SWAP to California questions (Los Angeles, San Francisco: crime, university, casinos)

[imran]

Hello,

I am a student in Ontario and I recently found out about SWAP (which is a program which allows students in university/college to work abroad for a summer) and through SWAP you can go to anywhere in America. I always wanted to go to California but I don't know if it is a place for me to live for 4 months.

Now I will be getting a job there as part of the SWAP program but it will only pay about $9-10/hr. I just wanted to know what people think of California and what possible cities are safe and exciting to be while taking in to consideration that I will be working an entry level job and will probably only have $2000-$2500 around the time of arrival.

I really want to go see Hollywood and all that jazz, that's why I choose California.

Also, can anyone tell me details on Catalina Island and Tahoe as they have ties with SWAP and there are jobs there..I just want to know how the environment is (safety, busing, weather) etc.

[Ultrarunner]

Tahoe always has jobs at the Casinos... and many of the jobs are seasonal.

You've got a large vacation population, the lake, mountains and of course the Nevada desert is just over the mountain...

It could be fun for a summer...

[imran]

is tahoe the colder part of california?

[rubyskye]

Originally Posted by imran

is tahoe the colder part of california?

Tahoe is cold and snowy (lots of it!) in the winter. But it's not frigid cold. Depends on what you're used to.
The summers are beautiful .... warm (sometimes hot) and dry. The Truckee river and Lake Tahoe (very beautiful) will be there for you to plunge into if you get too hot . It's a very nice climate all year round in my opinion but ya gotta like snow if you're going to be there in the winter.
So I recommend the Tahoe area. You'll be in the beautiful Sierra mountains but only 41/2 - 5 hours away from San Francisco. So when/if you have free time you can hop in the car and be at the coast in a relatively short amount of time. (I'm used to driving very long distances so to me, 4-5 hours is nothing).
The Truckee/Tahoe area is safe (there's crime all over the country of course but this area is not a place to be afraid of).
It's a great area to explore and live in with lots of young people working during the high seasons. If you ski or snowboard and you're there in the winter, you'll be in heaven.
If you absolutely need to see Hollywood you can take a long road trip but there's so much more to California than Hollywood! It's the last place i'd want to go to but i understand the attraction.
Santa Cruz is another great place to visit if you're in Tahoe and without bad traffic (rush hour) i can do the drive (Santa Cruz > Truckee and visa versa) in 4 - 41/2 hours.
If you're in Tahoe you'll be very nicely situated in California.
And Yosemite is not far to the south and that's a must see if you like stunning natural environment.
Reno, Nevada is just across the border and so if you want to get a little bit of city vibe you can visit there.
Good luck and i hope you enjoy California.
And just to add, i don't know about Catalina Island in terms of jobs and busing and such but if you can find work there, it would be another good option for sure. The weather depends on when you'll be there. Catalina Island is a Mediterranean climate so it's not like Hawaii for example. As far as i know it's nice weather all year round. Because of its particular location i believe it's spared from some of the really wet weather in the winter but i'm not sure about this.
Anyway, whether it's Catalina I. (you'll be closer to Hollywood ) or Tahoe, you can't go wrong in my opinion.

[imran]

Thanks for all the information!

I'll be going in the summer and I've already got my fair share of winters here in Ontario so I'm ok with missing out on some of Tahoe's appeal.

In terms of food and entertainment are those things more expensive in California?
Where is the business area of California? Is it Los Angeles?
How are the people generally?

[rubyskye]

Originally Posted by imran

Thanks for all the information!

I'll be going in the summer and I've already got my fair share of winters here in Ontario so I'm ok with missing out on some of Tahoe's appeal.

In terms of food and entertainment are those things more expensive in California?
Where is the business area of California? Is it Los Angeles?
How are the people generally?

Think of California as a country.
You can't generalize about anything or anyone really. It's a huge state. The two major cities are L.A. and San Francisco. If you're in San Francisco you'll be in / near the land called "Silicone Valley".
The people are as diverse as the land.
I'd say, choose either the coast (L.A. or San Francisco if you want to be in the city) or the Tahoe area.