Where would YOU live in California?

Hummmmmmmmm, where in California??? It's very diversified. As far as weather goes, down south you have the heat and sunshine (sometimes unbearably humid and polluted). I live in the bay area and a bit inland = perfect weather/4 seasons. Along the coast is lovely, but with a lot of fog and not known for their yearly sunshine. If your concern is employment, it's natural that the larger the city the more opportunities available to you. That would be LA, San Diego, SF mostly. If you look on a map you'd see some very nice towns in the vicinity of these larger cities. You would just want to look into the commute issue: distance;worth driving or using public transport. I use the BART train daily along with hundreds of others. Good luck.

Pasadena and Sierra Madre in Southern California are fun places to live. Newport Beach is fabulous. You would never be bored. Orange County in So Cal is an expensive place to live, but you cant beat it for things to do. Do be careful though, as there are some higher crime areas in the inland areas so do your research before choosing a place to live. If you go to So cal, you can always fly up to San Francisco and check it out too. Have fun!!!!!!!!!

Since I've been in Boston the last 7 years, I had to chime in. I moved to San Francisco in 1987 from Wash DC to work at UCSF/Children's Hospital and stayed 16 years. Went out for grad school and was going to come right back to DC- never did. Fell completely in love with the bay area- from the GG Bridge to the proximity to Muir Woods, to living right on the ocean and hearing the fog horn at night when the fog rolled in. I am not a lover of the cold- (what WAS I thinking moving to Boston as we have 2 feet of snow on the ground...) but the climate was more moderate. We had a few hot days, but wait a day or two, and it cools right down. Such a livable city- not affordable, but livable.
Traveled to So. Cal, but love the friendliness of San Franers. There was so much to do (free concerts all summer at Stern Grove), free Shakespeare in Golden Gate park, and KFOG radio. Still listen to it online. They have a killer free concert every summer- heard Blues Travelor and Dave Matthews Band outside playing to live fire works. sigh.
If I could go back today, I'd be on the next plane with my mini doxi on my lap. The tanked economy, 2 heavy jobs and a house I can't give away keep me in frigid Boston. Go though, and enjoy the city! Tell SF "hello" for me and I hope to come back one day. lsebeg:

It would be good to know what kind of work you want in California - or are most of the travel nurse positions m/s? I've always gone to areas with decent univercities - like Stanford (Palo Alto 35 miles south of San Francisco, warmer), La Jolla - (near U of CA San Diego) More laid back, warm; West Los Angeles/Westwood - UCLA's Medical Center is quite state of the art, well funded and integrated well into the community. Stanford and La Jolla are less community involved.

I've lived a decade+ each in Northern, Central and Southern California - always nearest the coast as possible, as I hate hot weather. Traffic isn't avoidable, although there's less in the Central areas. Fresno needs nurses, as do most inland places where younger families abound.

If you're a skiier, head for Reno/Lake Tahoe, but don't expect your nursing skills to evolve/escalate there. There's a tiny hospital near Truckee and gambling in South Lake Tahoe (Nevada).

I loved the Sonoma area, where there are several smaller community hospitals, in Petaluma (30 miles north of San Francisco and 15 miles from Bodega Bay on the coast) - a quieter life style with fewer singles; Santa Rosa (45 miles north of San Francisco)- and the biggest community there, and several Kaiser Permanente HMO facilities. Most of the hospitals are affiliated with UC SF, and have educational outreach programs from there. Unless you want to veg out and learn to make wine, Napa wouldn't be my choice as a hub for my activities. There is a Catholic hospital there, and THE Psychiatric hospital (court mandated placement center) for the Bay area. North of the city of Sonoma is the Developmental Center, which pioneered care of the disabled and looks like a gorgeous college campus (however it lost its accreditation some years ago). Patients who are still there are aging, and probably were infants when they were put on the train there from San Francisco, having CP and genetic disorders. There is a fabulous lab there, that makes original supportive devices for the most malformed figures.

On the negative side, I'd avoid South Central Los Angeles and Oakland, unless you're of huge stature and no stranger to street violence. Palm Springs and any place inland in the southern parts of the state are unliveable in the summer....

I wish you happy times, and warn you that few travellors return from CA unless their families need them desperately.

I don't know that much about California, but I went to San Diego in the Spring (mid-April), and I'm sure I have never been somewhere so beautiful. I live in the MidWest and we have some very rough winters here. If I could re-locate to anywhere I wanted, it would certainly be San Diego. To all of you who have the privelege to live there, I'm jealous!!

I was born and raised in Southern CA (Los Angeles) and I have to say that I prefer the Bay Area because traffic is a nightmare in LA. I live in LA right now and there are times wherein I dread having to go anywhere that requires me to get on the freeway. LA seriously makes me hate driving, and it's sad cuz my car is quite fun to drive.

I have been born and raised in san diego and would never want to leave this place! Always something to do whatever age you are. It can be crowded but not like LA. I would definitely recommend

There are no restaurants open in SLO after 6pm. And, it's a college town, what's up with that? Even Pismo had places to stop into after work.
...just curious...

Might be ok to visit, but if you work there, you may not get your tax refund. The governor came out and stated that getting your tax refund will be a problem.The state is in debt to the tune of 60 plus billion dollars. People are leaving the state in droves.

I could think of a lot better places to work and know that if the state owes me money, I will get it.

It;s not that bad. I mean maybe because i Barely get anything back from the state anyway...

but things are not going to be bad forever...so if people are really leaving...that sucks for them.