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Moving to California without a job, making new friends
Fraz
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey folks,
I'm graduating on the 27th, and I just got laid off (my last day is April 24th). I've always wanted to live in the Bay Area, and I figured this would be the best time to do it.
I've been applying for jobs, but haven't had much luck. Since these has been what I've wanted to do for the last three years, I've been saving money, and I probably have enough to make it there for more than six months without a job.
I don't really know anyone who lives over there, so my biggest concern is meeting new people. I've had luck meeting people in Miami, where I've lived my whole life, through work and school, but since I'll be out of school and probably won't have a job for a month or two, I'm wondering how I can make new friends over there.
Have any of you ever picked up and moved to a place where you don't know anyone? Got any advice? Anyone over there want to make a friend?
I'm graduating on the 27th, and I just got laid off (my last day is April 24th). I've always wanted to live in the Bay Area, and I figured this would be the best time to do it.
I've been applying for jobs, but haven't had much luck. Since these has been what I've wanted to do for the last three years, I've been saving money, and I probably have enough to make it there for more than six months without a job.
I don't really know anyone who lives over there, so my biggest concern is meeting new people. I've had luck meeting people in Miami, where I've lived my whole life, through work and school, but since I'll be out of school and probably won't have a job for a month or two, I'm wondering how I can make new friends over there.
Have any of you ever picked up and moved to a place where you don't know anyone? Got any advice? Anyone over there want to make a friend?
Fraz on
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1) Take stock of your interests. What do you do for fun that could get you out of the house? Sports or hobbies, games or... I don't know. Church? The gym? Reading? Anyway, once you've done that, see if you can find a recreational _____ league. Join a book club. Go to a trivia night at a pub. Get a dog and go stand in a park somewhere. Take a cooking course. Basically, spend as little time in your apartment as you can stomach.
2) Volunteer. Put your talents to good use somewhere. You'll meet people with similar talents, and you'll start to build a network that might lead to that job.
Good luck.
Great advice. Thank you.
Is Craigslist a good place to find these kinds of activities?
-San Francisco (and really the whole peninsula) is pretty damn expensive to live in, you'll find much cheaper rent in the east bay (such as Oakland, Berkeley, El Cerrito, San Leandro, Castro Valley, Hayward, etc)
-I don't know how things are in Miami, but six months expenses here is a lot more than six months expenses most other places. Just something to keep in mind.
-I've used Craigslist every time I've needed to find an apartment or a job for the last, oh, 6-7 years I think. It's the only thing you'll need here.
-What sort of stuff are you interested in?
For volunteering you could try volunteermatch.org or similar sites. Just walking around your neighborhood ought to furnish you with some ideas. Better to volunteer near-ish where you live anyway, as you're more likely to meet people who live locally.
As in $texas at times.
This is more of a "Are you sure your savings are good for 6 months?" type question than anything.
I live in San Jose, so I can give advice for the south bay area. I'm not as familiar with the other regions.
Keep in mind that it's really, really expensive here compared to pretty much everywhere and that places aren't hiring as much as they were. There are places that are hiring, but it might take longer than you expect to get a job. So make sure you can live for a while on your savings and/or find a job before you move out here.
Yeah, your prospects of finding a job depend very much on where you are looking, and what kind of job you are looking to do. In general the bay area tends to be pretty good for it, though.
As far as friends, SF is a crazy place. Lots of activities always going on. Find stuff on the net, attend, chat.
I'm a journalist, so I'd be looking for any journalism, writing or PR job. I'd probably settle for just about anything in this economy.
I'm mostly interested in technology, science, gadgets, video games, reading, blogging and photography.
I've settled on living in Berkeley, but I'd also consider Oakland and areas South of San Francisco. Looks like a pretty interesting place, and the rents are seem to be more affordable than SF proper.
Here in Miami, if you're not living in a bedroom community about 20 miles away from Downtown, you're looking at about $1200 to $1300 for a studio or tiny one-bedroom apartment.
