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California: Pros: Palm trees, higher paying jobs, ocean, weather, diversity, food, mountains, progressive people, can meet connects there Cons: Cost of living (its gotta be some towns out there that's affordable though, its common sense to not move directly in a metro area because rent will be the highest...same as Chicago; you have to move 15mins-2hrs away from the city for affordable rent)
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Originally Posted by nightlysparrow
If you have bad credit, or hate the following: long commutes, mostly freeway driving, a high COL including extremely high rent, lots of hills to wear out your cars, no grid-shaped cities, mostly poor schools, lots of rules and police to enforce them, heavy background checks for jobs, apartments, jobs that ask for "bilingual preferred"---forget California.
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Originally Posted by mermaid93
true, but then again CA has so much more to offer than GA that I could get around or accept those things.
OK, California Reality check, let's put it another way...you will not be able to afford anything within 2 hours from the ocean unless "affordable" in a good neighborhood with okay schools and 2 hours from the ocean means $2200 and up for a 2-bedroom apartment, most jobs are in the big cities which are very unaffordable, traffic is utterly ridiculous and you will spend 1-2 hours each way in it, "diversity" does not really include Black people (if that's what you are inferring) as only 6.5% Black population in the entire state, per US Census) as most "diversity" is Hispanic and Asian.
Actually I did do my homework before I moved here. It wasn't about that. I'm not generalizing Atlanta, I know the good areas are north of the city, I've lived in Lawrenceville & Marietta before coming to my current spot. Moving to another spot in Atlanta still won't make me like this place. It isn't a good fit for us other than affordable housing, this isn't about living in a good or bad neighborhood that's making me feel the way that I do about ATL. Stop taking it personal. I'm from Chicago, I've lived in way worse and way better neighborhoods than where I am now; and was still happier and more content than anywhere I've been since I've came to Georgia.
I love how people always accuse you of "taking things personal[ly]" when you take issue with something they said; that's far from the case. At any rate, it certainly did sound as though you were generalizing the city with your description. Every place isn't for everyone but it's kinda hard to see how you truly did your homework if you moved to a neighborhood *that* out of sync with your preferences. At any rate, I hope you find a good neighborhood in a city that suits you better.
OAN, it seems like Black people from Chicago in particular have the most complaints about Atlanta. I don't know why that is, but it's just an anecdotal observation on my part. Perhaps another area in Chicago or another Midwestern city would be a better fit. I wouldn't discount Indianapolis, Columbus, or Minneapolis for starters.
I agree on all points except you probably won't be able to find anything affordable two hours from the ocean either. At that point, you're out in the Inland Empire, which is not desirable at all - lots of crime, smog, lower paying jobs, long commutes - but the rent is still pretty awful when compared to Atlanta. Expect to pay 1400 or more for a two-bedroom apartment. Oh, and there are far more scammers and criminals in Southern California than in Atlanta, so you expect to get hassled by the cops more too.
that sounds grim lol . with all that it sounds like only rich people can truly enjoy California...that is crazy though, two hours from the ocean the rent is still crap.
Florida seems like a winner here but the housing availability seems to be difficult...as far as jobs seems like there may be hope in Jacksonville, the space coast and north of Miami. How is fort Meyers or the Gulfport/st Petersburg/tampa area?
My husband doesn't have much hope in florida because Georgia has so many Floridian transplants .
Eh, I've lived in LV twice. Jobs aren't easy to find, unless you're in the medical field or have some kind of specialization. Hospitality and service jobs are easier to get if you have the network/social connections. The one thing I've remarked on to my now husband when we were moving to LV (my second time then), if I didn't know anyone at that job, the application process seems to take 3-6 months before I finally get a call (even at Target). Last time I spoke to a friend, she said it seemed to be now 8 months-ish. Other than that, we liked Las Vegas a lot, but with a family now, we would rather look over to Phoenix area instead (if we were looking to move back in that general area).
Last year my husband and I relocated from Chicago, IL to Atlanta, Ga with our children hoping for a better life and more affordable living situation. We both have medical billing experience, as well as warehouse/customer service experience for times we need to work temps and can't find a job in our field. No place is perfect and everywhere has problems but things that really stand out to me in a place to settle is: Ease of getting a job, cost of living, ease on credit checks, accessibility to stores, getting around, service, warm weather, decent schools and safety, decent people that are progressive.
