Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi I moved to Los Angeles from Seattle in Feb 2009, searching for some better weather because I was slightly bored with Seattle overall (grew up in the Seattle area), so I originally was going to move to San Francisco and last minute decided upon L.A., ever since I've been kinda semi-regretting moving here.
Issues I have with Los Angeles:
- Too spread out public transportation sucks.
- People are for themselves here and not a sense of community which I heard San Francisco has. I've seen many rude people here.
- Job market sucks (any better in the bay area)
So after not really landing a job here probably due to the crappy economy I'm left with the big question
Northern California any better? Should I stay in SoCal and tough it out (there's good people everywhere??)
and What about Austin, TX (recently heard it was best place to live among 18-34 year olds on CNN, 2.8% employment rate increase), Las Vegas, NV, Phoenix, AZ, somewhere I haven't thought of or MOVE BACK TO SEATTLE? Everyones thoughts?
If you're unhappy you should move. But you should figure out what it is you really want. Asking "is this place better" really isn't going to answer your question, because everyone will answer it differently using different criteria. And SF can also be very rude too compared to Washington.
Hi I moved to Los Angeles from Seattle in Feb 2009, searching for some better weather because I was slightly bored with Seattle overall (grew up in the Seattle area), so I originally was going to move to San Francisco and last minute decided upon L.A., ever since I've been kinda semi-regretting moving here.
Issues I have with Los Angeles:
- Too spread out public transportation sucks.
- People are for themselves here and not a sense of community which I heard San Francisco has. I've seen many rude people here.
- Job market sucks (any better in the bay area)
So after not really landing a job here probably due to the crappy economy I'm left with the big question
Northern California any better? Should I stay in SoCal and tough it out (there's good people everywhere??)
and What about Austin, TX (recently heard it was best place to live among 18-34 year olds on CNN, 2.8% employment rate increase), Las Vegas, NV, Phoenix, AZ, somewhere I haven't thought of or MOVE BACK TO SEATTLE? Everyones thoughts?
wow, you are the perfect example of what so many of us try to tell the young people who want to come to California without decent jobs..As for unemployment, I think, but others will be able to answer this better than I, the market is slightly better in the bay area, not much. Depending on your background, education and field, you might find yourself in the same boat and with a higher cost of living and not the nicest weather in the world, if you didn't like what Seattle had to offer.
People can be rude everywhere, Los Angeles doesn't have the market on that, for sure. You will find them in Austin, San Francisco, Phoenix, the east coast etc, but you will find nice people as well. I have always found the people in So Ca to be pretty nice, maybe I have been lucky. Of course I was born and raised there, lived much of my young life in the north part of the city and Pasadena.
Yes, the job market in Texas is much better, but again, it depends on your experience. Las Vegas and Phoenix are not the places to live right now, anymore than Los Angeles. You will find the cost of living lower in Austin as well as a very liberal enviornmnet (compared to the rest of Texas) if this is what you are hoping for.
id go back to seattle...but thats just me. im in northern california and ive been here all my life...except for a few months i spent in everett, wa. the only reason i came back was because i lived with an extremely dysfuntional couple lol. northern cali is nice, the weathers decent....i wouldnt call the job market great. as far as the people being friendly...im not saying there arent friendly people here, but its not just so-cal where the rude people reside lol...theres rude people everywhere and theres definitely a large number of rude people in nor cal lol. if i had my ideal choice...id move back to washington, and it would never snow. lol....but to each his own. this is really a choice you'd have to make for yourself.
Issues I have with Los Angeles:
- Too spread out public transportation sucks.
Agree. By the way, this is true of most of the Bay Area as well, outside of SF or unless you are fortunate enough to both live and work near a BART or Caltrain station.
Quote:
- People are for themselves here and not a sense of community which I heard San Francisco has. I've seen many rude people here.
I don't know where you heard this about SF. I would not say there is any more a sense of community there than in LA, and there isn't noticeably less rudeness.
Quote:
- Job market sucks (any better in the bay area)
What kind of work do you do?
Quote:
So after not really landing a job here probably due to the crappy economy I'm left with the big question
Well, whatever you do I would not suggest moving to SF without a job lined up. It's even more expensive than LA, and the job market is CERTAINLY not good enough that you can just waltz in and expect to land a job. You might, but it would be really lucky in my opinion.
If you're not attached to being in California there are loads of other (and less expensive!) options but you didn't provide much info.
What kind of community do you want? what can you afford? what kind of natural environment and climate suits you? what kind of employment do you need? what kind of social scene do you want?, etc., etc., etc..
Well, You seem kinda like a free floating, free wheeling young person exploring your options. But maybe if you could tell us more of what you like vs. not like we could better advise you re CA or other places. So what are you really looking? What type of job are you trying to get? Do have an area of expertise yet? Do you plan to further your education/training in a particular field? How about weather/climate, other young ppl, outdoor activities, proximity to friends, family, etc...?
Every large city has rude ppl, messy traffic, etc... Much depends of what you make of it. For example there are even nice parts of LA county like the South Bay (Torrance, Manhattan, Redondo, Palos Verdes, etc....) where a sense of community can be experienced. But you have to have a decent job to live in the nicer areas or have multiple roomates - starving students.
