Grad student with flexibility. Where to settle? (San Diego, San Jose: 2013, apartments)

[westiecoastie]

I'm an east coast transplant and have been in California for 5 years. I enjoyed living in San Diego and now live in San Jose.

I am starting graduate school soon at USC. My program is online so I am totally flexible on where I can live. I'm thinking about where (what city) I should live while I'm in school, and also where I want to start my career (social work).

But I've been thinking about it so much that I've lost all perspective and could use some help!

I've been in the Bay area a few months and I definitely prefer the more laid back southern California vibe. The redwoods are lovely here, but the housing costs are very high. However, jobs are better up here.

LA is advantageous since I can use the facilities at USC. I also have a friend in the area so at least I'd know someone. I definitely need a part time job (anything...grocery store/waiting tables) while I'm in school and I'm nervous to move without having housing and a job nailed down. (Just take the leap?) I have two cats to consider or else I'd feel more spontaneous about the whole thing.

I know San Diego neighborhoods well, so the thought of moving back there has crossed my mind too.

I have moved a lot in my life (over 20 times!) and I am getting tired of it! I'm looking for an area I can set down roots in for a bit. I'm thinking of looking into adopting in maybe 5 years...so that's a distant consideration.

What are your thoughts on good neighborhoods (LA) to live and start a career? My budget for housing while in school and the first few years of my career is as cheap as possible, around 1500. I don't party but do like to go out once in a while. I like having nature-y stuff nearby. The burbs are okay, but I'm not dead yet. I'm an arty person and like all the LA weirdness. But am risk adverse and crave safety.

My nightmare is that I move to LA for school, graduate, and get a great job offer in the Bay Area and have to move back up. Do I stay put for school and figure out the career stuff later...or move to where I *think* I want to be and tweak my location later?

[drunk on kool aid]

Not very organized, but here are my thoughts:

If you are totally flexible on location, why not find a cheaper, less hectic part of the Bay Area? How about the Central Coast? Sacramento? Do you have to be in California at all?

I don't sense a compelling reason for you to come down to LA except for access to the USC campus, especially when you say jobs are better up North. I don't know anything about online grad programs but are there any opportunities to TA on campus? That'll give you a stipend (or tuition waiver?) while you do a job in your field.

You mention a laid back SoCal vibe but many people find the traffic in LA to be a major source of anger. LA is a very polarizing place that is often reviled by Northern Californians, San Diegans, East Coasters, Europeans, etc., so you need to audition LA before committing to it.

I think you should hold off sending out tap roots until you finish grad school. Who knows, you might end up moving across the country for a great job. Grad school is four or more years, which is plenty of time to scope out places to live and jobs to take.

I think the two cats will really filter out a number of housing choices as well as increasing costs (rent/deposit).

Culver City might tick many of your boxes. It's on the Expo light rail line which goes directly to USC. The Expo extension to Santa Monica will be finished within a year. CC is safe, has a nice set of amenities and is centrally located enough to allow easy access to much of what LA offers. It has its own, good school district and is relatively affordable. It's not next door to nature, except for Kenneth Hahn Park, but the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica + San Gabriel Mountains are not that far away.

There are many other places that can work such as Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, the South Bay, West LA, Palms, many parts of the Valley, etc. but subjective factors are too varied to find a good fit without knowing more specifics about you.

Best of luck.

[jw2]

If you wish to have access to USC (I assume University Park campus) I would consider somewhere along the Expo Line (subway), the light blue line between Santa Monica and DTLA in this pic



The subways in LA are very good

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eta, I see I copied some of Drunk on kool aid's thoughts. I will leave this post to sort of second his motion.

[westiecoastie]

Thanks, both of you.

My grad program is only a year, after which I'll be licensed in the state. My school program includes some internships, so my thinking is that the contacts I will make there could be valuable for my career later down the road. This is the main reason I am considering moving at least to the county that I plan on living in for the long haul.

I've spent a bit of time in LA, but mostly Chinatown/Koreatown/Silverlake areas. Traffic...yeah, major bummer. Good thing is I don't *have* to be on campus for anything.

My thinking is to hunker down somewhere cheapish while I get through school (I've seen some decent apartments in Culver City. Glendale-ish looks good too) and in that year will get to know the ins and outs of the area a bit better. By then, I'll have some contacts through school and internships and can move to wherever my job ends up being.

That feels right to me and makes sense for my career.

I think I just...don't want to deal with the hassle of moving again! Staying here would be easier in the short term..and it is beautiful here. I'm not a techie person and feel a bit lost culturally here.

Thanks again for helping me sort things out. Still not sure but closer to deciding!

[IAMDWRECK]

Originally Posted by westiecoastie

Thanks, both of you.

My grad program is only a year, after which I'll be licensed in the state. My school program includes some internships, so my thinking is that the contacts I will make there could be valuable for my career later down the road. This is the main reason I am considering moving at least to the county that I plan on living in for the long haul.

I've spent a bit of time in LA, but mostly Chinatown/Koreatown/Silverlake areas. Traffic...yeah, major bummer. Good thing is I don't *have* to be on campus for anything.

My thinking is to hunker down somewhere cheapish while I get through school (I've seen some decent apartments in Culver City. Glendale-ish looks good too) and in that year will get to know the ins and outs of the area a bit better. By then, I'll have some contacts through school and internships and can move to wherever my job ends up being.

That feels right to me and makes sense for my career.

I think I just...don't want to deal with the hassle of moving again! Staying here would be easier in the short term..and it is beautiful here. I'm not a techie person and feel a bit lost culturally here.

Thanks again for helping me sort things out. Still not sure but closer to deciding!

licensed in the state? what's your career field, is it dietetics? I was just accepted into the nutrition program I'm just curious.