I moved from NJ to CA, seeking roof and Bio-IT job.

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
When winter comes rolling around you will really appreciate Ca as you won't get any of the extreme weather you get in the North East.

Hehe, the winter weather is the thing I'd miss most if I moved from the northeast

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
When winter comes rolling around you will really appreciate Ca as you won't get any of the extreme weather you get in the North East.

Hehe, the winter weather is the thing I'd miss most if I moved from the northeast

Not me, I like being outdoors without having to wear layers of clothes and freezing my ass off!

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
When winter comes rolling around you will really appreciate Ca as you won't get any of the extreme weather you get in the North East.

Hehe, the winter weather is the thing I'd miss most if I moved from the northeast

Not me, I like being outdoors without having to wear layers of clothes and freezing my ass off!

oh come on Red, 'tis why you have three other seasons in the northeast!

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: m2kewl

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
When winter comes rolling around you will really appreciate Ca as you won't get any of the extreme weather you get in the North East.

Hehe, the winter weather is the thing I'd miss most if I moved from the northeast

Not me, I like being outdoors without having to wear layers of clothes and freezing my ass off!

oh come on Red, 'tis why you have three other seasons in the northeast!

Yeah 5 and half months of Winter, 3 months of almost Winter, a month and a half of Summer and 2 months of Fall

 

[StageLeft]

Generally people are ignorant about, and bad mouth, areas that they have little knowledge of. It's a way to make them feel better about where they live.

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: m2kewl

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
When winter comes rolling around you will really appreciate Ca as you won't get any of the extreme weather you get in the North East.

Hehe, the winter weather is the thing I'd miss most if I moved from the northeast

Not me, I like being outdoors without having to wear layers of clothes and freezing my ass off!

oh come on Red, 'tis why you have three other seasons in the northeast!

Yeah 5 and half months of Winter, 3 months of almost Winter, a month and a half of Summer and 2 months of Fall

LMAO! i can't win

i have family in CA, but nice sunny weather all year round is not my cup of tea. i like the hectic changes on the east coast.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: m2kewl

LMAO! i can't win

i have family in CA, but nice sunny weather all year round is not my cup of tea. i like the hectic changes on the east coast.

You mean weather like this in the middle of July? No wonder there are so many pasty faced people here, there's hardly ever any sunny days!

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: m2kewl

LMAO! i can't win

i have family in CA, but nice sunny weather all year round is not my cup of tea. i like the hectic changes on the east coast.

You mean weather like this in the middle of July? No wonder there are so many pasty faced people here, there's hardly ever any sunny days!

hey Red, no Richter scale indicator on that page

/run away...ok - my last post on this thread

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: m2kewl

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
When winter comes rolling around you will really appreciate Ca as you won't get any of the extreme weather you get in the North East.

Hehe, the winter weather is the thing I'd miss most if I moved from the northeast

Not me, I like being outdoors without having to wear layers of clothes and freezing my ass off!

oh come on Red, 'tis why you have three other seasons in the northeast!

Yeah 5 and half months of Winter, 3 months of almost Winter, a month and a half of Summer and 2 months of Fall

Yeah, the summer's a bit too long, good call Seriously though I must have some Inuit blood or something because I really do much prefer cold weather. I do enjoy warm & temperate weather, but definitely need some cold weather & snow to go with it.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Gurck
Yeah, the summer's a bit too long, good call Seriously though I must have some Inuit blood or something because I really do much prefer cold weather. I do enjoy warm & temperate weather, but definitely need some cold weather & snow to go with it.

The good thing about California is that if you want to do some winter sports the Seirra Navada's and other Mountain Ranges with great snow is only a few hours away. THe one thing I can't stand about snow in the city is that after a day or two it gets all sooty and grey/black and looks like sh!t. Plus I hate having to constantly shovel snow from the Drive Way and Sidewalk just to be able to go out.

 

[Jzero]

Seems odd that someone in biotech would leave NJ...quite possibly the highest concentration of biotech firms in the US...
I think SoCal is where all the bad traffic and high cost of living is. As for the people, there are assholes everywhere, so it's impossible to make a judgement.

 

[ThePresence]

NYC>LA>SF

 

[badmouse]

Originally posted by: Jzero
Seems odd that someone in biotech would leave NJ...quite possibly the highest concentration of biotech firms in the US...
I think SoCal is where all the bad traffic and high cost of living is. As for the people, there are assholes everywhere, so it's impossible to make a judgement.

I was wondering that myself.

 

[dmcowen674]

Bold move Sensor, Good luck.

Doing similar thing here.

Just moved to New Orleans from Atlanta, not quite as far west but a total change. First time out of Eastern Time Zone. That time shift must really be a b!tch.

Looking for work in New Orleans now.

 

[IHYLN]

After yearning to pick up from NJ and go to CA myself for a couple of years my luck is on the crappy side because my family gets to move from NJ to CA (LA area) instead of me.

I'm not surprised you liked SF as (imo) it's one of the best places to live in and there is a ton of variety and excellent weather. I stayed there for 5 days last year on vacation and it was really fun. After I get married next year I'm going to drag her out there

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: Lazee
cliffnotes:
1) California is great
2) I need a job
3) anywhere good to go/visit?

