Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
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!
true I cant really predict what will happen but I want to do as much research as I can and get opinions from people that actually live there.
I heard san diego is good from a few people but ive only been there once and feel like its a quiet city..hmm. im used to big cities with more Asian population
I shall see what the future brings =) thanks for ur reply
San Francisco is a better choice for a Chinese, especially Cantonese speakers, I heard San Diego most of the Chinese are Mandarin speakers?
since your use to living in urban areas with lots of asians, the SF / Bay area would be a good choice
plus the weather and air quality is probably more suitable for you since your use to cold weather
I heard about the heat and the smog in socal
well the thing is, I cant stand Toronto. so I don't want to move to a similar city..whats the point..i want change..something completely different from Toronto/Canada lol
thanks for your input. definitely happy that you said theres no need for a car in SF. that is amazing.
IMHO, a car is really more of a financial and organizational hinderance in SF unless you have a job or family that require you to get to some of the peripheral Bay Area cities. I kept my car there primarily because I'm a car enthusiast and it's a hobby, and I used it to get out of the city pretty much every weekend and explore and adventure And/or, race. There are some absolutely amazing and sublime roads over in the East Bay... like Grizzly Peak:
I lived in the Inner Richmond District, and could get to Union Square in about 10-20 minutes on the bus, depending on traffic. I could walk to get groceries, clothes, electronics, housewares, etc. within a few minutes. A cab ride from Union Square or North Beach cost me about $10-12 and took five or six minutes on a Friday or Saturday night, so I could easily stay out hanging out with my friends and not worry about getting back. If I wanted to do the same over in Oakland or Berkeley with friends, all I had to do was hop on the BART, and from there I could either walk or use PT. It's an extremely walkable city!
Quote:
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 was not insinuating that you should move to Chinatown; on the contrary, I was pointing out that there are large swaths of Asian people who live all over the city...
Quote:
Originally Posted by gnomatic
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.
The fact that she specifically mentioned that she's Asian and of Chinese descent led me to believe that she was probably curious, primarily, about two things:
1) How she'd be received socially;
2) What sort of Chinese-associated amenities there are in the city (shopping, etc).
I have no doubt she'd be more at home in the Marina than in Chinatown. I also have no doubt that she'd probably feel more at home in SF's Marina, than say, Tampa Harbor, where everyone's a white retiree from the Northeast. She also later specified that she's used to big cities with an Asian population, which is what I was validating... *shrug*
Quote:
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
I moved to the Bay Area just before my 24th birthday and enjoyed the experience quite a bit. My best friend from childhood back in Boston lives there with his GF, but I never actually broke in too heavily with their social circle (buncha hipsters...) and instead found my own quite quickly and easily. It does get somewhat tougher to meet people as you get older, but at the same time, I found that there are so many people in SF who are from somewhere else that move there and are looking to make new friends that it was pretty easy.
In regards to the visa/school/work issue: don't sweat it I'm a firm believer that your lifepath changes to suit your goals, rather than your goals changing to suit your lifepath; if your goal is to gain an education while living in a specific city, then in reaching for that goal, you'll apply for schools there as opposed to Seattle or Houston or DC. I'd suggest getting to SF and spending a week there to see how you like it and how comfortable you feel there; that's what happened with me! I literally went up on a Friday to visit my friend, and was back that Sunday night... I went back about a month later for five days... and moved there about a month after that The city just clicked with me in a way that I'd never expected it to, and I immediately felt "at home" there and felt it was the best place for me to be at that point in my life. I set my goal to move there, and then set about doing what I needed to to make it happen.
IMHO, a car is really more of a financial and organizational hinderance in SF unless you have a job or family that require you to get to some of the peripheral Bay Area cities. I kept my car there primarily because I'm a car enthusiast and it's a hobby, and I used it to get out of the city pretty much every weekend and explore and adventure And/or, race. There are some absolutely amazing and sublime roads over in the East Bay... like Grizzly Peak:
I lived in the Inner Richmond District, and could get to Union Square in about 10-20 minutes on the bus, depending on traffic. I could walk to get groceries, clothes, electronics, housewares, etc. within a few minutes. A cab ride from Union Square or North Beach cost me about $10-12 and took five or six minutes on a Friday or Saturday night, so I could easily stay out hanging out with my friends and not worry about getting back. If I wanted to do the same over in Oakland or Berkeley with friends, all I had to do was hop on the BART, and from there I could either walk or use PT. It's an extremely walkable city!
I was not insinuating that you should move to Chinatown; on the contrary, I was pointing out that there are large swaths of Asian people who live all over the city...
The fact that she specifically mentioned that she's Asian and of Chinese descent led me to believe that she was probably curious, primarily, about two things:
1) How she'd be received socially;
2) What sort of Chinese-associated amenities there are in the city (shopping, etc).
I have no doubt she'd be more at home in the Marina than in Chinatown. I also have no doubt that she'd probably feel more at home in SF's Marina, than say, Tampa Harbor, where everyone's a white retiree from the Northeast. She also later specified that she's used to big cities with an Asian population, which is what I was validating... *shrug*
I moved to the Bay Area just before my 24th birthday and enjoyed the experience quite a bit. My best friend from childhood back in Boston lives there with his GF, but I never actually broke in too heavily with their social circle (buncha hipsters...) and instead found my own quite quickly and easily. It does get somewhat tougher to meet people as you get older, but at the same time, I found that there are so many people in SF who are from somewhere else that move there and are looking to make new friends that it was pretty easy.
