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Old 11-23-2007, 01:25 AM
 
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
1,482 posts, read 5,164,819 times
Reputation: 798

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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheStarLiesWest View Post
I make NOWHERE near 50k, it sounds like a LOT to me. And evidently in CA it's chump change!
Go to the bankrate website and check out their cost of living comparison calculator. It'll give you a rough idea of what to expect.
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Old 11-23-2007, 01:27 AM
 
158 posts, read 599,921 times
Reputation: 32
Will do. Those usually help.
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Old 11-23-2007, 06:18 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,537,811 times
Reputation: 17829
My comments in blue.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheStarLiesWest View Post
Well, I've had a 100 reply long thread about my quest to determine whether or not my wife, child, and I can relocate to California, and I just wanted to share my findings in a public way that everyone can give me even more advice on.

This is in no particular order. And these are not my opinions, these are what I've been told.

1. Don't come to CA without a college degree.
Understandable. The better the job, the better off you are.

It depends on what line of work you are in. Kobe doesn't have a college degree. A lot of contractors (electricians, plumbers, etc) are millionaires without college degrees. It depends on the value of your skills; What is the demand for your skills.

2. Don't live in SoCal or near SF/SJ unless you're a kajillionaire.
I disagree, but many of you say this..

This is subjective. It sure helps to have money where ever you go.

3. Life will suck, undoubtedly, guaranteed, unless you're loaded.
I hear this from everyone, even people who don't live there.

Again, subjective. Housing will cost more. Everything else is about the same. There are other things that may bother you like traffic and quality of public education.

4. NorCal is FAR cheaper.
Studies I've done prove this, and it is tempting.

This one really stuck out. Northern California has some places that are very expensive ($400 and up) per square foot like the urban bay area and less expensive, like the extreme north east part of the state. Similarly for SoCal, the urban LA/OC/SD areas are expensive but Blythe, Baker, and Barstow are affordable - but I don't think you'd be interested in living there based on the context of your posts.

5. Los Angeles is a singles city that's overrun by gang warfare.
Well I guess that speaks for itself.

If you are single, don't mind renting, don't care about schools, then SoCal is fine (except for traffic). Gangs are in gang areas but if you stay away from those areas it is as if they don't exist.

6. You're young, move now or you may never have the chance again.
This is the undying motivation that I have.

Makes perfect sense. Also depends what "young" means. In this context, single and 50 is "younger" than 24 with three kids.
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Old 11-23-2007, 09:11 AM
 
Location: right outside your window
605 posts, read 861,791 times
Reputation: 64
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bunky39 View Post
whole lot o chubby people wearnin shorts in jeeps drivin up and down the freeway.
my uncle in mississippi says livin in california is like livin with a beautiful woman
thats got a headache all the time.
in mississippi the people are real real nice and the weather is lousy
in california its exactly the opposite
whole lotta rich peeps wearing goochee, my aunt fran in south carolina
says livin' here is like a mam whos had a plastic surgery on her lips gon rong, peeps can't shudup
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Old 11-23-2007, 09:27 AM
 
158 posts, read 599,921 times
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Well, that's all very interesting. Thank you very much for your insight, Charles. It was very helpful, and very true. Areas in SoCal may cost less than areas in NorCal, and vice versa. My field that I will graduate from in college is projected to be the number one field with job increases over the next seven years, and the experience that I have now, while only 1 year from finishing my Associate's Degree, could land me a serious job alone.

I'm 22 and married, which doesn't make a difference, but we do have a child. That could add years to our life, but I find it hard to believe that people as young as us with a child never move anywhere expensive. We lived in DC and I adjusted to those prices fairly easily, and Santa Clarita, where I've been studying into lately, seems very similar in prices (a little more, but doable.) I've lived in worse situations with less money and made it, and renting doesn't matter to me. I don't want to buy a house until far after I graduate to see what kind of earning potential I have. My wife will be finishing college too.

Between the two of us, I think in three or four years, we'll both be in high paying positions and we'll be comfortable. Until then, I believe that we can live withuot struggling too hard in the place we've always wanted to go. We are still very young and this is our one big chance for a long while now.
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Old 11-23-2007, 03:15 PM
 
24 posts, read 130,442 times
Reputation: 34
I could give you a million reasons why you shouldn't come here but I like you am young and I had to "see" it on my own and experience it to know what's good for me and what's.

If you end up in SoCal try Culver City/Mar Vista, Torrance is inexpensive & try the South Bay area. I would say Venice too but occupany in Venice and Santa Monica is almost to capacity but every once in awhile there are good deals but they go fast but for the most part Venice and Santa Monica are terribly expensive I'm talking average $2000 a month for a 2bd.

Good Luck!
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Old 11-23-2007, 08:38 PM
 
Location: So Cal
10,018 posts, read 9,459,435 times
Reputation: 10438
Young family starting out, I would say Santa Clarita might be a good choice for you. Even better if you can get a job in the area, since the travel to areas south (L.A., Hollywood, Long Beach,etc.) can be a nightmare. The Santa Clarita area is growing and so is the job market. Not sure if you mentioned it but what field are you looking for? We might be able to give you a better idea on where to look.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheStarLiesWest View Post
Well, that's all very interesting. Thank you very much for your insight, Charles. It was very helpful, and very true. Areas in SoCal may cost less than areas in NorCal, and vice versa. My field that I will graduate from in college is projected to be the number one field with job increases over the next seven years, and the experience that I have now, while only 1 year from finishing my Associate's Degree, could land me a serious job alone.

