To the California members....

[McLaren]

I've always had a small interest in the state, but since November, I've been craving a desire to live there. I can't explain it, but maybe it's the fact California opens a lot of possibilities. Most of my research shows it offers a lot of opportunities for folks who are willing to put the time in to do so. Or maybe it's because the state offers everything from surfing to skiing.

However, it wasn't really until back in early January, that my local Lexus dealer revealed to me Toyota's Colleges which offer a lot for someone like me. After checking it out, I looked into other colleges in the state and saw a lot of interesting choices. Now, for me, I would like to continue on after your usual 4 years of college, and learn more. And I just feel that perhaps California could be the place due to huge array of options.

So, my questions for you California members (or anyone with the knowledge) are pretty much:
1) How is the cost of living there?
My only plan for this would be to find someone offering to share an apartment. I don't need a house. Is it expensive to do or buy anything essential?
2) Transportation; Is a cheap car worth it, or would I be better off using the cities' transportation? I've been to Southern Cali., and traffic only seems to be unbearable in or near L.A. All surrounding areas seemed livable.
3) The people;
I've always read about & seen the diversity of folks in the state. Does this have any effect on people? Such as, is the level of tension between races just exaggerated, or are there really folks who will beat others if they think they're being offended?
4) Education, Jobs
The education level & amount of jobs is really important to me. I don't want to go somewhere with great opportunities, but poor teachers, and where the only jobs available to new-comers is the local liquor store, or related. Perhaps again, I've been mislead by the media, but to me, it seems people do "fight" for the better jobs.
5) Should I have a buddy system?
This might be confusing, but what I mean by this is that is there anybody or place I should know? California was a big place for someone like me, and I know for a fact, parts of it can be dangerous. So, should I get acquainted with anyone I can, and ask them to be like an 'on-site advisor'? Last thing I want is to move there and get lost.

I'm not making the decision now or any time soon, but it is one I am considering as this sort of movement is something I'd prefer to do in the next 3-8 years. But all advice is welcome, as well as any tips.

 

[Gil]

I spent the first 19 years of my life in Cali.
It is quite expensive, but the weather rocks.
IF you live in any metropolitan section of the state, especially Southern California, you must either learn to apparate, or get used to spending a lot of time in traffic.
Los Angeles is not the only place with horrid traffic. It just has the worst traffic.
Public transportation is good in most places, but remember the people that can't afford cars use it.
If it is as it was when I was a kid, as long as you catch the bus at a certain time it's ok.
The bus 15 minutes later may be full of "interesting" people.
Most people in California are ok.
Stay out of Compton and East L.A. especially at night, and you should be fine.
Pretty much the "inner city" areas are not places to be hanging about and dawdling.
If you are considering any of the UC campuses, I would suggest Santa Cruz, Davis or maybe Berkeley.
Santa Cruz has historically been pretty laid back, and happens to have a college near a beach.
Davis is kind of away from huge population centers.
If you have the kind of "scratch" to go to Pepperdine at Malibu, you will probably like the area. It is semi-affluent to very affluent, and as such pretty free from "hood-rats".

As for jobs, figure out what you can do, and start looking before you go. There is really no good place in Calif to be with no means of support, and limited prospects.

You might check some of the realty sites, and such for apt prices where you want to be.
But keep in mind that my 4 bdrm house in Kansas would be worth about 750,000 to a million plus in some of the more "popular" neighborhoods.

 

[Seanman]

I spent the last 6 years of my life in Southern California, so I guess I know the area pretty well, but keep in mind that I can't say much about Northern and Central California.

1) How is the cost of living there?

Housing here is ridiculous. I live in Northern Orange County around 5 miles away from the beach, and the price for an average, 3 bedroom, one story house is around 900,000 to a million, and it gets even worse beach side. Basically, if you plan to live in a somewhat metropolitan or urban area, buying a house is out of the question until
a. You earn upwards of $300,000 a year or
b. the housing bubble bursts

If you plan on renting an apartment for the whole time, it is a little better. An average 2 bedroom apartment is around $1600 a month or so, although it can get several times more expensive in popular areas like Santa Monica or Hollywood. Also, outer Los Angeles is mostly houses, so finding a proper apartment and a roommate will take some searching, but you can probably find one within a month or two.

As for cost of living, that's one area that is, at least in my opinion, pretty reasonable. Food, utilities, gas, etc, is easily available for pretty cheap. Although I would recommend getting a Costco card as soon as you arrive if you live reasonably close to one, as it gives you access to much cheaper fuel and groceries.

