Chicago is so two years ago...

[JackoliciousLegs]

Well said fall out boy... well said. It's been two years since I moved to the windy city and I'm starting to feel restless. No, this isn't another i'm looking at this car thread. It's a west coast, here I come thread!

I've been talking about a west coast move for SO long and now I'm all over it. I'm shooting to make the cross country drive on June 20th. No more messing about, this shit is going down!

Where on the WC am I looking? Of course, I'm not messing around. CA is the only way to go. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm not a SoCal sorta guy. First off, LA is not a real city. I know it has a huuuuge population and blah blah blah, but those people are spread around an area the size of Texas. Sun is great and San Diego would be sweet. I've even got a group of friends I could live there with.

Then I visited San Francisco and saw this:

My hippie bells and whistles started going crazy. I started dreaming about living in a place where ignorance isn't celebrated, but shunned. Ignorant asshats like this are given their ability to protest, but aren't given any credence.

I guess it's sort of a separate discussion, but I wanted a place (besides Chicago, NY and Europe) where I wouldn't feel so damn liberal. I know I'm not a hippie. I know that in the global scale of politics, I barely lean to the left. It's only in the US where I can be considered a hippie for simply denouncing western religion as a source for my morals. So, in that light, I'm excited to move to a place that is a political home to those whom I consider tolerant people. I'm so *stoked*. That's right bitches. I said stoked. Maybe I should stick a "hella" in there. I'm hella stoked! Besides that, the beaches are beautiful, mountains are close (and parents in Tahoe are only a 3 hour drive away), and the roads... OHHHHHH the roads.... no more Chicago grid!!! PRAISE JESUS!

So, I'm looking for places/roommates in downtown SF in some trendy parts. I'm particularly looking at the Haight or Mission areas. I'm staying away from the Castro because after spending two years in Chicago's boystown, I'm very happy that I spent time in a gay neighborhood, but I'm ready to move out of that mode. I could end up with gay/lesbian roommate(s), but I'm kinda done with the loud and proud neighborhoods. I'm hoping to live in a house/apt with at least 2 other people in their 20s, and ideally getting a group of 5. Hopefully, it'll turn into lots of parties :-)

I'll also be spending a lot of time in Santa Cruz, I feel. Hannah is there so I have a place to stay, and the beaches there are so great. I'll be doing lots of biking (which I already do in the Chi). I'm sure there'll be some great camping trips in there too.

Another cool thing is that it's at the heart of the tech industry. With Agatra partially funded for round 3, it'd be a great launchpad if it were to go anywhere. If you haven't been there, you just can't understand howwww techie it is. On the bus 2 weeks ago just south of SF, the front half of the bus was full of people on laptops. FULL. Each with a tethered blackberry or an EVDO card. Some with headsets in. One guy was wearing this shirt. I shit you not.

[CaptainHenreh]

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revalation
And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

<3

(Seriously, that's really cool. I sometimes dream of going to the West Coast, then I realize I'd choke and die in the PRC, and the PNW is too wet.)

[.RJ]

West Coast = Bling

SF is so expensive

I'm still kind of kicking myself for taking another job and not moving... but DC isnt so bad really. Maybe after our lease is up I'll go.... I'll probably just save up some $$ over 6-8 months and just go, since trying to get job interviews lined up while still on the east siiiiiide is impossible.

[KPWSerpiente]

Word Jack0. I should still be here for some overlap if you want to try and get together on a weekend.

-T

[Mike]

Awesome stuff, Jack. You'll love living in SF.

[JackoliciousLegs]

SF is so expensive

It's a little worse than Chicago, but right around NoVa and much less than NY. I'm not looking to live in the REALLY expensive parts. Rent will probably be under 900 inc parking

[ScottyB]

sorry da-bearrssss-town is leaving you a bit unhappy. i know how you feel, honestly. i hate the amount of ignorant people in this city.

if you go out west, i want you to promise that you'll drive on Hwy. 1 every weekend, OK?

[JackoliciousLegs]

Word Jack0. I should still be here for some overlap if you want to try and get together on a weekend.

-T

Down like a clown

[.RJ]

Rent will probably be under 900 inc parking

Ouch

I pay less than that with a garage (not a parking space, a real garage)

I looked into this before, and I had decided that if I go it'll be somewhere on the coast in orange county - huntington beach was a pretty good area

[JackoliciousLegs]

sorry da-bearrssss-town is leaving you a bit unhappy. i know how you feel, honestly. i hate the amount of ignorant people in this city.

if you go out west, i want you to promise that you'll drive on Hwy. 1 every weekend, OK?

actually, daaaaabearstown is frickin awesome. It's really REALLY great. The past couple months here have been the best I've had. I've made TONS of great friends and had so much fun. The hipster scene is a bit overwhelming at times, but it's a really great place for young professionals.

Oh, a side note, my job is now sending me to memphis every few weeks and I was just in mississippi yesterday so I'll be keeping close to the south even after I make the move.

[JackoliciousLegs]

Rent will probably be under 900 inc parking

Ouch
I pay less than that with a garage (not a parking space, a real garage)
I looked into this before, and I had decided that if I go it'll be somewhere on the coast in orange county - huntington beach was a pretty good area

Yeah, I'm paying $640/month for everything in Chi (rent, 20MB net, utes, parking). It'll be a jump, but whatever. I'm still young :-)
Huntington is frickin sweet though. If I had to pick a spot in LA it'd be Huntington or Newport if I could afford it...

[ScottyB]

actually, daaaaabearstown is frickin awesome. It's really REALLY great.

sorry, when i said daaaaabearstown i meant the way the atmosphere there can be, not the town itself. the crazy fundies stuff i guess.

mississippi? when you said you're goin to the south, you weren't messing around, ha!


you got a perty mouf boy...

[Apoc]

Ouch

I pay less than that with a garage (not a parking space, a real garage)

A garage with 6 other bikes in it... I don't think that's a fair comparison.

I think living in the SF area for less than a grand/month would be pretty sweet.

[John]

SF is so expensive

It's a little worse than Chicago, but right around NoVa and much less than NY. I'm not looking to live in the REALLY expensive parts. Rent will probably be under 900 inc parking

SF is the 2nd most expensive city in the US behind NY - DC, LA, and SD more comparable to each other though. Everything in SF is more expensive, food, gas, you name it - and say hello to the highest state income tax in the country at 9.3%. While there isn't a lot of violent crime in SF, there is a lot of petty theft and robbery from the bums - so be careful of your areas you want to live in. I haven't perused rental rates lately for SF, but I suspect 900 is on the low end, and parking is very difficult to come by.

Good luck though - I do love SF even if it is uber-liberal.

[Goodspeed]

Congrats, the west coast is awesome! I really like the PacNW, northern Cali, Oregon, Washington and even BC. I think you'd like SF for sure. Frankly I found that the more north you go, the less people care about...everything. I really enjoyed Seattle for example, everyone was laid back, def. want to live somewhere in that region.

[bassmangrammy]

MM roadtrip?

[Sijray21]

nice choice Jack!

hopefully i'll be out there soon - i'm looking at the SD area, but the SF area is amazing