Considering moving to California in the future, nead some advice

lands11

lands11

Active member
Alright NS, I'm considering moving to California once I graduate college (another 1.5 years). I know some of you live there, so I'm looking for any knowledge you have about it. I know it's super expensive but I'm hoping to secure a decent job within 5 years of graduating so I'm not too worried about expenses right now. Also where is the best place to live in your opinion? I would prefer somewhere where I don't need to drive too far to ski. I have been living on the East coast my entire life and I'm kind of bored with it/just looking for some change. I'm not sure if I will move yet but it has been on my mind for a few years. Basically, I'm just looking for any advice about anything. I know NS has got some good knowledge on this.

 
If you shop around you can find some places that aren't too $$$. Depends what you're looking for. Do you want to be near the ocean, do you want to be in the mountains, do you mind freeway traffic? what kind of job are you trying to get.

Idk, it's a huge state and it varies a lot. Changing the region can make your life and the prices of everything, the traffic situations, and anything else change massively.
 
Is there anyplace within two hours of both beach and snow? Might be a dumb question but I have no idea. Also I will have an environmental science degree so probably going to need to be near a city.
 
LA, as hard as that might be to believe.

I got to Loyola Marymount University, which is in the Marina del Rey/Westchester area of LA. The nearest beach is 10 minutes, and Manhattan/Hermosa/Redondo beaches are only like a 25 minute drive. It's about an hour and 45 minutes-2 hours to get to Mt. High, and Bear Mt. is 3 hours. Also, I went to an event called Red Bull Switchboard where we started out at a surf session at Huntington Beach in the morning, then drove a few hours up to Bear Mt. and rode in the afternoon.
 
Yeah gonna be down near LA and riding bear. Not sure what else is there. You can be an hour from the beach and the mountain. All that depends on traffic but still pretty cool. Theoretically could leave the mountain, and then go to the beach. Or get some dawn patrol and then head to the mountain.

 
Pretty much this if you wanna be within 2 hours either direction of the ocean and of the mountains riverside is good. Like you can go looking closer to the beach and shit but its just gonnaget expensive. Obviously there are some trashy fucking neighborhoods there too. Personally I would go live in tahoe if I were you. Just southern California is a different mentality. I live on the central coast in San luis obispo its 3 hours north of LA and 3 hours south of SF after I graduate I'm either gonna move to Tahoe or Colorado. Like as great as LA is with its beaches hot chicks and snownear by the snow is shitty and you have to deal with the people of LA that go there.

Riverside is a good idea, suburbs of los angeles on the east side... I'm talking further away from East LA like outside the city hahaha. but yeah man In my honest opinion the beaches are okay but If you want quality skiing and probably just a better lifestyle i'd go north.
 
Hate to be that guy but.......

Nead, really?? You sure you're gonna graduate in a year and a half?

Good luck though, Cali sounds pretty cool I guess.
 
Coming from a similar background (east coast, environmental studies degree), I'd also be interested in what you guys have to say about headin' out Californie way.
 
You will probably fit in with all the other equally unemployable mouth breathers that make up a good portion of the Southern Cali population. The employable ones, with a work ethic, imported themselves from the south, rather than a silly liberal art's college from some other part of the Country.
 
To be completely honest, I fucking HATED california, and moved back to Georgia. I lived out there 4 seperate times, varying 3-6 month periods, to do some work for a company. Everything is expensive, people suck, rent sucks, and a lot of it was just a shithole.

Hollywood is nothing more than burn out heaven, East LA is just dangerous. I went to a few hardcore shows in Compton, and gunshots become the norm for you. I paid $500 to rent out a room in someones apartment, which was located in the ghetto, because it was one of the cheapest I could find.

Anyone who does live in cali, I was in the Oxnard/Ventura area (805).

Personally I dont think its worth it, esp the people, and prices. Just avoid living in the cities.
 
It's three hours to Tahoe, but San Francisco is so worth it. It's a city you have to live in before you die. Great young person town, solid job market (surprisingly), and a completely unique place to live. You'd probably have to drive down to the Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay area to surf but again, you're living in what was ranked as the United States's best city. Also, the Niners and Giants are both two kick ass teams right now.
 
Venice used to be sweet, but then they cleaned it up, the pier reopened, they built the skatepark(which is sick) and all the people poured back in.

For a while that had a nice vibe with the kind of people I like, never crowded beaches. Hadn't been there in a while, went spring 2011 just for a few weeks and I was amazed the difference. Sooo many fucking people.

I think they're trying to make that area a little classier. I think they're trying to get it more on scale with santa monica.

Also

Horizons+West+Surf+Shop+08DerYx3Woyl.jpg


Sad that that place closed down.

Was gonna try to find a spot with some people in culver city area but it just didn't work out.

