2 x Australian's moving to SD! (San Diego: apartments, how much, home)

[LukeFurse]

Hello Everyone,

A friend & I have come to the understanding that we need a change, we need to do something that has the potential to change everything about ourselves from career paths to the people we love!!
We came to the conclusion we need to experience a new life with new surroundings, new cultures, the lot!
As cliche as it sounds California seemed to be the shining light!
San Diego was chosen merely for the fact i have family who live in SD who we could stay with with til we get our feet on the ground, I have no doubt in my mind it is a great city full of potential.

My friend & myself are both 23 year old, single males
Basically our question is.... If you were a 23yr old, single Australian male just off the plane what would you suggest is best for us?? in terms of jobs, apartments, girls, cost of living, fun, friendly people, music....

Is San Diego where we should reside, or should we be looking further North to settle?

oh and by the way..... ever since i was a little boy i have always supported the San Diego Chargers!! i look forward to going to a game!

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thankyou!

Luke

[aacole]

Without knowing the specifics about what kind of job experience or education you have it is a bit difficult to say what kind of job you can get. However, you can generally get a job that you need, but it may not be the job you want.

The one thing you do have in your favor that most people do not is the ability to stay with family members.

You'll need a car and license, unless you want to use the bus system and trolley, but you asked about girls so unless you want to have a date with a girl and have her meet you at the Gaslamp Quarter trolley stop, you'll need to get a car.

San diego can be done without a car, but it will give you less freedom. Maybe initially you'll have to rely on public transportation

Your income and budget will dictate how much you can spend on housing so it will be hard to recommend places without knowing how much you will be making.

I lived in Clairemont near Balboa and Genessee and found it pretty central to everything I wanted. It is close to Mission Bay/Beach and La Jolla/UTC is fairly close. It was not a very nice neighborhood about 10 years ago, but its made improvements.

[soymabelen]

Originally Posted by LukeFurse

Hello Everyone,

A friend & I have come to the understanding that we need a change, we need to do something that has the potential to change everything about ourselves from career paths to the people we love!!
We came to the conclusion we need to experience a new life with new surroundings, new cultures, the lot!
As cliche as it sounds California seemed to be the shining light!
San Diego was chosen merely for the fact i have family who live in SD who we could stay with with til we get our feet on the ground, I have no doubt in my mind it is a great city full of potential.

My friend & myself are both 23 year old, single males
Basically our question is.... If you were a 23yr old, single Australian male just off the plane what would you suggest is best for us?? in terms of jobs, apartments, girls, cost of living, fun, friendly people, music....

Is San Diego where we should reside, or should we be looking further North to settle?

oh and by the way..... ever since i was a little boy i have always supported the San Diego Chargers!! i look forward to going to a game!

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thankyou!

Luke

As far as I know, Australian citizens need a work permit. Unless you are an American citizen or permanent resident, you will need a work permit to legally work in the US. If you are entering the country with a tourist visa, it specifically prohibits engaging in paid employment.

Depending on your education and experience, you have access to different kinds of work visas, but first you need to find a sponsor. The process is first you find a job, your prospective employer then files for a work permit in your name, then you wait until the process is complete before you can start working. I would go to the US official immigration website to find out more. It is a lengthy and costly process but it can be done.

Follow the link if you are interested:

USCIS Home Page

Good luck.

[sav858]

For living around people your age I'd look into Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Downtown/Gaslamp, Little Italy, Hillcrest, and North Park areas. The beach communities are nice, full of young people and good looking girls, and its fairly easy to meet people.

[sdlion10]

I am an Australian living in SD.

I would suggest you reach out to the Aussie community here. You can reach us all at [URL="http://www.sandiegolions.com"]www.sandiegolions.com[/URL] we are a social Aussie rules team here. Most people who have dropped by have a blast.

From there we can point you both in the right direction.

[LukeFurse]

Originally Posted by sdlion10

I am an Australian living in SD.

I would suggest you reach out to the Aussie community here. You can reach us all at www.sandiegolions.com we are a social Aussie rules team here. Most people who have dropped by have a blast.

From there we can point you both in the right direction.

fantastic!!! immensely appreciate everyone's help... thank you so much

Australian Rules Football!!! unreal, wouldn't even think you'd have a team there, that's great... not sure if you're familiar with the SANFL here in Adelaide but up until 2005 i had been playing League & Reserves for The South Adelaide Football club & i would be extremely interested in joining your team in San Diego

Plans for the move have been postponed due to study commitments back home & at the moment it will be more likely a 2010 arrival.... but i would certainly love to keep in contact & get all the help i can get.... thank you so much

i have registered on the SD Lions page so i'll be sure to be in contact soon

Thanks again,

Luke

[parkdog]

Hi Luke, Im a 25 year old male from Melbourne looking to move to SD.Have you made the move yet? any tips? Affordable Living? where abouts do you rent? how much is rent?Cheers Mate