Interested in north cali. which mid size city has good job market and colleges? (San Jose: apartments, rentals)

[sportslover]

I currently live in Indiana and grew up in alabama. I am tired of living in conservative areas because i do not feel accepted because of being bisexual and having dated outside my age range (im 29 but tend to date 10+ years older than me and that's not accepted here..sorry i like what i like) . I have had a bachelors degree in marketing for 4 years but cant get a decent job in that field or anything requiring a degree here in indianapolis.

Anyway i have a friend in san fran that keeps trying to get me to move there but i would rather live somewhere in north cali thats smaller but has diversity, great colleges (considering an mba degree) , and great employment opps. What cities close to sang Fran fit this criteria? If i saved up $1000 would that get me into a studio there? I only make $10 an hr working at a warehouse so may take a while for me to save up but im really interested in moving and wanna do thia before i turn 30 in october of 2012!

[YepItsMe]

You might want to try the Santa Rosa area, it's a good hour or so away from San Francisco and is still a decent sized city.

[mayorhaggar]

SF is the main city in Northern California, nothing else really compares. Oakland is right over the bridge, 20 minutes away on BART, and is about 20 to 40% cheaper, and yes Oakland has a lot of nice areas. Berkeley is an option too but like Oakland is mainly a bedroom community where people hop on BART to go work in SF. San Jose and Silicon Valley are way more suburban and still have a lot of offices but the economy there is more focused on tech jobs. Certainly look into working there, maybe once you have an MBA, but if you want urban living then SF, Oakland and Berkeley are the best areas to look in. You can definitely get a studio for around $700 to $1000 in Oakland or Berkeley, more like $1200 and up in SF.

Also people here say SF or San H'rncisco, not San Fran, and they say NorCal, not "North Cali."

[sportslover]

Originally Posted by YepItsMe

You might want to try the Santa Rosa area, it's a good hour or so away from San Francisco and is still a decent sized city.

Ok thanks. Will look into santa rosa.

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

SF is the main city in Northern California, nothing else really compares. Oakland is right over the bridge, 20 minutes away on BART, and is about 20 to 40% cheaper, and yes Oakland has a lot of nice areas. Berkeley is an option too but like Oakland is mainly a bedroom community where people hop on BART to go work in SF. San Jose and Silicon Valley are way more suburban and still have a lot of offices but the economy there is more focused on tech jobs. Certainly look into working there, maybe once you have an MBA, but if you want urban living then SF, Oakland and Berkeley are the best areas to look in. You can definitely get a studio for around $700 to $1000 in Oakland or Berkeley, more like $1200 and up in SF.

Also people here say SF or San H'rncisco, not San Fran, and they say NorCal, not "North Cali."

Ahh so i wont use that lingo then. I don't wanna make it obvious im not from around.
there

Will that $700 get me a studio in a decent neighborhood? How big of a studio? 600 sq feet?

[ferretkona]

That whole "cali" is a pisser.

[Bulldogdad]

Line up a job before you move. Also have about $5000 in your pocket.

[sportslover]

Originally Posted by Bulldogdad

Line up a job before you move. Also have about $5000 in your pocket.

Will be extremely hard to line up something before hand. You know anyone that landed a job from across country?

[Bulldogdad]

Originally Posted by introspective1

Will be extremely hard to line up something before hand. You know anyone that landed a job from across country?

Yes lots of posts from them on this forum. Read the one from the lady getting a job in Tracy. Its a few line away from your thread.

[mayorhaggar]

Originally Posted by introspective1

Will that $700 get me a studio in a decent neighborhood? How big of a studio? 600 sq feet?

Maybe not too decent. I'd look into Adam's Point which is just north of Lake Merritt and is a good area though a bit of a hike from BART. Prices here have been going up, I know that as of about a year ago you could still get a 1 bedroom near the lake for around $800 a month, it's probably more like $900 or more by now.

A studio will be small, probably more like 200 sq feet. A 1br would be maybe 500 sq ft around SF or Oakland, apartments here are tiny.

Really if you want to live here and don't see yourself making a lot of money, I'd consider living with roommates. Roommates can suck but it's cheaper than getting your own place and it's a decent way to meet people. SF would be around $600 to 900 a month for a smallish room, more like $500 to $800 in Berkeley. Oakland doesn't have a lot of roommate rentals for some reason but it's still the cheapest bet for studios.

[sportslover]

Originally Posted by Bulldogdad

Yes lots of posts from them on this forum. Read the one from the lady getting a job in Tracy. Its a few line away from your thread.

Ahhh ok. Gonna check that out. Did that happen to you too?

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

Maybe not too decent. I'd look into Adam's Point which is just north of Lake Merritt and is a good area though a bit of a hike from BART. Prices here have been going up, I know that as of about a year ago you could still get a 1 bedroom near the lake for around $800 a month, it's probably more like $900 or more by now.

A studio will be small, probably more like 200 sq feet. A 1br would be maybe 500 sq ft around SF or Oakland, apartments here are tiny.

Really if you want to live here and don't see yourself making a lot of money, I'd consider living with roommates. Roommates can suck but it's cheaper than getting your own place and it's a decent way to meet people. SF would be around $600 to 900 a month for a smallish room, more like $500 to $800 in Berkeley. Oakland doesn't have a lot of roommate rentals for some reason but it's still the cheapest bet for studios.

I am going to consider roommates. Never lived with someone i didnt know, though. However i dont think i could live in a 200 sq ft apt. Studios here are abt 450 sq ft