Looking for recommendations (San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento: rental, find a job, transfer to)

[lanc3]

Hi There!

We are pondering on moving to CA! We currently living in Green Bay, WI, it is exactly as cold and exciting as it sounds. We have been to San Diego and San Fran multiple times and have loved it.

We are looking for suggestions on places to live that would fit our situation, which includes being around an hour from the ocean, good housing/rental prices in CA standards for our possible income(I am a IT- Sys Admin and she is a AODA / Drug Counselor), job prospects, preparing for a possible child in the future.

Let me know what you think would be a good place to live in CA.

Thanks You.

[Electrician4you]

1 hr from the ocean puts you 40 miles inland on average. It's pretty hot inland. I would say within 10 miles go the coast you'll be fine. There are just too many places to name without getting some specifics. IT is big and lots of good paying jobs. SF and surrounding areas are wallet scorching. More so than OC or LA even SD.
Narrow down if Nor Cal or So cal and you'll get more suggestions

[thelopez2]

Most of the california population is 1 hours from the ocean. Sys admin will salary will vary based on location from 60-150k. Best thing to do is find a job then a location where to live.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I would guess a drug counselor would be in demand anywhere. The IT job is where you will be more limited to the bigger cities, probably. So, start by looking for the IT job, IMO. The state is way too huge to be more specific than that.

Look at the major cities. I only know northern CA, but I would think you could look at the SF Bay Area, as well as places like Livermore and even Fresno.

Depending on what you do in IT, you could look at the city/county jobs in areas you think you might want to live in. Or, look at state jobs, which would give you more mobility - where you could possibly transfer if you decide you want to live somewhere else. Same thing with the University of California jobs - you could possibly transfer to different universities around the state of CA.

Technically, the university jobs are frozen. But, what they do to get around that, is hire people on contract, then keep extending the contract. My daughter got a job with UC Berkeley, as a systems analyst for their payroll system. They hired her on contract, but she gets full benefits and is actually required to pay into the retirement system. They renewed her contract. It's not as secure as being full-time regular employee, but probably just as secure as most corporate IT jobs.

Here's a link:

University of California Job Search

Here's the link for state jobs:

https://jobs.ca.gov/

And, of course, there's always Craigslist, etc.

Good luck!

[nightlysparrow]

In preparation, your wife should become a member, because all CD jobs want CAADAC certification (AODA not used in CA):

https://www.caadac.org/

[the city]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

In preparation, your wife should become a member, because all CD jobs want CAADAC certification (AODA not used in CA):

https://www.caadac.org/

there r hiring for drug and alcohol counselors in santa barbara county. go to the county website for more info. i think its incredibly tough to find government jobs these days. ur better off finding a non-profit or for-profit place hiring, but they won't pay as much as the government.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by Electrician4you

1 hr from the ocean puts you 40 miles inland on average. It's pretty hot inland. I would say within 10 miles go the coast you'll be fine. There are just too many places to name without getting some specifics. IT is big and lots of good paying jobs. SF and surrounding areas are wallet scorching. More so than OC or LA even SD.
Narrow down if Nor Cal or So cal and you'll get more suggestions

Actually, San Diego is cheaper than the other coastal areas by far. There are neighborhoods with reasonable rental rates, many good school districts, etc. And it's a large enough metro to have diverse jobs.
Sacramento is cheaper than San Diego. And also would potentially have work for the OP.

OP: Do you want to live N or S? More detailed recommendations can be given then.
You could also research 'average salaries for ___' in san diego, sac, etc. [I think indeed dot com has this info] Then look up average rental rates on craigs list or padmapper, to find out your best options.

Also: Here's a cost of living comparison calculator:
Cost of Living comparison calculator
Use it to research the differences between cities, including where you are now vs. where you might move to.

As far as inland cities with cheaper cost of living, Temecula and Murrietta might work. The economy isn't as robust since they are smaller areas, but they do have over 100k so you might find something. And there are some commute options to nearby cities.
Good luck.