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Hi everyone, I was hoping to get a little advice. I'm 23 years old, will be graduating next week (!) from university, have spent my whole life in Nebraska... and I want out! I do love it here but I'm sick of the cold winters, and there aren't really many job opportunities related to my field (International Studies & Japanese).
The thing is, as I'm sure you all know, the economy is still craptastic and it seems to be very hard to find an entry-level job right now, particularly from one state to another. My current roommate and I are starting to consider just saving money and taking a leap of faith by moving without a job lined up, hoping that it'll make the search easier if we are already where we want to be.
Unfortunately we don't know much about CA. After some basic research it seems most 1-bedroom apartments in Southern Cali would run us around $1000 - we plan on rooming together if needed - so that would be acceptable I guess. But, the good thing is we aren't too picky and don't mind not starting out on the beach - we can work our way up to that!
Anyway, to make a long story short, what's a (relatively) cheap/inexpensive place to live in California that's still warm, and possibly would have potential entry-level job opportunities?.
(Oh, and "warm" in this case probably means... at least around 50Fish or above year-round?? preferably higher, but we're a little flexible here. and deserts are totally a-okay!)
Hi everyone, I was hoping to get a little advice. I'm 23 years old, will be graduating next week (!) from university, have spent my whole life in Nebraska... and I want out! I do love it here but I'm sick of the cold winters, and there aren't really many job opportunities related to my field (International Studies & Japanese).
The thing is, as I'm sure you all know, the economy is still craptastic and it seems to be very hard to find an entry-level job right now, particularly from one state to another. My current roommate and I are starting to consider just saving money and taking a leap of faith by moving without a job lined up, hoping that it'll make the search easier if we are already where we want to be.
Unfortunately we don't know much about CA. After some basic research it seems most 1-bedroom apartments in Southern Cali would run us around $1000 - we plan on rooming together if needed - so that would be acceptable I guess. But, the good thing is we aren't too picky and don't mind not starting out on the beach - we can work our way up to that!
Anyway, to make a long story short, what's a (relatively) cheap/inexpensive place to live in California that's still warm, and possibly would have potential entry-level job opportunities?.
(Oh, and "warm" in this case probably means... at least around 50Fish or above year-round?? preferably higher, but we're a little flexible here. and deserts are totally a-okay!)
Thanks so much in advance
I understand how you feel, I know NE can be miserable in the winters, but think before you leap. There are a few other states with decent weather and a little better job opportunities. If you don't know much about Ca why do you think it would be a great place to live? I am not saying you shouldn't do it but how about checking other states like maybe NM, or Texas for starters.
I understand how you feel, I know NE can be miserable in the winters, but think before you leap. There are a few other states with decent weather and a little better job opportunities. If you don't know much about Ca why do you think it would be a great place to live? I am not saying you shouldn't do it but how about checking other states like maybe NM, or Texas for starters.
Nita
Thanks for the response!!
Haha, my thinking before I leap is this post I thought it would be smartest to ask around before making any rash decisions, moving is just a vague new consideration at this point.
Of course, it's not just weather that's the problem (though it's big) - Japanese-related jobs are sparse around my parts and while I could probably get something in a closer city like Chicago, I would still be dealing with crap winter. As for other high-Japanese population areas, that would leave me with NYC, California or Hawaii. In fact, Hawaii is my first choice but getting there is much more expensive than getting to California, sooo...
I know as an entry-level that beggars can't be choosers, and the last time I went to CA was about 10 years ago so any image I have of it is probably just a rosey romantic vision, but... well. I don't know. I guess I'd rather have a crap beginner job in Cali than anywhere else. Minus Hawaii. And, er, minus a crap job that doesn't pay enough for me to actually live, haha.
Anyway, summary: I have this idea that it would be much easier to get an entry-level job related to my interests/field in an area with a high amount of Japanese in the population, like California or Hawaii.
Oh, and by "not knowing much about CA", I meant that I don't know much about cost-of-living in specific areas of the state - like LA vs Fresno or something, I had to look that up. Or how much on average an apartment is to rent per month. Those kinds of questions... sorry for not being pointing that out properly! I promise I'm not some derpy Nebraskan who doesn't know much
Last edited by nisecal; 04-28-2011 at 09:17 PM..
Reason: forgot something!
What makes you think that Japanese will be a useful language to speak in CA?
If you want a marketable non-English language skill, among them would be:
Spanish
Chinese.. pick a dialect
Vietnamese
AFAIK, nearly all the Japanese in CA speak English as they've either been here for generations or they came from Japan with at least a minimal ability to speak English.
I just don't understand why you think your Japanese language skills are marketable.
As for entry-level jobs in general in CA, those are competed for, esp with Latin American immigrants, legal or not.
I agree with Nita- if you want warmer weather but are interested in both a better job market and a lower cost of living, look at TX. In CA, you'll get warm weather but a very competitive job market and a very high cost of living.
Stop CA dreaming until you have a job before even moving here. Once you have that job secured, then start dreaming.
