Toronto Asian Canadian dying to move to California. need help/opinions from people (San Diego: apartment, to rent)

[missjellyfish]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

I've lived both in SF and in San Diego. I would have to say that it was a lot easier to meet friends down in SD. In SF, it is cliquish and similar to what you have experienced in Toronto. Also, people tend to be very consumed with work and such. Its a more laid back vibe in SoCal.

San Diego sounds great. Ive been there once but was only for 2 days.
ah, i cant stand cliquish cities. i find north american in general is quite cliquish compared to asia/europe. so its my job to find the least cliquish city HAHA
i know it gets harder as you get older to make friends..so im a bit scared.

i will do more research on san diego thanks alot =)

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by missjellyfish

as for immigration rules, i havent given much thought as of yet because im not moving to the US anytime soon, just researching as much as I can and need feedback from more people =)

You'll have to get in line behind all the Mexicans, Africans, and others who would like to immigrate. You just can't come into the country from outside and work legally. Your odds of being able to do that are long.

[missjellyfish]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

You'll have to get in line behind all the Mexicans, Africans, and others who would like to immigrate. You just can't come into the country from outside and work legally. Your odds of being able to do that are long.

i dont plan on working in the US. maybe go to school there, like continuing education

[Bruce81]

Toronto seemed almost impossible to get bored in, but maybe it would be different if I lived there. SF would definitely be better for you, larger Asian population than LA, more walkable than LA or San Diego and better public transportation.

[415_s2k]

SF is an awesome city. There are certainly cliques there, but I didn't necessarily find it to be overly "cliquish." I guess I'm the odd one out for saying that, but then, I'm a pretty agreeable fellow and have never had an issue having a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. This said, I found the late-20's/early-30's SOMA crowd to be exceptionally cliquish and definitely erring a bit on the snottier and disassociative side... but even within that circle, there are cool and approachable people.

SF's got a huge Asian population that includes immigrants as well as Asian-Americans that in some case have been in the area for multiple generations. Asian culture, especially Chinese, is entrenched heavily in the area's social fabric and all told, it's probably the most "Asian" city in the US, discounting Honolulu (which has a majority Asian population). You'd have access to pretty much any and all cultural necessities. Although everyone reflexively refers to Chinatown, which is mostly immigrants from mainland China, the area around Clement in the Richmond District, as well as most of the Sunset District, could be described as "new" Chinatowns.

I live in LA now, and I love it. Really, I love both cities about equally, for different reasons - SF is extremely walkable, to the point that there's not much of a point in owning a car for the average young San Franciscan who lives, works, and socializes in town. LA is actually walkable, contrary to popular belief... albiet, those walkable areas are often separated by what can be miles of offices, residences, and low-lying/low-density commerce (for instance, from Silverlake to Downtown; from Hollywood to West Hollywood). The scope of LA is huge - there's always something going on here, and if it exists anywhere in the world, you'll find it here. LA has an extremely large Asian population as well, it's just that it's also four times as big in population, not including its outlying suburbs so it's not quite as pronounced as it is in SF.

[gnomatic]

Originally Posted by missjellyfish

i dont plan on working in the US. maybe go to school there, like continuing education

You can't just come to the US and live here. If you don't plan to work your only other reason option is a student visa. You need to apply to and get accepted into, and pay for a school/program that will qualify you for a valid student visa. That will pinpoint where you end up.

I am Canadian (from Toronto), and Chinese...I lived in Hong Kong and now live in SF. SF is more like Toronto then HK. Making friends in SF is not that different from Toronto. People do tend to work more then SF.

It's not fair to compare the night life in HK to Toronto (or any North American city). Young people in HK live in tiny apartments with their parents and/or extended family. They go out more and later because have little to no personal space. If you were socializing with expats, they do what expats do in every big Asian city do..hangout and party with other expats (and expat groupies).

Given what you wrote, I am not sure why other posters felt you will fit in somewhere just because it has a large Asian population. I don't think you would fit in SF's various Chinatowns..you will be more at home in the Marina then those neighborhoods.

[missjellyfish]

Originally Posted by Bruce81

Toronto seemed almost impossible to get bored in, but maybe it would be different if I lived there. SF would definitely be better for you, larger Asian population than LA, more walkable than LA or San Diego and better public transportation.

thanks! definitely good to know!

[missjellyfish]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

SF is an awesome city. There are certainly cliques there, but I didn't necessarily find it to be overly "cliquish." I guess I'm the odd one out for saying that, but then, I'm a pretty agreeable fellow and have never had an issue having a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. This said, I found the late-20's/early-30's SOMA crowd to be exceptionally cliquish and definitely erring a bit on the snottier and disassociative side... but even within that circle, there are cool and approachable people.

