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Considering moving to California or Florida from New York.

T

TazExprez

Senior member
I have already asked this question in the San Diego forum, the San Francisco - Oakland forum, the Los Angeles forum, and in the Florida main forum over at the City-Data.com website.

I have been considering moving out to California, or maybe Florida, for a couple of years now. I live in NY and work in NYC. I do manual labor outdoors and the winters have been getting more brutal as the years have passed. Last year's winter was the most annoying in years because I had to shovel too much snow. This current winter might also bring a lot of snow and has already brought subzero temperatures with the wind factor. I would like to move to Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, or any area nearby, or to a city in the state of Florida. I wouldn't mind commuting to any of these cities, or just living and working in a city nearby. I would prefer to use public transportation, but would not mind having to buy a car, but that is not what I would prefer.

I am a low skilled worker that has only worked for one company for almost 20 years. I have a BA that I received almost 10 years ago and never used for anything. I dislike my current job and and the degree I obtained and I basically settled for both. I am in my early 30s and am getting rid of some credit card debt and student loans. I am fluent in English and Spanish, but I have very few marketable skills. I figure that if I am destined to do outdoor manual labor, I might as well try doing it in a better climate.

How is the low skills job market, in or around, the California cities above, and in the state of Florida? How quickly can you find a low skills job? What is a relatively safe and affordable area to consider?

Are there any useful skills that I might be able to acquire online that could help with my job prospects? Any recommended sites or books? Are sites like Codecamy or Udemy decent places to start? Can I get some sort of certification?

I am planning on moving in less than two years. I want to spend no more than this winter and the next in New York.

I wish I could move yesterday.

Thank you for your time and have a great day!

I don't plan on adding any more cities, or states, to my list. It's either a city in California, or a city in Florida, and for the California cities and areas that I am considering, I have pretty much made up my mind. Out of all the places I am considering, San Francisco is my favorite, but it is probably going to be too expensive, even in the surrounding areas.
 
What about georgia, alabama, north/south carolina? NC would leave you within just one day's drive to visit family.
 
cost of living is too high in the big cities in california for low skilled workers. But you can live around Oakland for cheaper. Or you can venture out into the California central valley where costs are lower too.
 
1. People here will harp on about how ridiculously expensive Cali is, but you can do it. Tons of people do it. I mean just look at all the 'low skill' working class living there- waiters, bartenders, mailman, etc. They do it. Every day. MILLIONS of them. You can too. You're already doing it in NYC.

But in the end, you will fare better in FL than CA I presume.

2. Honestly living in the city isn't even bad when you have enough roommates. Straight out of college, I had 3 roommates and my rent only came out to $525/mo- and I had a very spacious 20' x 20' space in a newly renovated place. And this was in a nice suburb area of Cambridge, MA- just two stops from the trendy Porter Sq & Harvard Sq and 20 mins to Boston. I guess I lucked out with my roommates, 2 of them I became friends afterward. With enough research you can do it too. I was only making $16/hr.

I bet the story isn't too different for SF/LA/Miami, etc. Find a sweetspot of a town nearby these major cities and you can do what I did.

3. Skills- look for internships to get your foot in the door. Since this is a tech forum, you can perhaps get into Helpdesk/servicedesk job which will be tons better than doing labor (according to you hate being outside). You can also get into trades (skilled labor)- apprenticeship of becoming a plumber, electrician, etc. They ultimately make sweet $. $30-80K at master level.
 
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So is everyone else who lives in the Northeast right now. I've been actively considering it since at least last Tuesday.
 
