from Chicago to... (San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco: apartment, homes, neighborhoods)

[texas_ex]

Hi there,

I'm planning a move westward around this time in 2009. Would like some advice on any cities on the west coast.

I'm 30, single, active social life, prefer a large city with lots of entertainment and culture. I'm looking to move somewhere now that I can enjoy the single life (saving the more laid back mid-sized cities for another decade, when I have more responsibility). I'll probably move after 1-2 years, to explore another area. I'll likely live with roommates and pets.

I'll be coming from Chicago, where I have spent the next 8 years. I LOVE Chicago, and will undoubtedly miss it. I'm an army brat and the urge to move is STRONG - plus a major factor driving the move is the Chicago winter. Looking for a place with temperate weather all year round. I may miss the fall, but if I can find a place between 60 and 85, I'm fine - I don't care about seasons! (I'm from Texas originally and left Austin because it was too hot!)

I work in music booking and promotions, so I need to be in a city with a lot of live music and plenty of small to mid-size venues. I also like to run and be active, eat out, etc. Plus, I train dogs... so a pet-friendly population - somewhere that I'm likely to find an apartment with both cats and dogs, all of that is important.

And lastly - this is sort of a wierd one - my mother has mid-level Alzheimer's. She currently lives with me, but I will be looking to place her in a nearby care facility. Probably not in the same city, but in town within a hundred miles (where, hopefully, the price is reasonable). I'll want to visit her once a week, at least. I doubt that anyone will be able to give me advice on where to find a city with less-expensive nursing homes nearby... but I figure it's worth a shot.

I'm open to Southern or Northern Cali, also considering Portland & Seattle. I think I'd like to live closer to the coast, if possible. I'm a little anxious about earthquakes... but I guess it's just going to be a one year gamble.

I've asked some friends for suggestions and I hear a lot about San Diego. My good friend, who probably knows me the best, says I'd be at home in Santa Cruz...

Thanks for any advice, and I apologize for all the ambiguity. I'm just starting research.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by texas_ex

I'm looking to move somewhere now that I can enjoy the single life (saving the more laid back mid-sized cities for another decade, when I have more responsibility).

What is your price range/budget for housing?
Have you any idea where you will be working?

[bigdave01]

I would say San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle. They would all fit the weather, and would have good music scenes.

Obviously San Francisco is much bigger than the other 2, so it would be similar to Chicago. However, Seattle and Portland have many cool walkable neighborhoods that almost feel like small-towns. It really just depends on what you're looking for. Also, San Francisco is WAY more expensive than the other 2 and Chicago.

[rubyskye]

Originally Posted by texas_ex

Hi there,

I'm planning a move westward around this time in 2009. Would like some advice on any cities on the west coast.

I'm 30, single, active social life, prefer a large city with lots of entertainment and culture. I'm looking to move somewhere now that I can enjoy the single life (saving the more laid back mid-sized cities for another decade, when I have more responsibility). I'll probably move after 1-2 years, to explore another area. I'll likely live with roommates and pets.

I'll be coming from Chicago, where I have spent the next 8 years. I LOVE Chicago, and will undoubtedly miss it. I'm an army brat and the urge to move is STRONG - plus a major factor driving the move is the Chicago winter. Looking for a place with temperate weather all year round. I may miss the fall, but if I can find a place between 60 and 85, I'm fine - I don't care about seasons! (I'm from Texas originally and left Austin because it was too hot!)

I work in music booking and promotions, so I need to be in a city with a lot of live music and plenty of small to mid-size venues. I also like to run and be active, eat out, etc. Plus, I train dogs... so a pet-friendly population - somewhere that I'm likely to find an apartment with both cats and dogs, all of that is important.

And lastly - this is sort of a wierd one - my mother has mid-level Alzheimer's. She currently lives with me, but I will be looking to place her in a nearby care facility. Probably not in the same city, but in town within a hundred miles (where, hopefully, the price is reasonable). I'll want to visit her once a week, at least. I doubt that anyone will be able to give me advice on where to find a city with less-expensive nursing homes nearby... but I figure it's worth a shot.

I'm open to Southern or Northern Cali, also considering Portland & Seattle. I think I'd like to live closer to the coast, if possible. I'm a little anxious about earthquakes... but I guess it's just going to be a one year gamble.

I've asked some friends for suggestions and I hear a lot about San Diego. My good friend, who probably knows me the best, says I'd be at home in Santa Cruz...

Thanks for any advice, and I apologize for all the ambiguity. I'm just starting research.

