Im thinking about moving to California . Is there anyone here from Cali that can tell me some things about the state before I move and go balls-out? I plan to visit the Long Beach area, but any experience and info anywhere else could help.
I’m most concerned about how the Gyms are and how expensive it is to live there.
Any input would be bitchin.
Thanks in advance.
The only thing I know about Southern California is that is expensive as a motherfucker and the girls are really hot.
[quote]chrismcl wrote:
The only thing I know about Southern California is that is expensive as a motherfucker and the girls are really hot.[/quote]
Hmm… just like how I imagined.
I’d prob live close to Huntington Beach to train to be a UFC fighter… Im into martial arts as a Kickboxing and brazilian ju-jitsu competetor, and I want to take my training to the next level.
[quote]BluePfaltz wrote:
Im thinking about moving to California. Is there anyone here from Cali that can tell me some things about the state before I move and go balls-out? I plan to visit the Long Beach area, but any experience and info anywhere else could help.
I’m most concerned about how the Gyms are and how expensive it is to live there.
Any input would be bitchin.
Thanks in advance.[/quote]
I live in the SF Bay Area (Northern Cali).
I definitely wouldn’t move here for the gym quality - they’re all always packed, the quality is not the best. However, a true T-Man will train anywhere, anyhow. So it doesn’t bother me.
Life cost over here is possibly the highest in the World - house prices are ridiculous, food is expensive as hell, gas is also the most expensive in the Country, and you pay taxes like crazy. HOWEVER, salaries are usually up there to match, so just make sure you get a good job.
Long Beach will probably give you a very wrong impression on how Californian women look like. Plus since there’s more men than women here, it’s not easy if you’re single.
But if I wanted hot women and low cost of living, I’d move to Brazil. 
Which I actually plan to do after I retire, but only after I retire.
I honestly believe you get what you pay for and, having said all of the above, I wouldn’t live and work anywhere else in the world. The weather is great, the people are friendly, the diversity of cultures and possibilities is tremendous - it’s a fantastic, challenging place to live.
Hope this helps - if not, feel free to ask more specific questions.
I’m way north of where ur talking about going. (East Bay) Anyway, I moved to Cali. less than a year ago. I still have a ton to see and do. But am liking it so far. Once again, VERY Expensive. I am home (Illinois) visiting the fam. for Christmas and can’t wait to get back to Cali. weather. Don’t know if I could ever live in the midwest again. Sub zero wind chills SUCK!!! I moved out there thinkin’…what the fu#*, if I don’t like it I can always come back. Up to this point I am happy w/ my decision. Beautiful place!
GL w/ your decision,
Danny
[quote]BluePfaltz wrote:
Hmm… just like how I imagined.
I’d prob live close to Huntington Beach to train to be a UFC fighter… Im into martial arts as a Kickboxing and brazilian ju-jitsu competetor, and I want to take my training to the next level.
[/quote]
In that case, you should probably move to Torrance. For some reason there’s more schools for everything in this area. You got the Lion’s den, Gracie Academy, Charlie Kohler’s place, etc.
Yes it is very expensive to live out here. If you want to live close to the beach it’s going to cost you even more. And yes there are tons of hotties out here.
If you are single, try to look for a room for rent in the area you desire to live in. This should cut down on expense considerably.
I love California, especially Southern Cali. There’s no place in the world I would rather live. Yes, there are alot of shallow people out here. There are even potholes deeper than some of them. But once you find a crew, you’ll be set.
The only downside to Cali, like I said it’s expensive. And that’s all I can think of that would be negative. Ohhh!! Forgot one more negative and that’s traffic. The 405 is like a parking lot, from 3 to 7 pm. Hell all the freeways are that’s what really sucks!
PM me and let me know when your coming down, I’ll take you down to the Gracie Academy, so we can train.
That’s very interesting. I’d figure that beacuse of all the fitness trends and lifestyle of the west coast, gyms would capitolize and get competetive, inciting growth and more business. I guess im California dreamin’, I always wanted to go to a Gym on the Beach and pump iron in the sun while gauking at disgustingly gorgeous women while baking a healthy brown tan. I bet they’re crowded too.
That would be fantastic to train with the Gracie boys too. Most of the fighters ive seen latley come from Huntington beach, and I have no bloody clue as to where the hell that is.
One more thing…
Is LA as bad as I hear? I understand southern Los Angeles is a real shit hole. Is this true?
[quote]Sancho wrote:
BluePfaltz wrote:
Hmm… just like how I imagined.
I’d prob live close to Huntington Beach to train to be a UFC fighter… Im into martial arts as a Kickboxing and brazilian ju-jitsu competetor, and I want to take my training to the next level.
In that case, you should probably move to Torrance. For some reason there’s more schools for everything in this area. You got the Lion’s den, Gracie Academy, Charlie Kohler’s place, etc.
Yes it is very expensive to live out here. If you want to live close to the beach it’s going to cost you even more. And yes there are tons of hotties out here.
If you are single, try to look for a room for rent in the area you desire to live in. This should cut down on expense considerably.
I love California, especially Southern Cali. There’s no place in the world I would rather live. Yes, there are alot of shallow people out here. There are even potholes deeper than some of them. But once you find a crew, you’ll be set.
The only downside to Cali, like I said it’s expensive. And that’s all I can think of that would be negative. Ohhh!! Forgot one more negative and that’s traffic. The 405 is like a parking lot, from 3 to 7 pm. Hell all the freeways are that’s what really sucks!
PM me and let me know when your coming down, I’ll take you down to the Gracie Academy, so we can train. [/quote]
Dude, no offense but Torrance is not a good representation of So. Cal. Try anywhere along the coast from Orange County down to San Diego. That, my friend, is Southern California living.