I finally got a job at Safeway in November---I no longer work there but they generally seem to be hiring so it might be worth checking it out.
And yes, it is expensive. Even not having to pay rent, I went through most of my savings in about six months.
If you do get out here, let me know because I don't know anyone out here very well besides my roommate and his friends, so it'd be cool to know someone else.
Yeah, tell me about it.
I'm definitely not looking for another job as newspaper reporter.
Just a warning, as you might expect tech journalism is a pretty saturated field in the Bay Area. A good friend of mine covers pretty much exactly the same fields you do; she moved to NYC about six years ago and has spent the last three years trying to come back to the Bay Area without success. However, you have the advantage of being right in the middle of things there; when she was there she had a lot of success writing freelance stuff for various publications, so you might start working up some leads now before you move.
The Bay Area in general and especially the Oakland/Berkeley and SF areas have a group/meet-up/organization for every imaginable hobby or interest; that would probably be a good place to meet some people.
I don't care where you are in the country, the job market is probably better than in the Bay Area.
I spent five months looking for work in the Bay Area with no luck after I got laid off from my last job, now I've got plans to join the Army.
I ain't trying to be a dick. Bay Area's a great place, but you definitely want to find a job before you make the move or wait until the recession's over to do something like this.
Also, don't live in Oakland
Just don't
I lived in Oakland for three years. Those were some very terrible three years of my life
1. You should really think about not moving to California right now. The economy and job market in California are shit at the moment; the state can't even sustain itself with its current population, so the likelihood of you being successful within 6 months is very slim. I know you want to leave Florida, but really, California should be the last place on your list of places to move to.
2. I moved from Oklahoma to Los Angeles a couple of years ago. I didn't have any friends in LA before I moved, so I was in the same boat as you in regard to not having a social circle. California is actually a really easy place to make friends because very few people who live in California are actually from California. Just about everyone who lives there (I'm talking about big cities) understands what it is like to be a transplant, so it's really easy to get involved with activities and make friends. My circle of friends came from an adult kickball league that I randomly got involved with (www.kickball.com) a few months after moving to LA. Totally random but they are a great group of people and I wouldn't have met them if I didn't give the activity a chance.
Perhaps, ask yourself why San Fransisco is so far head and shoulders above the crowd that it would be worth that kind of financial risk?
Meetup.com is a godsend. Grimmy has the right idea: Make some inroads and make certain that any friends you make eventually know you're looking for work. Don't overdo it, but once you know and are comfortable with the people you meet you may be surprised how one informed phone call can accomplish what craigstlist takes 9 months to do.
I'll also consider two other cities I really like: Portland and Seattle
Thanks for the great advice
The job market everywhere is bad, but the Bay Area isn't as bad as other places (like Detroit or Florida). As several people have said, it depends a lot on what you want to do: unfortunately, as Grizzled said, tech journalism is a pretty competitive market around here. You might need to take an unpaid internship if that's really what you want to do.
If you're willing to temp around for a while, hit up the major temp agencies (Adecco, Manpower, Spherion, etc.) and leverage your computer and writing skills that way. Companies are still hiring temps and contractors because they lay off their workforce and then realize that they still need people for odd projects.
It's very unlikely you're going to find a job before moving here. You don't have a rare, in-demand skill, and there are plenty of local candidates employers can choose from. That said, if you have a decent savings or an unemployment check, you should be able to find a room for rent in somebody's house or apartment to tread water for a while. Expect a decent room for rent to go for $600-800. This will also satisfy the "meeting people" problem as you'll have roommates and their friends to hang out with. Then you can go get your own apartment after you find a job.
Also, there is nothing wrong with Oakland and I wish people would stop acting like it's fucking Compton. Yes, there are bad neighborhoods in Oakland, but it's still a progressive urban city with good public transportation, restaurants, culture, and nightlife. Any city is going to have its bad areas.