I don't know about the nursing home situation here but Santa Cruz may just be a place for you. Actually, i pass, on a daily basis, an assisted living facility that looks really nice but it's impossible to know just by looking from the outside. I notice these things lately as my Dad may be needing something like that in the not to distant future.
When you say "army brat" i don't know whether or not you're militarially oriented. In that case, you may see too many freaks and old and new hippies around for your liking although in the last couple of decades the dot-com folks have made their presence felt in a big way. It's a diverse and open community with a history of strong counter culture and although times have changed that presence is still apparent ... not enough for my liking alas but oh well.
There's a good music scene here and San Francisco is just up the coast (2 hours roughly) and Monterey just down the road (less than an hour).
The weather is great although there is rain in the winter and fog often in the summer but it just hugs the coast and there are many places in the county where the fog doesn't reach.
There are seasons. They're just more subtle.
Temps in the winter are usually in the upper 50's and lower 60's. There can be days of rain in the winter but long stretches of days with no rain and beautiful sunny days with fairly warm temps. In the summer, with no fog, it's usually in the upper 70's and low 80's. It's variable so i'm just generalizing.
I have a dog. There are many dogs here and some of the beaches allow dogs off leash and i go to one that doesn't but that is so unpopulated that it's easy to break the leash law which i have no qualms about doing.
Lot's of woods to walk in with dog too. The only drawback is the tic situation during the rainy months. They're bad in the redwoods but no problem on the beach.
I have to find a new place to live now and it is more difficult with a dog, needless to say, but i always manage to find a place. It just limits options but that's true anywhere.
And it's not cheap to live here but if you're flexible and open, it's doable for sure.
Good luck.

[sav858]

San Diego is a great city and i love it but I think it's more of a laid back medium sized city, so you might want to save that for later. Depsite it having 1.3 million people, which is almost 1/2 of the metro area population, it's been referred to as a "big city with a small town feel", which is somewhat true. If you want that big city, high culture stuff SD isn't really about that, it's more about outdoors and recreation. While we have theater, museums, art galleries, ect... it's nothing world class to write home about. Some people complain about how SD lacks some big city culture and try to compare us to NYC, LA, SF, Boston, ect.... even though are demographics are more in line with places like Tampa, Cleveland, Portland, ect...

Santa Cruz is small and only has 50,000 people in it. You'll have to drive an hour or two to San Jose or San Francisco to find what you are looking for. Many people commute to San Jose for work too over a very windy, dangerous, and congested roadway (highway 17). I really don't think this is a "city" for you if you want big city amenities when it comes to entertainment and culture b/c it's neither a big city nor does it have much in the way of culture or entertainment unless you count the hippie/weed scene as culture and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as entertainment.

I would either go with SF or LA. LA seems like the most logical choice: it's a BIG city literally, one of only two cities with more people than Chicago in the US. It's primary and most well known industry is the entertainment business, so there are TONS of live venues, clubs, ect... that bands play at. And plenty of job opportunities in the music industry. Tons of world class culture with museums, shows, galleries, ect.. If you stay near the coast the daily high temperature will pretty much stay between 60-85 year round. SF is much cooler with 50-70 degrees high temps year round and lots of wind and fog. SF is more of an urban, dense city like Chicago though but fairly small in size. So I'd go with LA, seems to have everything you need and are looking for.

[rubyskye]

Sav858 said, regarding Santa Cruz:
"nor does it have much in the way of culture or entertainment unless you count the hippie/weed scene as culture and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as entertainment."
Your perspective on Santa Cruz is limited and inaccurate but it is true that S.C. is not a big city which i didn't realize was one of the O.P.'s criteria.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by rubyskye

Sav858 said, regarding Santa Cruz:
"nor does it have much in the way of culture or entertainment unless you count the hippie/weed scene as culture and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as entertainment."
Your perspective on Santa Cruz is limited and inaccurate but it is true that S.C. is not a big city which i didn't realize was one of the O.P.'s criteria.

and that is kind of what I meant, it doesn't have big city culture. It has some typical small town culture combined with some of SC's unique weed/hippie culture but nothing that can compete with large, cosmopolitan cities. And you even said it yourself, there are hippies and a counter culture, so I don't see how you can say my perspective is inaccurate when you basically said the same thing.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by sav858

Santa Cruz is small and only has 50,000 people in it. You'll have to drive an hour or two to San Jose or San Francisco to find what you are looking for. Many people commute to San Jose for work too over a very windy, dangerous, and congested roadway (highway 17). I really don't think this is a "city" for you if you want big city amenities when it comes to entertainment and culture b/c it's neither a big city nor does it have much in the way of culture or entertainment unless you count the hippie/weed scene as culture and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as entertainment.

You forgot to mention the homeless in Santa Cruz.