Picking up and moving to SF without any plans.. (Los Angeles: apartment, motel)

[lalablahblah]

How feasible/possible is it to simply move to San Francisco with nothing but maybe some cash to pay for a couple nights at a motel and the food and water? Is it too hard these days(Or any other day) to come into the city, find a simple job(Flipping burgers,etc.) and live cheap off of that for a while?

[Puddy4LyF]

Answer: No, it is not feasible or intelligent. Why don't you get interviews for jobs setup before you move? I sent my resume out to hundreds of places before I came. I had 2 jobs lined up before I even got in my car. Don't come here with nothing and no plans -- you'll end up adding to the homeless population.

[lalablahblah]

Originally Posted by Puddy4LyF

Answer: No, it is not feasible or intelligent. Why don't you get interviews for jobs setup before you move? I sent my resume out to hundreds of places before I came. I had 2 jobs lined up before I even got in my car. Don't come here with nothing and no plans -- you'll end up adding to the homeless population.

Because I'm not the kind of person and don't have the kind of resume needed to land jobs online. I'm not a professional/career person, just a young guy with nothing good going for him in the current situation and I figure moving to a new and big city could give me some more opportunities and a fresh start. I have absolutely no idea what kind of job I would even look for, I'd take anything that comes my way and pays. Would that get me stuck in some Compton-Style neighborhood?

[18Montclair]

what sort of work can you do?

[Puddy4LyF]

I'm not saying you have to be a career person. Even Panera makes you fill out applications. Take a look at a business map in neighborhoods that are cheaper, and call every business that sounds like something you could do and gage their need for another employee. Set up an interview before you come and write down their address. It gets the ball rolling and will give you an idea of what you can expect. My other suggestion is doing the exact same with roommates to cut down cost. There are usually people looking for a 3rd or 4th roommate to cut down the costs of an apartment - have you looked into this? You're going to need a way to keep the costs down once you get there.

[lalablahblah]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

what sort of work can you do?

Ask people if they want Fry's with that, clean, lift things in one corner and put them in another corner, etc.

I want to be a writer which means my entire life could end up being a waist but I'm happy to waist it in a big and diverse city(I've read SF is big and diverse) and I've figured I'm going to be living like a dog no matter where I go because I have no talent other than putting my imagination on paper. I guess my question is how hard is it to live like a dog in SF?

Originally Posted by Puddy4LyF

I'm not saying you have to be a career person. Even Panera makes you fill out applications. Take a look at a business map in neighborhoods that are cheaper, and call every business that sounds like something you could do and gage their need for another employee. Set up an interview before you come and write down their address. It gets the ball rolling and will give you an idea of what you can expect. My other suggestion is doing the exact same with roommates to cut down cost. There are usually people looking for a 3rd or 4th roommate to cut down the costs of an apartment - have you looked into this? You're going to need a way to keep the costs down once you get there.

Thanks for the suggestions,If I decide to go through with the move, I'll try to have as much as possible set up before I get there. The only way I can think of finding roommates would be craigslist but I have a hard time believing anything I see on that site....has it truly worked for anybody?

[Mach50]

Do you have a tent or a car? Because you may need it.

In all seriousness, to pull this off I think you need a friend here, or some place to stay a while. Because I don't think you will find a job here in a short time. There is a lot of competition even for the lowest of menial jobs.

[allenk893]

Originally Posted by lalablahblah

I want to be a writer which means my entire life could end up being a waist but I'm happy to waist it in a big and diverse city(I've read SF is big and diverse) and I've figured I'm going to be living like a dog no matter where I go because I have no talent other than putting my imagination on paper. I guess my question is how hard is it to live like a dog in SF?

Lol dude are you nuts? Have you gone wacko?

First of all, you have better chances to live BETTER in LA (Los Angeles) than ultra expensive San Francisco.

Second, what makes you think San Francisco is gonna be as awesome as you seem to think it will be? Since your willing to live like a common animal in this dream city.

Third, do you even know how you will be getting there? How you will pay off your taxes? What will be your transportation to-and-from work? Will you have furniture? Will you have food - or eat take out every night?? Will you have ANY type of money when you get there because you might have spent it all just trying to get to San Francisco? And do you even have a job NOW to be planning all of this? This all seems kind of rushed to me.

[Mach50]

I am usually a "Go For It" crazy kind of dude...but this just sounds like a setup for being homeless.

You at least need a friend here, a job or a few months cash to survive...

[BayAreaHillbilly]

A very hostile place to come without lots of dinero already in hand.