2) Transportation; Is a cheap car worth it, or would I be better off using the cities' transportation?

Public transportation is pretty much out of the question if you live more than ten or twenty miles away from downtown, as buying a car is much more practical. Traffic is bad, but not too bad if you stay smart with choosing roads. (Staying away from downtown, major freeways during rush hour, etc.)

3) The people

The level of race tension is greatly exaggerated unless you live in a very bad neighborhood. Although gang wars between races are common in the worst of areas, a relatively affluent or well educated area will have no such problems, and most people I find are all very friendly and gracious.

4) Education, Jobs

The job market is great if you're relatively well educated and well qualified, and it is often not difficult to find a good job. However, Southern California seems to be more suited towards technical and service jobs, so one might struggle a bit more to find jobs in other markets. Nevertheless, at least from what I've seen, finding a job is not a major problem in the area due to the abundance of markets.

The public education system is a great matter of location as well. Some area's public schools can be as good, if not better, than many private institutions, while other places require metal detectors at the entrances. The public universities, though, are excellent, and relatively cheap if you are a resident of California. As long as you try, it doesn't seem difficult to find a decent education at a decent price, and with a good education you can easily get a well-paying job.

5) Should I have a buddy system?

Like any other large areas, it would be very beneficial to become acquainted with a few locals when you first arrive so you can get your footing, get advice on where to live, go to school, buy stuff, or even just for rides before you get the chance to buy a car. Without buddies, it'd be much more difficult, but not exactly impossible, so it's pretty much your call.

So, basically, your experiences here could vary dramatically based on where you live and your income levels, and its very important to plan out at least the first couple years here or it would be very easy to become sidetracked in other things and end up hurting yourself.

California is a great place with lots of opportunities and awesome weather, but without a sustainable source of reasonable income you'd probably be tempted to move to other states very quickly.

Hope this helps.

 

[Duke]

+ rep for that post, if there was still a rep system to use.

 

[McLaren]

+ rep for that post, if there was still a rep system to use.

Agreed.

Thank you Gil & Seanman for your insight. I'll be keeping in mind while I continue to research the situation of moving there.

 

[Gil]

California is a great place.
But the thing with the wildfires and the Earthquakes...
Most of southern California is man's incursion into the desert.
Water is a very precious resource, that comes from places other than California.
My house here in KS would cost about 5 times what I paid for it in California.
The weather rocks.
The people are pretty cool for the most part.
That's because the "adventure seekers" from other places settle down in California.
A lot of people born in California, are a little "different". But mostly Ok.

For the most part, California is a lot like most other urban/suburban places.
You just get great weather, beaches, and girls with better tans.
You also get fairly diverse culture.

 

[Venari]

And, unfortunately, sometime, perhaps soon, the whole of the west coast is going to slide into the ocean.

Why all the guys in Silicon Valley haven't buggered off by now, I've never figured out.

[/scaremonger]

 

[Gil]

And, unfortunately, sometime, perhaps soon, the whole of the west coast is going to slide into the ocean.

Why all the guys in Silicon Valley haven't buggered off by now, I've never figured out.

[/scaremonger]

That's part of why I've left!

 

[McLaren]

California is a great place.
But the thing with the wildfires and the Earthquakes...
Most of southern California is man's incursion into the desert.
Water is a very precious resource, that comes from places other than California.
My house here in KS would cost about 5 times what I paid for it in California.
The weather rocks.
The people are pretty cool for the most part.
That's because the "adventure seekers" from other places settle down in California.
A lot of people born in California, are a little "different". But mostly Ok.

For the most part, California is a lot like most other urban/suburban places.
You just get great weather, beaches, and girls with better tans.
You also get fairly diverse culture.

Aye. Now I remember part of the reason I used to not want to go to California. That d*mn Earthquake movie has always affected me.

The earthquakes are usually small, right?

And, unfortunately, sometime, perhaps soon, the whole of the west coast is going to slide into the ocean.

Why all the guys in Silicon Valley haven't buggered off by now, I've never figured out.

[/scaremonger]

Silicon Valley was ok when I went. Though a lot of people seem to think they're something special.

 

[Blackbird.]

Aye. Now I remember part of the reason I used to not want to go to California. That d*mn Earthquake movie has always affected me.

The earthquakes are usually small, right?

