19 yrs old, moving out of cali. on my own (or mom might follow) any ideas? (Palm Desert: best cities, low crime)

[brebopalula]

I'm 19 years old and have decided that I don't want to stay living in California anymore (as alot of people don't nowadays). I've lived here my whole life (Adelanto, and the I.E.) except for: moving to Ohio for 2 months about 5 years ago and then some months later moving to safe Saint George, Utah until about a year and a half ago. I was excited to come home again (I guess to get away from all those people I was stuck mingling with for so long) and then realized what a dumb decision I made. So now that I'm thinking about starting college as soon as I find a decent place to live it's not going to be here. Before I decided on moving out of state I researched about going to Palm Desert but scratched that after realizing how hot it would be and the whole idea of being invaded by nasty bugs. I'm trying to research where the best state/city to go and get a job, a place to live and start schooling for a career would be (options of nursing, interior design or make up artist). California is not affordable for me as a single person going out on my own for the first time and with the crime it's really going to crap. I don't want to have to worry as much as my parents do/did on crime and money everywhere they lived. So if anybody has advice, suggestions or are in somewhat the same boat as I am or have already done what I'm trying to do...help?

So:
looking for somewhere with low crime.
affordable.
no crazy religious folk like in Utah again (some decent people I can make friends with or have normal things in common).
just in general a good place to settle and not want to leave...again or just some good ideas and suggestions to get the brain thinking.

just curious what anybody thinks about the Seattle area?
if nothing in this thread helps I could just post this question in every single state thread. hope this already hasn't been posted.
Thanks!

[dweej]

Have you considered Austin, TX? It's in hill country so is pretty, is more affordable than most of CA (especially the nice parts of CA!), has great opportunities for you to go to college....and you'll be able to get a job right out of college because the unemployment rate in TX is lower than CA. It's a great town for someone your age, looking for a lower cost of living with a higher standard of life . Good luck!

[NewportBorn]

Yeah Austin Texas is a GREAT suggestion.

Affordable, Down to earth atmosphere, and plenty of stuff to do.

I would also say North Carolina, (charlotte)

I will come back with more

[dweej]

The weather in North Carolina is great too! I lived there for 4 years (near Chapel Hill) and it was lovely . Ooooooh, so you should put Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area on the list too...access to UNC and Duke.

[RoadTripGurl]

It really depends on your personality. Do you like to go out? Do you have a preference on wat coasts you want to be on? My fiancee visited Seattle and he said it was dreary looking most of the time. Here I the DC/Balt area it is dreary like in the winter. today we have got sun (yay!) Just putting that out there. What is your field? What you want to do may be an important dcisor on where you want to live a well. I third Texas. We are still considering Houston as well.

[brebopalula]

Thank you guys for the suggestions! I never even thought of Texas or NC. Well, I am leaning toward a career as a registered nurse because the top plus is basically being able to find work easily (everybody needs nurses) and it'll take me only 2-4 years. My heart's into interior design but I have to go to a college that has an accredited program for interior design and it'll take 6 years (4 college and 2 internship or vice versa). That would put me into a bind time wise and possibly being stuck in a city I don't want to be in for some years to study.

I'm used to living on the west coast (and since I live in SO CAL, the south) so I really don't have a full idea what it would be like for me to function somewhere that far but I'm willing to try anywhere and just go for it. I could end up liking it alot better and may have been missing out on something. Looking back it seems like I've always been in desert climates (the high desert/saint george, utah/the inland empire's hot too) so I can handle hot weather. I've also been in Ohio dec-jan so I know I can take the cold. I prefer cooler weather over warm but I can live with the deathly heat.

Yes I would like to live in a city where there are things to do and you can have some fun or meet people because when I lived in utah the only options were outdoorsy activities and there were only some movie theaters and a 2x2 mall (if you could call it that). But I was 1 1/2 hours outside Vegas so you could still get away once in awhile (but I'm not 21 yet so that didn't help me out haha). I'm a pretty flexible person so I can alter with change.