I'm 22 and married, which doesn't make a difference, but we do have a child. That could add years to our life, but I find it hard to believe that people as young as us with a child never move anywhere expensive. We lived in DC and I adjusted to those prices fairly easily, and Santa Clarita, where I've been studying into lately, seems very similar in prices (a little more, but doable.) I've lived in worse situations with less money and made it, and renting doesn't matter to me. I don't want to buy a house until far after I graduate to see what kind of earning potential I have. My wife will be finishing college too.

Between the two of us, I think in three or four years, we'll both be in high paying positions and we'll be comfortable. Until then, I believe that we can live withuot struggling too hard in the place we've always wanted to go. We are still very young and this is our one big chance for a long while now.
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Old 11-23-2007, 11:58 PM
 
Location: Born + raised SF Bay; Tyler, TX now WNY
8,354 posts, read 4,619,570 times
Reputation: 8243
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheStarLiesWest View Post
2. Don't live in SoCal or near SF/SJ unless you're a kajillionaire.
I disagree, but many of you say this..
Coming from the San Jose area (Milpitas, to be exact), I'm actually not sure how anybody does it if they're NOT a kajillionaire. If anybody knows, PLEASE prove me wrong...it's my dream to get back to California. It just seems impossible to me because of the housing costs.
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Old 11-24-2007, 12:56 AM
 
635 posts, read 1,743,491 times
Reputation: 112
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bunky39 View Post
in mississippi the people are real real nice and the weather is lousy
in california its exactly the opposite

In Mississippi you can also be struck with boredom, and you have to develop the southern mentality. There's a heck of alot more going on in California. I'd rather have "mean" people, then be bored to tears.
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Old 11-24-2007, 01:08 AM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,800,126 times
Reputation: 23659
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheStarLiesWest View Post
Well, I've had a 100 reply long thread about my quest to determine whether or not my wife, child, and I can relocate to California, and I just wanted to share my findings in a public way that everyone can give me even more advice on.

This is in no particular order. And these are not my opinions, these are what I've been told.

1. Don't come to CA without a college degree.
Of course a degree is always good, but I wouldn't say you NEED one... many people I know have decent jobs without them, and I'm recently unemployed with 2 college degrees (BA and Master's). So while I'd always suggest having an education, it doesn't mean you're automatically guaranteed a good job - or vice versa.

Quote:
2. Don't live in SoCal or near SF/SJ unless you're a kajillionaire.
Obviously that's not true, considering most people are far from kajillionaires. People here support families on minimum wage, though honestly I'm not sure how... but just like in most areas, the majority of our residents are middle-class or lower.

Quote:
3. Life will suck, undoubtedly, guaranteed, unless you're loaded.
Ditto my comments on #2.

Quote:
4. NorCal is FAR cheaper.
Depends on what part of NorCal vs SoCal... we have some of the priciest towns in the nation up here (mostly on the mid-Peninsula), but also some of the cheapest. The city of San Francisco is probably more expensive than Los Angeles, but places like Sacramento & Redding are cheaper than most of SoCal. Remember, this is a HUGE state!!

Quote:
5. Los Angeles is a singles city that's overrun by gang warfare.
Can't say much about that, since I've never lived in LA... but I guess you'd see "gang warfare" in parts like Compton and Watts, but it's less likely in Hollywood Hills.

Quote:
6. You're young, move now or you may never have the chance again.
This is the undying motivation that I have.
Well, you can always move later in life, but of course it's easier when you are young... especially with no kids, wife/husband, long-term career, etc. to worry about. I've moved many times in my 31 years, and it does get a tad more complicated as I age.

Quote:
And this is another assumption I have but wonder about.. I have long hair, tattoos, and outside of my professional career I don't dress in 1000 dollar suits, I don't drive a sports car, and I can only afford to rent for a looong time. Not to mention, I'm not a kajillionaire. Is there a place where people young like me, prefferably some musicians in there somewhere, tend to dwell more often?
I'm a librarian who's covered in tattoos, but nobody cares since that's extremely common in San Francisco. A better example, my roommate is a guy with long hair, who wears combat boots, a trench coat & eye-makeup to work... he's also a guitar player (for fun), but works in an office as a computer programmer. You'll find few objections here or in most of Los Angeles, but smaller towns might be a different story. Come to SF!!

As for renting and not being rich, that's basically the norm around here, so we wouldn't bat an eyelash at it. ALL of my friends in the city are renters and/or have roommates, even those in their mid-late 30's. This changes as you get older, but it still wouldn't matter a whole lot. Do you honestly think our streets are full of sports cars, and that anyone cares how wealthy you are? San Francisco is actually a very casual city, despite the high cost of living. Very few offices/companies require "professional attire," people wear jeans to fancy restaurants, and you can literally get away with wearing anything in public. We also don't place high importance on fancy cars, since all the "cool" people take BART or walk everywhere.

Based on what you're describing (about yourself), I think Northern CA. is definitely better for you. SF would probably be the best fit, but you might also like a smaller town up north - maybe Eureka/Arcata, or thereabouts. Sacramento is okay, but fairly conservative by California standards & lacking in many areas.

Last edited by gizmo980; 11-24-2007 at 03:57 AM..
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