I've been here for almost 17 years and i've only felt 2 earthquakes that I can remember. A minor little 3.0 that lasted maybe 5 seconds when I was like... little playing legos lol and then a 6.0 I think or something like that for maybe a little over 5 seconds a few months ago that didn't cause any damage at all... It's not a big deal in my opinion. *knocks on wood*

 

[Sage]

I don’t know why everybody’s scared of earthquakes – as long as you don’t live in a building that’s dirt-old, you have pretty close to a 100% chance of being perfectly fine. With the kinds of building codes that we have, I would rather take a hundred earthquakes in a day than one of any other natural disaster. My family lives in a cheap pre-fab house which is essentially three units glued together and put on a few cement blocks, and the only thing that happened during the Northridge quake was that a desk lamp fell over.

Anyway, Seanman hit all the points spot-on.

 

[Blackbird.]

I don’t know why everybody’s scared of earthquakes – as long as you don’t live in a building that’s dirt-old, you have pretty close to a 100% chance of being perfectly fine. With the kinds of building codes that we have, I would rather take a hundred earthquakes in a day than one of any other natural disaster.

Anyway, Seanman hit all the points spot-on.

Exactly, I'd much rather deal with earthquakes then tornadoes or hurricanes!

 

[Azuremen]

Or you can live where I do and deal with none of those! Except the occasional crazy winter with a few feet of snow.

That aside, Seanman I think described it quite well. Housing is the only insane expense there in regard to living, but it can quickly chase you out of town. I'll probalby only ever visit, since I can find entire townhouses, 3 bed, 2 bath with a 2 car garage to rent for some 1100 a month where I am at, and homes are about a fifth of the price. But I give up the metropolis area and year round warm weather by being in Washington.

You either love Cali or you hate it, from what I have seen of people going to or from there.

 

[Blackbird.]

Or you can live where I do and deal with none of those! Except the occasional crazy winter with a few feet of snow.

That aside, Seanman I think described it quite well. Housing is the only insane expense there in regard to living, but it can quickly chase you out of town. I'll probalby only ever visit, since I can find entire townhouses, 3 bed, 2 bath with a 2 car garage to rent for some 1100 a month where I am at, and homes are about a fifth of the price. But I give up the metropolis area and year round warm weather by being in Washington.

You either love Cali or you hate it, from what I have seen of people going to or from there.

I love it. It's a little overcrowded but, other than that...

Meh sometimes I wish California did have snow but that'd ruin the image of California's weather appeal.

 

[YSSMAN]

Dreaming a bit, my brother and I have talked about moving out to California before. He wants to go to SoCal to get a job in a car shop, I want to go to San Fransisco to do something in the tech industry... Or be a teacher. Or put my Political Science degree to good use. It always looks good, but then you check out the prices for apartments, and you're like "WTF?" People talk about $1600 apartments, that gets you a pretty kick-ass condo or a nice house in Grand Rapids.

I figure I'll visit before I consider moving. I'd love to be in warmer weather, but I'd likely miss the snow after a while...

 

[nk4e]

Aside from OC and the Bay area. Tons of people from those sections come to Central Cali because living here is "cheap" I wouldn't know for myself but its pretty tropical here in Central.

but the bad side of Central is probably the pollution and nothing to do. Central Cali is made up of small cities though the majority of it is farmlands and cow areas( sometimes corn and strawberry patches). It is 4 hours to San Fran and towards LA thats probably the perks of it( who knows).

Meh sometimes I wish California did have snow but that'd ruin the image of California's weather appeal.

We did but no one didn't know what to do. So the school kids just had snow ball fights or just stay inside the house.

 

[Kylehnat]

Earthquakes are nothing to fear. You don't see them coming, so there's no time to be scared .

People either love California or they hate it. My parents fled L.A. to come to Seattle 30 years ago, and they hate what California has become. You couldn't force them to go back. I, however, wouldn't mind living there. Certain parts of California are bizzare (I'm looking at you, Orange County), but for the most part, it's not a whole lot different than anywhere else. The weather is usually great, except during El Nino years.

I'm surprised Danoff hasn't weighed in yet .

 

[Sage]

I&#8217;ll give you Danoff&#8217;s view: I <3 my job, I <3 the weather, I h8 everything else.

What&#8217;s wrong with OC? I think it&#8217;s only bizarre in the sense that it&#8217;s the one urbanized area in Cali that isn&#8217;t way hippie liberal, but that&#8217;s a good bizarre in my book.