I'm thinking of crossing Washington state off my list because of the dreary weather on the prettier west side of the state. I've also thought about Pennsylvania and Arizona(because I'm picturing it pretty like utah but a little bit more sensible people?, but I've been hearing about a lot of crime in Pheonix I think). Any warnings on those? I'll start researching all your suggestions and input asap! Thanks so much you guys!

[dweej]

Try this website (called "Find Your Spot!"): Best Places to Live: Compare the Best Cities & Small Towns for You! . You take a quiz about your preferences and it gives you the top 25 cities you should consider. Lots of fun!

My stepmom is an RN and has been since the first day she ever had a job- she worked in Detroit for a few years when we were there, then worked at the UNC Hospital for....I think 15 years. It was a great career, great pay, job security. Now that she has no kids to take care of anymore (and here's the exciting part!) she's doing this travel nurse thing, where she gets to travel all over the country, have her expenses paid, get a great salary, see new cities.....it's been a GREAT adventure, and because she's had so much nursing experience, she is in high demand. So what I'm saying is that nursing is a fantastic career and you should totally consider it .

[gypsy77]

I agree, Nursing is a great career choice. Both of my sister in laws are RN's and they say they "love" their jobs, and they make about $35/hr and only work 3 days a week. They could move anywhere they want, and be guaranteed to get a job at any hospital or clinic. As for me, I am in Accounting and getting a job is almost impossible anywhere. There are too many applicants and not that many openings. If I had it to do all over again, I would have gone to nursing school instead! It's not too late though, I may still go yet! Don't blame you for wanting out of SoCal. I am in the process of leaving NorCal also!

[flo2900]

Originally Posted by brebopalula

I'm 19 years old and have decided that I don't want to stay living in California anymore (as alot of people don't nowadays). I've lived here my whole life (Adelanto, and the I.E.) except for: moving to Ohio for 2 months about 5 years ago and then some months later moving to safe Saint George, Utah until about a year and a half ago. I was excited to come home again (I guess to get away from all those people I was stuck mingling with for so long) and then realized what a dumb decision I made. So now that I'm thinking about starting college as soon as I find a decent place to live it's not going to be here. Before I decided on moving out of state I researched about going to Palm Desert but scratched that after realizing how hot it would be and the whole idea of being invaded by nasty bugs. I'm trying to research where the best state/city to go and get a job, a place to live and start schooling for a career would be (options of nursing, interior design or make up artist). California is not affordable for me as a single person going out on my own for the first time and with the crime it's really going to crap. I don't want to have to worry as much as my parents do/did on crime and money everywhere they lived. So if anybody has advice, suggestions or are in somewhat the same boat as I am or have already done what I'm trying to do...help?

So:
looking for somewhere with low crime.
affordable.
no crazy religious folk like in Utah again (some decent people I can make friends with or have normal things in common).
just in general a good place to settle and not want to leave...again or just some good ideas and suggestions to get the brain thinking.

just curious what anybody thinks about the Seattle area?
if nothing in this thread helps I could just post this question in every single state thread. hope this already hasn't been posted.
Thanks!

Houston, Texas....best bang for the buck, forth largest city in US, opportunities, beach access, California type winters but summers are hot and humid...other than that Houston offers a phennomenal package. Extreamly affordable!!

[brebopalula]

Originally Posted by gypsy77

I agree, Nursing is a great career choice. Both of my sister in laws are RN's and they say they "love" their jobs, and they make about $35/hr and only work 3 days a week. They could move anywhere they want, and be guaranteed to get a job at any hospital or clinic. As for me, I am in Accounting and getting a job is almost impossible anywhere. There are too many applicants and not that many openings. If I had it to do all over again, I would have gone to nursing school instead! It's not too late though, I may still go yet! Don't blame you for wanting out of SoCal. I am in the process of leaving NorCal also!

Is NorCal getting bad too!? Or are your leaving for other reasons?