Other states have issues as well, especially in this economy. We have family in CO and moved back to CA from CO. There are decent job opportunities for young ppl around Denver and Colorado Springs. But it really helps to have a skill that is in demand. My father-in-law's wife has 20+ years of teaching experience and even then finding teaching positions are not easy there with all the layoffs. Other states are seeing layoffs as well. But here in Monterey County for example our company is hiring ppl with specific in demand technical skills.
If you don't have such skills it might be a good time to retool through eduacation/training. And if living in Seattle allows you to do this easier then it may be your best option.
BTW, wondering how someone could be bored living next to Olymipic NP, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, Northern Cascades NP, Vancouver, the islands, etc... Do you like outdoor activities? Just curious.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 03-20-2010 at 05:46 PM..
As others have said, you didn't give us much to work with so I'm just going to give you opinions ok? LOL
For starters, you went to LA. LA can be good for some if you know what you're getting into. Let me tell you something; California rarely lives up to the glorified stereotypes that are usually portrayed. Yes, there is some truth to them but this state is too dynamic to really put a finger on it.
I've been all up and down the west coast and it seems to me that people seem to get friendlier the farther north you go. Just my opinion (I have to keep saying this because without fail, someone will come here and remind me that it's just my opinion as if I might forget LOL). If you consider the Bay Area, I would not suggest SF. I am a Bay Area native and even I can only handle that city for about a day or so. It's also embarrassingly, stupidly and atrociously expensive! Try the East Bay. If you remain in the inner east bay the public transportation will be great for you. It's a bit better than Seattle's. If you're in most of the outlying suburbs, you will need a car unless you're in Dublin or Pleasanton where there's a BART station.
San Diego, you might like and you might not like. It seems that Seattlites are split on SD.
Tell us a bit more about what you would like out of your new city. It will help us help you.
The thing that can't be over stated here on City-Data is research research research! It's the reason I came to CD in the first place. I'm actually considering Seattle a new home for myself but I want to learn as much about it as possible. I've been there and will visit a few more times before I make up my mind. You're in LA, take the short trip to San Diego, see if you like it. If you can, visit the Bay Area, see if you like that better. You may find that returning home is the best option for you. I personally am torn right now between returning to the Bay Area and Seattle.
I'm in Nor-cal, but I keep up with the Texas threads because I originally from Houston. I've seen several posts on the Austin forum saying that there are an enormous number of applications for each job opening because it has become the "hot" place to move to.
Houston is still doing good economically and that's where I'd move back to if I was going to Texas, except that my skillset is no longer viable there.
Nor-Cal (except for the Bay Area) is overall cheaper than So-Cal and I personally like it better. Just my opinion.
wow, you are the perfect example of what so many of us try to tell the young people who want to come to California without decent jobs..As for unemployment, I think, but others will be able to answer this better than I, the market is slightly better in the bay area, not much. Depending on your background, education and field, you might find yourself in the same boat and with a higher cost of living and not the nicest weather in the world, if you didn't like what Seattle had to offer.
People can be rude everywhere, Los Angeles doesn't have the market on that, for sure. You will find them in Austin, San Francisco, Phoenix, the east coast etc, but you will find nice people as well. I have always found the people in So Ca to be pretty nice, maybe I have been lucky. Of course I was born and raised there, lived much of my young life in the north part of the city and Pasadena.
Yes, the job market in Texas is much better, but again, it depends on your experience. Las Vegas and Phoenix are not the places to live right now, anymore than Los Angeles. You will find the cost of living lower in Austin as well as a very liberal enviornmnet (compared to the rest of Texas) if this is what you are hoping for.
Nita
Yes, people can and are rude everywhere...BUT, there are different kinds of rudeness.
AND, when one is from a more 'conservative' area-like new england or seattle [meaning people are reserved, not politically conservative], the LA style rudeness and superficiality certainly is different.
In new england, there are certain protocols for social etiquette that are just not crossed, for the most part. so cal lacks these, for the most part. Seattle has a certain set of protocols, as well....
San Diego, however, is still 'nice and laid back', relatively speaking-it is changing, but compared to LA, you will still see smiles and people stopping to chat, etc. in SD.
In nor cal, you will find, outside of SFO in say sonoma or mendocino, a different attitude. But in Marin and SFO, I don't personally find it's very different than LA, but it's a different 'style' of attitude...but probably a lateral move in terms of friendly/rude. It may be more your taste though, in terms of lifestyle/vibe-as it's more similar to seattle-markets, hiking, closer to the climate, etc.
My two cents.
And, I also think the bay area as a whole has a slightly better economy than LA. Slightly better paying and more stable/diverse. It is my experience.
But it depends on what your background/industry is.
As for phx, austin, etc. I cannot say-but austin has been touted as the place for several years now, like portland, which probably means it's satured. LOL and no longer what it was touted for.
Denver is a pretty decent city with CO having a great quality of life for a reasonable cost, IMO. Job market up and down there-more on par with San Diego's than LA or SFO or Seattle....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
