Current Events > How's living in California, generally? What do you like/dislike about it?

(+) Yeah! (+)

As per my roadmap I'm very likely moving between San Francisco & San Jose (think, Redwood City - Palo Alto - Mountain View - etc) within the next few years.

I'm interested in hearing opinions. :)

Expensive

No because of the cost of living, simple as that.

Yes because its not some Bible Belt state

Kloe_Rinz posted...

Yes because its not some Bible Belt state

Amen.

I had enough money, sure. I hear San Diego has da best weather in da continental US.

Born and raised here in Los Angeles and I love it here. Couldn't imagine living in any other state.

I'm not that familiar with the bay area, but I hear some parts of San Francisco are even more expensive than LA, so... be prepared for a high cost of living up there.

Can't speak for those areas I've only lived in Socal, mostly San Diego but also briefly in OC and the IE. For the Bay Area you can take everything I'm going to write and make it slightly more extreme.

Near the coast you cannot beat the weather. You only get below 50 in the middle of winter at night. You only get above 90 in the middle of summer midday. And those are during cold/hot spells. Outside of the coast is a whole different story. The central valley gets really hot in the summer.

It's really crowded. SD doesn't have nearly as bad traffic as LA or OC but if you want to go to a popular restaurant you need to have a reservation ahead of time. Many times you can't just waltz into a decent place or you'll get a 45min+ wait on the weekends. It's just generally tough to get away from people unless you drive way out into the country.

It's expensive. My rent is over $3,000 for a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom 1200 sqft apartment in a complex. Granted I am 2 miles from the ocean but it isn't that much better inland, maybe more like 2500-2800 for an equivalent place. Renting a home you're looking at over $3500 for anything decent. Good luck buying, the median home price is somewhere around $900k last time I checked. Gas is also expensive but other than that things aren't really much worse than other cities. Unfortunately the housing cost is enough to blow out most budgets before they even get to discretionary spending.

I've lived here for 5 years and have felt 1 earthquake and the only reason I even noticed it was because the window shades were moving. It's completely a overblown myth.

It has some of the best scenery in the country that I've seen and I've seen most of it. It also has some of the dullest overdeveloped scenery as well.

Get used to driving if you want to go visit parks or whatever. It's a GIGANTIC state. It's like an 8 hour drive from LA to SF without traffic, and there's not a lot to see between them if you're taking I-5.

Assuming you're at least a liberal if you're even considering moving here. Some things the govt does is great and some things are infuriating. But that's a lot like most states, I assume.

theAteam posted...

Can't speak for those areas I've only lived in Socal, mostly San Diego but also briefly in OC and the IE. For the Bay Area you can take everything I'm going to write and make it slightly more extreme.

Near the coast you cannot beat the weather. You only get below 50 in the middle of winter at night. You only get above 90 in the middle of summer midday. And those are during cold/hot spells. Outside of the coast is a whole different story. The central valley gets really hot in the summer.

It's really crowded. SD doesn't have nearly as bad traffic as LA or OC but if you want to go to a popular restaurant you need to have a reservation ahead of time. Many times you can't just waltz into a decent place or you'll get a 45min+ wait on the weekends. It's just generally tough to get away from people unless you drive way out into the country.

It's expensive. My rent is over $3,000 for a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom 1200 sqft apartment in a complex. Granted I am 2 miles from the ocean but it isn't that much better inland, maybe more like 2500-2800 for an equivalent place. Renting a home you're looking at over $3500 for anything decent. Good luck buying, the median home price is somewhere around $900k last time I checked. Gas is also expensive but other than that things aren't really much worse than other cities. Unfortunately the housing cost is enough to blow out most budgets before they even get to discretionary spending.

I've lived here for 5 years and have felt 1 earthquake and the only reason I even noticed it was because the window shades were moving. It's completely a overblown myth.

It has some of the best scenery in the country that I've seen and I've seen most of it. It also has some of the dullest overdeveloped scenery as well.

Get used to driving if you want to go visit parks or whatever. It's a GIGANTIC state. It's like an 8 hour drive from LA to SF without traffic, and there's not a lot to see between them if you're taking I-5.