If you really have no idea where in the area you're going to find a job, focus on finding a room for rent around Fremont. Why Fremont? Because it's a reasonable commute to San Jose, Oakland, or Palo Alto and you can BART to San Francisco. Then once you find a permanent job you can move closer to it. But really, consider living anywhere that is serviced by BART: http://www.bart.gov/images/global/system-map-xlrg.gif
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I've lived in and around Oakland my entire life, and it's really a lot better than the news would have you believe. There are some ridiculously bad areas, but there are also some of the complete opposite. Saying 'Oakland sucks' is like saying don't live in LA because south central is a rough neighborhood.
Also San Francisco has one of the lowest unemployment ratings in the state right now, so the advice is maybe a bit exaggerated.
Where the heck did you live in Oakland
Because that was not my experience
Some of the nice neighborhoods of Oakland include Lake Merritt, Piedmont, and Rockridge.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I think I should ask you the same question.
Someone I interviewed a few days ago mentioned Lake Merritt as a really nice place to live.
because it is. there are no jobs in california. there are no jobs for journalists anywhere in the country, though, so if you have to be a homeless, unemployed journalist, at least the weather is good for sleeping outdoors in California.
You're also walking distance from thug life. But if you exercise a little bit of common sense, like "hey, the further I go down this road the more graffiti and litter I see, maybe I should turn around," you're perfectly fine.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Bay Area is great, expensive, etc etc. As Feral mentioned, tech journalism is big in that area. A word of warning though, from someone who recently lost a job and had to find another: there's a monumental chance you will have to work a job that has no relation to your field of interest right now. There are still jobs available in California, but the ones that you want will have extreme competition. If there's one thing that I will agree with the naysayers on, is that I don't recommend you move out here without a job lined up.
If I were you, I'd take the job in Japan. It's a guaranteed job, most of those English schools will set you up with housing, and there's a chance you'll move to a big city. Plus you'll definitely meet new people there while making money. Once the contract ends, I'll bet the situation in the states will have improved and you can just move back to the Bay Area then with another bright spot on your resume.
Tl;dr: Move out here if you are dead set on it, but be warned it may take a bit to find a job and it won't likely be a job you want. My advice is to take the job in Japan and have a blast for the time being.
Weaboo List
Our economy has gone to crap, and waiting just a little while will get you better deals on rent/lease of an apartment or whatever. Right now the rent has FINALLY started to go down ever so slightly. I know the rest of the country has seen decreases before now, but not the bay area. I would wager if you waited 6 months you could not only line up a job but get 20-30% off rent in whatever area you move to.
If the bay area is what you're after, Id like to ask why. I mean, California is a big place and there are lots of good deals on places to live within hour(s) of SF or Sacramento which will be an overall benefit to cost of living. Sonoma isn't really the bay area, but it's way cheaper and still sort of close... Davis is another place.
I live in Concord right now, and I say that if you're going to live in a location with BART access to the city, move as far away from it as you can. Pittsburg/Bay Point is the last stop... and you'll pay 30-40% less in rent out there. Unless you just really want to live in a huge city, there's no benefit to Oakland/Berkeley/San Fransisco. Take BART for 5$ and go to SF on the weekends if you want, or Oakland, or Berkeley... a couple extra stops wont kill you.
That's just me, though. If you put access to a BART station at the top of your list of priorities for "place to move" you'll be fine. Especially if it's within walking distance. Though I suggest staying away from the majority of the Oakland and Richmond locations.
You can pay 2300$/mo for some trendy one bedroom shithole at Jack London Square or you can spend 1100$/mo for a 2 bedroom in the east bay that's more convenient for BART access. Id say if you're unsure, rent a room from someone on Craigslist and check out the area a bit before you decide.
(moving without a job to an area of the country with the highest cost of living is insane, though... do not do that. 6 months cost of living will add up, especially when your car insurance quadruples and you have to pay 20$/day to park somewhere)
edit: Scraping by in a big city isn't fun or glamorous, regardless of what you see in movies. It fucking sucks, period.