Is my plan unrealistic? (Los Angeles, Sacramento: apartments, for rent, motel)

[dgmulf]

I'm 22 years old, currently living with my parents (in Los Angeles), but want to move out. I would love to live in a peaceful, suburban / borderline rural area, with easy access to nature hiking. To me, living in a bustling urban area sounds like a nightmare.

I haven't really developed a career yet, so for the time being I would probably have to settle for work as a cashier or secretary, or something simple like that. I'm not worried about finding a job, but what I am worried about is finding somewhere to live. Right now I've got my eye on Fairfax, which borders the Cascade Canyon Open Space Preserve. But I can literally count on one hand the number of rooms for rent in Fairfax that I see on Craigslist right now.

Is it too difficult to do what I want to do in the SF Bay Area, considering the fact that I would be on a tight budget?

[Chuck5000]

Yes I think it is far too difficult, unless you're willing to always worry about making your budget every month. The Bay Area is no longer a place where it's easy to chill out and live a subsistence lifestyle. It's intensely competitive and expensive and really only for those who are on a well-paying career track and can make peace with that.

If you don't have family you need to be close to, no place is worth the stress of constant economic struggle.

In Fairfax, btw, if you go 5 minutes east, and you will all of the time to get to stuff, you are in the suburban bustle you say you want to avoid. Marin has high traffic for it's population level, and the Bay Area overall is sadly sliding towards LA in the restrictions on mobility. I think it may never get as bad, but it's getting uncomfortably close. This is partially because service workers like cashiers have to drive serious distances to go to work, since affordable housing in the inner core is very rare.

Provided the demand for service workers is there, I think what you want is available in parts of northern california and oregon. Maybe there are places in Washington also. If I were you I'd focus on a place where you have some support nearby, like friends or other family.

[green papaya]

arent there any places like that around in southern Ca? most of the young people in SF that work as cashiers live at home with their families , or share apartments with students that get money from parents, scholarships, etc.

making it all by yourself on minimum wage will be impossible, you need connections, like staying with relatives, aunts, uncles, etc.

[Ruth4Truth]

A lot of listings never make it to Craigslist. You should save up, and get someplace, stay in a Motel 6 or something long enough to check out the local listings and bulletin boards to find a room. Fairfax is a great place to live, but only you can figure out if it's affordable. Aside from cashiering, or whatever, you could pick up some extra hours of work waitressing somewhere.

Also consider Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Cotati. There's a local college with a student population and house-sharing. They're not really cheaper than Fairfax, but there should be more housing options. And they're close to the Russian River and the redwoods. You could target college towns in your search; Arcata, and some of the other north coastal towns might work, depending on what you're looking for weather-wise and social-scene-wise. Lots of redwood parks in and around Arcata, etc.

[dgmulf]

Appreciate the feedback folks! Looks like the cost of living is just a bit too high in the Bay Area for my purposes right now.

[2sleepy]

Probably the most realistic option would be to move to Sacramento and drive to the places that you like on your days off.