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Here is my advice for the young and money deprived who want to move to SF (or any expensive urban city).
1) Keep enough money on hand to move back, have parents ready to move you back in case you fail.
2) Collect a few like minded friends, 1 with good credit (the renter).
3) Sell everything you have (car too), no pets or other burdens.
4) Bring enough money to get you by for 6 months.
5) Find the cheapest apartment you can, 3-4 of you will live in it (yes this will suck imo).
6) Find general jobs that hopefully make more than 20k (be advised these jobs are going to be hard to find, you may not find one).
7) Buy groceries, cook food, ride a bike or walk ( a good raw diet would be cheap lol)
8) Live in SF for 6 months.
The more than likely fallout of this:
1) Realize how expensive it is in SF .
2) Realize how much work you will have to put in to even afford to live in the city.
3) Realize going out to bars and clubs costs a lot.
4) Realize you only get to the beach once a month (if that).
5) Realize you have no money for clothes, school or progressing your life.
6) Mark the time spent as an experience, head back home, live with parents, goto school, get a better job, make more money then move back in 10 years .
All in all, I think moving around and taking risks is the only way for a young person to evolve and I would say go for it, but have money banked and parents ready.
Yea Texas was covered in snow for about 30 minutes and then it melted. and by covered, I mean covered in a thin sheet of frost. The entire amount of snow in my front yard would not equal to the amount of 1 snow ball.
Obviously, you THINK you know what you are talking about but in reality you don't.
My home town is Dumas Texas and it snows there almost every year... It was in the teens last week... But it is flat...LOL
Location: Los Angeles......So. Calif. an Island on the Land
736 posts, read 2,301,520 times
Reputation: 485
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita
Texas was covered with snow 2 weeks ago as well.
California, especially the bay area is an awesome place to vacation and a good place to live for the right person, but it isn't for someone struggling financually and someone accustom to living in a small town in Texas.
Nita
Please stop moralizing and trying to tell people what NOT to do.
To the OP: You are young and are clearly looking for a change, so I say go for it. To be sure, research it and know the risks before you go for it. But by all means, don't let the naysayers on this forum keep you from LIVING YOUR LIFE!!!!!!
again, I will ask you why you keep referring to Cali, that is not even in California.
1-Cali is not in the USA, it is in Colombia so most of us have no idea what the cost of living is there, do you speak Spanish?
2-There are no jobs, can you spell NO JOBS as a basic office worker in SFO and if there were
How are you going to jump all over her for using the term "Cali" when you're here referring to SF as SFO?? I don't care for that term either, but you can't really give someone that hard of a time about it when you don't even get the lingo down correctly yourself. SFO is NOT the City, its the airport. So you are correct "there are NO JOBS as a basic office worker" at SFO , because the airport is not where office jobs would be in abundance. You should try the Financial District, there are many more, can you spell MANY MORE office jobs there. Probably more than you'll find at LAX.
You are being a "first rate *****". Let this person dream and give advice that is not tainted with your negative attitude.
I second this. I didn't see the need for all the attitude being thrown at the OP. She's asking simple questions and seeking advice, not BS from unnecessarily angry people.
To the OP, I wouldn't consider relocating anywhere without establishing employment first and building up a nest egg to support yourself. It will be very expensive to try and make the move, and the COL is much higher here (as I'm sure you're already aware by now). And $20K a year is very near the poverty line out here. For any semblance of "comfortable living" you'd need to be making at least $50K at the bare minimum. Otherwise you will not be able to enjoy a lot of what is offered out here.
Although if you are creative and not too materialistic, or you don't need to eat out all the time and know how to manage your money wisely, life here can still be awesome at around $30K. But that would require sacrificing quite a lot considering all there is to enjoy here, and it would be paycheck-to-paycheck living.
It can be done though, if you can stand living in a small studio (I used to have one in San Mateo a few years back that was less than $800/mo.) and don't have car payments to make. For example, hypothetically you'd be making $2,500/mo. (maybe $2,100 after taxes), subtract $800 for rent, and let's assume you either have a car that's paid off or you're riding public transit. If you can manage $200 or less for transportation costs (either gas and insurance with an oil change every 3 months and moderate driving, and maybe even parking, or a combination of bus and BART or Caltrain), you'd have approximately $1,100 left for everything else. The rest there is up to you. The apartment I lived in then had a free parking space for me and gas, water and garbage was included (this was from 2003 to 2007) for a tiny (yet soundproofed) 350 square foot (I think) studio.
So beyond the a fore mentioned, if you were able to find a similar deal, you would have money for things like cable (tv and internet), electricity, a cell phone, food, clothing, toiletries, entertainment, etc. $1,100 is not a lot to cover all of that, and you'd definitely not want to miss any days of work, but if you live simply enough it can be done with just one simple full-time job with a low (by CA standards) salary. You'd need to find full-time work making $14-$15 an hour and require as little as I've described or less just to enjoy the bare minimum. It definitely can be done, but you'd need to decide what all you'd be willing to sacrifice to make it happen and you'd need to figure if you'd think it would still be worth it to relocate. I personally would aim higher than that. I wouldn't even consider making the move without a $60K+ job if it was me.
