Good areas for Child-free Couples (Los Angeles, San Diego: apartments, unemployment rate, neighborhood)

[dana_lynn13]

My husband and I are currently living in Kansas and we hate it here. There is nothing to do, the weather sucks 90% of the time and a lot of the people are really closed minded and judgmental. Plus the standard in Kansas is to get married and start a family. We do not have any kids and don’t ever plan on having any, so we don’t have much in common with most of the people here. We would like to move to Southern California to get a fresh start.

We realize that the cost of living in California is much higher than we are used to, but we are willing to make adjustments to make it work. We want an area that is safe with a nice climate and good job possibilities. We would also like to meet other child-free couples like us. I work in private accounting and my husband works in the electrical wholesale industry. We would really appreciate any suggestions people can give us on which areas we should look at as well as any good companies we should apply with.

[.highnlite]

Anywhere in California beats Kansas, including Barstow, but maybe not Blythe, you need't be picky.

In California one is defined more by what one does for fun rather than work, since the smart ones of us only work to support our fun.

So, what would you like to do for fun?
Ski
Surf
Hike
Backpack
Garden
Ride horses, motocycles, bicycles
Opera
Concerts

etc.

Once you define those, you are close. Also, one recommendation, do not live south of Gorman.

[dana_lynn13]

For fun we like hiking, bike riding, running, walking our dog and my husband likes to ride motorcycles.

[West of Encino]

Anywhere in Southern California except Orange and San Diego counties. Those counties are very family friendly. The rest of the region is experiencing family flight. LA County is definitely good for CF people, but cities with the highest concentration of CF couples would be in Los Angeles and Long Beach. The state's child population is declining. That's one of the things I like about California.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by West of Encino

Anywhere in Southern California except Orange and San Diego counties. Those counties are very family friendly. The rest of the region is experiencing family flight. LA County is definitely good for CF people, but cities with the highest concentration of CF couples would be in Los Angeles and Long Beach. The state's child population is declining. That's one of the things I like about California.

San Diego County would be fine for childless couples, too.

Family-friendly places aren't necessarily bad for child free people. Santa Barbara is very family friendly and a great place for the child free. In the case of Orange County, it depends on the neighborhood.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

My road (not in SoCal, in NorCal). '

Almost no little 'uns living around here.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by dana_lynn13

My husband and I are currently living in Kansas and we hate it here. There is nothing to do, the weather sucks 90% of the time and a lot of the people are really closed minded and judgmental. Plus the standard in Kansas is to get married and start a family. We do not have any kids and don’t ever plan on having any, so we don’t have much in common with most of the people here. We would like to move to Southern California to get a fresh start.

We realize that the cost of living in California is much higher than we are used to, but we are willing to make adjustments to make it work. We want an area that is safe with a nice climate and good job possibilities. We would also like to meet other child-free couples like us. I work in private accounting and my husband works in the electrical wholesale industry. We would really appreciate any suggestions people can give us on which areas we should look at as well as any good companies we should apply with.

Well I do not know where you live in Kansas, but what you are discribing hasn't been our experience if you live in KC or near one of the universities. We have friends who recently retired from Kansas State. They are anything but judgemental and have no kids, never had any, never wanted any and they found plenty of things to do. In fact they find where we live now a bit boring, though they are happy. We have 3 other sets of friends who also live here and would certainly not discribe KC as boring. We also have friends who just re-located to KCity. They too would not call it boing. You might need to look a little harder for friends that see life the way you do.

As for Ca, you do understand there are no jobs there or very few don't you? I don't think there is a huge demand for either of your careers right now, so you may want to consider staying where you are or looking for something in the bigger metro areas in Kansas. Then when the economy improves (which will happen sooner or later) you can start thinking of moving. Where is the best place for people without children? I don't think there is an answer to that and I do not think you have any clue as to the difference in cost of living from Kansas to Ca. BTW, San Francisco is pretty couple friendly and so are parts of Los Angeles (the west side)

Nita

[dana_lynn13]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Well I do not know where you live in Kansas, but what you are discribing hasn't been our experience if you live in KC or near one of the universities. We have friends who recently retired from Kansas State. They are anything but judgemental and have no kids, never had any, never wanted any and they found plenty of things to do. In fact they find where we live now a bit boring, though they are happy. We have 3 other sets of friends who also live here and would certainly not discribe KC as boring. We also have friends who just re-located to KCity. They too would not call it boing. You might need to look a little harder for friends that see life the way you do.

As for Ca, you do understand there are no jobs there or very few don't you? I don't think there is a huge demand for either of your careers right now, so you may want to consider staying where you are or looking for something in the bigger metro areas in Kansas. Then when the economy improves (which will happen sooner or later) you can start thinking of moving. Where is the best place for people without children? I don't think there is an answer to that and I do not think you have any clue as to the difference in cost of living from Kansas to Ca. BTW, San Francisco is pretty couple friendly and so are parts of Los Angeles (the west side)

Nita

Well, we live in Wichita and there is not much to do here. One of the biggest reasons for the desire to leave is due to the weather. I love being outside and I hate the cold. I would move to Manhattan, but there are no jobs there. That is how I ended up in Wichita. As far as me not having a clue about the cost of living, I have been researching cities, jobs & apartments in California for the last 3 years now. Not only that, but we have friends that live there we have talked to for advice. Plus we have been out there a couple of times as well. We do understand how expensive it is. If it wasn't this wouldn't be such a big decision. I'm not an idiot, I will not go until we have jobs but it doesn't hurt to look and continue my research as I am trying to do with this post.

[Surftown831]

Originally Posted by dana_lynn13

I would move to Manhattan,

I don't know if you've heard but the unemployment rate in CA is one of the highest in the country.

That being said, it depends on what type of "child free" you are talking about. If you want lots of cool bars, trendy boutique shopping, cutting edge restaurants, artsy events, etc. then go to west L.A. or San Francisco (I know you don't like the cold but SF is a truly amazing city for a child-free couple). If you want quiet walks on the beach, hiking, car rides along pacific highway, etc. then Santa Barbara or Laguna Beach/Newport. Then there's the areas that aren't "hip" like L.A. and San Fran but are more "beach-bum", and bar-hopping culture like Pacific Beach in San Diego and Huntington Beach. These areas can get pretty rowdy but can also be a blast.

That being said, not having kids makes your younger years much more peaceful and your older years much more lonely.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by dana_lynn13

Well, we live in Wichita and there is not much to do here. One of the biggest reasons for the desire to leave is due to the weather. I love being outside and I hate the cold. I would move to Manhattan, but there are no jobs there. That is how I ended up in Wichita. As far as me not having a clue about the cost of living, I have been researching cities, jobs & apartments in California for the last 3 years now. Not only that, but we have friends that live there we have talked to for advice. Plus we have been out there a couple of times as well. We do understand how expensive it is. If it wasn't this wouldn't be such a big decision. I'm not an idiot, I will not go until we have jobs but it doesn't hurt to look and continue my research as I am trying to do with this post.

Have you thought about moving East instead of West. We have a lot more available jobs and there's plenty to do. The weather's better here than in the Midwest as we actually have four seasons. You'd need to enjoy living around lots of trees and water though. If you want to find work in your fields, go East not West.