Probably prudent to find work first or plan a quick, targeted, info-gathering trip. When I lived in LA in the 80s and 90s I had acquaintances (Japanese-Americans who either knew or learned Japanese) who worked for the LA offices of Japanese business firms, or who worked for a Japanese TV network's USA bureau in Southern Cal...but jobs like that are tough to come by, and given the state of the world economy, may no longer exist!
There are a few communities with Japanese and Japanese-American populations. The South Bay and Gardena, and Little Tokyo (not sure if many actually live there) would have immigrant and ex-pat populations, and Japanese-oriented businesses. Westwood and West LA have a lot of Japanese UCLA students and a community that caters to them, especially around Sawtelle and Olympic Blvd.
You might find some comfortable, affordable apartments in the South Bay...maybe the Torrance area. West LA might be more enjoyable, offer more transportation options and have more affordable apartments available since a lot of UCLA students live there. West L.A. can be pricey, Palms and Mar Vista areas a little less so...but don't agree to rent without seeing a place and the neighborhood first.
AFAIK, nearly all the Japanese in CA speak English as they've either been here for generations or they came from Japan with at least a minimal ability to speak English.
This part is correct, but the OP isn't limited to beiing a translator. There are many Japanese companies in CA, esp. in LA or Bay Area, that your degree would give you an edge up on as they would appreciate someone with familiarity with Japanese culture. But it's true that the Japanese-heavy areas are in the nicer parts of CA which are also the more expensive parts.
There aren't too many in NM. TX might be a little better, but CA has more & so does HI which I wouldn't dismiss as a pipe dream just yet. Hawaii has even more Japanese people than California & a much lower unemployment rate.
What makes you think that Japanese will be a useful language to speak in CA?
If you want a marketable non-English language skill, among them would be:
Spanish
Chinese.. pick a dialect
Vietnamese
AFAIK, nearly all the Japanese in CA speak English as they've either been here for generations or they came from Japan with at least a minimal ability to speak English.
I just don't understand why you think your Japanese language skills are marketable.
As for entry-level jobs in general in CA, those are competed for, esp with Latin American immigrants, legal or not.
I agree with Nita- if you want warmer weather but are interested in both a better job market and a lower cost of living, look at TX. In CA, you'll get warm weather but a very competitive job market and a very high cost of living.
Stop CA dreaming until you have a job before even moving here. Once you have that job secured, then start dreaming.
Haha, rather than thinking my skills are "marketable", it's that Japanese is my love and passion (and degree!), so I want to have a job that uses it or is related to Japan in some way - which is possible in California. I don't have any interest in Spanish or Vietnamese (Chinese is OK though!), so I won't spend time on those languages and cultures. However, discussion of my career choice is not actually the point of my thread, but thank you for the suggestions anyway!!
As much as I hate Texas (comes with being Nebraskan), it is on my list of options (albeit incredibly low)! And I definitely can't stop California Dreamin' no matter what
Probably prudent to find work first or plan a quick, targeted, info-gathering trip. When I lived in LA in the 80s and 90s I had acquaintances (Japanese-Americans who either knew or learned Japanese) who worked for the LA offices of Japanese business firms, or who worked for a Japanese TV network's USA bureau in Southern Cal...but jobs like that are tough to come by, and given the state of the world economy, may no longer exist!
There are a few communities with Japanese and Japanese-American populations. The South Bay and Gardena, and Little Tokyo (not sure if many actually live there) would have immigrant and ex-pat populations, and Japanese-oriented businesses. Westwood and West LA have a lot of Japanese UCLA students and a community that caters to them, especially around Sawtelle and Olympic Blvd.
You might find some comfortable, affordable apartments in the South Bay...maybe the Torrance area. West LA might be more enjoyable, offer more transportation options and have more affordable apartments available since a lot of UCLA students live there. West L.A. can be pricey, Palms and Mar Vista areas a little less so...but don't agree to rent without seeing a place and the neighborhood first.
An info-gathering trip is a good idea!! And yes, it certainly would be scary to rent without seeing it first... but my parents will be able to help me out with that stuff I think We also have some contacts there that could check stuff out for us.
I had looked a little at Torrance, but I hadn't thought about Gardena! I will have to do some research.
Thank you very much for your reply!
This part is correct, but the OP isn't limited to beiing a translator. There are many Japanese companies in CA, esp. in LA or Bay Area, that your degree would give you an edge up on as they would appreciate someone with familiarity with Japanese culture. But it's true that the Japanese-heavy areas are in the nicer parts of CA which are also the more expensive parts.
There aren't too many in NM. TX might be a little better, but CA has more & so does HI which I wouldn't dismiss as a pipe dream just yet. Hawaii has even more Japanese people than California & a much lower unemployment rate.
Oh, of course the places I want to go are the more expensive parts, haha! But I guess I'd be okay with starting out in a less Japanese-y area as long as I had a job that paid the rent and student loans.
Those are indeed awesome reports, thanks so much! I'd love to be in Hawaii the most, but I'm sort of in a twist about that one because with the cost of flying to HI, it's not really prudent to just go and do job searching in person there... but I'm not really sure about how many companies will hire over the ocean! I'm intrigued that it has a lower unemployment rate though, that makes me feel better haha.
Thank you for the reply!
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