What's a good city in S.Cal to live? Please see details, thank you.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Wages don't even come close to making up for the difference in housing in California so just forget that one. Wages in California are slightly above average while most of your expenses are a lot higher, especially housing. People here seem to think its normal to spend 50% of their income on housing.

The central valley is mostly agricultural so that's probably where you got the idea that it was mostly non-white. Its not the choicest part of California but the bigger cities like Fresno and Bakersfield are a lot cheaper than the coast. The big drawback for me at least is the LONG hot summers. As a professional driver, the crazy fog they get could be a big problem for you.

[MIKEETC]

I think that since you're a professional truck driver, you're going to want to be close to warehouse/distributions centers. Also, I figure you'll want to be close to locations where you can park your truck overnight (assuming you're an owner/operator) because a lot of communities will not let you park your truck on your property or in the street (if you're going to buy a house) and I'm sure a lot of apartment communities (if you going to rent) will prohibit you from parking it in the complex.

I don't know if you do cross-country deliveries or keep it local, but Interstate 15 is a major truck corridor in/out of Southern California so that may be a factor as I'd imagine you would not want to commute too far just to get to your route.

Anyway, I'm thinking Inland Empire/High Desert is for you. Close enough to LA if you want to check it out, but still reasonably affordable that single people like you (and me) can afford to buy a house and skip rent altogther if you choose. It is warm here; no snow, rains once in a while, etc. If it makes a difference, two of my neighbors across the street both are truck drivers. They seem to be doing okay. I think they work for a fleet because they don't bring their trucks home.

Good luck.