SF's got a huge Asian population that includes immigrants as well as Asian-Americans that in some case have been in the area for multiple generations. Asian culture, especially Chinese, is entrenched heavily in the area's social fabric and all told, it's probably the most "Asian" city in the US, discounting Honolulu (which has a majority Asian population). You'd have access to pretty much any and all cultural necessities. Although everyone reflexively refers to Chinatown, which is mostly immigrants from mainland China, the area around Clement in the Richmond District, as well as most of the Sunset District, could be described as "new" Chinatowns.

I live in LA now, and I love it. Really, I love both cities about equally, for different reasons - SF is extremely walkable, to the point that there's not much of a point in owning a car for the average young San Franciscan who lives, works, and socializes in town. LA is actually walkable, contrary to popular belief... albiet, those walkable areas are often separated by what can be miles of offices, residences, and low-lying/low-density commerce (for instance, from Silverlake to Downtown; from Hollywood to West Hollywood). The scope of LA is huge - there's always something going on here, and if it exists anywhere in the world, you'll find it here. LA has an extremely large Asian population as well, it's just that it's also four times as big in population, not including its outlying suburbs so it's not quite as pronounced as it is in SF.

thanks for your input. definitely happy that you said theres no need for a car in SF. that is amazing.
however, since i lean more towards western culture, don't think I'll want to live in chinatown...i dont mingle well with the mainland china crowd. :/
i guess at 25, alone, moving to a new city is going to be tough. just wondering how hard it is to break into the social scene or how accepting people are, because most people this age already have their own social circle

[missjellyfish]

Originally Posted by gnomatic

You can't just come to the US and live here. If you don't plan to work your only other reason option is a student visa. You need to apply to and get accepted into, and pay for a school/program that will qualify you for a valid student visa. That will pinpoint where you end up.

I am Canadian (from Toronto), and Chinese...I lived in Hong Kong and now live in SF. SF is more like Toronto then HK. Making friends in SF is not that different from Toronto. People do tend to work more then SF.

It's not fair to compare the night life in HK to Toronto (or any North American city). Young people in HK live in tiny apartments with their parents and/or extended family. They go out more and later because have little to no personal space. If you were socializing with expats, they do what expats do in every big Asian city do..hangout and party with other expats (and expat groupies).

Given what you wrote, I am not sure why other posters felt you will fit in somewhere just because it has a large Asian population. I don't think you would fit in SF's various Chinatowns..you will be more at home in the Marina then those neighborhoods.

Hello there! Finally someone that is Chinese, from Toronto, has lived in HK and now is in SF. haha i definitely need to ask you some questions

thanks for the visa info however it's not my greatest concern i have ways to deal with it.

my greatest concern is how is the social scene in SF compared to toronto. i know if you put SF, Toronto and hk together, obviously SF will be more like toronto than hk. its north america afterall.
i find that in toronto, most of the chinese, lets say the CBCs, have their own little cliques. and its very hard to get accepted into a new social circle. most people in toronto tend to hang out with friends from way back,say highschool.
also, the weather doesnt really help us mingle either. it is very tough.

in HK, (im talking about expats and overseas asians, as i dont speak cantonese so i dont know how the locals are like), everybody mingles. people are very open to meeting up. grabbing dinner, going to lkf or whatever.
for example, i went to a party in hk, i didnt know anyone there other than the friend that invited me.
next thing you know, i was exchanging numbers with everyone and they all called me out few days later to hang out again. everybody is constantly out, people party after work.

however, in toronto, that does not happen. i went to a friend's bday event last week, his friends did not talk to me much. no numbers exchanged (heck, people will think its weird). after the bday event we all went home. and i never heard back from those people.
again, few days ago, i went to a friends karaoke thing. lots of people in the room, i played some games with her friends. and then when its time to leave, we left. again, no numbers exchanged no nothing.
this doesnt happen in hong kong. ever.

i used to think its me, now i realized its the city itself.

so i wanted to ask you, how are things in SF like? is it exactly the same as toronto or are people more willing to hang out?

thanks!

[QIS]

Hi Miss Jelly Fish,
You can contort your mind into a Gordian Knot trying to anticipate what could be when you move anywhere! You have to plug in to variety of situations to see if anyone will "hangout" don't you think? Unless you are talking about just finding social bars. My vote is San Diego for you! Come out and tour each city your self for sure. Immigration is an important issue. If you are coming from Canada and have a degree and a job sponsor it is easier (lets say you work for ESRI for instance). SD, LA, or SF means $$$ even to rent somewhere nice. You might consider researching acceptable places to live and google the heck out of those areas. I am jealous of you, have fun!