Would I like San Diego? Move there with no job? (transplants, apartment)

[nep321]

Hello. This thread is about two topics: (1) Would I like San Diego? and (2) Can I reasonably move there with no job secured? I have never been to SD before.

(1) Would I like San Diego?

I am a 28 year old gay male who has lived in the Northeast my entire life (NYC and Hartford, CT area). I am looking for a new city/area to live that meets most of the following criteria:

• Sufficient gay population; prefer to be around other gays near my age that are educated, professional and independent.
• I hate cold weather and prefer warm/hot weather; to me, anything under 70 degrees is cold.
• I love driving a car and prefer it over using public transit.
• I have the goal of purchasing a small/mid sized home in a nice area for under $250K someday.
• Need to be in a moderate/liberal environment.
• Want to live in a safe, middle class or affluent area.
• Prefer a moderate or slow paced lifestyle with less stress; I'm a laid back person.

(2) Can I reasonably move there with no job secured?

I dislike my current job and am hoping to leave within the next few weeks. I have a master's degree in accounting with 5 years of experience in taxation. I also have no debt, no children and will have about $26,000 cash in the bank, as well as $13,000 in fairly liquid stocks. I would be willing to start off doing temporary jobs / contract work if necessary, until I land a full-time permanent job. I would hope to be left with at least $20,000 in the bank by the time I land a permanent job. I see that the unemployment rate in San Diego metro is 9.0%, which isn't good news. But I would hope that my qualifications would be recognized and pay off sooner than later. I am thinking in the beginning to live in a short-term or month to month apartment. I would use U-Box or PODS to have my stuff moved across country and have it stored until I get a real apartment/home.

What do you guys think?

[9162]

Boston could be a perfect fit...

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by nep321

Hello. This thread is about two topics: (1) Would I like San Diego? and (2) Can I reasonably move there with no job secured? I have never been to SD before.

(1) Would I like San Diego?

I am a 28 year old gay male who has lived in the Northeast my entire life (NYC and Hartford, CT area). I am looking for a new city/area to live that meets most of the following criteria:
[*]Sufficient gay population; prefer to be around other gays near my age that are educated, professional and independent.

Define "sufficient"? The central neighborhoods, Hillcrest in particular, are gay-friendly.

[*]I hate cold weather and prefer warm/hot weather; to me, anything under 70 degrees is cold.

You might not like winter here - it's often in the 60's during the day and cooler overnight. OTOH, it's rarely down into the 40's. That's Nov/Dec to May/June. But for some reason we often have a serious heat wave in February.

[*]I love driving a car and prefer it over using public transit.

Driving works here. Parking in the central neighborhoods ... not so much. It can be difficult to find parking spots.

[*]I have the goal of purchasing a small/mid sized home in a nice area for under $250K someday.

That won't be in San Diego, as far as I know. Not for that price.

[*]Need to be in a moderate/liberal environment.

California is pretty moderate/liberal. And the central neighborhoods of San Diego also. But a lot of the outlying areas and suburbs are more conservative, reflecting the military influence in the area.

[*]Want to live in a safe, middle class or affluent area.

We have that here.

[*]Prefer a moderate or slow paced lifestyle with less stress; I'm a laid back person.

And that, too.

(2) Can I reasonably move there with no job secured?

I dislike my current job and am hoping to leave within the next few weeks. I have a master's degree in accounting with 5 years of experience in taxation. I also have no debt, no children and will have about $26,000 cash in the bank, as well as $13,000 in fairly liquid stocks. I would be willing to start off doing temporary jobs / contract work if necessary, until I land a full-time permanent job. I would hope to be left with at least $20,000 in the bank by the time I land a permanent job. I see that the unemployment rate in San Diego metro is 9.0%, which isn't good news. But I would hope that my qualifications would be recognized and pay off sooner than later. I am thinking in the beginning to live in a short-term or month to month apartment. I would use U-Box or PODS to have my stuff moved across country and have it stored until I get a real apartment/home.

