some advice?? (San Diego, Long Beach, Huntington Beach: apartment, rentals, school)

[kprincesssparkle]

I am considering a move to california in the next year or two but i needed some advice as to where to live first. I would like to live someplace reasonably close to a beach and that stays warm most of the year(southern california from what I've heard so far). I am fine with living in a $600-$700 studio, etc I will be moving alone or with just a friend and we have no problem bunking up until we get on our feet out there. I'm currently still working on my degree for school but have cash handling and customer service experience so probably would not have trouble finding a decent job, possibly even at a bank which usually pays enough to get by. So i am looking for suggestions for cities to live in that are reasonable in those areas. I live on the west side of columbus right now if you're not familiar it is not the ghetto but isn't the safest either we have our share of crime, I just want someplace reasonable where you wouldn't be scared to live...any ideas???PLEASE : D

[kprincesssparkle]

oh yes I forgot to mention I would be taking a week of vacation to go out a month or two before I move to make sure I can secure a job and possibly an apartment, I won't be just going out on a whim, I expect I could get a job making around $12/hr out there, is that low comparative to the job rates out there? I make about 10 now but i've seen jobs on monster i can reasonably get for more....

[VeronikaW]

You'll be hard pressed to find a studio for $600-700, unless you get really lucky, especially near the beach. As an example, a friend of mine lives in a 550 squarefoot place in Laguna Beach that is $1400/month, and it's not that nice, it's just that you can see the ocean from the balcony.

$12/hour is kind of high. Here in San Diego, retail jobs start at about $8.50, and you might get $10 if you have lots of experience, but for a retail job, the pay isn't that great out here.

The most reasonably priced beach city that I can think of offhand is Huntington Beach, maybe Costa Mesa. I grew up in Orange County, so I can only offer advice on OC beaches, I don't know much about LA beaches. Long Beach or Seal Beach you might find something.

I would definitely do some apartment searches in those areas, on rent.net or forrent.com to give you some idea, though you're usually best driving around looking for private rentals.

V. =)