% of Tabatinga's population was foreigner: https://exame.abril.com.br/brasil/as...-estrangeiros/
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Another two Colombian border cities, Cúcuta (bordering Venezuela, pop. 750,000) and Ipiales (bordering Ecuador, pop. over 100,000).
Last edited by joacocanal; 10-14-2019 at 07:08 PM..
Currently the only way to cross is by ferry, or to walk/drive across when the Amur river freezes over in winter. However there is a bridge currently being constructed that should be completed this year and I believe they will also build a cable car over the river to connect the two cities. A lot of Russians visit the Chinese city to buy cheap products and the chinese crossover to get a taste of Europe. Though from my understanding there are more Russians visiting Heihe than Chinese visiting Blagoveshchensk.
Leticia, Colombia and Tabatinga, Brazil act as one city there is nothing but a small sign that indicates the border, otherwise you would hardly notice except for the Colombian side being slightly more prosperous. Most people in the region prefer to receive their healthcare in Leticia for example. There are even houses whose kitchen is in Colombia and living room is in Brazil or vice versa. Across the Amazon river is the Peruvian border town of Santa Rosa on an island in the middle of the river. Again there's no evident border or checks, all three towns are truly integrated as one.
In 1972, Leticia was about ten blocks across, a few trucks, a few simple guest houses. About 20 minutes away, on a footpath past a hand-panted "Brasil" sign nailed to a tree, was the Indian village of El Marco, with no amenities at all, the houses had only roofs, no walls. Straight out of the pages of NatGeo, loincloths and all. . Tabatnga was still a military outpost then, closed to tourists. There was a village in Peru with a little trading post and a few scattered houses. We stamped our own passsports with a postal cancellation stamp. Down the river was the proper Brazilian town of Benjamin Constant, where the buildings were all built in stilts over the river,
There are students going to schools in HK and Macau from Shenzhen and Zhuhai, but very few students the other direction.
Most crossers of Portas Do Cerco and Gongbei do not involve paying fares and vehicles, most cross by walking.
Ferries are expensive. Buses and non high speed trains are cheaper.
Macau and HK do not share a border. The water between them is actually Zhuhai's.
Quote:
San Diego/Tijuana - Unique in that these are two large cities of pretty similar size. I've actually never been south of the border, and don't even really know SD that well. Although I've visited twice, the majority of my time has been in the suburbs to the north.
Shenzhen/Hong Kong - I have crossed this border only once, by ferry, and this was prior to the completion of the high speed rail. I believe over the last decade more and more people have been basing in Shenzhen due to proximity to HK (ie, commuting into HK on a somewhat regular basis). Political issues notwithstanding, this is a viable alternative.
Zhuhai/Macau - There is a walking border crossing (gongbei) and a vehicle-only bridge crossing (hengqin), and I've used both multiple times. Pretty simple. The walking crossing takes you from a busy, old area of Macau into an area of Zhuhai with lots and lots of development. The bridge crossing goes from the Cotai area with lots of casinos into the new Hengqin part of Zhuhai that the Chinese govt is focusing heavily on for economic development.
Zhuhai/Hong Kong - The new bridge crossing finally connects these two cities via land, and I got to ride across the bridge this summer. Fairly simple, but when not using a private car this requires multiple transfers. Didn't really seem to be as busy of a crossing as I expected...waaaay below capacity at least.
Hong Kong/Macau - Pretty much have to use a ferry to get directly between these two cities, but it is simple enough and takes about an hour. I think I've done this one half a dozen times, at least. There are also multiple ferry ports on each side and multiple ferry companies.
Singapore/Johor Bahru - I think I've done this crossing once, although it would have been a long time ago. Currently you can get across by train, bus or personal vehicle, I don't believe there are any pedestrian crossings. This is also a very heavily crossed border and extremely common for JB residents to commute into Singapore daily. There has been an often postponed plan to better integrate the two cities with a shared rail line, separate from the current train across the border that literally just goes across the border. When that happens, hopefully it improves the ease and speed of connection.
Bratislava/Vienna - I'd assume these European ones have the easiest crossings. I've done this one once and don't think there were any passport controls, though I can't remember for sure. Do people commute between the two?
Copenhagen/Malmo - Never been here, know basically nothing about these cities. Rome/Vatican City - Is there any border control here? Monaco/Nice - Traveled between these cities once...and again don't recall any passport checks although I might just have forgotten.
Geneva, Switzerland/? - What's this border like? Do people commute to Geneva from France? Antwerp/? - Again, does anyone commute from the Netherlands? Salzburg/? - I spent nearly two months in Salzburg...don't think there was much in the way of commuters from Germany...but the border is literally right there so it is possible...
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