Tennessee native considering options in California (Los Angeles, San Diego: apartment, rent, low crime)

[Midnight Sage]

I should probably start by explaining my situation. I'm a college student, and I met a really nice girl from Vista a while back through a dating website. We're planning on moving in together pretty soon and are starting to consider where we should live. I've lived in the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville for my entire life and am used to the slow pace of living.

Because of some really good college benefits that my girlfriend could receive in California, I might need to move there in the next year or so. That being said, from what I've seen so far I feel like it would take me a long time to get adjusted to SoCal (probably several years at the very least). It seems like a nice place overall, but is radically different from where I've lived for the past 19 years. NorCal seems a bit more to my liking, but still has some things that I'm not so sure about (higher home prices, more crime, more population density, etc.)

To keep things really simple, where could I find a suburb with:

- Reasonable cost of living (keep in mind I'm used to $650/month for a one-bedroom apartment, which probably isn't going to happen anywhere)
- A stable economy with a number of decently-paying part-time jobs for a college student
- Low crime
- One or more good four-year universities
- A population under 150,000 or so
- Affordable commute to work and classes

Thanks in advance for any help on this.

[CUinTN]

California is a great place to begin a career. Personally, I'm trying to get back to TN. That said, yes, the metro coastal regions of CA (LA, SF, San Diego etc) will be a huge culture shock. There are a LOT more people here and they aren't very friendly to strangers, and every one is in a hurry. The other thing you may notice is how dirty the area is. There's no rain to wash off the dust and there's a lot of trash on the roads. If you get away from the coastal metro areas, you may find it more to your liking. Davis is a town in N. Cal outside of Sacramento. Great college (UC) town centrally located to the mountains and San Francisco. It has the convenience of the Bay Area w/o being in the Bay Area. Another central Cal location is San Luis Obispo. It has Cal State there and is an awesome town. It's on the coast, but more rural. Then of course there's UC Santa Barbara. It's on the coast as well, but it has a smaller town feel. These are smaller areas that have a lot to do and are very nice and the schools are well regarded.

Best of luck.

[calidude]

Im From LA born and raised you will find everyting yuo could ask for in the area

[rubyskye]

Originally Posted by calidude

Im From LA born and raised you will find everyting yuo could ask for in the area

You're joking right?
Population under 150,000, $650.00 rent for a one bedroom apartment, low crime, stable economy .... affordable commute, in L.A.?!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FresnoFacts]

I'd be curious about the college majors of you and your girlfriend. Not every campus in California has all majors. Then there is a variety in the quality of the major between different campus. Even good schools have some bad programs.

[Midnight Sage]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

I'd be curious about the college majors of you and your girlfriend. Not every campus in California has all majors. Then there is a variety in the quality of the major between different campus. Even good schools have some bad programs.

Well, I'm a political science major. My girlfriend is starting her first semester this fall, and her major is speech pathology.

[Midnight Sage]

Originally Posted by calidude

Im From LA born and raised you will find everyting yuo could ask for in the area

Well... I'm sure there are a lot of good things about LA (I mean, it's hard to find such diversity and exciting things to do anywhere else in America) but I really don't think it's for me.

On another note, I've examined the Bay area as well and I'm not crazy about that, either.

[FresnoFacts]

OK Speech Pathology is the one with fewer campuses to choose from (PoliSci is offered throughout the state), so the starting point would be the following public campuses:
CSU Chico
CSU East Bay
CSU Fresno
CSU Fullerton
CSU Long Beach
CSU Los Angeles
CSU Northridge
CSU Sacramento
San Diego State University
San Francisco State University
San Jose State University

Some private colleges also have programs.

So eliminating the Bay Area and Los Angeles you are left with
Chico
Fresno
Sacramento
San Diego

[akm4]

Chico's your lowest cost of living of those on this list.

[Midnight Sage]

Originally Posted by akm4

Chico's your lowest cost of living of those on this list.

Good to know... And the crime rate doesn't seem too bad either. Are there any real job opportunities there, though?