Considering moving to San Diego from Chicago (Poway: sales, hair salon)

[kqstudio]

We are a family of 5 and is looking for a change. My husband and I have a clothing line that we've been promoting for about 8 years in Chicago and we own a hair salon where we do natural hair. But here its hard to make a name for yourself, especially when the seasons change. People get depressed and its too cold to come out and beautify yourself. So we feel that San Diego would be a better market for our clothes and hair business. Plus we have 3 children so we would be looking for an area where there would be great schools and a good neighborhood for us to raise our children. Any suggestions? I would really appreciate it.....Thanks

[DubHaze]

You really need to give us some more information... do you have a decent savings to keep you comfortable until you find work, etc? How much can you spend per month on a home or rent? how many bedrooms do you NEED? LA would be a better market for hair/clothes, I am a cosmetologist myself and interested in fashion design. San Diego does have a lot of boutiques etc, but you would also have to afford that space as well. I am from MN and for our cosmetology license it was 1550hrs for school, here it is 100 hours more, so you would probably have to go back to school. I also heard from the salon I go to (ARCS, which is a Robert Cromeans Salon) that out of state license do not have reciprocity here, so you may have to start over here. Check the California Cosmetology Licensing Bureau for more information on that.. Also remember, A store/salon is considerably more for rent here than the Midwest. I know Chicago is definatley more expensive that Minneapolis/St. Paul, but make sure you have this ALL planned out before you get here. Jobs are harder to come buy, and marketing for your salon/store is more important than anything. The economy isn't the best to move in right now, but that isn't saying it can't be done.

As far as school's go, are you planning on public schools? The Midwest has a better public school system that California, here if you are looking for a GOOD school, that means private school... That also means... more money.

Please give us more information, and also what other things are important to you as far as where you want to live? Do you need to be by the beach? own your own home? Will you want to work downtown? etc.

Have you visited San Diego before? I would suggest doing that before locking yourself into a commitment. My husband and I have been here for 9 months, and we love it so far, but you have more at stake with moving your kids and business across the country... Good Luck. Hope to hear from you soon

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by DubHaze

... The Midwest has a better public school system that California, here if you are looking for a GOOD school, that means private school... That also means... more money...

There are a few good public schools here, but it takes some searching to find them. Poway School District is generally highly regarded. I don't know if they have any schools to be avoided.

Many San Diego Unified schools aren't good, but there are some that are good (I couldn't tell you which ones but others here may be able to tell you).

[Encinitan]

Originally Posted by oddstray

There are a few good public schools here, but it takes some searching to find them. Poway School District is generally highly regarded. I don't know if they have any schools to be avoided.

Many San Diego Unified schools aren't good, but there are some that are good (I couldn't tell you which ones but others here may be able to tell you).

A blanket statement that in California "good schools means private school" just isn't the case. There are excellent public schools in San Diego, namely Poway and also San Dieguito Union. They do an excellent job of preparing kids for the future and send upwards of 95 percent of seniors onto four-year universities.

[DubHaze]

Not just talking about high schools. Children need to learn good fundamentals starting with K-6 schools... I am assuming with the type of business they are getting into out here, it will be a long shot until it becomes profitable. Will they hbe able to afford Poway?? I worked in sales for beauty salons for 3 years with one of the best distributors in the country. Not everyone can have a high end salon like Arcs, founded my Robert Cromeans. Not saying they can't do it at all. But trust me, even Paul Mitchell (I've met John Paul Dejoria he was homeless when he first started out, now he owns the largest PRIVATE beauty company in the world.) It is kinda like trying to be a celebrity... it is one in a million. It's the drive you put into it. Another salon in San Diego, is like another taco shop. You really have to put yourself out there to succeed, that will take years, not months. Anyway, if they can give more information, we could give them more advice. Rent vs. Buy, Savings etc. How many bedrooms? Have they ever visited San Diego, or is this a blind move? How old their children are? A lot factor's in here.

NOT trying to say San Diego is complete crap for schools. But that is something they need to hear now, so they know how much digging they will have to do, to find a decent school, and hopefully they can afford to live in that area if they find a decent one.

[loveautumn]

What type of clothing line?