Grad school, florida or cali? please help :) (San Diego: high crime, neighborhoods)

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by JHG722

Cali is in Colombia.

Yeah, that was bugging me too. Please - it's California, not Cali. The abbreviation is Cal. or CA.

[zuzanah]

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

"You don't need to know Spanish to live in San Diego or Los Angeles. It's of course helpful, but not even close to necessary." well if one plans to have a counseling career after finishing school in SD I highly recommend being bilingual or looking elsewhere. Not being bi lingual in certain fields where the public is served is very limiting. I lived in Tampa for years and while there many Spanish speakers, not being bi lingual was not a job barrier for me. Here it is. I am in the minority among my colleagues with regard to lingual ability. People can say all they want about this being America, but that is neither here nor there. I am talking about reality. Look at job descriptions for the area.

Thank you that's helpful! I searched for some counselling jobs in Miami and it looks like at most places they would prefer someone who is bilingual. Also, I have looked at this website where students grade universities etc and some of them were advising not to go to some of the schools I have chosen in Miami if you don't speak spanish. I don't really get the reason for that, I mean if my Professors speak English I guess that's all that matters. Anyway, seems like I will start searching again.

Thank you all for your help.

Oh, and sorry about referring to California as Cali to those who mentioned it.

Have a lovely day

[tonyinsd]

Originally Posted by oddstray

Yeah, that was bugging me too. Please - it's California, not Cali. The abbreviation is Cal. or CA.

It's one of those things that people who don't live here think we throw around all the time. SoCal and NorCal, yes, Cali, no.

[AADAD]

Give me a break.

Everything is PC and stunted here mostly. Peeps are tight with emotions and being only mildly friendly

...might as well call it what it is IMO.

[tonyinsd]

Originally Posted by AADAD

Give me a break.

Everything is PC and stunted here mostly. Peeps are tight with emotions and being only mildly friendly

...might as well call it what it is IMO.

You can't compare a place like Eagle River, which has less people in it than one city block downtown, to a major city like San Diego. Of course people are more open in Eagle River.

My sister in Talkeetna only locks her door because if she didn't, the dogs would get out. And when she got married, the whole town showed up at the reception.

That can't happen here.

[jacobwilliam77]

Go to Florida

[Clevelandgal]

A couple comments about Miami. I agree that much like san diego being bi lingual is huge. I have no idea why people say not to bother going to school there unless you speak spanish. My guess is that monolingual people feel frustrated by not understanding peers chatting.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by jj970

I've lived in Florida and California, but never NY. I have been there though.
I currently live in San Diego and I think it's the best city in the States.

Here's my take...

Cost of living...

NY>San Diego>Miami>Tampa/Orlando/Naples>Jacksonville

In Jacksonville you could rent a house for the price of a small studio in NY.
I rent out my 3 bdrm 2.5 bath townhome for $1000 a month there. Here in SD, I rent a 3 bdrm 2 bath apartment for $2600.

Cultural exposure...

NY>Miami>San Diego>Tampa/Orlando/Naples>Jacksonville

Jacksonville is great, but it's basically a large country city and all black and white. NY has every culture in the world. Miami is white and latino (Caribbean and South/Central American). Tampa is mostly white. Orlando is pretty diverse for Florida. San Diego is diverse, but mostly Mexican and white.

Fun things to do for young people...

NY>Miami=San Diego>Tampa/Orlando/Naples/Jacksonville

This all depends on what you want.
Obviously, NY is the largest, most diverse, vibrant city in the US. You will always have something to do. There is NO beach worth going to.

San Diego has a great beach scene as well as downtown. It is a great city if you like beer especially. The weather is nice all the time. It has everything I look for in a city.

I found Tampa pretty quiet and dull, but there is a good beach.

Miami is awesome, you have a great beach, great nightlife and beautiful people all year round. The weather is great all the time, but hot for some in the summer.

Jacksonville is ok, there is a nice beach, there is a burgeoning downtown and people are friendly and laid back. There is just not as much going on as any of the other cities you mentioned. It is the cheapest though like I said.

International Airport

NY>Miami=Orlando>San Diego=Tampa>Naples/Jacksonville

NY has 3 international airports in the immediate area. You can fly anywhere.

Miami is ok, but most flights are to South/Central America.

Orlando actually has a lot of flights too and perhaps more to the UK than Miami. It's a big touristy city because of Disney.

San Diego is more of a regional airport, but we do have direct flights to London now with BA.

Tampa/Naples/Jacksonville are all small regional airports, but have pretty easy connections to Atlanta, which is a major hub (1.5-2 hours away).

WEATHER

San Diego>Miami>Naples>Orlando=Jacksonville=Tampa>NY

San Diego has about 24 days of rain a year, it's 76 degrees outside and sunny right now (November 25th). It's upper 80 degrees (27-29) in the summer, but not humid. Miami is hotter in the summer (mid 30's) and very humid. Some people hate that. It is really nice in the winter. It rains alot in the summer. Most of Florida has the same weather, but the cities more north (Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa) will actually get cold in the winter, to the low 40's F (5-10 C). NY weather to me...sucks. Hot and humid in the summer and cold and snowy in the winter. The best seasons are Fall and Spring.

Spanish

There is no problem not speaking Spanish. This is the US, not Mexico, don't forget that. That being said, it's nice to speak Spanish sometimes in Miami and San Diego since a lot of people do speak it. I speak Spanish and I'm a Chinese guy born here in California.

For me, the choice is easy...San Diego. After that I choose Miami...After that...hmm, Orlando or Jacksonville (only because I have friends and a house there still).

Here's my reasoning...
San Diego has great weather, lots to do, a great beach, diversity and nice people with fairly decent traffic). The only drawback is that it costs a lot to live in California.
NY costs too much, the weather sucks and people aren't as friendly. There is a lot to do there though and everyone should experience it once.
Miami is great, but not quite as diverse as San Diego. The traffic there is worse too. It is probably cheaper than San Diego to live.

If I could choose anywhere, I wouldn't choose Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa or Naples as a first choice. If I wanted to live as cheap as possible, I'd choose one of those though. Jacksonville first, then Orlando, then Tampa.

Hope this helps!

Good post! But I very much disagree with Miami and SD being equal as far as fun things to do. Miami (and all of Florida) is only about the beach, and THAT's IT. Trust me, I love the beach, but I'm glad we have access to much more than that within a 2 hour drive. I also found the nightlife in South Beach to be way overrated, also.

[AADAD]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

You can't compare a place like Eagle River, which has less people in it than one city block downtown, to a major city like San Diego. Of course people are more open in Eagle River.

My sister in Talkeetna only locks her door because if she didn't, the dogs would get out. And when she got married, the whole town showed up at the reception.

That can't happen here.

I wasn't comparing them. Cali is picky emotionally austere and full of the "right" things.

and if your sister lives in Talkeetna you are one really lucky brother...best small town in the world. =)

[Clevelandgal]

hey, I very respectably, of course, disagree with some of jj970's Tampa assessment
1) Tampa is super diverse with regard to black, white and Hispanic. At times it has made the #1 list for most integrated which means if someone not your ethnicity moves next door, you don't go all ape $hit like people in many other places would. I loved that I never observed any racism when I was there.
2) The Beaches are awesome, but there are none in Tampa. You have to go to Pinellas county and likely face 45-min 1 hour drive. Tampa is dull for the most part but I had friends very socially active. I guess if you want it, you can have it.

Not sure if USF in Tampa is on your list but it is a great school (biased, I got a couple degrees from there).