 

[Blackbird.]

Dreaming a bit, my brother and I have talked about moving out to California before. He wants to go to SoCal to get a job in a car shop, I want to go to San Fransisco to do something in the tech industry... Or be a teacher. Or put my Political Science degree to good use. It always looks good, but then you check out the prices for apartments, and you're like "WTF?" People talk about $1600 apartments, that gets you a pretty kick-ass condo or a nice house in Grand Rapids.

I figure I'll visit before I consider moving. I'd love to be in warmer weather, but I'd likely miss the snow after a while...

If you're worried about a tight budget for housing then California isn't the place for you, IMO.

 

[Smallhorses]

Seanman's post is a pretty good summary, and I'd add the following:

I moved out to Northern Cali (SF Bay Area) a little over 7 years ago, and don't regret it for a second!
Sure, it's expensive, but compared to 7 years ago and the height of the dot-com boom, it's gotten less ridiculous! Back in 2000, $1600 was about monthly rent for a small 1 bed/bath apartment outside SF, considerably more in the City itself. Now $1600 should get a 2 bed/bath place in a lot of areas around the outskirts of the city, or in Berkeley/Emeryville area.
You can get cheaper, the further you go into Oakland, same as anywhere, basically the more dodgy the area, the less you pay!
Buying a place is a whole new adventure, upwards of $500,000 for a ~1000sq.ft. place. As someone said, unless you're on a mega-bucks salary, there's no way to pull it off, thankfully between my wife & I we're able to hold down the mortgage payments, but we couldn't manage it if one of us wasn't working! The housing bubble doesn't burst in this area, it's extremely rare to see much of a price drop on property, but things have certainly levelled off recently, only a few years ago, the average property here increased by ~$75K in value. Over the past year, things are almost level, but no shocking drops like we've seen elsewhere in the country.

Cost of living otherwise isn't too bad, there's about 8.5 - 8.75% sales tax here, sometimes a little more (with city tax too), and gas prices are amongst the worst in the country, Hawaii excepted!
Bay Area isn't too bad for Public Transport, but then you'll need to ensure you live and work within walking or cycling distance of a bus stop or BART/CalTrain stop. Traffic isn't quite up to LA levels around here, but there's still almost 7 million people in the Bay Area, and at peak times the traffic on the freeways can be pretty congested, especially of you're having to cross one of the many toll bridges (currently $4 per crossing, $5 for Golden Gate.)
Location is everything, you can be surfing at Stinson Beach (look out for Great Whites though!) or Mavericks close by here, and yet you're only 3 - 4 hours away from great skiing/riding conditions in Tahoe. There's also tonnes of great hiking and mountain biking trails around and the weather is pretty mild. It can be rainy in Nov - March, but it was gloriously sunny & warm today, and we did a top-down run through the Napa Valley area with our Miata club! This time last week we were stood in 22 inches of fresh powder in South Lake Tahoe! July/August can be chilly as the fog rolls in over SF/Oakland, but we tend to have great weather, 80 - 90F in Sept/Oct. There's little need for air-con except for maybe a few days a year if you're close to the Bay/Ocean, but it certainly warms up rapidly the further inland that you head.

Earthquakes are pretty freaky, and take a little getting used to, but once you've felt a few, they're less scary. They generally don't last long, and by the time it's registered what is happening, it's over and done with! The 5.4 that Blackbird referred to back in the beginning of November (2 days after SFGTP2 ended, freakily enough!) was the biggest and longest shake I've felt, around 15 - 20s. The vast majority of buildings here are wooden, and hence they've been designed to flex and absorb the motion. Still scary to hear the walls creaking though!!!

People here are a very diverse mix, and it makes for a very culturally aware area. There's trouble if you want to cause it or go looking for it, but in the main, there's very little except for isolated incidents. Parts of Richmond and West Oakland are pretty nasty, but I wouldn't say the nastiness stems from interracial conflict, but gang wars from within groups of the same race, pretty much like any less affluent areas anywhere in the country.

Education? Depends what you're looking for, Stanford has a pretty good reputation if you've got the means and the grades to get in!!! The UC branches up here, SF, Davis, Santa Cruz and Berkeley always seem to be well regarded, but I've heard they're also pricey in comparison to other schools. (I'm not a reliable source on College costs though, I got my free education in England! )

Far and away the best reason for coming to the Bay Area though?......

