Thinking of moving to California (San Diego, San Francisco: 2009, find a job, landscaping)

[specficer]

I will be getting a Master's degree either Dec. '09 or May '10 in Creative Writing and will be moving out of Michigan after that. I am sick of the weather and want to move somewhere warmer. I was thinking of moving to Portland or Seattle before (and it is still in my mind as the weather is mild and they have forests and mountains, which I love), but now I am thinking of moving to Florida or California.

I have never been to California, however it does look like it is a nice place to live for the most part. I just don't know what to expect as far as terrain goes. From what I have seen on TV, the southern part of the state looks very dry. I really love being around trees, hills, water, and hiking trails. I just have to get out of this cold weather.

I want to go to a place where I can get outdoor exercise year round. Hopefully I would be able to get into a safe neighborhood that I can walk to some local shops, etc.

I thought San Diego looked like a good sized city for me (though a bit larger than I am used to), but I don't know much about it. I assume I would just settle into one area of the city. I am worried about living in an area with gang members. The illusion of safety is very important to me.

For outdoor activities, I enjoy swimming, going to the beach, hiking, biking, and walking.

For city life stuff, I like to go to clubs, go to the movies, go to the bookstore, and go windowshopping (especially at malls).

Also, how are the people of San Diego? I am a straight white male. I am 25yo, and I am a liberal atheist. I don't speak Spanish. I would prefer to be around similar type people (which I think may end up putting me into San Francisco rather than San Diego). But I had an uncle that lived in San Diego and loved it. Plus it seems to be a bit warmer.

I guess I am mostly concern about being around "fake" people. I guess seeing all the shows on Hollywood types has tainted my view somewhat of Californians. I assume that most Californians aren't like the people shown on TV (like those OC reality shows). I really don't want to live anywhere near Hollywood types.

So is San Diego for me? Or is there another California city that would be a better match (such as San Francisco)?

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by specficer

I will be getting a Master's degree either Dec. '09 or May '10 in Creative Writing and will be moving out of Michigan after that. I am sick of the weather and want to move somewhere warmer. I was thinking of moving to Portland or Seattle before (and it is still in my mind as the weather is mild and they have forests and mountains, which I love), but now I am thinking of moving to Florida or California.

I have never been to California, however it does look like it is a nice place to live for the most part. I just don't know what to expect as far as terrain goes. From what I have seen on TV, the southern part of the state looks very dry. I really love being around trees, hills, water, and hiking trails. I just have to get out of this cold weather.

I want to go to a place where I can get outdoor exercise year round. Hopefully I would be able to get into a safe neighborhood that I can walk to some local shops, etc.

I thought San Diego looked like a good sized city for me (though a bit larger than I am used to), but I don't know much about it. I assume I would just settle into one area of the city. I am worried about living in an area with gang members. The illusion of safety is very important to me.

For outdoor activities, I enjoy swimming, going to the beach, hiking, biking, and walking.

For city life stuff, I like to go to clubs, go to the movies, go to the bookstore, and go windowshopping (especially at malls).

Also, how are the people of San Diego? I am a straight white male. I am 25yo, and I am a liberal atheist. I don't speak Spanish. I would prefer to be around similar type people (which I think may end up putting me into San Francisco rather than San Diego). But I had an uncle that lived in San Diego and loved it. Plus it seems to be a bit warmer.

I guess I am mostly concern about being around "fake" people. I guess seeing all the shows on Hollywood types has tainted my view somewhat of Californians. I assume that most Californians aren't like the people shown on TV (like those OC reality shows). I really don't want to live anywhere near Hollywood types.

So is San Diego for me? Or is there another California city that would be a better match (such as San Francisco)?

My advise to you, first of all, find a job, then think about where you want to live based on that. The unemployment rate in Ca is among the highest in the country, of course this takes in blue collar as well as white collar, but writers are a dime a dozen in Calif.

As for the life you want to lead, well that can be found many places in Ca, but all have some draw backs. First of all, you don't speak spanish but are thinking of someplace like San Diego. Again, many people getting out of college in Ca today do speak spanish. You are straight, but thinking about San Francisco, night be a slight problem there, you do not like phoney people, many of the more desirable areas in Calif do have their share of fake people. If you do really want to live in Calif I think you are going to have to give something up. I do think No Ca would be better bet, but first, take a trip to the state, plan on staying a week or so, look at the job maket, then decide if it is for you. My feeling, you may be better off in Portland.