In regards to the visa/school/work issue: don't sweat it I'm a firm believer that your lifepath changes to suit your goals, rather than your goals changing to suit your lifepath; if your goal is to gain an education while living in a specific city, then in reaching for that goal, you'll apply for schools there as opposed to Seattle or Houston or DC. I'd suggest getting to SF and spending a week there to see how you like it and how comfortable you feel there; that's what happened with me! I literally went up on a Friday to visit my friend, and was back that Sunday night... I went back about a month later for five days... and moved there about a month after that The city just clicked with me in a way that I'd never expected it to, and I immediately felt "at home" there and felt it was the best place for me to be at that point in my life. I set my goal to move there, and then set about doing what I needed to to make it happen.
hey there, woa long reply. thanks alot
first of all i wasn't insulted haha just to let you know. i love my fellow chinese people. its just i can't mingle with the new mainland immigrants,the culture etc is a bit too different for me although i do have a few mainland china friends =) so no, i wasn't insulted hehe
its good you point out cab fee is so cheap in SF and i can get around no problem without a car. i guess thats a bit similar to HK where nobody really drives? its hard to live without a car in toronto but i managed. so i guess SF would be a breeze for me
i would defintely do a roadtrip to california soon and see how things go.
im at the stage in life where i just want to find the right place, the right social circle and perhap the right man can find me i feel like toronto is just not my city anymore...
what other city in california would you suggest me? few people mentioned LA and San Diego, i love the weather there but LA is so big I just can't wrap my head around it and have no idea which area i should look into living.
well the thing is, I cant stand Toronto. so I don't want to move to a similar city..whats the point..i want change..something completely different from Toronto/Canada lol
A very close friend of mine is also tired of Toronto, she came to visit NYC and loved it here.She also claims that Toronto is dull, and lacks character. I happen to like it there, but I don't live there, and there is no way I'm moving to a colder city. If you don't mind the cold weather you should check it out. It's turned into a playground for the young, professional singles. Vibrant nightlife, city is buzzing all the time and there's a ton of activities. My single friends go out to bars and restaurants after work, you can meet quite a few people here through work and meetup groups. Also, there's a large Asian populations, and east asian ladies seem to be doing very well in the dating department, they are highly desirable by white, asian, black, etc. men.
A very close friend of mine is also tired of Toronto, she came to visit NYC and loved it here.She also claims that Toronto is dull, and lacks character. I happen to like it there, but I don't live there, and there is no way I'm moving to a colder city. If you don't mind the cold weather you should check it out. It's turned into a playground for the young, professional singles. Vibrant nightlife, city is buzzing all the time and there's a ton of activities. My single friends go out to bars and restaurants after work, you can meet quite a few people here through work and meetup groups. Also, there's a large Asian populations, and east asian ladies seem to be doing very well in the dating department, they are highly desirable by white, asian, black, etc. men.
LOL thanks. sounds amazing.
i get confused when people talk about the cold weather in sf...i mean....it can't be colder than toronto right?
im open to anything. i just want to experience california. i heard some people say LA is for me, some people say the opposite..ive been to LA once, loved it. probably because it was a 4 day trip and i walked around beverly hills for a bit.
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 =)
It depends on what you like. It's warmer here. San Francisco is obviously a city where it's crowded, noisy, but that's because it's a city... and if that's what you like. SF is a beautiful place for the most part and there's always a lot of things to do. Maybe you liked your visit to LA, but for most people who actually live and work there, it's not that great in reality. It's really congested, smoggy, and awful public schools, and I would say it's not really an easy place to make friends and it's definitely most a community oriented place at all, if that's what you don't mind. However, the weather there is very nice, sunny, and warm most of the time, so it makes up for any negative qualities, especially coming from Canada.
I have 50% Chinese heritage too and there are definitely quite a few Chinese and Asian people living in the SF Bay Area, especially in the South Bay Area (Silicon Valley) where high technology jobs are prevalent. Some say it's "bland" but I like it for the most part. I'd say San Francisco itself is a pretty good place to live as a single young person, and if you want kids, then well, it's not as nice to live and work then. There are plenty of job opportunities so I think it's likely you can find your place in the Bay Area.
LOL thanks. sounds amazing.
i get confused when people talk about the cold weather in sf...i mean....it can't be colder than toronto right?
It's nowhere near as cold as Toronto, don't worry I think the main thing is that people assume that since it's in CA, it's warm year-round; that's the stereotype. Well... it's not, especially in Norcal. Really, year round, as soon as the sun sets it takes the heat with it - even during the summer, you can have days where it's bright and sunny and in the 70's during the day, and then it drops into the low 50's/high 40's and is foggy. One thing that takes getting used to when you live there is that if you plan on being out into the evening, you pretty much always have to have a sweater or jacket with you - I always had a pair of sweaters in the trunk of my car in case I was out late, and always had a couple in my office, as well.
Well then...If you are looking outside of SF then as some have posted LA and SD are cities to consider. Originally from SoCal and lived in SD for a time. Growing up I had the sense that Northern California folks were more reserved (not unfriendly) just a bit difficult to engage. San Diego was easy going and has remained so at least the times I've returned to visit. Personally to get the full experience live along the beach(best weather because as you head east the inland parts of SD can get hot). Ultimately the beach scene may not be for everyone but at this stage in life it may be a fun chapter you wont forget. Just a thought...even if you could afford to rent your own place consider sharing a house or apartment. Instant circle of people you'll come to know some or all of whom can become really close friends as well as connecting with their own personal friends. Maybe even consider sharing a house with people who have different majors (I have a science background but in my young and single days purposely chose to live with folks from different walks of life and ethnicities...just mix it up if your comfortable widening out).
Bad news...there isn't a city on the West Coast that is active 24/7...bummer
Hope you find what you are looking for.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And/or, race. 
There are some absolutely amazing and sublime roads over in the East Bay... like Grizzly Peak:
