Moving from Camarillo, CA to Tacoma or Vancouver (apartments, minimum wage)

[Aberu]

Which do you suggest. I'm just a normal everyday 22 year old guy who just wants a single bedroom apartment for myself, and a humble minimum wage or slightly higher lifestyle. I can't really move out of my Mom's if I stay in California without moving in with roommates (bleh) or moving to the neighboring town of Oxnard (one of the highest murder rates per capita in the country!). To me I see pictures of the Tacoma area and sattelite views and it's beautiful to me. Trees everywhere, despite it being a decently crowded city. They have apartments galore that beat the 1:1 ratio of dollar to sq ft.

You guys up there in Washington, stay, never come to California, no matter what. It's wasteful living here. In Oxnard, one of the worst cities in the whole state, cost of living is insane. A 400 sq. ft studio starts there at around 700-800 bucks.

Anyways, just give me some advice. I work at a pizza place now, and love working at restaurants. I don't think about the future much, which is obvious, but I think someday I would want to start or run a pizza place of sorts. So what is your advice? I found some really nice looking apartments. In fact I found heaps of them. Is low-end work easy to get? I am thinking of going up there temporarily to secure a job and move up with low funds.

[T-TownNicky]

I don't know much about Vancouver (I only drive through it) but I do know a lot about Tacoma. Tacoma's restaurant industry has been exploding the last few years. I don't think you'd have any trouble finding decent employment. There are even a couple newer pizza places that have restaurant atmospheres.

You can find several low-rent apartments as well. You can always check Craig's List for both a job and an apartment before you head up here.

Good luck!