Nita

[VC mom]

I would prefer to be around similar type people

San Diego isn't for you.

It's a city of people who don't have silly stereotypes.

Try Northern CA or maybe Portland or Seattle.

[empomaranc]

I am a 23 year old art student from Chicago and I want to move to California in July. As for who I am as a person, just like the person in the original post I'm a liberal non-religious person. I'm happy to be a nanny or whatever to make money so jobs aren't as much of an issue as they might be for others. What I'm interested in is a very cool place with artists and more alternative people. I LOVE the outdoors but I'm also a city girl at heart. I was leaning toward the bay area but I'm really just groping around blindly trying to find a place. Housing in Chicago isn't cheap so I'm used to a city-level cost of living. Help!

[socketz]

Please come here and spend money...soon, as our state is close to being bankrupt.

Because of this issue, there are alot of tax/fee increases planned for this year in CA.

Unemployment is now also at 10.1% and is projected to go to 13-15% before the end of 2009. Be very careful relocating here before you have some form of employment lined up.

Not to scare you away, just make sure you have a plan and take all these things into consideration before making the decision to move.

[loveautumn]

As the previous poster said, California right now has the highest unemployment (without including all the illegals and underground economy that don't get counted), and will be the highest taxed state in the union. How does $600-800+ sound to register your car? Housing is very expensive.

Seriously, San Diego is not an "urban city" at all. If you like a true city life (NYC, Chicago, Boston, etc.), this isn't the place for you. You can do the downtown scene in one weekend, which consists of a couple of blocks called the Gaslamp and be done with it.

And most of us that still do have jobs are working 12-14 hours a day to keep them, so we never see the beaches, museums, mountains, etc, etc. anyway.

Really, think twice and three times about coming here right now.

[sav858]

If you love trees and forests then look into Northern CA, there aren't many forests in SoCal except for higher elevations. NorCal gets more rain and is cooler overall so it is more lush with vegetation.

Everything else can be found in either the Bay Area or San Diego.

As for the fake people, its a stereotype and some of those types exist here but its small portion of people that just stick out like a sore thumb. I've never really had a problem or issue with those types.

[bloom]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

And most of us that still do have jobs are working 12-14 hours a day to keep them, so we never see the beaches, museums, mountains, etc, etc. anyway.

Still, 52 weekends = 104 days + extra days off from work is a significant opportunity to see beaches, museums, mountains (normalized to doing laundry, etc). Compare to other areas of country which have ~5 months of good weather weekends.

[luvSD]

I think San Diego is a nice City and you could learn to love it. Wrt your description, this place has a lot of outdoor activities like going to beach, recreational biking, shopping malls for casual walking, and places to walk around like Balboa park & waterfront. Even attractions like the zoo or Seaworld really requires a lot of walking. By the way, many (if not all) of the shopping malls here are outdoor shopping malls. You don't walk around inside a building with stores: you walk around outside and windowshop.

It can get very hot here in the summer so that could be a problem if you don't like the desert heat. But then again, if you work in an air conditioned office until 6 pm, then it's not an issue because you will be cool all day and then leave work to enjoy a few hours of sun, a beautiful sunset, and then a warm evening.

Inland (30 minutes drive east of the ocean) can be quite hot and it shows: dry grass, more cacti etc. But if you live at the coast, then you wouldn't even know that it is a coastal desert - irrigation and landscaping is prominent in San Diego.

There is not very much night life here unless you plan to get a group of friends together and start your own parties. the only place that I know of where you can bar-hop is the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego .

Fake people: well - depends on where you go. I think you'll always find fake people but then there's a lot of regular people too. Just choose who to hang around with - avoid the fakes and find the normal ones.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by luvSD

There is not very much night life here unless you plan to get a group of friends together and start your own parties. the only place that I know of where you can bar-hop is the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego .

Pacific Beach is well known for its nightlife and bar hopping. Carlsbad Village has a little bar scene too.