Assuming you're at least a liberal if you're even considering moving here. Some things the govt does is great and some things are infuriating. But that's a lot like most states, I assume.

Thanks for the feedback, this was definitely an interest read. I've researched the weather for where I'm likely relocating to and it seems fine. The weather seems much nicer when compared to coastal WA, where I've lived in the past.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/1/8/AABOVBAADyri.png

The cost of living isn't really much of a factor thankfully given my situation.

I'm definitely fairly liberal and get worn down by conservative sentiment in the bible belt, when I've lived there.

As for California being gigantic, I definitely can relate having driven it multiple times from south to north and north to south in the past. California has a lot of unsurpassed natural beauty that I'm excited to be in range of again when I do relocate. I've spent a lot of time in it on previous trips there, so I'm excited to get back to that when I have downtime and the ability to do so.

NoxObscuras posted...

Born and raised here in Los Angeles and I love it here. Couldn't imagine living in any other state.

I'm not that familiar with the bay area, but I hear some parts of San Francisco are even more expensive than LA, so... be prepared for a high cost of living up there.

Yeah, I have researched rentals in the area and am well aware that I will likely be paying a high amount, but given my situation I'm not too worried about it. Thanks for the feedback!

I have lived in four states and California is far and away the best one

Can't afford to.

theAteam posted...

Near the coast you cannot beat the weather. You only get below 50 in the middle of winter at night. You only get above 90 in the middle of summer midday. And those are during cold/hot spells. Outside of the coast is a whole different story. The central valley gets really hot in the summer.

Oh this is a good one. I know some people expect the whole state to be pleasant weather all the time. But some parts of Cali hit 110+ during the summer.

I've lived here for 5 years and have felt 1 earthquake and the only reason I even noticed it was because the window shades were moving. It's completely a overblown myth.

I don't know if I'd call it overblown. If you look at earthquakes that were over 5.0 magnitude, Alaska and California have far far more than every other state. Between 2010 and 2021, there were 9 quakes in California above 5.0. You may not notice them all because they happen further north usually.

like:
-easy access to Asian/Mexican/Indian food and groceries

dislike:
-everything is expensive
-having to pay for parking

NoxObscuras posted...

I don't know if I'd call it overblown. If you look at earthquakes that were over 5.0 magnitude, Alaska and California have far far more than every other state. Between 2010 and 2021, there were 9 quakes in California above 5.0. You may not notice them all because they happen further north usually.

That's a fair point. I actually read recently that the Rose Canyon Fault which is the one under us can't even physically produce an earthquake like ones that were seen in LA in the 90s.

Out of all the states I have driven through, California has the best roads.

Honestly, I would if the rent and housing prices were not so unfair. I always consider that when it comes to where I reside first. California is a nice vacation state for me though.

it has more cows than ohio

Looks beautiful in pictures but too expensive for me to actually ever go there

Beveren_Rabbit posted...

-having to pay for parking

I live in SoCal and I dont think Ive ever paid for parking outside of amusement parks or events.

i like the weather. and the people. and just the general culture. especially here in the bay area. also gotta say i really, really love the diversity. you'll find every type of person here, and we all generally get along. it's wonderful to see.

it's expensive, though. i've also been here most my life so i'm just tired of it because of so much time. but i really don't know if i'd want to live in another state for too long. i was in colorado for a year, and while it was nice, it was certainly no california.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


No agenda in particular.

Lonestar2000 posted...

Out of all the states I have driven through, California has the best roads.

100% agreed, based on what I've experienced driving there.

--Zero- posted...

Honestly, I would if the rent and housing prices were not so unfair. I always consider that when it comes to where I reside first. California is a nice vacation state for me though.

Yeah, the rent is unfortunate but for me, I think it's worth it.

GuerrillaSoldier posted...

i like the weather. and the people. and just the general culture. especially here in the bay area. also gotta say i really, really love the diversity. you'll find every type of person here, and we all generally get along. it's wonderful to see.

it's expensive, though. i've also been here most my life so i'm just tired of it because of so much time. but i really don't know if i'd want to live in another state for too long. i was in colorado for a year, and while it was nice, it was certainly no california.

Yeah I also lived in Colorado for a little more than a year. For me it would be a second choice honestly.