Another Bellingham thread! (Spokane, Riverside: transplants, rent, insurance)

[selftest]

I know this has been done to death, but I have slightly different questions.

First, I am not looking to buy a home. I will be a renter, so prop. tax and such have no bearing on the info I want.

I am 26 years old, and need to get the heck out of here. I'm a California boy, born and raised, by I hate it here. Its hot, the drug problem is terrible (Southwest Riverside county), it's as congested as L.A, the weather sucks, people here suck, and everyone is too good for everyone else.

I need a change. I took a trip to Oregon last year and what little I saw of it, I loved. But Bellingham has WWU, which I would really like to attend sooner or later.

My questions are as follows:

What can I expect as far as employment goes? I'm an armed guard by trade, and I see a few places where that may be a possibility. I have no problem working anywhere, as long as I can make rent. Rent being about $600 a month from what I saw. Can I expect any sort of 40 hr a week job up there? Or is it all part time? I have a car payment and insurance, so my total "hard" expense will be about $1200 a month.

Thoughts?

[rkcarguy]

Hard to say, definately line up a job first....
Cali is terrible, watch "Bait Car" on TV and some of those cars are rolling seconds after they are dropped off....
Alot of our "implants" have scarffed up homes and rent them out, and they welcome your type with open arms. Anything to avoid working for a living...

[Baldy]

selftest, Bellingham is a college town, so there's plenty of labor and there's plenty of armed guards here being a border town and all.

Bellingham isn't for you, but get out of there. Maybe Santa Barbara? If I had another move in me, and I don't, I would go east to Iowa. Iowa.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by selftest

I am 26 years old, and need to get the heck out of here. I'm a California boy, born and raised, by I hate it here. Its hot, the drug problem is terrible (Southwest Riverside county), it's as congested as L.A, the weather sucks, people here suck, and everyone is too good for everyone else.

I need a change. I took a trip to Oregon last year and what little I saw of it, I loved. But Bellingham has WWU, which I would really like to attend sooner or later.

My questions are as follows:

What can I expect as far as employment goes? I'm an armed guard by trade, and I see a few places where that may be a possibility. I have no problem working anywhere, as long as I can make rent. Rent being about $600 a month from what I saw. Can I expect any sort of 40 hr a week job up there? Or is it all part time? I have a car payment and insurance, so my total "hard" expense will be about $1200 a month.

Thoughts?

I grew up in Corona, and had an Aunt/Uncle that I visited a few times a summer during childhood, they lived in Bellingham. I'm assuming you live in Murrieta-Temecula?

I was in your same boat. I hated the IE, I hated the heat, I hated the weather, I hated the traffic, and I was upset that the people left too much to be desired -- I thought the people there were too money/status focused, and didn't have their priorities straight. This was when I was 20.

Well, I got out of there and am now in my third new location at age 25. I went far up to the high desert (Ridgecrest, CA) for three years, over to Denver for two years, and now am going to be residing in Spokane, WA.

Here's what I've found:

-Whatever problems you are trying to escape in CA, you will find either the same thing in your new home, or will find something equally as bad that you hadn't thought about. For example, you might not like the clouds/rain in Bellingham, whereas right now you might think you will.
-I guarantee you there will be some sort of drug element in Bellingham, nowhere is immune to it. In my experience, where I lived in the IE, the main drug of choice was pot, with some tweakers scattered here or there. The IE wasn't bad at all compared to Ridgecrest or even Spokane. I've only been here a week (Spokane) and I can already tell you that Spokane (no offense to anybody) is filled with tweakers. Denver didn't seem to have much of a drug problem, however.
-Another thing most people don't think about is that with traffic comes things to do. Living in a smaller town will limit entertainment/nightlife/recreational opportunities. Just something to think about.
-Uppity people can and will be found everywhere, but on the other side of the coin, smaller town people aren't all wholesome do-gooders that want to be your friend. It's very hard being the new guy in town. Smaller-town people can be "too good for you" as well, since you didn't grow up with them and/or they don't know you.

Finance wise, you'll do fine as long as you are working. Bellingham is a college town, that is also full of transplants/retirees, so you won't be the only one new in town. I just hope you aren't expecting paradise, because no matter where you go, there will be something there that bugs you, I guarantee it. But, I definitely recommend leaving your current home, you'll grow as a person more than you know.

Good luck to you.

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

Alot of our "implants" have scarffed up homes and rent them out, and they welcome your type with open arms. Anything to avoid working for a living...

Yeah, because all CA'ians are born with money coming out their behinds.