Moving to San Diego CA. Need advice Please (Nice: sales, apartment) - California - City-Data Forum

mrbladedude · 01-03-2012, 09:17 AM

Hi. First post here. Names Bryan. I am 28. I need some advice please.

Hey all. I stay in Norfolk Virginia at the moment. I have been here for 5 years now and absolutely hate it. I came to America 6 years ago. I was born and raised in Cape Town South Africa. Nice weather, no humidity, beach, surfing etc. That is who I am. I hate the cold. my best friend stays in California, San Diego. In May I am flying out to San Diego and initially moving in with my friend until I get on my feet. I am married with kids and my wife and I have spoken about this and as long as I can go out there and make a life IE: Get a job that will support all of us initially and our own place etc then she will come out and stay. So I need some advice.

I have no qualifications/degrees.
I am not a citizen but I am a legal permanent resident of USA.
We are not rich at all and I wont be going there with money. Maybe $200.
We have no savings.

I need to know what jobs I could do that would support a family of 5. Kids are all under 10. 1 is a new born.
How much money would I have to make per month to sustain my family in a 3 bedroom house/apartment in San Diego CA?

Military is not an option.

Is this doable? Some people I have spoken to say it is and others laugh at the fact that I want to move to CA. Why? Why is it so hard to believe that I would like to live somewhere that resembles my home?

Any advice, suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks to everyone who takes the time.

illusion887 · 01-03-2012, 09:33 AM

Honestly...there is no way possible to move here with a family of 5, no savings, and no job. Rent alone would be around 2-3k a month, so you will need to be earning at least 75-100k a year to live here comfortably. The job market is very saturated, many overqualified people apply for the same position. And employers are less likely to employ someone that just moved here with no local references.

If you're looking for a warmer climate than move to Florida. And coming here with $200 will last you only a few days..you'll need a car to get around to find a job and housing.

lane_change · 01-03-2012, 09:35 AM

Obviously the cost of living is quite high in SoCal, so affording a family of 5 will be tough. Not impossible, but definitely not easy, especially considering your lack of qualifications as you put it. What do/did you do in Norfolk? Depending on what your needs are, Florida would be a cheaper option with a warm climate, surf, etc...but their economy is not doing that fantastic either. It really depends on what you do and what you make income wise. A 3bdr in SoCal will cost quite a bit more than a 3bdr in Florida. Just food for thought.

moved · 01-03-2012, 11:04 AM

Forget it unless you want to be on the street. With no qualications, no savings and $200, what do you think you going to do?

mrbladedude · 01-03-2012, 11:09 AM

Well Thats why Im moving in with a friend initially so I can hopefully find a job and get a place etc. So it all pretty much boils down to money / job since I have a place to stay. Florida is not an option due to the extremely high humidity. Also I dont know anyone there. Best friend lives in CA SD

lane_change · 01-03-2012, 11:19 AM

I agree, I woudn't move to Florida...even though it's cheap, something about Florida has never sat right with me. I think I'm just a Pacific Ocean kind of person.

In regards to work and affording San Diego. Assume a $2k/mo 3bdr apartment plus utilities and groceries, gas, transportation, etc...you would need to spend at least $3500/mo if your car is paid for and your bills are relatively under control. Feeding a family of 5 will never be cheap as I'm sure you already know. So to spend $3500 means you need to make around $5000 before taxes which is $60k/year annually and that to me is simply to scrape by. You would have zero cushion for emergencies. Finding a job that pays $60k for someone with no qualifications in anything? I don't know what kind of job you could land, sales maybe? You are basically looking for a job that pays $30/hr full time with no qualifications or a commission based job with luck on your side.

illusion887 · 01-03-2012, 11:26 AM

Is your friend gonna let you stay with him for months on end? With no degree, qualifications, and contacts, the only thing you will find is a $12-15 an hour job. If you were single with no kids then it would be possible.

Donna7 · 01-03-2012, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrbladedude

Hi. First post here. Names Bryan. I am 28. I need some advice please.

Hey all. I stay in Norfolk Virginia at the moment. I have been here for 5 years now and absolutely hate it. I came to America 6 years ago. I was born and raised in Cape Town South Africa. Nice weather, no humidity, beach, surfing etc. That is who I am. I hate the cold. my best friend stays in California, San Diego. In May I am flying out to San Diego and initially moving in with my friend until I get on my feet. I am married with kids and my wife and I have spoken about this and as long as I can go out there and make a life IE: Get a job that will support all of us initially and our own place etc then she will come out and stay. So I need some advice.

I have no qualifications/degrees.
I am not a citizen but I am a legal permanent resident of USA.
We are not rich at all and I wont be going there with money. Maybe $200.
We have no savings.

I need to know what jobs I could do that would support a family of 5. Kids are all under 10. 1 is a new born.
How much money would I have to make per month to sustain my family in a 3 bedroom house/apartment in San Diego CA?

Military is not an option.

Is this doable? Some people I have spoken to say it is and others laugh at the fact that I want to move to CA. Why? Why is it so hard to believe that I would like to live somewhere that resembles my home?

Any advice, suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks to everyone who takes the time.

Hey, listen, OP, move to where you WANT to live and the "how" will make itself known to you. I'm speaking of financial resources, and everything else that you need. When you truly WANT something AND take action, it WILL happen for you! Don't listen to idiot naysayers who try to prevent you from living your dreams. Do it now while you're still young and have your dreams and energy to make changes in your life. Yes, everything good comes with a price tag, but you can do it. Millions of other people have done it, why not you?? As far as Florida, screw that!!! I've been there and personally, I find it my h*ll on earth and couldn't wait to come back to Ohio (so you can imagine how horrible it was there). That was just vacation, I can't even imagine LIVING there 365 days a year!!! Don't do it...I don't care what the cost of living there is. Bottom line, OP, you don't need anyone's "blessing" to live where you want to live or live how you want to live. There's nothing to prevent you except YOU. Best wishes in 2012.

illusion887 · 01-03-2012, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donna7

Hey, listen, OP, move to where you WANT to live and the "how" will make itself known to you. I'm speaking of financial resources, and everything else that you need. When you truly WANT something AND take action, it WILL happen for you! Don't listen to idiot naysayers who try to prevent you from living your dreams. Do it now while you're still young and have your dreams and energy to make changes in your life. Yes, everything good comes with a price tag, but you can do it. Millions of other people have done it, why not you?? As far as Florida, screw that!!! I've been there and personally, I find it my h*ll on earth and couldn't wait to come back to Ohio (so you can imagine how horrible it was there). That was just vacation, I can't even imagine LIVING there 365 days a year!!! Don't do it...I don't care what the cost of living there is. Bottom line, OP, you don't need anyone's "blessing" to live where you want to live or live how you want to live. There's nothing to prevent you except YOU. Best wishes in 2012.

We aren't idiot naysayers, he asked for our opinion and we gave it to him. And having a positive attitude is good and all but the reality of the situation is that money dictates everything in life.

chipup · 01-03-2012, 12:17 PM

You will need more savings to make such a drastic change, especially with your family. It would be easier to accomplish this if you found a job that you could transfer to San Diego in a year or so. Something like Best Buy or maybe Starbucks. You can probably find a lot if you google a bit. If you can spend that year living with family or friends for free or cheap then you can save up a nice amount. Put some towards the move and put some in an emergency fund. A lot of times land lords will want the first 4-6 months rent up front if you have recently moved there. Also, landlords want to see that the family they are renting to makes 2-3x the cost of rent per month, just something to keep in mind. Make a solid plan, it's more than yourself you gotta think of. You don't want to uproot your family just to run out of cash and have to move again.