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Old 11-04-2015, 09:47 PM
 
Location: NOLA -> DMV Area
117 posts, read 257,500 times
Reputation: 95

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Hi Guys,

I have a number of job prospects in California. Two in the bay area near San Francisco, One in the Los Angeles area, and one in the San Diego area. Also, I have a few in Texas and the DC Area. It's been really touch deciding where to live, but I have my heart set on California because of so many factors.

To give a little more background on myself, I'm a 28 year old African American male from New Orleans. I'm currently a senior in College getting ready to graduate in December with a Bachelors in Computer Science. I'm single and don't have kids. The prospective jobs are all paying around 100k annually. I'm not a very active person and I'm not in the best shape (in pretty bad shape to be honest). When i'm not working on independent projects, i'm usually playing Video Games or making music since it's one of my biggest hobbies. California is my first choice because the environment seems to encourage being active and and the general underlying mentality seems to be centered around health. This is something I could use in life at the moment. The weather and diversity is also a big factor in my desire to move out west.

Given the demographic that I fall into, I wanted to get some feedback and possible suggestions on areas that would be best for someone in my situation. Any advice?

Last edited by tekboi; 11-04-2015 at 10:18 PM..
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Old 11-04-2015, 10:11 PM
 
Location: SW King County, WA
6,416 posts, read 8,272,399 times
Reputation: 6590
If you're interested in the Bay Area, give Oakland a close look. I'd definitely chose SD over LA if you want to be in SoCal. If being around lots of other African Americans is important to you, I'd also check out DC.
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Old 11-04-2015, 10:21 PM
 
5,381 posts, read 8,682,713 times
Reputation: 4550
Quote:
Originally Posted by 04kL4nD View Post
If you're interested in the Bay Area, give Oakland a close look. I'd definitely chose SD over LA if you want to be in SoCal. If being around lots of other African Americans is important to you, I'd also check out DC.
I agree with this. I also suspect that you would get much more mileage out of your $100K salary in SoCal than in the Bay area.

DC is nice, but you can't beat CA for year-round outdoors activities.
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Old 11-04-2015, 10:46 PM
 
2,986 posts, read 4,574,825 times
Reputation: 1664
I'd take SD in a heartbeat.
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Old 11-05-2015, 08:02 PM
 
Location: NOLA -> DMV Area
117 posts, read 257,500 times
Reputation: 95
Yeah, SD has my attention at the moment. To be honest, LA seems a bit intimidating in regards to size and traffic. I've been to the bay area before and loved it. I have never visited SoCal before. As far as being around other black people, I could care less about that. Most of my friends are other races. And I enjoy meeting different types of people.
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Old 11-06-2015, 12:37 AM
 
Location: Oroville, California
3,477 posts, read 6,506,734 times
Reputation: 6796
I almost hate to use this acronym, but YOLO. Give California a try - it could be exactly what you're looking for. Since you don't have to worry about anyone but yourself nows the time to try new things and new places.
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Old 11-06-2015, 01:27 PM
 
Location: Over The Hills And Far Away
117 posts, read 149,703 times
Reputation: 156
"Given the demographic I fall into...".

Oh good heavens. You are moving to California not the 1950's deep south. Where do people get these ideas, especially young ones?

The Bay Area will be your best bet, especially since you will be coming right out of college. Look at the East Bay. There's a lot of high tech there and it will be a bit more affordable or you can commute to the SV.

BeauCharles - What does YOLO stand for? Sorry, I'm not young and hip.
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Old 11-06-2015, 02:52 PM
 
Location: Southern California
372 posts, read 575,990 times
Reputation: 560
Quote:
Originally Posted by Another Place View Post
"Given the demographic I fall into...".

Oh good heavens. You are moving to California not the 1950's deep south.


BeauCharles - What does YOLO stand for? Sorry, I'm not young and hip.
You Only Live Once.
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Old 11-06-2015, 05:22 PM
 
Location: Over The Hills And Far Away
117 posts, read 149,703 times
Reputation: 156
Quote:
Originally Posted by tekboi View Post
Hi Guys,

I have a number of job prospects in California. Two in the bay area near San Francisco, One in the Los Angeles area, and one in the San Diego area. Also, I have a few in Texas and the DC Area. It's been really touch deciding where to live, but I have my heart set on California because of so many factors.

To give a little more background on myself, I'm a 28 year old African American male from New Orleans. I'm currently a senior in College getting ready to graduate in December with a Bachelors in Computer Science. I'm single and don't have kids. The prospective jobs are all paying around 100k annually. I'm not a very active person and I'm not in the best shape (in pretty bad shape to be honest). When i'm not working on independent projects, i'm usually playing Video Games or making music since it's one of my biggest hobbies. California is my first choice because the environment seems to encourage being active and and the general underlying mentality seems to be centered around health. This is something I could use in life at the moment. The weather and diversity is also a big factor in my desire to move out west.

Given the demographic that I fall into, I wanted to get some feedback and possible suggestions on areas that would be best for someone in my situation. Any advice?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goin' Coastal View Post
You Only Live Once.
Thank you.
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Old 11-06-2015, 05:40 PM
 
1,676 posts, read 1,533,532 times
Reputation: 2381
Based on your major I'd probably choose the Bay Area. Housing is more expensive up there but as a single person making six figures you'll be fine.

What other interests do you have? The Bay Area is a completely different beast from LA, which in turn is a completely different beast from San Diego. The Bay is a lot more "techie" what with Silicon Valley and a bit crunchier than the south in terms of politics and lifestyles.

I personally cannot stand Los Angeles. The entire city and surrounding environs just feel so fake and superficial to me, and you're never really in a position to "get away" like you are further north because there are so many freaking people. LA County has roughly a third of the entire state's population on its own, and the rest of SoCal brings that figure up to about half, whereas the Bay Area is populated, but once you get even 50 miles out you're in relatively rural areas with far, far fewer people and more opportunity to experience unspoiled nature.

What sort of weather do you prefer? Los Angeles and San Diego are pretty comparable IMO, though San Diego wins for more consistent temperatures year round and cleaner air. The LA basin can get pretty nasty sometimes due to its being hemmed in by mountains on three sides.

San Francisco is cool and foggy, but across the Bay in Oakland it's sunnier and warmer, but still very pleasant. One really nice thing about the Bay is that there are tons of microclimates so you can find pretty much anything you want in terms of weather.

I can't speak for Texas and DC, but again tech is pretty well entrenched in the Bay Area and Seattle so if it were me I'd be looking west.

Then again, I am a biased California native
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