Moving To The US - Is California Full of Dickheads?

[jigglypuff]

Beautiful scenery, beautiful people, generally liberal attitudes, medical marijuana... bordering the Sierra Nevadas/Lake Tahoe so you can drive from Bay to Snow in about 4 or 5 hours. Yosemite. I'm pretty sure Cali is the best bit of America. I'd find it hard to turn down if someone offered me a route to move there... not sure I'd say the same for any other state.

San Francisco please... LA looks like it could be kind of depressing.

pretty much sums up why i would love to live in cali especially san fran.

[icanicant]

I didn't get "shit" grades, just not good enough to get into UCL, and im not a terrific well-rounded person to get into UC, no matter what i get in the SAT. The whole "stopping uni" bombshell i dropped on my mum the other day and she was nearly in tears! I reckon i have the skills to achieve what i want in life (i.e start my own business/ take over my father's little thing and transform it) so i'm hoping that if i can transfer to a better Uni (i made some poor choices and ended up at the wrong uni doing the wrong course) i can at least give myself a little boost. Plus, i can go somewhere i want to go, start a fresh and be who i've always wanted to be. If you knew about my life then you would realise that it needs a radical transformation because if not, i reckon this is the year i kill myself. Serious. Anyway, this isn't even the fucking issue.

Apologies for saying you got shit grades. Was pretty rude.

[Today]

two things:

LA is absolutely full of slef-important dickheads
New York ain't filthy

.. one more thing -- if you think NY is unclean, don't move to LA


also, medicinal weed though.
Philly's great. I would never move to CA but it's a great place to visit

[idontreallygiveashit]

No worries mate.

Thanks for all the info people, and yeah Cali does look like the best bit of America. Everytime i see the tourist board ads with Schwarzenegger i think "fuck i want to live there so bad". As the ad says "Theres more America in California than anywhere else".

I know im only basing this on tv/movies but Detorit looks like one of the worst places in the English speaking world. I have seen 8-mile, Four Brothers, Bowling for Columbine and Hardcore Pawn and every single one of them portrays it as a massive slum.

About Penn State being far from Philly, i just got off the phone with the closest campus (Brandywine) and they said they are only 30 mins away from the city and the fact that they do not have boarding means that everyone commutes from the city. Whether this is a bad thing (no regulars to hang out with, not alot to do between classes) or a great thing (i get to live in a big city, have people to hang out with there) is up for debate.

One of the universities in San Francisco (SF State University) looks easy enough to get into and not as expensive of the others, but apparently it isn't that great. Still better than the shithole im currently at though. But fuck, San Francisco man. Must ring and acquire some more info. Reading reviews on various sites implies it isn't great but its the only public four year institution in the city that isn't UC (and those two are medical and law schools too).

Oh and i was only jesting about New York, just not where i want to live, looks a bit grim. And yeah, im getting put off LA quite a bit. Also, what is San Diego like? I really know nothing about it.

And finally, i might have a better look into Canada like someone suggested.

'Preciate the help people!

[kay]

Drove through LA twice, felt....menaced. And this was in day time.

My impression is that most Brits who've ever been to Canada really like it there.

[dickman69]

but the unis im looking at are better too (Penn State hopefully, not exactly in Philly but close).

there is absolutely next to nothing to do in Penn State but watch football and get drunk...

and it's really no where near Philly or Pittsburgh

[dickman69]

About Penn State being far from Philly, i just got off the phone with the closest campus (Brandywine) and they said they are only 30 mins away from the city and the fact that they do not have boarding means that everyone commutes from the city.

degrees are severely limited in the branch campuses as well, but I'm sure you know this

[pkay]

yes california is full of dickheads

San Diego is tolerable, outside of that its a very annoying state

new orleans is the place to be in the US right now.... hella jobs, crazy tax breaks for living there, cheap housing, and all the culture in the world.

[test_recordings]

Where's the best place to go in Cali then? I thought LA sounded amazing but everyone I know who's been says it's a dump!

[ehbes]

San Diego or San Francisco

[alphacat]

yes california is full of dickheads

San Diego is tolerable, outside of that its a very annoying state

new orleans is the place to be in the US right now.... hella jobs, crazy tax breaks for living there, cheap housing, and all the culture in the world.

Um, yeah. Anyway...
_________________

L.A. has its merits, but overall it's not the most friendly place in the world. Besides dealing with traffic jams 24/7 (I was in one at 3:00 in the morning on a weeknight there, no joke) there's a kind of weird tribalism to the place: if you're not rolling with your peeps, you might bump into problems occasionally. It's much cheaper than SF though.

