Wanting to move to California from New York... (Los Angeles, San Diego: apartment, renters)

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Because it meets the OP's criteria. She may like it. Or she may opt for San Diego or elsewhere in SoCal. But Sac does fulfill all her criteria. The central coast towns don't.

I know sac is changing but "educated, open-minded people" is not the first thing that comes to mind when most folks thing of it. I suspect the op is looking for a more liberal place than sac.

[MountainHi]

Originally Posted by boulder2015

I know sac is changing but "educated, open-minded people" is not the first thing that comes to mind when most folks thing of it. I suspect the op is looking for a more liberal place than sac.

Most people looking for a relocation have a wish list that can't be satisfied in its entirety. The OP needs a large enough population to build a viable practice from, which would generally rule out the small coastal communities, and her budget also narrows the field considerably. From that standpoint, Sac is perfect. If the OP wants a more liberal community to live in, she can live in Davis, and commute to Sac for work. I don't know if Davis might be pricier for rents, though. A student population often pushes rents higher than the norm in neighboring communities. Aside from that, living in Davis and working in Sac sounds like having the best of both worlds.

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Because it meets the OP's criteria. She may like it. Or she may opt for San Diego or elsewhere in SoCal. But Sac does fulfill all her criteria. The central coast towns don't.

And it's a s*** hole (imo ) that's disgustingly hot in the summer with horrible air quality and i cannot in good conscious recommend Sacramento to someone from N.Y. state (or anywhere for that matter) who doesn't know any better!

[MountainHi]

Originally Posted by blueskywalker

And it's a s*** hole (imo ) that's disgustingly hot in the summer with horrible air quality and i cannot in good conscious recommend Sacramento to someone from N.Y. state (or anywhere for that matter) who doesn't know any better!

That's ok, blue. You don't need to recommend Sac, and the surrounding area. Some of the rest of us don't mind doing it. You have to realize that the smaller communities some have recommended here don't have enough of a critical mass of population for the OP to draw on for a solid practice. Plus there will be other counselors/psychologists in those areas to compete with, which is why the larger population is needed. So there's room for everyone. And she said she wanted warm weather. Well, she'll get it in the Sac/Davis area, that's for sure. But the Sac residents on the forum say it cools off at night, due to the Delta breezes. In any case, it's not her only option. She might find someplace in SoCal that would work for her, though the parts of LA that were recommended also tend to get hot.

If the OP is a MSW, she might do best in getting started in a new place, by hiring on to a social services agency as a counselor. That would at least give her a start, and she wouldn't have to worry about competition from independent psychologists. That might give her more flexibility in choosing a location.

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by MountainHi

That's ok, blue. You don't need to recommend Sac, and the surrounding area. Some of the rest of us don't mind doing it. You have to realize that the smaller communities some have recommended here don't have enough of a critical mass of population for the OP to draw on for a solid practice. Plus there will be other counselors/psychologists in those areas to compete with, which is why the larger population is needed. So there's room for everyone. And she said she wanted warm weather. Well, she'll get it in the Sac/Davis area, that's for sure. But the Sac residents on the forum say it cools off at night, due to the Delta breezes. In any case, it's not her only option. She might find someplace in SoCal that would work for her, though the parts of LA that were recommended also tend to get hot.

If the OP is a MSW, she might do best in getting started in a new place, by hiring on to a social services agency as a counselor. That would at least give her a start, and she wouldn't have to worry about competition from independent psychologists. That might give her more flexibility in choosing a location.

Yeah, but then why bother with California at all? Just to end up in a polluted city in the central valley?
Why?
There are so many better cities (small and large) all over the country that would be better options than Sacramento imo.
Better to stay in upstate N.Y. which is beautiful and yeah, the winters can be intense but it's not like Sacramento in the winter is some kind of paradise and again, in the summer / early fall it's horribly hot and with just awful air quality.
And i don't think that i recommended Santa Cruz (although i may have and actually come to think of it ... not a bad idea) but the county has a population of close to 300,000 and there certainly is a need for social services in Santa Cruz county!

Social Worker Jobs, Employment in Santa Cruz, CA | Indeed.com

So NYEscapee .... if i haven't already recommended it, check out Santa Cruz and the Monterey bay area including Monterey county. The Monterey bay area is
If you can find employment and be ready for high rents, you may really like it here. Meets all of your criteria (if you can find work).

[Ruth4Truth]

SC and Monterey rents are out of the OP's range, this has already been discussed. I think the Davis/Sac'to idea isn't bad. Davis isn't polluted. OP can post on the Sacramento forum if she wants more info and accurate feedback about living conditions there from the locals. Otherwise, probably soCal will have better rents to offer, though the affordable parts of LA have their air quality challenges, too. The OP will have to compromise in some way, and order her priorities, due to the affordability problem. Unless she finds out there's a cost of living differential offered in her field, in CA. But if she wants to start off with her own practice, she'll need the cheapest rent she can find, so she can get by while building her practice. It might even be best to look for a room in a shared household, while she gets started. Unless she opts for a government-run clinic job, to get started in the field. That would allow her to start networking for her own practice, while having a steady paycheck to some extent.

