Where in California should I move?

[jpgray]

Need something studio to one bedroom, up to 600$ for rent, decent place for biking, hopefully not too far from SF. It would be nice if there were several crappy jobs available there.

[SoCalDem]

1. Be positive...:)

maybe there are some Good jobs.. :)

rent is HUGE in that area.. My son & daughter in law live in Corcord.. a very pretty town.. You might check it out..:)

[jpgray]

3. Thanks a bunch, I'll put it on my list

.

[HEyHEY]

2. Big sur

Just cause I have no idea what I'm talking about ;-0

[Devlzown]

4. Let's see.......

California -- $600 a month? Death Valley!

[LeftCoast]

5. Jobs are scarce here, but you might try north of SF

Petaluma, for instance, is a nice area that's pretty affordable and only about an hour (+) north of SF. Lots of nice rural stuff all around. Basically part of the wine country. Check it out.

[jpgray]

6. Thanks a lot, adding it to the list

DUers are the best!

[SoCalDem]

7. What business are you in??

what kind of a job are you looking for ??

[jpgray]

9. Professional lens-grinder and formal waiter, at your service!

If you've had an event catered by D'amico's or received prescription glasses in Minneapolis, I may have been involved. This will probably be my last hurrah before I go back to college. :)

[Rhiannon12866]

8. The only place I've visited in California

is the San Diego area. Living in the cold, snowy, rainy Northeast, this seemed like paradise to me. The weather was perfect, the proximity to the ocean kept it cool, there were beautiful and unusual plants and flowers, the people were friendly and there seemed to be a lot of animal-lovers. If I didn't have too many ties here, I'd move there in a minute.:-)

[Porcupine]

10. Chico!! Great biking, rent as cheap as anwhere, beer cheaper.....

than everywhere!! Crappy jobs available.

[jpgray]

12. Added to the list, an' much obliged.

.

[Capn Sunshine]

33. Not to mention Cal State chicks too!

:hippie:

[gate of the sun]

11. formal waiters can make decent money in SF

I don't know about lens grinders, try sebastopol . I think concord sucks personally. I grew up in the bay area born in SF. what are you looking for besides bed and board. you know housing and money? What kind of person are you ?what do you like?these questions could help on pinpointing a direction.

[jpgray]

14. Duly noted

Love the big cities for the culture and nightlife, but don't want to pay the outrageous rent. Visited SF several times and love it. Planning to have a year or so more of a crappy survival job, painting, music and writing (goofing off) and general hedonism and then back to college to finish everything up and become staid and boring.

A few months of 2300$ a month would bankrupt me. I held down a very nice two bedroom with a friend for 800$ in St. Paul with no problems. Formal catering paid quite well and for the most part was a very fun job--I had my ass grabbed by more drunken bridesmaids... :eyes:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. Oakland has lots of studios but not sure of the price range

a few decent areas to bike and many restaurants and probably some grinding stuff too!

[deek]

15. come to central valley

very low cost of living. i need a kindred soul in this valley of hell. then we could move to santa cruz or berkley. wanna???

[jpgray]

16. Mmm... valley of hell

Where the hell is that, by Lancaster? I don't think Berkley weighted my "can do a standing backflip" properly on my application.

[deek]

18. no no

central central longitude and latitude-wise

standing backflip???

[jpgray]

17. OK, going to bed--thanks for the help!

This will probably get righteously buried in the Lounge, so thanks again.

[TheBigGuy]

19. Personally, I like Sacramento

Its a "Sunday afternoon drive" to the Bay Area and has a very pleasant "old city" area...with alot of apartments, esp around Capital Park.



heres a link to the capital area dev. authority
http://www.cadanet.org/default.asp

And the cit website
http://www.cityofsacramento.org/

This is a VERY pleasant and laid-back town!

[ronnykmarshall]

20. I'd have to agree.

Sacto is more affordable. The Bay Area is impossible with the rent you're looking for. Some areas maybe, try Martinez. It's not too far from SF. But you might want to look online for possible rent prices.

Sacramento (aka Sack o' Tomatoes) is really a nice city. The area near the capital might have some nice apts.

[protect freedom impeach bush now]

21. Sacr too damn hot in Summer, lots of 100 degree+++ days

Good luck with finding a place for $600/month.

Maybe if it was 1970 you could find a decent place in Bay Area
for that price.

You better start looking for roommate(s) to bring the cost
per person to $600-$1000/month price range......thats unless
you are ok living in less desirable area like the Tenderloin
in SF.

Try Palo Alto, Mountain View, Menlo Park, Los Altos.
SURE its pricey area, but close to STANFORD UNIV.

The weather on the SF Pennisula is a lot better than
anywhere in East Bay or San Jose South towards Gilroy.
It gets tooooo hot and air pollution sucks in East Bay and
San Jose. Central Valley is too damn HOT,and too far a commute
to Silicon Valley/San Jose.

Any where South of Mountain View starts to get a lotter hotter
micro-climate.

It you dont mind windy mountain roads, live in Santa Cruz Mtns
towns(well maybe not towns, but little groups of homes in the
mountains/redwoods. Lots of fog, trees, wildlife, yet very close
to cities. try off hwy 92 towards Half Moon Bay, or if your job is
in San Jose Los Gatos area...live up in hills/mtns up hill
from Saratoga ...that way the state beaches are a short drive away.

Pescadero near the Ocean, but not much there if you like city
life. Peace & quiet, scenic, state beaches that are relatively
free of crowds.

[shanti]

26. yes, it can get hot in sac

but that's what air conditioning is for! ;-)

[shanti]

25. hey neighbor!

i live here too and give sactown the thumbs up, EXCEPT for cultural life. of course, there's san fran for that, and not too far either.

the poster can most certainly find an apartment for around 600 here.

[jpgray]

29. I'll give it a look--thanks!

[protect freedom impeach bush now]

22. Santa Cruz or Carmel

Monterrey Bay area

about 2 hours drive from SF

Santa Cruz might be the place to try
Camel is nice, but expensive.But you'll likely
be able to get a job in a restaurant, IF thats what you
want.

[Le Taz Hot]

23. I agree that they're great places

but $600.00 a month MAY rent you a couch in someone's house -- without kitchen privedges. Very VERY expensive areas.

[jpgray]

24. I know some people out there

But they're all filthy and shady and I don't want to room with them--old high school buddies. :)

[mkregel]

27. Near SF for $600 or under?

Be prepared to share an apartment. If you can stomach the $5 toll daily or take public transportaion, you might be able to pull off Marin County, which is North of SF. You can get some great deals out there and most people don't expect that there (A friend of mine rented a cottage in Mill Valley for $760 - it was small but not bad)

Also, look at Berkeley. Again, you will have to either take public trans (BART is pretty expensive - about $3-4 every time you want to cross the bay) or pay the $2 toll on the Bay Bridge if driving. Berkeley is fun tho, and if you like beer there are at least 5 good breweries within stumbling distance of most housing.

Oakland is a good place too - best kept secret of the bay area! It has a bad rap but is actually very liveable. Check out the Lake Merrit area - restaraunts, parks and bars are all within walking distance. Also, rents are significantly lower there than elsewhere in the Urban Bay Area. It's worth a look.

Or you could do San Mateo. Nothing I can really say about there except I lived there for 3 years and didn't mind it. It's the Delaware of the Bay Area.

If you have to live in SF (some people just have to live in the heart of things) rents are HIGH and housing is expensive too. Expect to pay at least 10-20% more than you would elsewhere in the bay area.

[jpgray]

28. Thank you very much

.

[tico]

30. SAN DIEGO!

It is quite expensive here, though not quite as high as SF. A former co-worker of mine bought a house for $700/month in Spring Valley! If you want to, you could live in Tijuana where it's much, much cheaper. You would have to deal with border crossing everyday, which sucks. I'd live down there if it weren't for the border crossing and if I could speak the language.

[jpgray]

31. Hmph. Maybe I will have to work TWO crappy jobs...

Thanks for stopping by.

[44wax]

32. Stockton has rent that cheap and it is not in the ghetto

90 miles east of SF in the Central Valley. Plenty of jobs if you can read, write, and show up on time everyday.

[deek]

35. I find Stockton

a bit scarey

[jpgray]

36. Thanks, I'll check it out

.

[maveric]

34. If you want the best weather in the US, San Diego is the place.

The only problm is this is freeper town USA. Very conservative, very military oriented. If you can bear that aspect you'll love it here. I came here in 80 and never left. Great beaches, beautiful women, and a laid back attitude.
You are also 40 minutes from the mountains where it snows sometimes. 15 minutes from mexico (TJ can be fun), 3 hrs from LA. We have the best zoo in the world and watersports are a kicker too.
BTW, womens pro beach volleyball is popular down here too plus we have the Padres and the Chargers(sure they both suck but they are professional teams).

[jpgray]

37. If I drive that far, I'll take a look

Thanks. :)

[proud patriot]

38. For your price rage on rent you may want to look at These

Fremont , Antioch , Redwood City , Hayward , Bay Point ,
Martinez .... Lots of small towns outside of the City are
affordable ...

More affordable the further away from SF you get .

[jpgray]

39. Thanks a lot; DUers are the best!

[OrdinaryTa]

40. A Nice Place to Visit

California's a nice place to visit, but don't move there unless you really want to get out of Minneapolis. Sounds like you may be seeking a geographic cure for what ails you at the moment. All these suggestions for different places to live don't take into account what you are looking for. Stockton is vastly different from Marin County, for example. San Diego is not everybody's cup of tea, either. It's Republican and boring, they tell me.

If you're young and adventuresome, stick a toe in the water and move to L.A. It's popular and there's a reason - it's easy. If you have job skills, you'll have no trouble finding work.

Good luck.