What's San Diego like? (San Francisco, Sacramento: apartments, rental, crime)

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Just a question, Beckie, if I may...how will you actually become a permanent resident of U.S., that is, get Green Card and all that. Will you try find an employer to sponsor you? I ask because I am, just like you, young and currently a non-U.S. citizen (Swedish) with the same vision of sometime in the future relocating to U.S. and getting started there.

On topic: I've got another question to the rest of you lot regarding apartments in SD...in what neighbourhoods [generally] do you find cheap apartments to rent? What are the demographics like in SD? I know from the SD Wikipedia-article that the Latin American population is growing there, but what neighbourhoods are specifically Latin American? I really don't as a White man want to move into a neighbourhood which is primarily Latin American (or primarily anything), and I'm not being racist now, but I just don't want to "stick out". I want to blend in quickly and without any noise, so if there's a good mixture of people there, that'd be excellent. Thanks!

The majority Latin American neighborhoods are South and East of Downtown - you won't be living there anyway. Rule of thumb: cheap rent = bad area

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

The majority Latin American neighborhoods are South and East of Downtown - you won't be living there anyway. Rule of thumb: cheap rent = bad area

Thanks for the answer, always good to know. Is it hard to get started in San Diego? Is there any other Californian city you would recommend a foreigner, if I now hopefully manage to acquire U.S. citizenship?

[velo333]

Originally Posted by Luke81

Hi everyone! I'm probably going to relocate to the US next year, and I am unsure which city to go. I will work as a German teacher there, and until recently I hadn't considered San Diego. After some research on the internet it seems like a nice city, but I don't know if it's what I'm looking for. Are there affordable neighborhoods near trolley stations, how dangerous is the city, how liberal/conservative is the san diego (I consider myself left and wouldn't want to live in a deeply christian town), is downtown nice and atmospheric or is a mixture between business skyscrapers and parking lots? What is the nightlife like? I'm only 26 and single and not yet thinking about building a family, are there a lot of people my age which are fun and outgoing? How good or bad is public transport in general and whre are the nearest beaches, can they be reached by public transport? I know that were a lot f questions, but it's a big move Thank you in advance.

Servus, Luke!
Ich bin auch Deutschlehrer. Da ich in San Diego geboren bin, und hier ein Haus besitze, habe ich keine Lust umzuziehen, aber es ist fast unmoeglich hier eine Stellung als Deutschlehrer zu finden. Deswegen habe ich auch ein Zeugnis in Englisch gekriegt. Hier lernt man immer mehr Spanisch als Fremdsprache, obwohl ich vor vielen Jahren Deutsch in der Schule gelernt habe, gibt es leider wenig Interesse mehr dafuer. In anderen Staedte in den USA, sowie Chicago oder St. Louis oder Philadelphia, lernt man immer noch oft Deutsch als Fremdsprache. In solchen Gebeiten, wo es immer noch viele Familien mit Deutschen Abstammung gibt, bleibt Interesse fuer Deutsch immer hoch. Viel Glueck und Herzliches Willkommen!

[Huckleberry3911948]

great weather no winter
very rude people
out of control driving behavior
lots of accidents
fiercly competitive
all done in a hawaiian shirt
with lots of smiling

[velo333]

Originally Posted by Bunky39

great weather no winter
very rude people
out of control driving behavior
lots of accidents
fiercly competitive
all done in a hawaiian shirt
with lots of smiling

poetry! few words charged to the limit with meaning;
thanks for the brief relief from prosaic posts!

[Woof]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Thanks for the answer, always good to know. Is it hard to get started in San Diego? Is there any other Californian city you would recommend a foreigner, if I now hopefully manage to acquire U.S. citizenship?

San Diego is less expensive and has less crime than Los Angeles and San Franciso, and the smaller coastal communities are very expensive. You wouldn't survive the inland cities if you are Swedish, they're too hot.

Seattle has a nice mix of people, is a bit less expensive (but catching up to California quickly) and has a somewhat Swedish community in Ballard, but of course it doesn't have the sunny California weather.

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by Woof

San Diego is less expensive and has less crime than Los Angeles and San Franciso, and the smaller coastal communities are very expensive. You wouldn't survive the inland cities if you are Swedish, they're too hot.

Seattle has a nice mix of people, is a bit less expensive (but catching up to California quickly) and has a somewhat Swedish community in Ballard, but of course it doesn't have the sunny California weather.

Great info., especially about the crime rate, thanks a lot. But is it that hot in the inland cities? I mean, I can easily adapt to warm weather, but as long as it's not in the middle of some Iraqi desert or something.

Another thing I've been thinking of, which's not directly related to the subject of relocating to SD, is the rent for apartments in the U.S. I've been curious and looked around at Craigslist.com for apartments, and they all seem very "pricy" when comparing to Swedish standards. Most "decent" one-bedroom apartments had a rent of about $1,000-$1,500 or even more in some cases. That's equal to around 7,000 SEK (Swedish crowns), which'll easily get you a four-bedroom apartment over here. On the other hand, the U.S. economy is much stronger than the Swedish one, and the Dollar is worth much more than a Swedish crown, so I guess that's only normal. Am I right? But anyhow, the question I have is, would I be able to pay a rent of let's say $1,300 for a one-bedroom apartment with a relatively low waged job? Or would I perhaps need to work two jobs, which I know some people in the U.S. do? I'm working right now, and I'll hopefully join a university in a year or two, so I'll probably have the education once I get to the U.S., but I can't rely on that to get the "perfect" job as soon as I land...as it is here, you've got to start somewhere (usually from the mid-bottom) and work yourself up. Thanks again!