Why are you limiting yourself to FL or CA? Texas, either Carolina, Arizona, etc. are great places to live and start a family. I have heard nothing but good things about Houston and Raleigh or Charlotte areas. I've even started searching on Zillow even though I'm a few years from making the move. As soon as the lady friend is out of grad school, we are out of this state. I was surprised to read the weather is driving you out moreso than the financial shit that has been dumped on every single resident of this place.
 
i'm in the northeast myself (in maryland) and if i didn't have any ties to this area with my family and my wifes family, and if we didn't just buy a house 2 years ago, we would move to san diego in a heartbeat.

good friends of ours moved out there about 6 years ago, and we visited them 5 years ago there around the 4th of july and it was cool. but we went a couple months ago in november, and this whole winter i can't stop thinking about how nice it would be to be over there right now.

i'm a big outdoors guy too, and there is just so much to do out there. it was awesome waking up at 6am and going fishing and wading in the water from the shore of the pacific ocean in november. then after that, my friend just went to work.

it would be awesome to just have that option to do that whenever you want. he goes surfing sometimes before work though as well. people out there are SSSSSOOOOO much nicer/laid back than they are around here too. everyone on the east coast in the major cities are dicks and always in a rush and hurry to get places. over there, people are so much more mellow and laid back.

my buddy kept asking me what it would take me to get us to move out there. the only thing they don't like about being out there, is that they are away from family. all of their vacations are typically to see family, and they don't have family to gather with for holidays and just on occassions, which they do miss. and all of their good friends are back here on the east coast. they have friends out there, but it's different than friends you grew up with.

i could see us moving out there at some point though. it's just so nice out there. out of the places you list, i'd definitely pick san diego and i say go for it.
 
purbeast0 said:
i'm in the northeast myself (in maryland) and if i didn't have any ties to this area with my family and my wifes family, and if we didn't just buy a house 2 years ago, we would move to san diego in a heartbeat.

good friends of ours moved out there about 6 years ago, and we visited them 5 years ago there around the 4th of july and it was cool. but we went a couple months ago in november, and this whole winter i can't stop thinking about how nice it would be to be over there right now.

i'm a big outdoors guy too, and there is just so much to do out there. it was awesome waking up at 6am and going fishing and wading in the water from the shore of the pacific ocean in november. then after that, my friend just went to work.

it would be awesome to just have that option to do that whenever you want. he goes surfing sometimes before work though as well. people out there are SSSSSOOOOO much nicer/laid back than they are around here too. everyone on the east coast in the major cities are dicks and always in a rush and hurry to get places. over there, people are so much more mellow and laid back.

my buddy kept asking me what it would take me to get us to move out there. the only thing they don't like about being out there, is that they are away from family. all of their vacations are typically to see family, and they don't have family to gather with for holidays and just on occassions, which they do miss. and all of their good friends are back here on the east coast. they have friends out there, but it's different than friends you grew up with.

i could see us moving out there at some point though. it's just so nice out there. out of the places you list, i'd definitely pick san diego and i say go for it.
Click to expand...

This was a good read. Sigh, I wish I was in SD.
 
Zeze said:
This was a good read. Sigh, I wish I was in SD.
Click to expand...

yeah, i know visiting for vacation is different than living there, but still ... there was something about waking up 6 out of 7 days and seeing bright clear skies with no clouds. 1 day it was overcast, which was probably better because that was the day we hiked torrey pines, and it would have been really hot if it was sunny.

but i even brought that point up to my friend who lives there, about if it is different living there, and he said to him, it really isn't. he never got that feeling of it being boring just because it is routine and he's used to it. and i can't blame him either.
 
this is exactly why CoL is so high

purbeast0 said:
i'm in the northeast myself (in maryland) and if i didn't have any ties to this area with my family and my wifes family, and if we didn't just buy a house 2 years ago, we would move to san diego in a heartbeat.

good friends of ours moved out there about 6 years ago, and we visited them 5 years ago there around the 4th of july and it was cool. but we went a couple months ago in november, and this whole winter i can't stop thinking about how nice it would be to be over there right now.

i'm a big outdoors guy too, and there is just so much to do out there. it was awesome waking up at 6am and going fishing and wading in the water from the shore of the pacific ocean in november. then after that, my friend just went to work.

it would be awesome to just have that option to do that whenever you want. he goes surfing sometimes before work though as well.
Click to expand...
 