SFGTPs!!!!! #3 will be hosted within the next few months, all being well! 👍

 

[Blackbird.]

Earthquakes are pretty freaky, and take a little getting used to, but once you've felt a few, they're less scary. They generally don't last long, and by the time it's registered what is happening, it's over and done with! The 5.4 that Blackbird referred to back in the beginning of November (2 days after SFGTP2 ended, freakily enough!) was the biggest and longest shake I've felt, around 15 - 20s. The vast majority of buildings here are wooden, and hence they've been designed to flex and absorb the motion. Still scary to hear the walls creaking though!!!

15-20s! It didn't feel that long. Meh the only thing that happened over here was my dogs freaking out.

 

[Smallhorses]

15-20s! It didn't feel that long. Meh the only thing that happened over here was my dogs freaking out.

It was long enough to go beyond that usual:

"Oh Crap! It's not a truck or train rumbling by outside, we're having an Earthquake, I should go and...." & "Oh. Now it's stopped."

5 second train of thought.

To become:

"Oh Crap! It's not a very very large truck or train rumbling by outside, we're having an Earthquake, I should go and.... nah, it'll be done in a moment...... Wait a second, it's still shaking..... I really should go and stand in a doorway or something....."
*Gets up and moves towards nearest doorway*

before the wobbling stopped, which all in all was about 15s!

 

[Kylehnat]

What’s wrong with OC?

There's really nothing wrong with it. It is the stereotype of everything that is "California". People there are in their own little world. Fortunately, it's not all like "Laguna Beach" .

 

[Blackbird.]

It was long enough to go beyond that usual:

"Oh Crap! It's not a truck or train rumbling by outside, we're having an Earthquake, I should go and...." & "Oh. Now it's stopped."

5 second train of thought.

To become:

"Oh Crap! It's not a very very large truck or train rumbling by outside, we're having an Earthquake, I should go and.... nah, it'll be done in a moment...... Wait a second, it's still shaking..... I really should go and stand in a doorway or something....."
*Gets up and moves towards nearest doorway*

before the wobbling stopped, which all in all was about 15s!

Well I was in the phone in my room I felt it stayed there for like 2 seconds walked sort of briskly downstairs and once I reached downstairs a couple of seconds later it was over. Didn't feel like no 15s.

 

[Smallhorses]

Didn't feel like no 15s.

http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/waveforms/wavesshk/nc40204628.rsec0.html

Guess it depends how close you are to the fault, and the shaking. I'm near Berkeley, and looking at some of those waveforms, for the stations marked BK (Berkeley) the waveforms seem a little more excitable than in some other places. If you take a look at the scale at the bottom of the first set of waveforms, you'll see the activity starts to increase around 5s, and tails off towards 20s.

Anyway, I digress. California is great!
Little Earthquakes are a welcome feature of life here. 👍
Little Earthquakes mean energy is constantly being released.
If little Earthquakes stop, energy is building up, and when it releases it'll be a Big Shake!

 

[Blackbird.]

I'm not saying it wasn't 15seconds just saying it didn't feel like it.

 

[McLaren]

I love it. It's a little overcrowded but, other than that...

Meh sometimes I wish California did have snow but that'd ruin the image of California's weather appeal.

I thought California did have snow up in the north?
All the info is still being appreciated guys. Seems my biggest problem would be the cost of living there.

Speaking of the earthquakes, is there any way to know when one is starting Smallhorses? Tornadoes can normally sound like a train coming, so is an earthquake any different, or would I just feel a shaking motion?

 

[Smallhorses]

Read through my first post again!
The Sierra Nevada, and other mountains get tonnes and tonnes of snow, heck it even snowed close to LA earlier this year, it's just that generally in the lower elevations close to the Ocean/Bay (which keeps the air a little warmer in winter) we don't get snow. Snowmelt is the source of a lot of California's water supply! Just a few years ago, we got so much snow that it flooded huge areas of the Sacramento Delta when it melted!

As far as Earthquakes go, there's no way to predict when you're going to get one, or feel it. They're happening all the time, if you look at usgs.gov you can see that there are many many tiny tremors daily in the Bay Area, but most are too small to feel. It's usually only shakes above magnitude 3 that are felt by most Bay Area folks, and as far as knowing they're coming, sometimes you'll hear a rumble or a bang just prior to them hitting, but as I've said before it tends to feel and sound like a large freight train or truck rumbling by at close proximity to begin with. Unlike a Tornado though the shockwaves are travelling pretty quickly, and there's not much time (i.e. fractions of a second) between hearing and feeling it!
The tornado has pretty epic radial wind velocity (100mph+), but it's linear velocity is usually fairly slow, something like 30 - 50mph right? I guess that gives you time to run away if you hear it in time and have the means of transport to escape! The visual clues for a tornado are a pretty big give away too! There's nothing like that with a quake! It's something you learn to live with, and the little quakes are welcome visitors as I've mentioned before!

