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I was actually hoping on not buying a car for awhile, and taking a bike/public transport to work. I will have more work experience when I graduate in December, as I start a job soon and will work there through July of 2008. I worked for almost 4 years in high school, and only took time off at UW-Madison for a little while (but not a long while). I will also be doing extra work on top of working nearly full time this summer.
You guys are making it sound horribly stressful. I do understand it totally can be, though. I have been to San Francisco many times, and dining is indeed quite expensive. There were still a lot of amazing, cheaper places when you get away from the hideous tourist trap areas like Fisherman's Wharf, though (Does anyone that lives in the Bay Area actually go there?)
Perhaps, at least initially, Los Angeles is better for me. I have friends moving to Los Angeles and would probably be able to share an apartment. Even if I choose not to- I have looked into many neighborhoods there and see that some of the areas can be significantly cheaper than the Bay Area. The plastic-ness and SSPPRRAAWWLL will make me want to cut myself, but not sludging through two feet of snow while being frozen to the bone. Perhaps I will call Inglewood my new home....
How is Redwood City? Would I be able to afford anything there? It seems like they have some really affordable stuff, and if I worked in SF would it be feasible just to take the Caltrain there?
Actually, SF is a much better place to be a hetero guy than most of the rest of the state. The heavy concentration of men who aren't interested in women does work in a straight man's favor. Berkeley has more of a concentration of women who aren't interested in men than S.F.
The worst places for a hetero guy in Cal. ? L.A. has to be the worst, followed by O.C. and San Diego.
Good point about the availability of women vs. hetero guys in SF, lol. I hadn't thought of it that way. But you may not be aware that SF is now full of lesbians, and I would disagree that Berkeley has a heavier concentration of them than SF.
Why would L.A., O.C. and San Diego be bad for a hetero guy? I can maybe understand O.C. and SD perhaps having a higher rate of married women, but why do you say L.A.? There are a gajillion single women there.
I was actually hoping on not buying a car for awhile, and taking a bike/public transport to work. I will have more work experience when I graduate in December, as I start a job soon and will work there through July of 2008. I worked for almost 4 years in high school, and only took time off at UW-Madison for a little while (but not a long while). I will also be doing extra work on top of working nearly full time this summer.
You guys are making it sound horribly stressful. I do understand it totally can be, though. I have been to San Francisco many times, and dining is indeed quite expensive. There were still a lot of amazing, cheaper places when you get away from the hideous tourist trap areas like Fisherman's Wharf, though (Does anyone that lives in the Bay Area actually go there?)
Perhaps, at least initially, Los Angeles is better for me. I have friends moving to Los Angeles and would probably be able to share an apartment. Even if I choose not to- I have looked into many neighborhoods there and see that some of the areas can be significantly cheaper than the Bay Area. The plastic-ness and SSPPRRAAWWLL will make me want to cut myself, but not sludging through two feet of snow while being frozen to the bone. Perhaps I will call Inglewood my new home....
L.A. has many areas that are significantly cheaper than SF and L.A. does have a pretty good public transit train system now, or so I've read. I don't know how well Inglewood is served by it, but I'm sure if you google it, you can find their website with route information. I believe it is just called the "Metro". There are some very old towns in the L.A. area that still have the older parts as the heart of the town and are unblemished by the cookie-cutter track homes and miles of apartments that characterize so much of SoCal urban areas, although those towns have grown out in that manner from their old town centers. Many have been redeveloped and refurbished and have a slower, more civilized pace than one usually thinks of L.A. as having. Maybe your best bet is to work in the L.A. area a couple of years to get some experience that you can then market for the salary you need to live more comfortably in SF, rather than trying to start out there and struggling paycheck to paycheck. L.A. is hotter than hell in the summer.
LOL! I doubt that many SF locals hang out at Fisherman's Wharf, but there are attractions very close by the wharf where they do. But nice restaurants in SF are still pretty pricey, many much higher than the wharf.
Redwood City might have some affordable places, but not much in the way of rapid transit -- tough location without a car.
Most SF locals don't hang out at Fisherman's Wharf, unless they have kids and go once in a while for a diversion, but it is pretty much regarded as a cheesy tourist trap kind of place, but there are fabulous restaurants in the City that are very inexpensive as well as really well known pricey ones.There are great places to explore, and it's pretty easy to do the main part of the City on foot, or you can literally jump on a cable car. In LA, you won't be able to see the city on foot, but there are lots of great areas to see if you know someone with a car -- Griffith Park, beaches, museums ...
LA, OC, and SF are great for a hetero single guy -- you all have the whole gay stereotype blown way out of proportion. If you want to, you could just as easily find a gay bar in LA or OC as you could in SF, just depends on where you find yourself. While LA has revived its Metro system, if you are planning on using it, just make sure you locate yourself nearby -- it's a SPRAWWLING city and the Metro doesn't begin to cover it all.
I think your plan to move South and share an apartment is a good one. There are more affordable places in the LA/OC area than the SF area simply because of the size. While I hated LA/Santa Monica, I really liked areas like Newport, Pasadena, Manhattan Beach, and there are a mix of places in various price ranges, especially if you have a roommate.
Don't let the whole homosexual thing scare you off -- way overblown. If you are really homophobic, though, you'll find it bothering you anywhere you go, unless you decide to settle in the Central Valley ....
