Moving to Concord- good idea?

[NorCalLover]

I agree with most of the posters that, based on your desires and interests, you'll be disappointed in the Bay Area if all you can afford is Concord. Concord is a solid suburban blue-collar town, but it doesn't have much going on there. It's a very typical car-centric suburb, and you'll get tired of the long BART ride or drive into San Francisco, Berkeley, or Oakland to do things and see people. When I lived in Vacaville for a year (which is even further out than Concord, to be fair), I ended up spending a lot of time sitting at home watching TV because everything of interest was so far away.

Since you have no compelling job or family reason to be here, you'd probably be better off looking for another city. Being from Chicago and having family living there now, other than cold weather I think its North Side would be perfect for your needs and budget.

[NJEmmert]

Originally Posted by Flavia84

Thanks again for the replies.
The biggest reason I was thiking Bay Area is because I'm scared of the cold. Anything below 60 degrees warrants a hat and gloves for a sissy like me

That rules out the Cities for sure. You won't find a ton of career driven people there either, it's going to be much more like Denver. The coasts are definitely where you find the career first, life second sorts of A type personalities.

Have you thought about some place like Austin, Texas?

[Flavia84]

Thanks again for the input, I appreciate it.

NJEmmert, I will be transferring for a promotion to another office internally, and unfortunately the Twin Cities offer the biggest jump career-wise. And since I'm a workaholic, admittedly, I would love to get on that opportunity.

We don't have an office in Austin but have one in Houston, there isn't much movement there though.

Chicago would be a fun city to live in but with the new responsibilities I might not be able to enjoy it for a while until I get in the groove.

I'm thinking to tough it out in MSP, save up some money (which will be easy to do there) and head back out West in a much better place financially.

[Bonez765]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

Sure you can do this move, but if you do, you're going to be in the car a lot. Traffic here is bad, and gets worse every year. Are you up for the financial pressures that come with living in one of the 2 or 3 most expensive areas in the US? (Seattle is not in the top 2 or 3, btw)

I personally would not move here at all given your age and social wants unless a) I could live in Oakland, Berkeley, or maybe right next door (El Cerrito, Albany, etc - not Richmond) or b) I could live in SF proper AND c) I could afford to live in those places, pay rent for an apartment that was decent that wasn't on a main road and had decent light, without thin walls, with a in-unit dishwasher and kitchen ventilation, and - key - also earned enough to also save money. There's a lot of crappy housing at the bottom tier of the Bay Area.

In short, the Bay Area is nice if you are a high earner (or inherited real estate), but not so much if one is forced to live in the most inconvenient fringes (and have a poor commute to work and social life) and deal with traffic.

^this

[WizardOfRadical]

Originally Posted by Flavia84

Thanks again for the input, I appreciate it.

NJEmmert, I will be transferring for a promotion to another office internally, and unfortunately the Twin Cities offer the biggest jump career-wise. And since I'm a workaholic, admittedly, I would love to get on that opportunity.

We don't have an office in Austin but have one in Houston, there isn't much movement there though.

Chicago would be a fun city to live in but with the new responsibilities I might not be able to enjoy it for a while until I get in the groove.

I'm thinking to tough it out in MSP, save up some money (which will be easy to do there) and head back out West in a much better place financially.

Do what is best for your career and go to MSP. Life is too short to live in Concord.