Moving to California as a first year teacher? (Los Angeles, San Diego: middle-class, condo)

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by Mattie Jo

Sorry Rose and seain, I was raised in CA and have lived all over Ca. I have family and friends in CA. I visit Ca, and I am not some backwoods person who doesn't know what is going on there.

I was trying to tell the OP that drugs are all over, not just CA, but in all States. I was not telling her that CA was inhabitable due to drugs, but I was replying to a post that put Humboldt Co. down due to drugs. So I was saying that drugs are everywhere, that you should not make that your reason to not move to a place. That post has been removed, but it was the one I was replying too.

What snow and rain you have this year will not be enough to bring water tables up. You really need to do more research seain.

And I left CA because I was tried off all the traffic. We moved here because it is a better place to live all around. When we drove out of CA on I-40 I looked back and said, I never want to live here again or even visit. Well, we still visit to see relatives. But no, I am not jealous.

I only came on here to say that Humboldt CO is a nice place. More wilderness. If the OP doesn't mind traffic then I would suggest the Bay Area, if she likes warmer climate then San Diego Co. But I would never suggest anyone move to L.A. but I know people love it, and yes, I have lived there and in San Diego, Berkeley, Paso Robles, and Capay, Vacacille, Palo Alto,Shandon, Creston, Valley Center. Escondido...you name it. and I have traveled all over CA. I just wish the people on this thread were not so hostile.

I would suggest to the OP that she not buy a home in CA until the drought is over with. I would also suggest that she read about the drought. Want to know how my sister in San Jose does things? She gets in the shower with several buckets, turns the water on to get wet, turns it off, shampoos, turns it on, then rinses, and when she is finished she has some water for her plants. I have friends in Paso Robles, the wells are all drying up. Farmers have a year's wait for a driller to come and dig for water. She tried watering her plants but they all died anyway. The rivers and lakes are dry. Just because you have tap water right now it doesn't mean that you are not in a state of emergency. Check out the drought maps.

California Drought: Snowpack As you will see in this map N.Ca. doesn't have a drought in some areas, which is part of the reason why Ruth4Truth suggested that area. We are all here to try to help, not cause problems, except that a few here do.

The bolded parts. You specifically targeted CA in regards to drugs. So let's not back peddle now...LOL.

And your other statement, sounds like you're bitter. I was born in NY, and visited in 2014. While I wouldn't want to live there again I would never say or never said when I left there in 1988 that I would never return.

Find it odd that you would even say that, I can understand leaving CA but to say what you said was very harsh. How does someone who was born somewhere and lived there many years not have one good thing to say about the place? Odd.

As far the OP. She is a young woman who got an education, and likes animals. Sounds like a plus to me.

You're going on about the cost of buying a house, the drought, all very negative.

She would most likely rent anyway.

The only time I would discourage someone from moving to a place where they want to live is enough they're doing it with less than a years living expenses or poor job skills.

The OP should give it a shot, worst case scenario she stays a couple of years, decides it's not for her and goes elsewhere or ends up staying for good.

Why rain on someone's parade?(no drought pun intended).

[Ruth4Truth]

This bickering and nit-picking is insane! These attacks have probably scared the poor OP away from CA, lol! I don't see that Mattie Jo was discouraging the OP from CA. To the contrary, she was recommending parts of norCal. And she said she, herself, wasn't interested in living there because you accused her of being jealous of people who do live there. Why not let people make the recommendations they see fit to do, make your own, and leave it at that?

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

This bickering and nit-picking is insane! These attacks have probably scared the poor OP away from CA, lol! I don't see that Mattie Jo was discouraging the OP from CA. To the contrary, she was recommending parts of norCal. And she said she, herself, wasn't interested in living there because you accused her of being jealous of people who do live there. Why not let people make the recommendations they see fit to do, make your own, and leave it at that?

What part of "drugs are everywhere" in addition to the drought comments by Mattie Jo did you miss?

How is that encouraging? Sounds very negative to me.

I said the OP should give it a shot. She's young and she is educated.

Do you even read the comments before posting? Mattie Jo said she was born in CA and listed where she lived, where do you get that she won't live in CA now because I said she was jealous.

Your reading things that aren't there. RosieSD asked why people do that, bash the state. I gave an example that's all.

If I see a young person who seems to have their head screwed on straight, like the OP I don't think people should be so negative and all gloom and doom.

I was that young person about 25 years ago, no Internet in those days, but if you don't try you will never know if it could have worked out.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

What part of "drugs are everywhere" in addition to the drought comments by Mattie Jo did you miss?