I'm not saying it wasn't 15seconds just saying it didn't feel like it.

Hey, at least you felt it! We arranged that earthquake especially for Touring Mars' visit to California, to give him the true California experience , but he was on a bus when it happened and didn't feel a thing!
It just depends where you are and what you're doing as to whether you'll experience anything!

 

[Danoff]

I can only attest to the living situation in Los Angeles - which is where I live.

Housing 👎 👎 Still insanely expensive. Don't expect to buy a house, don't even expect to buy an apartment unless you're making 6 figures. But it's worse than that really. When you CAN afford a house, it'll be small, it'll be old, and it won't have much of a yard. They just don't have houses out here like they do in so many other parts of the country. I've been at the homes of some VERY rich people, homes worth upwards of 3 million dollars. And some of them are still quite quaint. These people are living in houses that pale in comparison to what you can buy for only 2-300k in other parts of the nation. To live in a really nice house, you need some serious, serious cash.

Edit: It's really hard to overestimate how much this sucks. The living conditions can really wear on you, especially when you see the lavish luxury that so many of your friends from other states are enjoying on a day-to-day basis. For that reason, I'm giving it a second thumbs-down.

Traffic 👎 LA traffic is insane, complicated further by the fact that there are roads everywhere - so you always have the illusion of choice. If you are going to move to a big city in CA, I'd recommend that you live very close to work - actually no, come out first and look at traffic patterns. If possible, wherever traffic is headed, you want to be headed in the opposite direction. So you need to be out of phase AND close to work (like... 5 miles tops).

Freeways 👎 This is a bit of a split decision. The freeways are in a horrible state of repair. Be prepared for a bumpy ride and lots of potholes. Also, there is no rhyme or reason to them. An offramp from a freeway doesn't necessarily mean you can get back on... at all. Road signs? What road signs? Why would you need to know what road you're on when you live in a city with bazillions of roads that twist every which way?

The reason this decision is split is because when traffic does flow, you'll feel like an old lady getting passed up if you keep it under 75mph. That's very nice, as it means you can get where you're going quickly if you time it right. Also it means you never really look at speed limit signs.

There is another downside, though, which is that LA has the most insane drivers I've ever seen in my life.

People 👎 Socialist, slightly crazy, and self-loathing. Be prepared to meet people that firmly believe in the healing power of crystals, are unashamedly communist, and like every country on the planet more than America. The people here have actually been a major problem for me and my wife since it has been difficult to make friends. Whether it's because they refuse to give their children vaccinations or eat sugar, or because they're Vegan, communist, or won't stop talking about surfing. There are many ways to not get along with Californians, and we simply didn't fit the lifestyle. On the otherhand, if this stuff is appealing to you, consider this a mark in the "plus" column.

Food 👎 It took me a few years to figure it out, but LA (and I think SF) are all about the eclectic food. The stranger the food the better. I hope you like Sushi, Lebanese, and Persian foods, because these seem to be the favorites out here. If you like fish, Thai, and lettuce wraps (and avocado on EVERYTHING), then this is the place for you. If you're like me (steak, potatoes, and mexican food) then this is NOT the place for you.

But there is a silver lining here. LA is great for super rich people. I've had the opportunity to try some of LA's fine dining and the high end restaurants here are difficult if not impossible to match in almost every other city in America (except maybe new york). But be prepared to encounter the "weird is good" element even in fine dining (sea urchin anyone?)

Government 👎 One of the most oppressive regimes in the US. Strict gun laws. HUGE taxes (~10% income ON TOP OF 8% sales). And someone out here was actually fined $300k for pruning a tree on their own property. Only in CA could the legislature actually attempt to pass legislation to be able to allow the state to regulate the temperature of your house (luckily that one didn't pass).

Safety 👎 It took me a few years to get used to the fact that you're never more than a few miles away from a bad neighborhood in LA. Unlike in most cities where the bad areas are clearly separated from the good. LA has them mixed completely throughout. Even in Bel Air or Beverly Hills you're not more than a few miles away from places that you don't want to be out walking at night. I live in an expensive area, good school district, nice cars everywhere, and I drive by graffiti on my way to work and the house across the street from me was broken into.

