What's Cali. life like?

MandaRN94 · Feb 24, 2013

Born and raised in California -SD is nice but way too conservative for me. I have always lived in Northern Ca and love it. Northern CA are Southern CA are VERY different. I have lived in Santa Cruz County and in Tuolumne County (close to Yosemite) and love the outdoorsy lifestyle. I personally like to visit SF but would never live there -not a city girl.

HH_RN13, ASN, RN · Feb 24, 2013

I've been in LA for 6 years working as an RN in Public Health, Ambulatory, Home Health and now Case Management. I LOVE it here, and totally embrace even the the bad things for the most part. Most people who visit here or move here find out it's not what they expected.
Pros:
1) Best weather in the country. Not rainy like SF, not hot like SD; just right. Gorgeous all the time!
2) Diversity. Every culture, every class, every language and every food in the world is in LA and easily accessible. Great food town!
3) Things to do: beaches, mountains, desert, city, forest, art, Hollywood, hiking, night life, restaurants, surfing, biking, everything - right at your doorstep. Usually free, cheap and really exciting.
4) Celebs everywhere (although we leave them alone), it's fun to see them at the grocery store.
5) Health-oriented culture here, lots of people take care of themselves, public yoga, tons of organic farmers markets etc.
Cons:
1) TRAFFIC. It will take you a year to really learn the freeways & follow the most important rule: you will never win the fight against traffic here. It takes an hour or more to get ANYWHERE. It is what it is. Accept it early on.
2) The sprawl makes a social life very difficult here. Hard to make friends because everyone lives so far apart from one another, everyone is a transplant, & everyone is flaky.
3) EXPENSIVE. Really, it's no joke. I can't stand idealistic ding bats who move here thinking they can find a "cheap" apartment or live without a car. NOPE. I've known a few who tried that and within a year they were driving & renting a $1500/shoebox studio like everyone else. Food is cheap, wine is cheap, fun activities outdoors year round is cheap but everything else - $$$$$$ (But, it's STILL cheaper than SF)!
4) Traffic
5) Earthquakes
Myths:
1) The smog is not as bad as it used to be. On really hot summer days, yeah, you see that brown haze across the skyline but its nowhere near as bad as it was.
2) Not everyone is a plastic Barbie here, most LA residents are just regular folks trying to make a living.
3) Beverly Hills isn't what you see in movies & TV, it's actually pretty diverse.
4) Hollywood is a very scary, dirty, crime-ridden area.
My best LA advice for a nurse (& I've worked with travelers):
1) AVOID CEDARS-SINAI. No matter what. Stay away. At all costs.
2) Live West Side, Silverlake, Echo Park, Eagle Rock, Burbank, Pasadena. Choose carefully according to commute.
3) Have a free-standing GPS unit in your car. Don't use your phone for maps or GPS. You'll get a ticket even having a phone in your hand here! And mount the GPS on dash or lower CORNER, that's the law.
4) Make ANY connections you can with ANYONE, don't say no, (except to Cedars).
5) Have a solid vehicle that can handle the traffic, driving and crazy roads here.
Feel free to PM me with any questions!!!!

I agree with all! I've lived in LA for 11 years and absolutely love it. Never been to SF but cold is not my thing. San Diego is nice also.

Mclennan, may I ask why you are so against cedars? I've done my clinical there as well as been a patient a few times and I love that hospital. I really wanted to work there. But I'm sure working for the place is different than doing clinicals. You can pm me if you'd prefer. Thank you!

lauraline · Apr 3, 2013

San Diego has the most convenient and stress free lifestyle of the 3. I have lived in SF most of my life, and I have spent 6 years in LA, and 7 years in San Diego. When I lived in San Diego I was a property manager and helped a lot of traveling nurses find housing. There were a lot of nice options for them, including discounts, and rent is reasonable compared to LA and SF. San Diego has its share of traffic problems but not nearly as bad as LA or SF. If you choose SD you can easily live in a neighboring suburb and even commute to downtown in less than 30 minutes with ease. I am a pre-nursing student now, but if I had the opportunity to move back to SD to finish school and find work I would do it in a heart beat. The Rancho Bernardo and Scripps Ranch areas would be where I'd look into. But La Jolla is gorgeous! Check out the VA hospital.

ExPharmaGirl, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2013

San Diego is hot and expensive. I've been here for 18 years and I can't wait to leave!!

You absolutely need a car and traffic is a nightmare (although not as bad as LA).

deliverator, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 3, 2013

I'm going to be working as a RN on Labor and Delivery.
Also any info on job offerings in the field of Graphic and Web design and Photography would be good for husband who just recently just graduated.

I'm an RN working out in LA County at the Dept. of Vet Affairs in Long Beach, and live in Orange County.

If you are a traveler and have a pick of L&D assignments, I'd have to recommend Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. Their L&D facilities are fairly new and almost every one of their L&D and Postpartum suites overlooks the ocean. My sister's friend works their in L&D and I have 3 classmates that work in their ER. My wife will be delivering their in May.

You should be able to easily afford something in the area on your living stipend.

Other hospitals to look at in the LA/OC area are Cedar Sinai, St. Joseph, UCI Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center, Long Beach Memorial, Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach, Saddleback Memorial.

Rent is not bad in the communites in OC such as Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Anaheim.

As a traveler, you're most likely going to be here 3 months. That would be hard for your husband who's job isn't as easy as transplanting as yours.

good luck.

RNinC · Apr 4, 2013

San Diego is hot and expensive. I've been here for 18 years and I can't wait to leave!!
You absolutely need a car and traffic is a nightmare (although not as bad as LA).

I think it's funny that 2 people have said that SD is hot. LOL. I am cold all the freaking time. I feel like if you're in direct sunlight with no wind, yeah it might get hot. But if you're in the shade or it's windy, there's a temperature difference of 20 degrees! I expected to move here from OH and be warm all the time. Instead, it breezy and cool and I wear a sweater or sweatshirt every single morning and night and if I try to wear shorts or a tank top I'm freezing. I almost never hang out at the beach in a swimsuit because it's too dang cold.

I do agree that a car is a must.

To add to the expensive thing others have mentioned, EVERYTHING is expensive. Registering my car is almost 3x as expensive as it was in OH. Milk is at least double. Gas is at least $1 more per gallon. You have to be super careful about where you park or you'll get a ticket (IMO that's all SDPD does, write parking tickets. They certainly didn't give a crap when our cars were broken into, twice).

Having said all that, there is lots to do outside and you can't beat the sunsets.

Disclaimer - if I sound bitter it's because I am. I have been out of nursing school for 2 years and I can't even get a job working in a daycare, let alone a hospital or nursing home. The expense of living here is starting to get to me!

ExPharmaGirl, BSN, RN · Apr 4, 2013

I think it's funny that 2 people have said that SD is hot. LOL. I am cold all the freaking time. I feel like if you're in direct sunlight with no wind, yeah it might get hot. But if you're in the shade or it's windy, there's a temperature difference of 20 degrees! I expected to move here from OH and be warm all the time. Instead, it breezy and cool and I wear a sweater or sweatshirt every single morning and night and if I try to wear shorts or a tank top I'm freezing. I almost never hang out at the beach in a swimsuit because it's too dang cold.
I do agree that a car is a must.
To add to the expensive thing others have mentioned, EVERYTHING is expensive. Registering my car is almost 3x as expensive as it was in OH. Milk is at least double. Gas is at least $1 more per gallon. You have to be super careful about where you park or you'll get a ticket (IMO that's all SDPD does, write parking tickets. They certainly didn't give a crap when our cars were broken into, twice).
Having said all that, there is lots to do outside and you can't beat the sunsets.
Disclaimer - if I sound bitter it's because I am. I have been out of nursing school for 2 years and I can't even get a job working in a daycare, let alone a hospital or nursing home. The expense of living here is starting to get to me!

I live inland. I'm hot most of the year! Can't deal.

RNinC · Apr 4, 2013

I live inland. I'm hot most of the year! Can't deal.

That explains it! I'm almost right on the ocean, so it's breezy all the time.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 7, 2013

I live inland. I'm hot most of the year! Can't deal.

At least it's not terribly humid: I moved to SD (I'm also inland) from the South, where summers are incredibly humid and the mosquitos will try to carry you off with them. Plus there are all of the hurricanes that you have to deal with. At least here I can sit in my yard without feeling sticky or being eaten alive, and most days the weather is pleasant. Summers are a bit hot for my taste, but I can deal with the dry heat.

Granted, here I have to wear sunblock year-round or I'll fry.