[blueskywalker]

again, words escape me.

[blueskywalker]

But not for long. I'm not finished discussing.
If the o.p. can find employment in her field she absolutely can find a way to make it work in either Santa Cruz or Monterey county!
Where do you think people who work at relatively low paying jobs in the county live anyway? You think they're all commuting from Watsonville? They're not.
I'm the first one to say that renting in S.C. county is difficult. But people do it all the time. They pay more money for rent than they'd like but they do it. They get creative. They cut back in other ways. They live in co-housing or roommate situations. They get to know people and find rentals that way. Every rental in the county is not listed on craigslist ya know. I've rented all over the county for years and i've never used craigslist. Craigslist is good for getting a sense of the cost of rentals and sometimes it's a way to find one but it's not the only way.
There are rentals. They don't come easy and it's a challenge to find a good one. But they do exist.
For example, i know of a beautiful space that belongs to a friend of mine on 5 acres in Soquel that the o.p. could afford.
And the o.p expressed nothing in her post that suggested that Sacramento would be a place she'd want to live. You don't need to go onto the Sacramento forum to learn that it's god awful hot in the summer, the air quality is horrific and it's basically neither here no there. Why the hell would anyone who has just a tad of the California dream in their head want to move to a polluted city in the central valley. Just so they can live in California? That's just silly.
And imo, to recommend it to someone with the o.p.'s criteria is irresponsible and misguiding.

[Flovis]

Originally Posted by blueskywalker

But not for long. I'm not finished discussing.
If the o.p. can find employment in her field she absolutely can find a way to make it work in either Santa Cruz or Monterey county!
Where do you think people who work at relatively low paying jobs in the county live anyway? You think they're all commuting from Watsonville? They're not.
I'm the first one to say that renting in S.C. county is difficult. But people do it all the time. They pay more money for rent than they'd like but they do it. They get creative. They cut back in other ways. They live in co-housing or roommate situations. They get to know people and find rentals that way. Every rental in the county is not listed on craigslist ya know. I've rented all over the county for years and i've never used craigslist. Craigslist is good for getting a sense of the cost of rentals and sometimes it's a way to find one but it's not the only way.
There are rentals. They don't come easy and it's a challenge to find a good one. But they do exist.
For example, i know of a beautiful space that belongs to a friend of mine on 5 acres in Soquel that the o.p. could afford.
And the o.p expressed nothing in her post that suggested that Sacramento would be a place she'd want to live. You don't need to go onto the Sacramento forum to learn that it's god awful hot in the summer, the air quality is horrific and it's basically neither here no there. Why the hell would anyone who has just a tad of the California dream in their head want to move to a polluted city in the central valley. Just so they can live in California? That's just silly.
And imo, to recommend it to someone with the o.p.'s criteria is irresponsible and misguiding.

rent a shack in Santa cruz or own a house in sacramento.
i rather be in sac on a limited budget...but that's just me.

And, nothing op mentioned disqualified sacramento.
.
edit: maybe they want to get away from horrific winter weather. ya know, something much worse than central valley summers.
ever been stuck in a buffalo blizzard?

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by Flovis

rent a shack in Santa cruz or own a house in sacramento.
i rather be in sac on a limited budget...but that's just me.

And, nothing op mentioned disqualified sacramento.

edit: maybe they want to get away from horrific winter weather. ya know, something much worse than central valley summers.
ever been stuck in a buffalo blizzard?

I don't intend to offend people who live in and/or like Sacramento. I've lived in places that are less than ideal and yet had love for that place for any number of reasons. I'm sure Sacramento has its virtues. And people are often loyal to where they live and have their lives and i shouldn't be disrespectful about that.

And if someone came on the forum and said that because of school, or work, or relationship, etc., they were moving to Sacramento and needed advice about this or that, i would never speak negatively about the place. They have a reason to relocate to Sacramento and i'd never s*** on their life path. And i wouldn't try to dissuade them from moving there.

But you have a young woman who wants to move to California and doesn't really know anything about the state (or so it seems). And given her criteria (and reading between the lines a bit ... you know, intuiting, etc. .... and yeah, i may be wrong) recommending Sacramento to her is off the mark. It's misguiding her.

And each to his / her own but i'd rather live in a shack in Santa Cruz than a house in Sacramento.
And yes, i have experienced quite a few harsh northeast winters. I don't mind them. But i like snow and cold.