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Old 07-30-2020, 03:03 AM
 
5 posts, read 2,925 times
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Getting a divorce on the central coast and considering moving north for work. Will probably have two older kiddos with me so would need to be fairly close to community colleges and CSUs. I'm mid-40s so I don't need a real nightlife but I do like artsy areas (public art, bookstores, community gardens, etc), and traffic drives me insane (it's why I left SoCal). Will be aiming for technical support desk or cloud-based tech to start, the former really does not pay great, and I will probably come out of the divorce poor as f***. Will need a Trader Joes within some kind of not totally insane driving distance (dietary issues).

Was thinking about Vallejo, Concord, Vacaville...I'm not sure where the jobs OR the affordable areas (if there is such a thing) are. And I have no family to help or retirement to dip into. Help?
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Old 07-30-2020, 10:54 AM
 
Location: As of 2022….back to SoCal. OC this time!
9,297 posts, read 4,577,093 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by universalfriend View Post
Getting a divorce on the central coast and considering moving north for work. Will probably have two older kiddos with me so would need to be fairly close to community colleges and CSUs. I'm mid-40s so I don't need a real nightlife but I do like artsy areas (public art, bookstores, community gardens, etc), and traffic drives me insane (it's why I left SoCal). Will be aiming for technical support desk or cloud-based tech to start, the former really does not pay great, and I will probably come out of the divorce poor as f***. Will need a Trader Joes within some kind of not totally insane driving distance (dietary issues).

Was thinking about Vallejo, Concord, Vacaville...I'm not sure where the jobs OR the affordable areas (if there is such a thing) are. And I have no family to help or retirement to dip into. Help?








IMO....look for & find a job 1st before you do anything. Then you will know if it's possible & what areas you can afford. Since you have 2 children, you need to be responsible...AND realistic about it. Don't get too obsessive & good luck...........
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Old 07-30-2020, 11:14 AM
 
Location: San Francisco, CA
1,386 posts, read 1,497,593 times
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Good luck. You'll have to figure out where your job is, and how much it pays, before you can hone in on schools and housing. Traffic isn't quite as much of a nightmare in the Bay Area as it is in LA, but that's not saying much. Cost of housing here is obscene compared to the rest of the state, especially the closer to Silicon Valley you are. Honestly, unless you land a job that pays 6 figures, you'll be better off finding something in Sacramento or San Diego. Also consider lower cost areas. Bakersfield and Fresno don't have much to offer, but perhaps you can find something in a slightly less awful Central Valley haunt like Merced or a pleasant, affordable town like Chico (both with universities).
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Old 07-30-2020, 11:39 AM
 
Location: State of Transition
102,203 posts, read 107,859,557 times
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Sacramento sounds like a good idea. Some of the suburbs are cheaper than in town (and some have good schools), but rents in the city are lower than in LA or Bay Area. See the Sacramento sub-forum for more detailed info. You could also look at Davis, which has a UC, but rents are a little more competitive than in Sac, because of the student population. (Although there isn't one right now, due to Covid. It's not clear how that's affecting rents, if at all.)

Universities need techies, btw, as well as state government entities, corporate businesses, etc.

Good luck, OP! Let us know how you do.
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Old 07-30-2020, 03:50 PM
 
5 posts, read 2,925 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TashaPosh View Post
IMO....look for & find a job 1st before you do anything. Then you will know if it's possible & what areas you can afford. Since you have 2 children, you need to be responsible...AND realistic about it. Don't get too obsessive & good luck...........
Yeah, um...I know all this; that's why I'm asking around. Kids will be 18 in six months.
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Old 07-30-2020, 06:18 PM
 
Location: As of 2022….back to SoCal. OC this time!
9,297 posts, read 4,577,093 times
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Originally Posted by universalfriend View Post
Yeah, um...I know all this; that's why I'm asking around. Kids will be 18 in six months.





Sry...it's just common sense to get the job 1st IMO...........apply where you want to work & see what you get offered. That will tell you where you can afford to land & if it will work for you.....good luck!

Last edited by TashaPosh; 07-30-2020 at 06:28 PM..
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Old 07-30-2020, 06:27 PM
 
Location: As of 2022….back to SoCal. OC this time!
9,297 posts, read 4,577,093 times
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Originally Posted by davdaven View Post
Good luck. You'll have to figure out where your job is, and how much it pays, before you can hone in on schools and housing.





Ita!! I couldn't really do anything about my move to the BA until I knew where I would be working & what type of place I could afford & where..........even tho as a nurse, I had a good idea of what my salary would be before I had a job. I still needed to know w h e r e.
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Old 07-30-2020, 06:43 PM
 
Location: planet earth
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Berkley might be perfect.
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Old 07-31-2020, 09:20 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
376 posts, read 653,631 times
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Just going on Google and seeing where Trader Joes are- the most affordable are in Fairfield and Concord and Brentwood (maybe Pinole too but I don't know). You can probably guess, the further from SF or Oakland, the cheaper (duh). OTOH, if you're considering San Jose too the only place I'd suggese slightly cheaper is Morgan Hill.

For CSUs, the CSUEB campus in Hayward I went there and knew plenty of kids who came from Concord/Brentwood/Pinole or they could conceivably take BART to SFSU. SJSU works for Morgan Hill. Fairfield or Vacaville puts you a little tight. Honestly Sacramento State or Sonoma State may be easier to get to than CSUEB or SFSU. Or UC Davis is easy from Fairfield.
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Old 07-31-2020, 01:50 PM
 
5 posts, read 2,925 times
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Originally Posted by ippi76 View Post
Just going on Google and seeing where Trader Joes are- the most affordable are in Fairfield and Concord and Brentwood (maybe Pinole too but I don't know). You can probably guess, the further from SF or Oakland, the cheaper (duh). OTOH, if you're considering San Jose too the only place I'd suggese slightly cheaper is Morgan Hill.

For CSUs, the CSUEB campus in Hayward I went there and knew plenty of kids who came from Concord/Brentwood/Pinole or they could conceivably take BART to SFSU. SJSU works for Morgan Hill. Fairfield or Vacaville puts you a little tight. Honestly Sacramento State or Sonoma State may be easier to get to than CSUEB or SFSU. Or UC Davis is easy from Fairfield.
This is very helpful, thank you!
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