Thinking of moving to California Somewhere!

sharkbite1983

Hi All,

Im 27, mortgaged, stressed, depressed & broke!! Even though Im one of the few electricians lucky enough to employed these day's, I'm under serious pressure from my boss & everyone who works with me, im going home every evening feeling sick & wound up, so Ive decided, i have to get out of here!!! After seeing how much tax I have to pay with this new budget, it was the last straw.

My GF is finishing college this year, so she has nothing to keep her here either, basically, I'm wondering if anyone has been to California before? Where would they recommend living? I'm not expecting to be living in the richest exclusive area's (far from it) I just want somewhere that isnt riddled with crack dealers & drive by shootings!!!!

Any suggestions of area's, streets or even apartment block you or your friends/family may have stayed is much appreciated.

iMax

Lived there back in the 90s (& would go back tomorrow if I could). California is huge so the first thing you need to do (assuming you have all the legalities of visa/greencard sorted out is decide whereabouts in Cali you want to live. North or south, following that break it down to a city.

I was in L.A. & it's an amazing place with a great lifestyle (very outdoor orientated)., but it's extremely segmented & sprawled out with a public transport system which is lacking. Lived in West Hollywood (close to sunset), very hispanic/gay (I'm neither), but reasonable in terms of rent. The further out you go the more you get for your money (pool etc). Also stayed in Palos Verdes (which is amazing, google it, but about 40 miles from "Hollywood"), & Torrance, which is the south bay area, very up & coming with rents to match.

S.F. on the other hand is very european in feel with a definite center to it & is much easier to get around.

San Diego is a great college town/navy base if that's your thing. They're the major cities. You might consider a town outside the major metropolises.

You need to do a lot of research because it's a long way home.

If you do decide to go, one of the first things you should do is find out where the local Irish Community meet up (probably a bar being honest). Not that it's important to keep in touch with your roots (although it is), but if you need help in any way from a sofa to sleep on to finding a job, or general advice, this is the place to get it. They also regularly have Irish plays, Irish Dancing for the kids & all manner of paddyism.

TheNewMe

I lived in Southern California from 95-05. Fantastic place. I miss it most during cold winters like we have now

I was in Orange County. The climate was fantastic - shorts and sandals all year around if you want. Options for eating out are plentiful, cheap and the variety of selection at all price levels is great.

I agree with a lot of what iMax said. I would also make sure you get all the visa process sorted out as immigration enforcement is much more serious now than it has been and you don't want to build a life out there always looking over your shoulder.

Cost of living in CA is pretty high for the US. I lived in coastal OC (2-3m from the beach) and was paying c. 1500$ for a 1 bed apartment in 2005. Further inland you get cheaper accomodation but more heat in summer and more smog. Income taxes in CA are also high for the US but still lower than Ireland. Depending on earning level you can expect to fork out somewhere between 25-35% of total earnings in fed, state +soc. sec taxes.

It's a fantastic place, loads of fun and things to do. I could never get over the fact that ski slopes were only 2 hours drive away although I never really learned to surf. However, it is a long way from home and I believe there is now no longer a direct flight from LAX or SF to DUB so it's always at least a couple of hops. I would also suggest trying to have a job sorted out before you go as it is easier then.

silja

Do you already have a visa or are a US citizen?
It is very difficult to live in the US legally unless you have an immediate relsative who is a US citizen.

Santa Monica is nice as long as you stay away from Venice Beach after dark.

sharkbite1983

Thanks for all the advice & quick replies.
To be honest it was a pipe dream this morning when I wrote this thread, but I'm getting inspired reading the replies!!

I mentioned to the bosses, they took it better than I thought.

My GF's dad was born in the US, so she has the option of a US passport I think.
We still have alot of research to put into it, I was just looking for idea's on where to live.

Of course, the only reason I say California is because I like surfing & the hippy, chilled lifestyle. If you have any suggestions for anywhere else in US i'd love to hear them. Thanks again for all the help.

silja

Your girlfriend may be a US citizen if her dad spent at least 5 years in the USA, 2 of which after age 16. If so, you can marry and then she can petition for a spousal visa for you at the embassy- took us just over 6 weeks to get it.