If you do though, definitely do all your homework first. Try to scope out where affordable rents are (check Craigslist for one) and see if you can find anything near wherever you'd be working. And definitely make sure you've landed a job of some kind before even considering making the move, unless you have at least $10,000 saved up. You'll need money for a security deposit and and first and last month's rent in most cases. And if you find a good target area that you'll be working, search for housing either as close as possible to work (maybe even close enough to bike if you're lucky and into that), or at least near suitable public transportation. But if you get a job in say downtown SF, you'll have public transportation options from all over the place. So living as close as possible to a BART or Caltrain station could really make your life easier, even if you have a car. You definitely want to keep all of this in mind before you make any decisions. Good luck in whatever path you end up following!
I second this. I didn't see the need for all the attitude being thrown at the OP. She's asking simple questions and seeking advice, not BS from unnecessarily angry people.
I, too, have seen the entire state of Texas. I have been to "the big city" here. I've been there a million freaking times. Dallas Houston Austin whatever. They all suck compared to California in my opinion. I'm not some country bumpkin living on a farm. I plan on saving my $$ and getting the hell outta here. Thanks for the advice!!
It all went right over your head didn't it..............
I seriously doubt you have seen ALL of the state of Texas by your comments.
You might not be a "country bumpkin" but you are IN Waco. So you think the big cities here suck........ Have you actually lived IN any of them? Spending a day or two here or there does not count. Nor does traveling thru any of them. I've been around the block a lot and trust me......... your comments are making you the problem. The rest of us are just trying to point out the problems and give some advice. Your not listening and then ONLY if it is EXACTLY what you want to hear.
FYI, with this attitude you really are not going to make it in California or anywhere else. You have to change the attitude no matter where you are in life even if it is a place you personally think "sucks". Otherwise, life is going to be one beating after another and your never going to enjoy the time of where your at. They are all seasons of life and each has a good part to it........ you just have to take the time to actually savor it and appreciate it. THEN can you actually see the bright spots and rewards and can make them benefit you every step of the way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger
You certainly have a right. But what we all seem to be picking up on from the tone of your post is that you really don't know what you're up against here.
If you think it's any different here, you're kidding yourself. California has nearly 12% unemployment, worse than in Texas. We also have lots of poor Mexican immigrants. And the cost of living here is horrible. A lot of people in this area are forced to leave if they lose their jobs, because they can't make it here on low paying jobs to tide them over.
You probably won't be going to Yosemite much if you are working an office job. You won't be able to afford it. If you want to make it as an artist here, you will have to be good at marketing yourself. And you will have to work very hard. It will be a combination of working very hard and very smart at the same time.
She has been told all of this. If it is not what she wants to hear then she does not want to believe it. It is going to be tough no matter where she goes, ends up, stays, whatever. Gonna be some hard lessons in life on the route she is taking right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Houston3
I suggest that you get into a car and drive from north Texas to south Texas and then from east to west...
I really think that you know NOTHING about Texas....
The problem is YOURS and not with Texas...
I'm hoping to visit California the summer...
I'd have to agree. Just the comments from the OP that the whole state had "no snow" and was "flat" are a pretty good giveaway that she doesn't know diddly about the STATE. The town she is living in, maybe. The state, no.
You know that old saying, "no matter where you go, there you are"
If someone is not happy in one place about life in general it is NOT going to be any happier anywhere else. You can move from one side of the state, country, globe but it won't make you happier or your life better until you find out what is it that is on the inside that is bringing you down. I've got family like this....... never happy. The grass is ALWAYS green on the other side (it's "dead" on their side ), something is ALWAYS wrong w/ the "new awesome" place they picked.
Or wisdom sharing. But let's face it most young people need to learn things on their own. It's not a life or death situation, so give the young person advice pro/con, then let them make their own decisions.
In a way, I am glad I did all my 20's moving without consulting the internet...or else I might not have been so risky and I am glad I took those risks.
p.s. The constant nitpicking of Cali vs California stifles conversation imo. Many folks call it Cali, leave it alone.
I am sorry to say this, but if your life sucks in Texas, it is probably because of you and not the state of Texas. If you move to CA, all the reasons that make your life suck in Texas will move with you. And I can guarantee that with extraordinarily high living cost and poor job market CA won't be any easier. You can move to bigger cities in Texas like Dallas/Houston, learn some new skills and earn a higher salary and only then consider moving here because rest assured living in SF is very competitive. Of course, if you want to become homeless or earn a living illegally (like drug-dealing/stealing) just pack up move to SF!-
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, because the airport is not where office jobs would be in abundance. You should try the Financial District, there are many more, can you spell MANY MORE office jobs there. Probably more than you'll find at LAX. 