[Huckleberry3911948]

great climate no winter
very rude people
out of control drivers
fiercly competitive work environment
all done in hawaiian shirts
with lots of smiling
my uncle in memphis area says livin in california is like
livin with a beautiful woman that has a headache all
the time

[Woof]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Great info., especially about the crime rate, thanks a lot. But is it that hot in the inland cities? I mean, I can easily adapt to warm weather, but as long as it's not in the middle of some Iraqi desert or something.

Another thing I've been thinking of, which's not directly related to the subject of relocating to SD, is the rent for apartments in the U.S. I've been curious and looked around at Craigslist.com for apartments, and they all seem very "pricy" when comparing to Swedish standards. Most "decent" one-bedroom apartments had a rent of about $1,000-$1,500 or even more in some cases. That's equal to around 7,000 SEK (Swedish crowns), which'll easily get you a four-bedroom apartment over here. On the other hand, the U.S. economy is much stronger than the Swedish one, and the Dollar is worth much more than a Swedish crown, so I guess that's only normal. Am I right? But anyhow, the question I have is, would I be able to pay a rent of let's say $1,300 for a one-bedroom apartment with a relatively low waged job? Or would I perhaps need to work two jobs, which I know some people in the U.S. do? I'm working right now, and I'll hopefully join a university in a year or two, so I'll probably have the education once I get to the U.S., but I can't rely on that to get the "perfect" job as soon as I land...as it is here, you've got to start somewhere (usually from the mid-bottom) and work yourself up. Thanks again!

The inland areas of Southern California get progressively hotter as you approach the more affordable areas .... I'm not sure but I believe the temps are almost always over 100F for maybe a third of the year? But I've never lived in those areas. From what I've heard, most apartments have swamp coolers (like airconditioning). However it would be a terrible commute to any university that I know of.

The minimum wage is maybe $8.00 an hour, so you might earn about $1300 per month in those jobs. A studio apartment might cost $600 to $1000 in the downtown area, and full one bedrooms as you mention are higher.

But of course if you have useful job skills you would have a much higher income.

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by Woof

The inland areas of Southern California get progressively hotter as you approach the more affordable areas .... I'm not sure but I believe the temps are almost always over 100F for maybe a third of the year? But I've never lived in those areas. From what I've heard, most apartments have swamp coolers (like airconditioning). However it would be a terrible commute to any university that I know of.

The minimum wage is maybe $8.00 an hour, so you might earn about $1300 per month in those jobs. A studio apartment might cost $600 to $1000 in the downtown area, and full one bedrooms as you mention are higher.

But of course if you have useful job skills you would have a much higher income.

Ah, I see. Very interesting indeed. And I take it the poorer, lower-class people (often perhaps Hispanics and/or illegal Aliens?) live in the more "affordable areas"?

Well, a temperature of 100F for about a third of the year...that'd sure be something for me to swallow.

I've been reading some other threads in this subforum and found that SD, or California as a whole, is becoming more unattractive to relocate to due to higher prices (esp. withing housing and real estate), so I might've to think twice about that. What do you think? Is there any other place on the West Coast you'd recommend instead, if it indeed is true what they say about California?

I guess I could be posting this in a new thread, but I'll use this opportunity instead (a moderator could change this if necessary). My requirements are not very demanding...I'd like to live in a neighbourhood relatively free of gang activities (I won't say "free of crime" because most neighbourhoods do unfortunately suffer from low/moderate/high criminal activities) in a relatively large city. I don't really care if the people there belong to the lower (or whatever) classes or where they're from (although I would prefer a community with a good mix, and if it has a little too many Hispanics, Whites or Blacks, it doesn't matter) nor do I care if they're generally so-called "Ghosts" (I'm used to it and have become somewhat of a "Ghost" myself), I'm not expecting a welcome party as I move in. I mind my own business and they mind theirs, but if I'm approached or greeted I'll of course be polite and friendly and respond. I'm a single young man myself, so I'd prefer if the neighbourhood has a good amount of people within my range of age (20-25). Beach availability is not important. However, as I'm not driving a car now and probably won't be in the U.S. either, I'd like to have quick access to public transportation systems like buses and/or subways. If not, smart bicycling routes would be great (or I can just walk, I have afterall a pair of two healthy legs). I take it most neighbourhoods/communities have access to a local grocery store, or something called Wal-Mart(?) Since I mentioned I'm looking for a neighbourhood located in a relatively large city, I take it there will be a downtown there with pubs, bars and stuff in which you can make new friends or perhaps meet the love of your life.

Well, I hope I don't get yelled at now because my "requirements" weren't so undemanding as I said they would be. I'm sure some of you here will come up with something, though. Thanks in advance!