Never really lived there, never been there for more than a few months at a time but I liked it. Def enjoy how the vibe completely changes as you move around, traveled north to south along the coast and inland quite a bit. Honestly I'm good on anything south of LA. Would like to try to get up to tahoe for a winter though. Wish it would have worked out last year. Couldn't get a job at the place I wanted unless I got there, and they couldn't guarantee that if I got there I def had the job.

That's one part I've never spent much time, and really want to.

Glad to be going back west in dec even though it's for less than a week and just san fran.
 
I mean I'm a Junior in college with our first semester ending in 3 weeks so yes I am 100% positive I will graduate in a year and a half. Thanks for all the help so far. When I get out of lab I'm going to do some googling. Keep it coming though.
 
805 baby!!! whatchu know.

Anyway... I moved to alabama for a year after growing up in california. The entire south can break the fuck away from the rest of the country it's a shit hole and people fucking suck and talk stupid down there.

Everyone has their own opinion.
 
Ya, I bet they do talk stupid down there. Where as you are a specimen of perfected English dialogue.

ib4 dumb grammar mistake I made.
 
I was pointing out the hypocrisy of his statement using my personal dislike of the entire south eastern United States. I am not any better than him nor is southern California any better or worse than Georgia.
 
I would second something more northern--I haven't been more south than santa barbara, but from all that I've heard and seen of LA very little has been positive. The Bay Area is a really amazing place, there's truly nothing like it, and I'd bet you'd have a better chance of finding a job in environmental sciences there than LA--I don't really know what you'd be going into, but the city is really forward thinking in terms of green industry.Also, there's some surfing a bit south and the drive to Santa Cruz isn't too bad for a weekend surf. And Tahoe is 3 hours or so and, in my opinion, Alpine and Squaw are easily top 5 all around mountains in the country. Personal preference, but of the Rocky Mountain ski areas I've been to I'd say the only one that tops them for park and pow is Brighton cause the snow's a little better, but I'd probably still spend a day at Alpine for either type of skiing. Plus there are many other resorts in the basin that really excel at either park or terrain so you're really covered.
 
You're just wrong. California doesn't allow semi-automatic arms that it has deemed an assault weapon. It doesn't allow .50 BMG rifles or magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Also automatic and short barrels are illegal.

We have crazy strict gun laws but guns are legal.

 
I would visit before you make the decesion to move. I always hear people saying how awesome california is and how they want to move there, but theyve never been there and just seen the stuff on tv and in movies about it. If you move to the LA/Bear Mtn area prepare for a ton of traffic and a huge population of mexicans
 
This is true. I went to LA for a couple weeks this last summer and the vide is completely different from what people in the midwest think it is. I loved it but that's a different story.
 
Have fun when people railroad some expensive eco hovercraft or art compound through and you have to front the bill with even more taxes.
 
Do you know what makes a semi-auto an 'assault weapon' under CA law? A fucking pistol grip. So that means that makes my buddy's 16in SOCOM (7.62x51, 20 round box magazine) legal, but my 16in AR15 (5.56, 30 round box magazine) illegal.

CA government makes the federal government look like a well oiled machine.
 
Dont jump the border north once you realize california sucks. Not because youre not welcome in oregon, just that oregon sucks too, just not as bad.

except for what cobra was talking about. Im in and out of pawn shops in 15 minutes with a new gun. Cali gun laws are stupid. 10 round limit, my AK laughs at your stupid gun laws. More 40 round mags please
 
lost, sorry but seems idiotic to me.

ever tried skiing pow? ever surfed? ever lived near an ocean? didnt think so.

i like a little elevation change in my life.
 
Not reading other posts. Started to and thought they were silly.

I moved to LA for college from Minneapolis. BEST FUCKING CHOICE EVER!

In no way am I an ocean person or a hollywood party girl.

I am however a diehard skier (now living in Mammoth) who loves music, movies, diversity, art, glorious weather, and people who are motivated to do something.

I lived in downtown LA in the arts district next to little tokyo. I hardly ever needed to drive and when I did it was basically always opposite of traffic or I could just take the train pretty much everywhere since Union Station was walking distance.

Again, I'm not a hollywood person. I don't party at the clubs or do drugs or blah blah blah... but I am pretty into the music industry and do go to those parties and help out my friend with concerts and what not when I'm in town. I also love that movies are always being filmed. I try to be an extra when I can in any action film where I get to look like I'm dead or dying. I really want a zombie movie to happen downtown... that is a dream of mine.

I also love the diversity. I don't fear south central, it's not some peoples type of place, but I just think it more interesting than bothersome. Same goes for the mexican communities, thai town, and everything else.

Also, the weather can't be beat. Sooooo good. Finally, the people. A lot of people don't like LA cause their experience is with the want to be actor type, but the thing is, there is EVERY type of person there. You just need to find the people you get on with. I found those people and have the 2 greatest friends I will ever have in my life and know they will exist in my life for my entire life.