You may want to look at the Pacific Northwest- Seattle area. Very liberal, laid back.

wolfie71

Hi. How close does the relative have to be that lives in US already? Distant cousin work at all?
Cheers,
Roger

silja

wolfie71 wrote: »

Hi. How close does the relative have to be that lives in US already? Distant cousin work at all?
Cheers,
Roger

Nope. To get an immediate visa it would need to be a child over 21, parent if you are under or spouse. With a waiting period, children over 21 and siblings can also get a visa (leading to greencard). Cousins and grandparents do not count, sorry.

starface

I'm thinking of heading over too. My boyfriend and I qualify for the USIT one year visa but I'm concerned about not being able to find a job over there. We both have Masters but we're not fussy. I just wanna get outta Ireland for a while and experience somewhere new.

Thinking of heading to East coast but New York and Florida are also an option. Has anyone worked in Florida? Wants the general cost of living? Has anyone any experience with going over jobless? Was it difficult to secure employment?

I just don't know where to even start researching it.

silja

You guys should head over to the United States forum, it's all about living in the USA on short or long term visas, and there are several discussions on the year long J1:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=917

RocketRonnie

I lived in San Diego for a while, its a lovely place.
I would reccommend the Pacific or Mission Beach areas, there a few miles north of the downtown SD area. there pretty laid back spots with nice beaches, some cool bars and decent other facilities. plenty of buses/trollys(sd luas) head to downtown area, where you will find pretty much anything you cant find on pacific/mission beach!!

sharkbite1983

RocketRonnie wrote: »

I lived in San Diego for a while, its a lovely place.
I would reccommend the Pacific or Mission Beach areas, there a few miles north of the downtown SD area. there pretty laid back spots with nice beaches, some cool bars and decent other facilities. plenty of buses/trollys(sd luas) head to downtown area, where you will find pretty much anything you cant find on pacific/mission beach!!

Thanks man, exactly what I want actually, chilled out beach area, away from cities etc.

I'm a bit of a lazy surfer beach bum, so I'd happily work in a beach bar and spend my days chilling out!!
I'm leaving Ireland to get away from the rat race, deffo dont wanna end up in a more stressed busier job!!!

I'll suss out pacific & mission Beach.

InTheTrees

sharkbite1983 wrote: »

Thanks man, exactly what I want actually, chilled out beach area, away from cities etc.
I'm a bit of a lazy surfer beach bum, so I'd happily work in a beach bar and spend my days chilling out!!
I'm leaving Ireland to get away from the rat race, deffo dont wanna end up in a more stressed busier job!!!

You sound like a northern californian. Life in socal is about your car and looking good and thats about it...



I was 10 years in Santa Cruz (i'm in Seattle now), and loved it. Its central CA on the north side of Monterey bay. Sheltered by mountains. And commutable to silicon valley. Its a beautiful place, its got a nicer climate than the rest of northern CA but it doesnt have the pollution of southern ca(!).
It has a reputation as a hippie and surfer town. There's the University of California Santa Cruz there and it gives the place a very young population. Also because of its position at the north side of the bay it has some unique water currents that give it some of the best winter surfing in the world. (I know nothing about surfing but have know many who do).

And its close to SF, which is a great city.

lil_lisa

InTheTrees wrote: »

You sound like a northern californian. Life in socal is about your car and looking good and thats about it...

I've been living in SoCal for almost 2 years now and to be honest, Sharkbite, its what you make of it. I am loving every second here, I try my best to ignore from the seemingly shallow people which InTheTrees is talking about and just take what I want from this city. Enjoy the weather, the beaches, the co-hippies, its all here.

In saying this, I just spent the last weekend in San Jose and its such a different atmosphere and lifestyle. It's so relaxed with this real natural beauty you won't find in SoCal. I'm hopeful to live there sometime in the future.

So basically, my advice is, where you can go, go for it. Once you're here you can travel all around and suss out what's best for you. In the meantime make the most of where you're at!

InTheTrees

lil_lisa wrote: »

I've been living in SoCal for almost 2 years now and to be honest, Sharkbite, its what you make of it. I am loving every second here, I try my best to ignore from the seemingly shallow people which InTheTrees is talking about and just take what I want from this city.

I had the smiley face in there to show i wasnt too serious...

I love LA and I'd live there in a heartbeat. I think it comes in from a lot of criticism from other americans though, they seem to project onto LA a lot of the negatives we foreigners seem to attribute to the USA generally; the superficiality, the car culture etc.