If crime is a major priority for you, you can do a lot better than big city CA.

Pollution 👎 Smog is still an issue in LA, though it's better than it used to be. If you live near downtown (in the bowl), you'll see it collect on anything you leave outside and you'll wonder how your lungs can handle it. It's not absurd. You can live with it, but it's not a plus.

Shopping 👍 My first thumbs up, and it would have gone the other way if I'd written this a few years back. Parking is a major hurtle. Nobody has parking, and if they do, you're going to have to fight for it. The reason I give this thumbs up is because there are all kinds of stores in LA (except Wal-Mart, because who wants low prices??). If you want it, it's probably sold here.

Night Life 👍 Clubs galore, shows all over the place, high end restaurants, and lots of major sports teams (no football ). This is arguably what LA does best (too bad I'm not that into clubbing). You can really tell too, because LA wakes up late. Don't be surprised to find people out partying in the middle of the week.

Natural Disasters ?? I've never been in a major earthquake (I've been here for going on 5 years). I have no idea how I'll handle it. I do know that houses around here have stood for 60+ years, so it can't be all THAT bad, otherwise these homes would have crumbled long ago. Forest fires do show up every year (because there is no rain here), so be aware and careful about buying a house on the edge of the city.

Weather 👍 By the beach, the weather is excellent, if not a tad on the cold side. The farther you go inland the warmer you get. The eastern most tip of LA is downright hot (and I honestly don't understand why people live there). I live in Pasadena, which is nice for a good portion of the year, but is far enough inland to get fairly hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

...and I don't care what they say, yes you DO need an air conditioner. Even near the beach.

Still, for most of LA, you can only beat the weather by living in San Diego.

Job Opportunities 👍 Let's face it, this is why you're looking at CA. It's why many people are here. Pretty much everyone I work with shares the same sentiment - if it weren't for work, they wouldn't be here. I like this much better than working at a place where people are here by choice - because I'm probably not going to get along well with people who are here by choice. If you can find a comparable job elsewhere, take it (within reason of course, Milwaukee doesn't count).

Outdoor Activities 👍 If you're an outdoorsie type, you're going to like your options. Surfing, Snow Skiing, Rock Climbing, Hiking, and National Parks are all day trips from LA. And usually if you're willing to pay for one night of hotel you can have a really awesome experience doing any of the above. People love to get outside here so there are lots of opportunities.

Proximity to Vacation Spots 👍 Whether you're wanting to go to a beach resort, Las Vegas, or Yosemite Naitonal Park, there are lots of ways to "get away" out here without going all that far. For someone like me who hates flying, that comes in handy in a big way.

The Beautiful People 👍 You get used to it after a while, but it is a bit shocking at first how many attractive people there are living here. I think it's because none of them eat anything that tastes good, spend energy outside all the time, and have plastic surgery. Whatever it is, they look great. The downside of this is that when you go to just about any other city in the US you start to wonder if everyone is an inbred hillbilly.

Cars 👍 If looking at other people's cars is something you enjoy, this is about as good as it gets. The nicest car I've seen on the streets out here is a Bugatti Veyron. Ferraris are commonplace (almost boring), Lambos are also fairly common. There's a guy near me who has a beautiful red Ford GT that I really enjoy spotting.

Edit: (it seemed like this needed a conclusion)

Conclusion - It's worthwhile to live in LA for a little while for many careers. You can jumpstart your career here, start earning a fair bit of money, and suck it up living in an apartment near work. It's a good place to be young (see attractive people, outdoor activities, and nightlife above). But I wouldn't plan on putting down roots (see housing, traffic, people, food) as there is probably a better state out there that offers you a more comfortable life. If I could leave at this point, I would. But then, if I could have left, I never would have come in the first place.

 

[YSSMAN]

If you're worried about a tight budget for housing then California isn't the place for you, IMO.

I clicked around on the internet just for the hell of it and it looks like there are some reasonable apartments out there for roomates and such. As always, one would need a good job to be able to afford what you can get.

...There was one apartment thing, I forget the name, but it was in the heart of San Franciso (south of the bay) near the college there. The apartments looked really nice and the neighborhood looked cool too. If I knew I could get a job out there, I'd seriously consider moving into that area...