The thing about San Francisco's high cost of living is that it reflects the quality of life; it never gets colder than 40*F or hotter than 80*F, the food is AMAZING, and everything's within 7 miles. Tons of hot women, decent nightlife, and beautiful scenery - what more could ya ask for [besides cheaper rent]? Vancouver has a lot in common with SF too, except for the temperature range (and even that's pretty mild because it's a coastal city as well.)

An idea: take a drive or train ride up the East coast from, say, Washington DC or NY; then take a drive up the West coast from LA to SF and if you have the time, continue on up to Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. You'll get a pretty good idea of how stuff is.

[knell]

I thought LA sounded amazing but everyone I know who's been says it's a dump!

It's like 900 cities crammed into each other... the area can change from block to block, let alone city to city. millions and millions of different people from all over the world. experiences will vary widely.

If you stay in Box Canyon, you'll have a completely different experience than if you only stay in Venice, Chinatown, Hollywood, Riverside, Wrightwood, Compton, Beverly Hills, Watts etc.

[joeydevo]

Yes, those places you mentioned are hipster meccas, but it's no worse than any other big city, state or country for that matter, it just feels that way because there are so many more people. Any big city will have people crawling over each other trying hard to impress/stand out in one way or another.

If I were you I'd do Philly in the summer and LA for the winter if possible.

Agreed. The hipsters go into hibernation mode.

[pkay]

Sorry if my comment offended alpha. Went to college in Cali for 4 years. Mostly in San Diego partially LA.

I just think Cali for the most part has moved out of it's prime. Few decades back it was a technological and artistic powerhouse. Now it is not.

All it had left is Hollywood. The graphic/art capital is now NYC. Austin is the new tech boom city. New England and new Orleans are the new video game capitals...

I moved to Cali for schooling and quickly realized it's just hype. The real action left Cali in the early 00's. So now Cali is just a bunch of people trying to convince each other Cali is the place to be.

Outside of San Diego which is just paradise, the hype overpowers reality.

I know it may be an eye roll for some but new Orleans is beyond awesome right now

[Gewze]

Went san fran in year 10 and it was sick <3 obviously i was just on a coach or whatever had a lil walk around but its a lovely looking place.
my 2 cents:
mrs doubtfires house is there
saw a man with a cat ON his head
Lake Tahoe's heavenly... i cant remember how long it felt but it didnt feel far away, but its fucking sick

[idontreallygiveashit]

saw a man with a cat ON his head

Sold.

Also, it is likely that im going to philly in the summer, so that area is definitely up for a scout.

[jigglypuff]

Sorry if my comment offended alpha. Went to college in Cali for 4 years. Mostly in San Diego partially LA.

I just think Cali for the most part has moved out of it's prime. Few decades back it was a technological and artistic powerhouse. Now it is not.

All it had left is Hollywood. The graphic/art capital is now NYC. Austin is the new tech boom city. New England and new Orleans are the new video game capitals...

I moved to Cali for schooling and quickly realized it's just hype. The real action left Cali in the early 00's. So now Cali is just a bunch of people trying to convince each other Cali is the place to be.

Outside of San Diego which is just paradise, the hype overpowers reality.

I know it may be an eye roll for some but new Orleans is beyond awesome right now

yeah i think you gotta realise some of us are posting from the UK. meaning horrible weather, serious lack of jobs and seriously getting screwed by the government and costs of living!

[pkay]

Sorry if my comment offended alpha. Went to college in Cali for 4 years. Mostly in San Diego partially LA.

I just think Cali for the most part has moved out of it's prime. Few decades back it was a technological and artistic powerhouse. Now it is not.

All it had left is Hollywood. The graphic/art capital is now NYC. Austin is the new tech boom city. New England and new Orleans are the new video game capitals...

I moved to Cali for schooling and quickly realized it's just hype. The real action left Cali in the early 00's. So now Cali is just a bunch of people trying to convince each other Cali is the place to be.

Outside of San Diego which is just paradise, the hype overpowers reality.

I know it may be an eye roll for some but new Orleans is beyond awesome right now

yeah i think you gotta realise some of us are posting from the UK. meaning horrible weather, serious lack of jobs and seriously getting screwed by the government and costs of living!

Cali's cost of living is outrageous. Comparable only to NYC.

I paid $1750 a month for a place that costs $650 a month in Austin.

[knell]

Cali's cost of living is outrageous. Comparable only to NYC.

Again, only if you look in very narrow areas of CA.

[RandoRando]

Fuck America, CA has the highest sales tax in the country, Gas is creeping up to 5 dollars a gallon, and Area 51 and the government are keeping so many secrets, the fucking aliens are coming, and they are attacking area51 first, which is right next to california (nevada)