Traffic, well it sucks. Don't try to get from Santa Monica to Pasadena at 4pm on a Friday and you're good. Just takes some planning. I even ditched my car because the metro system is so much better than it used to be and the amount of hourly car rentals in existence makes it way more affordable to not have a car. Subway from LA to Hollywood = $1.25 takes 15 minutes during rush hour. Lets me out right at hollywood and vine. 5 minute walk to one of the best movie theaters in the country. So good.

Ok, done loving LA. I love Mammoth too :)
 
I grew up in Orange County and parents own a beach house in North San Diego County and I spent summers there (and downtown San Diego) as a youth. I have relatives up in NorCal and would visit the Sacramento/San Francisco area often.

Also I did my undergrad at UC Riverside and know the area well and am working on my graduate degree in the San Diego area.

Visit Riverside before you decide you want to live there full time. There are some nice parts of the city and some not so nice areas. Most everyone else from Southern California makes fun of Riverside. I don't think it is as bad as everyone says it is. Other areas to consider that are around the same beach/mountains distance and a little nicer than Riverside are Claremont, Redlands, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Anaheim (also nice areas and not so nice areas), Corona, Yorba Linda.

Something to consider about the "Inland Empire" area and most of Orange County is that the main artery East/West is State Route-91 which is a parking lot Westbound in the morning and Eastbound in the Evening. Rush hour on the 91 starts at about 5am and again at about 2pm.

There's a thread under California "Regionals" where someone asked about Corona and did the same research you did.

Overall, California is very diverse geographically, politically, and racially.

I can however say that the "movie" image of Hollywood is far from reality. It's nothing more than a tourist trap and haven for drug addicts and burnouts. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Although income tax is higher than most other states we have some of the cheapest property taxes in the country.
 
This was a comment on a Reuters article about the San Bernardino city bankruptcy:

"Nothing

like life in the IE - Get your Famous tee at the Tilly's , cut off the

sleeves (to reveal sleeve tats), hop in your lifted black truck with a

matching famous sticker on the back windshield, put on your dickies

shorts, black socks, and DC shoes. Then drive to the local In 'N Out and

serve burgers to people driving to Vegas. Shift ends - go home to

pregnant high-school girl friend, smoke meth, get your dirt-bike ready

for some off roadin' on your day off."

These are the people who frequent Mountain High (mostly) and Bear Mountain (some, but less than MtHigh).

 
Coming from an east coast head who has been out here a lot:

LA- Tons of east coasters in Cali. You won't feel out of place at all and will come across plenty of similar people who have just graduated college. There are jobs there too so you can move and find something. For whatever reason it seems like in the last year or two maybe half of the east coast people I know are moving back after having spent 3/4 years living in LA after college. Go for it if you want to live in LA. Go for Venice/SanMo/Hollywood don't live in Riverside though.

Nor Cal-the bay is huge and expensive. You need to basically be closer to Sac than San Fran to find something affordable. If you can find a legit job in Sac/Tahoe/Reno its probably the best part of America and very cheap. But the jobs aren't abundant. But...its a good place to live with a so-so job if thats all you can get (I wouldn't live in the bay unless you are making serious money.)
 
Thanks man +K for that, I honestly have zero interest in Hollywood. I know nothing it about it other than that's where movies get made though. I just have no desire to go there. But I'll check out those other places you mentioned. I definitely plan on visiting before moving also.
 
I'm not gonna debate georgia vs cali or anything like that but, you do realize georgia is on the ocean right?? People actually surf there too. They got shit for elevation down there though.

 
Most of the studios aren't even in Hollywood which is funny. And LA County just passed a condoms in Porn movies law which means that industry will be leaving the "Valley"

 
Many of these people are making claims based on anecdotal evidence or the 2 months they have spent in some shitty part of CA. I went from skiing everyday at Breck to skiing 5 days a year in Southern CA and I know I've made the right choice. If you move to Socal you're not going to ski much, driving 2.5-3 hours to Bear is not worth it if you've skied actual mountains and the Mammoth trip is long if you work actual hours. I live a block and a half from the beach and as long as I can surf that can fill in for skiing, plus you'll be in better shape and you can work an actual job with surfing whereas you can't if you want to be an actual skier (you're not an actual skier if you're a weekend warrior).

Moving anywhere inland is not smart, I would rather put a bullet in my head than move to Riverside. There is no point living more than walking distance to the beach. Yes, it's expensive, but it's easily doable. Yes, there are too many East Coast transplants, at least in SD, but they will get filtered out. If you move to LA area I would stick to Hermosa, Manhattan, Venice, Santa Monica, any of smaller beach cities. The girls are going to be hotter than anywhere in the US (outside of NYC, but they're going to be more uppity/high maintenance/muffin topped their anyway), compared to mountain towns, there is literally no comparison.

Comparing Georgia to CA? Really? You're basing the entire argument on ownership of automatic weapons? That alone should nullify anything you have to say.
 
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