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Old 12-14-2011, 10:44 PM
 
8 posts, read 12,705 times
Reputation: 10

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It never occured to me that California was so overwhelmingly relevant and huge!

I am 19 years old and being subsidized apparently by my father to live in a dorm in a university. I have dual citizenship and completed high school in WA state, but then moved to Victoria to be with my mom, then to Vancouver BC to do a year of community college, and now here my dad says he'll move me anywhere I want as long as it's safe, reasonable and has decent schools.

So no LA or Sanfrancisco. He wants me to avoid being stressed out by big cities like I am here in Vancouver. I haven't applied anywhere yet but would love to live as accessibly as I can to where he is in WA, right beside Portland OR. I was kind of thinking Eureka in Humboldt would be nice but there are SO many counties and SO many cities I'm at a loss! Any wisdom would be much appreciated. Ideally:

Somewhere with low crime rate
Good education
Transit especially because I don't have a car and don't want one
Preferrably warm, less rain is nice too but it tends to be win some lose some with weather
Northern end/San Francisco Bay area

What's out there?! What's it like? Californians, where do you live and what do you enjoy and not enjoy about it? Any good schools? Thanks in advance (:
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Old 12-14-2011, 10:47 PM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,902,925 times
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uh oh ... here comes bad weather ...
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Old 12-14-2011, 11:00 PM
 
8 posts, read 12,705 times
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Ahh okay I guess I sound dumb and overly hopeful and innocent. I HATE CALIFORNIA. GRRRRR. I'll do the research myself :/

Last edited by galaxy119; 12-14-2011 at 11:11 PM..
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Old 12-14-2011, 11:03 PM
 
Location: Conejo Valley, CA
12,460 posts, read 20,093,812 times
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You are speaking as if money is no object and that you can get into any school so then the conclusion seems pretty obvious: Stanford or Cal-tech.

Now...if that isn't true, well, one would need to know the details....

Although its not the best school, I always thought the UCSB campus was rather nice.
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Old 12-14-2011, 11:06 PM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,902,925 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by galaxy119 View Post
Hahaha okay I guess I sound dumb and overly hopeful and innocent. I HATE CALIFORNIA. GRRRRR. I'll do the research myself.
No no no ... you come down and have some California fun ... I have a history of telling the folks on this forum that they should stop worrying about the invasion from Mexico and watch out for the Canadians who bring the bad weather ... I split my time between living in the San Juan Islands and California and Hawaii ... my youngest graduated from Ferndale High and lives in Bellingham ... just don't bring that winter weather down with you ... it's what I am escaping from
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Old 12-14-2011, 11:10 PM
 
8 posts, read 12,705 times
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Money is indeed an object but I figured considering the mass amounts of people there would be more than one school to hone in on in any given area. I graduated with a 3.8 GPA...I suppose I should figure out the school THEN the area, but there's so many more schools than cities it just overwhelms me. Ugh :/ I know I sound like a smart rich brat or something but for me this is just the greatest opportunity. My dad has never/barely ever contributed to my expenses or education my entire life. The idea of being taken care of is so nice :0

I am thinking HSU personally but was wondering if anyone else has suggestions for where to learn and live on the north end, anyone ever having been around Siskiyou or Trinity or Shasta or...etc...Wikipedia can offer some information but nothing much compared to actual experience. Otherwise I have to live in Oregon and not even good Oregon, like Eugene or La Grande which I really really don't want to do. Or live in Seattle and get rained on and have a life identical to that which I lead here in Vancouver BC. Haha California seems like a much more appealing venture.
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Old 12-14-2011, 11:12 PM
 
Location: Both coasts
1,574 posts, read 5,119,653 times
Reputation: 1520
You will have to get used to GREAT weather for once!

Have you been to California before? It essentially should be split into 2 sections and if you spend time in both ends, there is quite a difference in regional-culture between NorCal and SoCal.

I think if you're coming from Canada (Vancouver), the SF Bay Area will be less of an adjustment..it is a great vibrant area- there are lots of safe areas in the South Bay and East Bay (more reasonable than city itself) with access to decent public transit...good educational opportunities too.

If you're into the "California" that is portrayed in the movies- may I suggest Orange County or San Diego- there are public transit options and many safe yet vibrant areas. Though there is more "Car is King" mentality here than in the northern part of the state

You may like to hear my views on Vancouver vs. CA as I have spent ample time up there. You have a great advantage with dual citizenship indeed...
You will find ppl in CA in general (Northern CA in particular) MORE friendly and approachable than in Vancouver- when you get here, you'll know what I mean. The weather plays a big part in people, you will find out for yourself.

Best of luck!
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Old 12-14-2011, 11:14 PM
 
8 posts, read 12,705 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nullgeo View Post
No no no ... you come down and have some California fun ... I have a history of telling the folks on this forum that they should stop worrying about the invasion from Mexico and watch out for the Canadians who bring the bad weather ... I split my time between living in the San Juan Islands and California and Hawaii ... my youngest graduated from Ferndale High and lives in Bellingham ... just don't bring that winter weather down with you ... it's what I am escaping from
Ohhh okay I thought you were poking fun! Cultural difference? xD No no, ironically the weather isn't all bad where I live, although I'm Canadian I've never seen reliable winter snows or anything of the like in my life! When I lived in Portland Metro area it was much colder and ranier and more awful I'll be sure to tell the clouds to stay here. Nasty buggers. I don't think Canadians have it in them to really invade anybody though, but man, this country is just so damn irrelevant, the US just seems so much better integrated with the rest of the world even considering its biases.
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Old 12-14-2011, 11:45 PM
 
Location: Eugenius
593 posts, read 1,412,064 times
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I'm Hoping and praying to do just the opposite: I live in San Diego and dying to move to Vancouver.

The grass is always greener on the other side. Until you get to the other side...

I'm also interested in checking out the Humboldt and Eureka areas, I've heard lots of good things, I've looked into Humboldt State too. It seems pretty solid and the weather seems great...
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Old 12-14-2011, 11:51 PM
 
Location: CA
3,467 posts, read 8,146,031 times
Reputation: 4841
Quote:
Originally Posted by galaxy119 View Post
I was kind of thinking Eureka in Humboldt would be nice but there are SO many counties and SO many cities I'm at a loss! Any wisdom would be much appreciated. Ideally:

Somewhere with low crime rate
Good education
Transit especially because I don't have a car and don't want one
Preferrably warm, less rain is nice too but it tends to be win some lose some with weather
Northern end/San Francisco Bay area
Eureka does not fit this list. It's mostly overcast & chilly, & it rains a lot.
It has some charm in its little downtown area, but it's a rather isolated & boring town besides that. The isolated location makes it hard to visit other areas.

Outside of SF, I don't know where you'll find good public transit (maybe others know). CA is know for being a car culture. Public transit just sucks or is practically non-existent in many areas.
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