For the last few days, I've seriously been considering moving to sothern Cali (Anehiem or LA area.. somewhere around there). The problem is, I won't have a job down there till I get there, and I won't have a place to stay. My plan is to save up as much money as I can, drive down, and find a job. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just something I can get into quick and where there's decent money and/or I can work plenty of overtime. I figure I can live out of my car for a while if need be, or I'll hook up with a local church and see if I can find an older couple who would rent out a room to me or something. I don't know how it's going to work exactly, but that's part of the adventure. So I've got a few questions.

First, if I do end up having to live out of my car, are there public beaches in SoCal that have restrooms with accessible showers?

Second, any of you Calisassians know of any places where I could get a job? Would anyone be willing to put in a reference or something for me?

And third, regarding somewhere to stay, are any of you looking or know anyone who's looking either for a roommate, or to rent out a room, or who would let me stay in their house for while until I was able to find a place? (I'm hoping to leave around October)

Fourth, am I crazy to be doing this?

#4: Well...yeah...if you don't have anything to fall back on, yeah I think so. And why?

There could be many of reasons, which he may not want to share with us.

As for #4, no, I don't think you're crazy at all. People do this sort of thing all the time. My advice would be to find such a person and have them talk to you about their experience. They might be able to share some of their wisdom with you about areas you may not have thought about.

Good luck.

1. There are beaches with showers in Huntington Beach. It's cold, but it gets the job done. Parking is a nightmare, though.


2. You could try putting in an application at Safe Navigation (that's where I work--it's the only company of it's kind in the state). we've been short a few people for months (if you have computer skills, so much the better.) Once you get here, call or fax

PHONE: (562) 590 8744
FAX: (562) 491 0073

First: Yeah there are but I wouldn't advise stripping down to your birthday suit. The water can get COLD. While it may be an expensive state, you CAN find cheap apartments. Esp. now that the housing boom is now a fizzle.

Second: Sure there are. But you'd better get them before the illegals do. Sorry I tend to be too vocal at times.

Third: Me. I cannot room with someone right now since I still live @ home. Maybe PW, Veger, Pommy, or Hellequin.

Fourth: Maybe. It's an expensive state. **** our gas is $3.45 at places. L.A. is filled with lots of stuck up plastic women and/or people. Anaheim is crowded but Angel Stadium is nice!

Edit: I live in San Diego..well north county. You can find decent places reasonably close to beaches. Avoid Del Mar. That's rich folk town.

Page, definately have computer skills (not programming or anything, but typing, data entry, 10 key, etc. What sort of work would it be, and what's roughly the pay?

It's mostly photoshopping and other related activities.
Have you ever noticed the little lights and buoys you see off the coast sometimes? My job (among other things) is to update volume upon volume of books of those from around the world since they're constantly changing. I have to scan in pages and then edit them in photoshop since the formatting has to be perfectly preserved, and OCR otherwise destroys it. It's very tedious and time-consuming, but I get $9.00 /hr for it. (You may get more or less, depends on experience.) New volumes are being added every month, so soon I won't be able to keep up with it once colege starts up again.

Plus, there's other stuff you can do there too that I'm not much good for (like lifting, loading heavy boxes, reception work, delivery driving, etc.) I'm sure that there will be plenty for both of us if they hire you.

You can apply at Costco Wholesale Depot 960. Ask for Rene Chupina. Tell him Steven Valadez sent you and that you need a job. You will be employed that day. It's near Riverside, so you could get cheap housing near UCR. They start at $10/hr, about 30-40 hours. More if you do good work and are willing to put in the time. Regular pay raises. I'd be willing to be a reference (obviously).

I'd suggest arranging some interviews before you actually drive down. Look at some job listings online for the area, post your resume, that sort of thing. The more you have arranged ahead of time, the more info you'll have on whether it's worth your while coming down.

Also, if you don't mind living in a crappy old building until oyu can get on your feet, there's lots of lofts, apartments, and rooming houses in downtown Long Beach that shouldn't cost too much.

This is a pretty terrible idea. You have no place to stay and you have no job. Chances are 9 to 1 this will end in disaster for you.

If you absolutely have to do it listen to Avenger and try to get some interviews lined up for when you arrive.

You might even be able to do some interviews over the phone before you come down.

Avenger, that's a good idea. I may see if I can find some jobs online and line up some stuff over the phone.

And tofu, what's the worst that could happen? If it goes badly I can always move back up here.

*cough*rapedbyatramp*cough*

In all seriousness, I agree. What's the worst that could happen?

Dude, very best of luck. Takes guts to leave the security net behind.

Well, it's still up in the air.. I did just have a guy from my church give me an oppurtunity to work as a technician for Qwest (local phone company) which would be here in Spokane. So I might look into that also. But regardless, I'll be getting down to Cali sometime. That's for sure. Just might not be soon.

But if that thing with Qwest doesn't work out, I'm almost certainly going to go for it.

I would honestly do this first. It puts more stuff on your resume and makes you easier to hire down here.