What do you guys think?

With $26,000 in savings, you can reasonably do it. You won't necessarily have $20,000 left by the time you land a permanent job. But things do seem to be picking up here, so maybe ...

[mdm1]

Well, it really depends on your priorities...
The Hillcrest area would be pretty great for everything but the cheap housing and the weather (and honestly if you are coming from the northeast having it be 65 in January shouldn't be cause for complaint). It's pretty easy to find housing with parking spots in San Diego, it may cost a little more, but I looked at a 1 bedroom with a garage in Hillcrest that was going for 850/month, so it's not like crazy expensive. That place wasn't nice by any means, and the garage didn't have an automatic opener and was littered with condoms... The apt. itself was livable, and I bet for 1-1.2K you could do pretty well for yourself assuming you only need a 1 bedroom.

If you care more about housing and hot weather, I'd look to Florida, although living in one of the trendier gay friendly areas might not be cheap, in general Florida has pretty cheap housing/COL and you could probably eventually buy a home a little ways from the nightlife. Of course Florida is going to be less liberal and less educated than California.

Other places to try: Austin, Houston, New Orleans. Again, same deal as Florida, you can live in a little progressive bubble with more >70 degree temps and cheaper housing, but you'll be in a fairly conservative state.

[Clevelandgal]

I would try applying for some jobs to get an idea of the job market, it might be an eye opener/reality check ....or a pleasant suprise. While your resume might be great, some people find, getting a specialized professional job with no contacts can be like finding a needle in a haystack. as far as the liberal, gay areas, that's the least of your worries. The job is.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

I would try applying for some jobs to get an idea of the job market, it might be an eye opener/reality check ....or a pleasant suprise. While your resume might be great, some people find, getting a specialized professional job with no contacts can be like finding a needle in a haystack. as far as the liberal, gay areas, that's the least of your worries. The job is.

The problem is, that employers and recruiters won't bother to talk with me unless I live near them. Trust me, I've been doing it for the past 6 months in various cities that are far away. However, when I apply for jobs in Boston or Hartford, they respond to me immediately.

[Clevelandgal]

Well I hate to tell you, but once you get here, you are still an outsider, you're just one with a San Diego address. one who they know nothing about and will likely be out of savings in 6 months and go back where they came from (this from a friend I made who formally worked in HR and admitted they pitched the 300 resumes for every opening from out of towners and recent transplants) We came here only because my husband had a great job offer. Me with a master degree faced a RUDE awakening. I had to volunteer for months before I made connections and got noticed and hired in a job I am honestly, overqualified for. Do most people have either the work ethic and the budget to volunteer locally for over 6 months to make connections? Mostly no. Keep in mind I can't speak for your field, but I am a professional and found it difficult. As you know accounting is not exactly high demand in many areas, and the job market is still bad. Will a local firm just hire grads from their local program, of which there are many?You better believe it. I am ready for a change and for the first time in my career feel "trapped" and probably should be grateful for the job I have (which has its fulfilling moments....but).

[tonyinsd]

If you think anything under 70 is too cold, don't come here. Even in our hottest months, the average high only gets to 77 and the lows are in the mid 60s. And if you want a single family home for $250K, you really want to stay away. That'll get you a one bedroom condo.

[Radical347]

1. Yes, but you will need to at least double, possibly triple, your housing budget.
2. Yes.

[Cardiff Kook]

you have your masters in accounting therefore I'm assuming you are a CPA? i don't think finding work will be an issue. My dad is a tax CPA out there in San Diego and found work quickly when he moved there last year.

i'm in a similar situation to you. i'll be moving out there with 5 years experience in finance/accounting (degrees in both) and sitting for my CPA once i get out there. I have over 50k saved and no debt as well as family who will be letting me stay with them until i find work. I think that last part is the biggest difference between my situation and yours.

That being said, you have plenty of savings and work in a good field for finding work quickly. i think you should go for it if thats where you want to live