moving from ireland to cali (San Diego, San Francisco: best town, credit, home)

[Wini]

Hello folks,
I will be moving from Ireland to California. With a gross pay of 68,000 $ p. a where/which town would I be able to have a comfortable life in and have savings too. There s another job paying 1100 take home per week, but not too sure as I need to analyse small details between the two.I would be single per se, but will have a dependant living abroad.

I would like warm, sunny, no rain type of climate as it rains all through the year and it will be nice to be away from it for a change!

All suggestions /advice welcome as it is too broad to start searching yourself.

[Snort]

I'll bid first. Arvin.

[Drover]

It would seem you have little to no concept of how big California is. California is bigger than all of the British Isles combined -- way bigger. "Which city" to live in will of course depend very greatly on where you'll be working, lest you get stuck with a 600-mile commute. So let's start there. If your job is not tied to a particular location, what size city do you want? Your options range from huge sprawling metroplexes of up to 17 million people down to isolated farm towns of a few hundred with nothing else around them. There are mountains, valleys, oceans, deserts, parts where the weather stays the same year round and parts where it changes drastically from season to season, parts that never see snow and parts that see several feet of snow per year, et cetera.

Some narrowing down is in order.

[ILdÐÆMcº³]

Personally I think Ireland is really nice, but I totally understand your motivation. Just understand that nothing is perfect. There is bad weather sometimes (fog, wildfires, earthquakes), pollution, crime, and major economic problems. However, if you can live with all that, there is no place like it. It certainly is different than Ireland.

Like others have said it's huge and really diverse! Probably one of the most diverse states in the US as far as climates and environment goes. The first concern would be where the jobs are and where you could live and have a realistic commute to work from.

Also do you have the job offers solid yet? Because it's hard out there, the last job I applied for had over 21 applicants in the final HR stage. It required a High School diploma and no experience and I didn't get it with a Bachelor's Degree and experience.

Oh and what do you like to do? What industry? Are you single?

[Wini]

Hello,

Yes am a speech therapist, so there is quite a demand for that at the moment. I am most likely to be places in northern LA. Not sure if that is sufficient narrowing down.However I may have more choices.
Want to live in a place where the weather stays same almost all year, no extremes- dry cold is ok, but wet and cold no no pls.Ideal would be warm all through!
Not a hugely populated city, but a decent city where there would be things for people in their late 20s and early 30s to do..vibrant, friendly, homely town/city.Am single, but am very much a homebird!
Not too expensive in terms of housing like it is in San Fransisco etc.. closer to university of southern california.. would like to do some furthur studies there later...
thanks so much guys for replying...

[Snort]

It will be hard to find budget and good places to live along the coast anywhere from San Diego to San Francisco. USC is a very expensive university, so be prepared for dollar shock when you look at what credits will cost you there.
Anyway, after Arvin, Santa Barbara is the best town in the entire state, which is my well researched and unbiased opinion. You should make a decent 70 to 80K+ as a speech therapist, if you have a few years experience. Good luck!

[Wini]

Hi,
USC sounds scary.. but wont the in-state tuition fee bring the total fees down when you ve been there for sometime?
Fremont could be one possible location where I might find a clinic.I will know for sure closer to the time though.
I have 5+ yrs experience and 68k is what they are offering me gross.
Thats why I am worried if my take home will be good for a small studio a car and decent life+saving a portion
is this too less?

[Snort]

USC is a private university and it will cost you your first-born and your right arm.
At any rate, you could also look at the school districts and have a ton of holiday time as well:
Search Results
Fremont is an odd place and your social life will likely suffer there. It's the town that really isn't there. You'll understand once you've been, but you're not likely to know you're there when you're there.
I see on edjoin a job in Los Gatos/Saratoga. That would be a nice place to live and see if you can get them to commit to a higher salary.
You'll do fine on a speech therapist's salary in CA.

[Wini]

Thanks Snort, youre so prompt and quick with replies!
Asking them for a higher salary seems to be a hitch.. they say too many expenses to bring me over etc.. and next year performance based hike.. but start base 68k is on their offer.. this is low, from what you're telling me!
It is better than in Eire current situation.

[Snort]

You can look elsewhere for offers and use those as bargaining chips with your first offer. The good thing about being a speech therapist is that you're in great demand in the school system and hospitals. It's in their interest to hire somebody. Sure, they want to get you at a bargain, but, even in this economy, it's still the basic law of supply and demand.
Get a salary offer via email and you have something in writing that you can take to the bank.