Whew! Thank you!

 

[Sid59]

welcome to california.

oakland gets a bad rap. most parts of oakland are fine and i've gone through all parts of oakland during the day and night. If you have no reasons to be in the bad parts, then you shouldn't be. Downtown Oakland and other parts are fine.

Emeryville has Chiron if you wanna check out another biotech firm.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: Gurck
Yeah, the summer's a bit too long, good call Seriously though I must have some Inuit blood or something because I really do much prefer cold weather. I do enjoy warm & temperate weather, but definitely need some cold weather & snow to go with it.

The good thing about California is that if you want to do some winter sports the Seirra Navada's and other Mountain Ranges with great snow is only a few hours away. THe one thing I can't stand about snow in the city is that after a day or two it gets all sooty and grey/black and looks like sh!t. Plus I hate having to constantly shovel snow from the Drive Way and Sidewalk just to be able to go out.

It's not just winter sports, it's like a feeling in the air or something, it's hard to put a finger on it. I'm not in the city, so no sooty snow for me, and I can use the exercise from shovelling

 

[TuxDave]

I can share my similiar story. I moved from CENTRAL NJ (near Princeton) to the Bay Area for grad school and this is how I feel. My rental (for similiar housing) moved from $450->$850. The gas in my area was at most $2 for regular, now it's $2.35. My school loan jumped from $4,000 for 4 years of undegrad to roughly $24,000 for 2 years of grad school. This is the first time I've seen undergrads drive mercedes, lexus, acuras, etc... BUT, here's my plus.

The weather is good year round, but I miss snow every so often. Job opportunity is great, the job fairs in the area have never been better. People are nicer are more laid back but not exactly the brightest of the bunch especially in terms of geography. First 5 people I met here couldn't name the THREE states on the west coast. So I guess some things are nicer since moving here, but you sure gotta pay for it.

 

[Michael]

Dublin, CA is right next to where I live (Pleasanton).

Not 100% sure about Fremont as a place to live. You should do a month-to-month lease until you find out where you'll be working.

Michael

 

[Megatomic]

I'm glad you like it there Sensor. I lived in Hayward and Alameda when I was in the Navy for a little over 2 years total. I, however, didn't like my stay. Back in 1991 my 2 bedroom apartment in Hayward was $990/month. Granted it was a nice place but it wasn't worth all that. The same apt. here in Va Beach would have costed $650 or so.

And that gas price range you quoted is damned high. I can get premium unleaded from Exxon for $1.95/gallon here. The regular unleaded was $1.75/gal last night when I filled up my Lancer.

I didn't do the grocery shopping when we lived there so I can't comment on the cost difference with regards to food. I'll have to ask my wife later how it was. I'm sure shopping at the commissary helped alot if food was more there.

Good luck out there. :beer:

 

[LordSnailz]

Originally posted by: Jzero
Seems odd that someone in biotech would leave NJ...quite possibly the highest concentration of biotech firms in the US...
I think SoCal is where all the bad traffic and high cost of living is. As for the people, there are assholes everywhere, so it's impossible to make a judgement.

If you're comparing nor cal vs so cal I wouldn't give rule Socal as the place with the higher cost of living ... house prices and apt. are equally as bad up here. It's not as ridiculous as before, but still considered a damm expensive place to live ...

 

[pcmodem]

Don't forget to apply to Roche. They've offices in Alameda and Dublin.

Apply to VaxGen as well.



Good luck,
PCM

 

[777php]

Yeah , I have a few friends that work at Roche as did my GF before she went to Optometry school I'll ask them for some HR e-mails for you. I can't promise anything as they have been on a hiring freeze for quite some time now.

My buddy works for Kelly Scientific and does job placement for bio-tech jobs, if you want I can ask him to take your resume.

 

[Rumpltzer]

Originally posted by: Ameesh
california is the best states in the usa, in my opinion having lived in both northern and sourther califonria, southern califnoria is way better then northern california, but any where in cali is better then NJ.

in 5 years you'll look back and think to yourself that it was the best move youve ever made.

as far as biotech jobs a majority of them are in southern california, san diego, orange, and ventura county.

I'm curious as to whether you've ever lived anywhere else other than California?

What struck me when I showed up in California five years ago was that Californians (mostly undergrads) seemed unable to comprehend of a world outside of California. They'd say stuff like, "UCSB is the #4 ranked school!" They meant within California. They can't conceive of leaving the state after graduation. I've often asked if they'd ever been out of the State and they tell me they've vacationed in Vegas and Colorado. I take that as a no.

I'm still here. I'd rather not be, but it's where my line of work is.

It IS too expensive. Even making six figures out of school I've taken an apartment because even a 5% down payment on a place is not something I can do just yet. A $350K townhouse or a $650K house with no yard in a neighborhood where all the housese look the same... it's total BS... and this is in OXNARD!

I spent about five years in "beautiful" Santa Barbara. The weather is good, and the local politics keep big business and buildings out. It's cool if you're just visiting, but a pain if you live there. Portland and the area west of it is much prettier than SoCal. Just about anywhere else is more affordable.

I wouldn't mind leaving California. I'll give it a few more years, I guess.