I love living in San Diego but for the type of work you do you'll be competing with every illegal in the state for those jobs. What type of work do you do exactly?

Not sure I'd want to work outdoors in Florida during the summer...

Being fluent in Spanish would help you get a government job.
 
I have a buddy who moved from Chicago area to Lexington SC. (Columbia area, its pretty much Florida). Job market is pretty healthy, cost of living is affordable, its a pretty nice area. If you can stand the heat of the summer, then it would be wise to consider.
 
NoTine42 said:
I believe there are a lot more NY transplants in Florida. (So there's the occasional deli or pizza shop run by a NewYorker.)
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: True. And as far as food goes here are a few things you'll love and hate about California.

Things you'll love about California: Great Mexican food, lots of great restaurants with flavors from all over the world.

Things you'll hate about California: Deli/Pizza
 
NoTine42 said:
I believe there are a lot more NY transplants in Florida. (So there's the occasional deli or pizza shop run by a NewYorker.)
Click to expand...

Mostly true. The blatant names are the ones to stand clear of. I had a friend who went to UMichigan and when I visited he took me to "NYPD Pizza" for a taste of home. Holy fuck. D: D: D:
 
JulesMaximus said:
:thumbsup: True. And as far as food goes here are a few things you'll love and hate about California.

Things you'll love about California: Great Mexican food, lots of great restaurants with flavors from all over the world.

Things you'll hate about California: Deli/Pizza
Click to expand...

Something I've heard from New Jersey transplants who moved out here to the SF Bay Area is that they've never heard of grilled tri tip back east.

Our housing costs here are crazy. Without roommates you may find yourself struggling if your salary is closer to $50K than $100K.
 
JulesMaximus said:
:thumbsup: True. And as far as food goes here are a few things you'll love and hate about California.

Things you'll love about California: Great Mexican food, lots of great restaurants with flavors from all over the world.

Things you'll hate about California: Deli/Pizza
Click to expand...

i ate at jersey mikes, twice, while in san diego for a week. that is the freshest sub i think i've ever had at a sub shop, especially considering it's a small chain out there. holy shit it was good.
 
Kadarin said:
Something I've heard from New Jersey transplants who moved out here to the SF Bay Area is that they've never heard of grilled tri tip back east.

Our housing costs here are crazy. Without roommates you may find yourself struggling if your salary is closer to $50K than $100K.
Click to expand...

tri tip cut isnt very popular in the midwest either.
 
As expensive as it is out here in Cali, there are certainly places where you could live and do that kind of work, and even live somewhat comfortably.

However, your QoL would be much better in most of Florida, I imagine. ...unless you really are into the city thing. I like the earlier suggestion of Georgia/SC/NC. plenty of opportunities in those areas.
 
My Jersey coworker says the subs at Jersey Mikes in California are smaller than the ones in New Jersey. So that put me off from going there
 
Low skill manual labor jobs are a dime a dozen in California. Mostly because of the huge amount of illegal immigrants. Even the legal ones will take your job for cheaper.
 
purbeast0 said:
i ate at jersey mikes, twice, while in san diego for a week. that is the freshest sub i think i've ever had at a sub shop, especially considering it's a small chain out there. holy shit it was good.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried Jersey Mikes yet. I went into one a couple weeks ago with my son at lunch time on a Saturday and after standing there for 5 minutes and not a single person moved anywhere, line exactly the same, no sandwiches were made, no customer orders were taken, despite 5 employees standing around behind the counter, I turned around and walked back out.
 
JulesMaximus said:
Things you'll hate about California: Deli/Pizza
Click to expand...

I found Bronx pizza in SD to be superior to the NY slices I got in NY.

Also shitloads of great delis and pizza in LA. Shitloads of meat and generic bread does not make a deli great.

No/little fujian(sp?) cuisine, no lamb/rice
 
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