How is Redwood City? Would I be able to afford anything there? It seems like they have some really affordable stuff, and if I worked in SF would it be feasible just to take the Caltrain there?
Redwood City is a very divided town... east of El Camino (around Middlefield & 5th Ave. or thereabouts) is "Little Mexico", the "barrio", or whatever you'd like to call it. It's kinda cool, actually, and has some awesome places to eat - but it does have a run-down feel, and isn't where most people want to live. Though they've recently renovated part of it, with a gorgeous new library, movie theater, and restaurants. West of El Camino is a bit nicer, with lots of apartments & small homes around Woodside Rd., Farm Hill Blvd., and Jefferson Ave. Then it gets better as you go up toward Canada Rd., and becomes what's known as "Emerald Hills", with large single-family homes.
I'd suggest the apartments on Woodside Rd. or Farm Hill, which are pretty nice & affordable... crime isn't high in that area, aside from your usual stuff. But be warned, the cops are like VULTURES!! They have clever speeding signs all over those roads (like "Speeding tickets available ahead", "Is this the day your speed kills a child", etc.), and they truly mean business. I'm a notorious lead-foot, so it's always a struggle holding back in that town, LOL... got pulled over recently for rolling a stop sign, but the cop was cool & let me go. Oh, and taking CalTrain would be easy from there... you can either drive down the hill, or hop on a SamTrans bus & get to the station in a few minutes!
You guys are making it sound horribly stressful. I do understand it totally can be, though. I have been to San Francisco many times, and dining is indeed quite expensive. There were still a lot of amazing, cheaper places when you get away from the hideous tourist trap areas like Fisherman's Wharf, though (Does anyone that lives in the Bay Area actually go there?)
Like "fishstix" said, the locals don't typically go to Fisherman's Wharf. I went there a few times as a kid, usually with class trips or visiting relatives, but that's about it. Besides, I'd rather hang out at Pier 39, Cliff House or Ghirardelli (sp?) Square, if given the choice of waterfront tourist-traps. Btw, I've only ridden a cable car twice... LOL.
Yes, it can be stressful living in the Bay Area, but I think the benefits are great too. Nothing against Los Angeleans, but you couldn't pay me enough to choose it over SF. Our traffic is slightly better, the air is clean, and the weather is cooler (a good thing, in my opinion). The attitude is also much different, in a way that suits my personality. LA has some great stuff to offer too, and I considered moving there for job opportunities... but I just couldn't see myself being happy there. So I guess it depends on what your specific priorities & needs/wants are. Anyway, good luck in whatever you do!
Yeah, my parents are loser tourists. We went to Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square, too. We at at a Chinese restaurant at the latter, and we were the only ones in it, and it was gigantic, so it was really awkward. Decent food, though. But not spectacular like some of the places in Chinatown (I remember one in particular, and it was cheap, too).
I could move to LA, but I just feel like SF is so much more for me. Although they too are somewhat fake, the people there I think are genuinely nicer and all around more fun in a more intelligent, educated way like I like. Laws on marijuana use are probably a lot more lax (in Madison, underaged drinkers and marijuana smokers are usually only charged if they are being disruptive). I hear in Orange County, cops treat you like the absolute personification of hell if you are a teenager/recent college graduate. I can't imagine living in that LA culture. SF is the only city in the US that I've been to that I felt was truly multicultural and diverse. No matter where you were, you typically saw every race and every type of person, and you could see there was really no tension there.
Growing up in Wisconsin, you take for granted the greenness, vegetation, and water (Wisconsin has the 2nd most lakes out of the 48 states behind Florida). I love mild temperatures, I don't like the bright sun all the time, and I LOVE trees and greenness... and SF and Northern California offers that at a level not only unseen in the rest of the United States, but mostly unseen in the rest of the world- especially in urbanized, 1st world areas. When I saw Yosemite (again, sadly, only the touristy parts of it), I can tell you, like John Muir said... there is really something humbling and beautiful about that place. You can really feel it. Even the drive was more beautiful than anything in the midwest.
I hear in the LA area a lot of college grads with little/no work experience become mortgage loan officers, and if they do well they can make very good money (50,000+) because housing costs are so high? Do you know if that is true at all in SF too- the part about college grads becoming mortgage officers?
To the original poster- get some roomates. Even when I was making $150K I had a roommate in the Bay Area. Think Manhattan expensive for any area where a heterosexual male would want to live.
To the original poster- get some roomates. Even when I was making $150K I had a roommate in the Bay Area. Think Manhattan expensive for any area where a heterosexual male would want to live.
What were you doing making 150k? I guess it makes sense to live with a roommate making that much if you want to save. Also, nothing in the US is near Manhattan expensive.
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LA vs SF
Oh, and taking CalTrain would be easy from there... you can either drive down the hill, or hop on a SamTrans bus & get to the station in a few minutes!
Our traffic is slightly better, the air is clean, and the weather is cooler (a good thing, in my opinion). The attitude is also much different, in a way that suits my personality. LA has some great stuff to offer too, and I considered moving there for job opportunities... but I just couldn't see myself being happy there. So I guess it depends on what your specific priorities & needs/wants are. Anyway, good luck in whatever you do!