Atl has been struggle after struggle, problem after problem. Pros: The cost of living, credit doesn't determine if you will have a place to live or a car to drive. Cons: Jobs too competitive and based off of networking. Pay is very low for expectations on the job. People care more about networking/socialization before getting to the money or succeeding. Lack of diversity. Poor state, every service is utilized to capacity. Nobody here really cares about you, service workers are indifferent because they've heard everything a thousand times. This city is also pretty lazy, everything closes early. People take forever to service you. School systems suck. Nightlife is too much of a focus here. Restaurants and places to hang out are mostly for couples and date nights. More bars, strip clubs lounges than things to do with families and children. Ghetto all over, even if the neighborhood looks nice. People are too jealous here and do anything to get your job position. City infrastructure sucks. You spend a lot of time in a car and put a lot of mileage on it. You have to ride the expressway everywhere and its almost impossible to not use gps here since the city isn't a grid like shape where streets go all the way through. A 5min ride here is 8miles of driving compared to suburbs in Chicago, a 5min ride is less than a mile away. The hills wear and tear your tires really quickly and so does the cold humidity at night, hoto and humid at 4pm mess with the air pressure in your tires. You spend a lot of money on new tires. Police are super petty here. Anything you do out here they need 10 forms of verification to prove identity because scamming is so big here. It makes simple things like picking up money, cashing a check, opening an account somewhere, applying for something or requesting service really difficult. Many people that are customer service workers aren't helpful here. ATL really isn't what people hype it up to be.
Some places we've been looking into were
California: Pros: Palm trees, higher paying jobs, ocean, weather, diversity, food, mountains, progressive people, can meet connects there Cons: Cost of living (its gotta be some towns out there that's affordable though, its common sense to not move directly in a metro area because rent will be the highest...same as Chicago; you have to move 15mins-2hrs away from the city for affordable rent)
Nevada: Pros: Close to California, weather, palm trees, cost of living. Cons: Doesn't seem to have many jobs, things might be too concentrated and dependent upon the strip. Not too sure if theres much for families or small children to do.
Arizona: Pros: Close to California, palm trees, warm weather, cost of living, jobs in medical billing seem abundant, might be more family orientated than other places Cons: lack of diversity, heard theres some racism there, might be too bland
Florida: Beautiful, beaches, warm weather,things to do with family, nightlife, diverse, progression, can meet connects there Cons: unsure about the job market, might cater to bi-lingual or not have enough jobs period, unsure about housing/credit checks, crime
or even Texas: Pros: Jobs, diversity, housing Cons: heard of racism, Husband doesn't want to stay in a southern type state
theres more but I really would like your opinion
California sucks for the most part. I am from Indiana/Kentucky, moved to the San Francisco area about 18 months ago, and still don't like it much more than when I first moved. Got a great job making good money, that's why I'm here. But will only be here about another year.
We live 30ish minutes inland, in a nice small town called Pleasant Hill. We pay $2100 for a 2 bed 1 bath apartment. Since we are inland, the summers are pretty terrible honestly, like today it's literatlly 102 degrees as we speak. Unless you can afford $3000 plus, you cannot live in the "uppity" areas. The scenery in NorCal is pretty awesome, aside from that, I don't care for it. A 26 mile drive to San Francisco in the mornings take me usually about 1hr 15-30 minutes (around 6am-7am) and if I'm not out of the city before 2pm, I want to kill myself.
Do yourself a favor, avoid the high COL, ridiculous taxes, crazy car registration prices, a ton of homeless people, and if you're not a die-hard liberal , you definitely don't want to be here.
Eh, I've lived in LV twice. Jobs aren't easy to find, unless you're in the medical field or have some kind of specialization. Hospitality and service jobs are easier to get if you have the network/social connections. The one thing I've remarked on to my now husband when we were moving to LV (my second time then), if I didn't know anyone at that job, the application process seems to take 3-6 months before I finally get a call (even at Target). Last time I spoke to a friend, she said it seemed to be now 8 months-ish. Other than that, we liked Las Vegas a lot, but with a family now, we would rather look over to Phoenix area instead (if we were looking to move back in that general area).
I think Phoenix has a lot to offer, and for a lot of people, it's a pretty neat place to live.
However, if one has children in their household, I would not recommend living in Phoenix full-time.
An unintended consequence of the highly transient nature of the population (including but not limited to the "snowbirds") is that people tend to not be as invested in a place if they are only living there part of the year. For many of the folks living in Phoenix, home is actually someplace else (Seattle or Minnesota or British Columbia, etc.).
The tax base for schools in Phoenix is starved because so many people do not want to invest in the communities they are living in 1/3 to 1/2 of the year. The population is tax-averse to begin with, but the geographic cognitive dissonance exacerbates the problem immensely.
It's a shame because the people I have met who are from Phoenix are some of the most highly inquisitive and intelligent people I have ever met. However, generally speaking, the folks who tend to reach their potential are the ones who have parents who can financially supplement for what is lacking in Phoenix schools.
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