How is that encouraging? Sounds very negative to me.

I said the OP should give it a shot. She's young and she is educated.

Do you even read the comments before posting? Mattie Jo said she was born in CA and listed where she lived, where do you get that she won't live in CA now because I said she was jealous.

Your reading things that aren't there. RosieSD asked why people do that, bash the state. I gave an example that's all.

If I see a young person who seems to have their head screwed on straight, like the OP I don't think people should be so negative and all gloom and doom.

I was that young person about 25 years ago, no Internet in those days, but if you don't try you will never know if it could have worked out.

It sounds like you misread her post. I understood it completely differently. Someone in a deleted post said the Humboldt area was rife with drugs, so Mattie Jo was responding to that. I took it to mean there are drug issues all over as a general thing, but in Humboldt it's mostly relating to marijuana, "medical" or otherwise, lol. She was responding to some very negative and discouraging posts that were later deleted. You posted implying that her (or anyone's) negative comments were motivated by jealousy.


I agree people shouldn't be negative. That's why I, and then Mattie, have encouraged the OP to check out the more northerly parts of the state. I don't know why such suggestions would garner such rude responses. It's bizarre. It would be great if you followed your own advice.

[Mattie Jo]

Ruth is correct about the post that was deleted in which I was replying to in regards to drugs. They are everywhere, not just CA. If I could rep you again Ruth I would. Thanks.


The traffic in CA is horrible. LA is the worse, then SF and next San Diego. If a young person doesn't mind traffic, then at least they know it is there. They should also know that CA has had a 4 year drought and that the climatologists don't expect that to change any time soon. How would you like to move to a State and find out that you have to take short showers, can't water your yard, etc?

You can come over to the Oklahoma forum and bash it if you like as I don't take things like that personal in regards to people's opinions of other States and countries.

As for myself, I am finished with this thread.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by Mattie Jo

Ruth is correct about the post that was deleted in which I was replying to in regards to drugs. They are everywhere, not just CA. If I could rep you again Ruth I would. Thanks.


The traffic in CA is horrible. LA is the worse, then SF and next San Diego. If a young person doesn't mind traffic, then at least they know it is there. They should also know that CA has had a 4 year drought and that the climatologists don't expect that to change any time soon. How would you like to move to a State and find out that you have to take short showers, can't water your yard, etc?

You can come over to the Oklahoma forum and bash it if you like as I don't take things like that personal in regards to people's opinions of other States and countries.

As for myself, I am finished with this thread.

Well than I apologize Mattie Jo as I did not see the comments you were responding to.

That being said not everyone has horrific commutes. I know two people who teach for LA Unified
and one can actually walk to school and the other has about a 3 mile drive.

I never did more than a 18 mile commute myself and took the Metrolink to downtown LA.

There are parts of CA when you drive north on the 5 or east on the 10 and it's very desolate.

A young woman moving here will rent, she won't be worried about a lawn to water.

Short showers are fine.

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

The water still comes out of the tap here. Drugs are not "everywhere" in California. There are parts of California that are less expensive, and plenty of places in Southern California with less traffic too.

Really, sometimes I wonder why people like to stereotype the entire state of California like this.

Again, to the original poster, come visit for at least a week or two to see if California is the right place for you. We are lucky in California in that there is a wide variety of lifestyles, climate areas, and environments in our huge state. Maybe one will be a good match for you; maybe it won't. But come see for yourself. That's the only way to know if anywhere is right for you.

Agree. Exactly. To generalize about such a huge and diverse state is absurd. Anyone who does so, doesn't really know or understand California and does not have an eagles eye view and doesn't have first hand / direct experience of what they claim to know about.
And just to add and imo .... It would better serve people wanting information about California if regular posters would try to, at least once in awhile, refrain from posting instead of jumping on every question to display what they think they know.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by blueskywalker

It would better serve people wanting information about California if regular posters would try to, at least once in awhile, refrain from posting instead of jumping on every question to display what they think they know.

Especially when they have no idea what the hiring process is in the field of public education.

[Mattie Jo]

Thank you seain for the apology.

You must know blueskywalker, that I was not generalizing about CA and drugs, only telling a poster, whose post has been removed, that drugs are everywhere. Sure some places have more drugs than others; some less. It was in reply to a post someone made about Humboldt Co. being all drugs

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by Mattie Jo

Thank you seain for the apology.

You must know blueskywalker, that I was not generalizing about CA and drugs, only telling a poster, whose post has been removed, that drugs are everywhere. Sure some places have more drugs than others; some less. It was in reply to a post someone made about Humboldt Co. being all drugs

Got it.