Possibly moving from PA

[jaijai]

Yes ... agree!

Give Santa Cruz craigslist a looksy.
It's insanely expensive (one of the more expensive locations on the coast) although, as you'll see, there are some affordable options if you can just raise that monthly rental budget by a few hundred dollars.
Many people, myself included, live very simply so as to afford the higher rents.
To me, it's worth it.
It just depends on what you value.

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

And make sure you check that dog option on craigslist.
Having a pooch ads an extra challenge in finding a rental.

[jkbatca]

Originally Posted by Britany12

My boyfriend and I have been thinking about moving to CA for a while now, but aren't quite sure where to start looking. Our lease runs out next summer so we still have a while, but I'm trying to get an idea of what areas might be good for us. We're both 22, so cost is definitely the most important issue. I've been doing some research and Riverside seems to be a decent place and reasonably priced. We're trying to find somewhere in the southern ca area, close to a city, but I know that might bring the cost up too. Please let me know if you have any recommendations

Having been in almost the exact same situation appx. 27 years ago (lived in Western PA, moved to CA) and knowing various people from PA who have done the same, here are some of my recommendations based on personal experience:

1) Wholeheartedly agree with others who say visit CA before you move here. There's hundreds of thousands of areas with their unique charm (or lack of it) and if you just move to an area before looking at it, you may be in for big disappointment. That's precisely what happened to a family member. When that family member moved back to PA and told my parents just how bad CA was, they and I just laughed cause they knew just how diverse CA was (since they visited me). I lucked out because the company who hired me flew me out so I could check the area out before committing. Many I knew who moved from PA and moved back did not visit first.

2) When I moved out, there was no City Data nor Internet (to speak of). Do tons of reading about various areas in and around CA to find out more. Also, if you have hobbies or activities you like to do, find out which areas are more supportive of those. For example, certain areas are better for cycling than others. There are certain areas for various "scenes" such as art, bars, etc. for younger crowds while others are "bedroom communities". If you like to fish, certain areas are better than others (less travel). Also keep in mind that certain activities will not be well supported in CA vs. other states (if you like to shoot guns for example).

This is especially true when you talk about various regions of CA (north, south, mid coast, San Joaquin valley, Sierra Nevada, high desert). Each area has it's pluses and minuses and are vastly different. Way more different than, say eastern PA vs. central PA. This is why you must visit the areas you're thinking about first.

3) I moved out here because of the bicycling opportunities CA has over other areas (especially PA!). There are many reasons why one would move to CA and it's better to move when you're single or no kids.

4) What area you would feel comfortable in is based on where you live now vs. where you would move to. I came from a steel mill town and where I moved to was (initially) OK for me while others on this forum would have just rejected that same area outright. Also things change over time, and when the area started changing, I just moved to another city nearby and would not move back now. This is also why you must visit here first before moving.

5) Capt. Obvious says: Keep in mind of the crime rate of areas you might be thinking of. Living in a high crime rate area sucks, but there are (still) many low crime rate areas in CA, you just have to look for them.

6) Yes, it's getting more expensive to live in CA. It's easy to come here single with no overhead (like I did), but to raise a family is way way more expensive here. So what are your long term goals.

Personally I have a love/hate relationship with CA. Love the area / weather / things to do / places to visit / places to eat, hate the politics.

There you go,
Good luck