[quote]BluePfaltz wrote:
I definitely wouldn’t move here for the gym quality - they’re all always packed, the quality is not the best. However, a true T-Man will train anywhere, anyhow. So it doesn’t bother me.
That’s very interesting. I’d figure that beacuse of all the fitness trends and lifestyle of the west coast, gyms would capitolize and get competetive, inciting growth and more business. I guess im California dreamin’, I always wanted to go to a Gym on the Beach and pump iron in the sun while gauking at disgustingly gorgeous women while baking a healthy brown tan. I bet they’re crowded too.
That would be fantastic to train with the Gracie boys too. Most of the fighters ive seen latley come from Huntington beach, and I have no bloody clue as to where the hell that is.
One more thing…
Is LA as bad as I hear? I understand southern Los Angeles is a real shit hole. Is this true?[/quote]
As I stated earlier, I’ve only lived in Cali. for a short period of time. But out of the many people I’ve met in No. Cal., many have previously lived in So. Cal. Outta those people, the majority came back to No. Cal. b/c they couldn’t stand the people, traffic(although the traffic is still pretty bad in the Bay area) fake this, fake that etc. But I am only going by what I’ve heard from others. I have only visited So. Cal. a couple times.
Danny
I live in San Francisco right now and i love it. If you are young and single it’s a great place to be. There is something for everybody. And no not everyone is gay here. There are about 800,000 people in SF and plenty of gorgeous women. If your not into the city life check out San Diego. That is where I’m headed next. It is on the beach, beuatiful weather, incredible people and not as congested as LA. Probably one of my favorite cities to be in. Best advice take a long weekend and buy a cheap plane ticket and visit a few places. I’ve lived on the east coast, and the northwest as well, but nothing compares to California in my opinion.
Might I suggest Arizona, if you like good weather, well, sort of good weather and some of the finest training facilities in the world. Just look who is located in AZ: Staley, Poliquin, Verstegen and others. Plus there are gyms a plenty and our taxes are nearly as suffocating as Cali. I used to live in Glendale when I was younger, I really liked it, but my parents were footing the bill. Now that I am picking up the tab, Arizona is better. But the weather is unbelievably hot during the summer, but that is why they invented a/c.
[quote]randman wrote:
Dude, no offense but Torrance is not a good representation of So. Cal. Try anywhere along the coast from Orange County down to San Diego. That, my friend, is Southern California living.[/quote]
You are definately right about that. I was just letting Blue Pfaltz know about the insane amounts of MMA schools there are in Torrance. Since he wants to take his MMA training to the next level, Torrance or Huntington Beach is the way to go.
San Diego is the most awsome place to live. Hopefully, one day I’ll make it down there. I live up in Santa Clarita, so it takes me 35 min. to get to the beach. But one day, one day…
Blue Pfaltz about LA, yes it’s not a pretty place. I only go down to LA, if I absolutely have to. South Central and East LA are places you don’t want to get stuck in at night, especially if your white. So Blue Pfaltz don’t get any bright ideas to try and sight see these areas when you come down.
Im sure of it.
Im sick of the East coast, especially Jersey… I do admit I like Jersey, but the more and more I think about it, the more it seems like just another suburb of New York. Im just fuckin sick of Jersey and am sweating Cali for one reason or another.
But I do like the sound of checking out San Diego. Santa Barbara looks like a decent place to live too.
First, let me say, you shold go out there at least once before you up and move like that; especially if you some preconceived images of what Cali should be like. It may turn out to be nothing like you expect.
However, if you just want to move cross country just to be spontaneous and just to do it, then go. Have fun.
Anyway, Cali is a lot of things to different people. I just moved back to Wisconsin after living in SoCal for 7+ years. I liked a lot of it out there, but I would just rather live my life in the Midwest.
I lived in San Diego County for 4 years and in Santa Clarita for 3. I much prefered San Diego. To try and help I will list what I think are the pros and cons of California living.
Pros:
-the weather, sunny and 70 year round
-the ocean and beaches
-because of the weather you can do outdoor sports and activities year round
-a lot of attractions, i.e. Disneyland, Seaworld, etc
-close to Mexico, if you’re interested
-a lot of physically attractive people
-being such a large and diverse population, you can do almost anything and make a livable income(I coached youth sport classes and held private and small group training in the West San Fernando Valley, where people have money, and I would charge from $30-$100 an hour. I thought about trying something like that here in Milwaukee, but there’s just no market for it. As a whole, people here won’t pay what I need to charge to live.)
Cons:
-the weather; personally, I like four seasons and I want snow to come every winter(but I do miss wearing shorts and sandals year round)
-the traffic, some of the worst in the country
-housing costs
-over crowded, I like having space and a backyard
-shallow and fake people, I know I’m stereotyping here a little, but I met so many people in Cali that were way too into image and possessions. I’m not sure what it is or maybe it’s just me, but the people are very different from the midwest. I couldn’t relate to most people there and I had very few people I would call friends there. Well, I did meet my wife there, but I found out she’s not a very good person either. I love you, Liz
-close to Mexico, if you’re not interested
-earthquakes, fires, and other disasters
I’m sure there’s more pros and cons that I can’t think of right now. Maybe some of the ones I’ve listed don’t apply to you . Or maybe you disagree about it being a pro or con. In any event, those are my thoughts on life on the left coast and I do miss it there, but I’m happy to be home.
Good luck and feel free to ask if I wasn’t clear on anything.
Toddy
I have heard many great things about Arizona so its not out of the question.
About LA, would you think Compton is bad? Heh, it aint worse then Camden, NJ, ESPECIALLY if you’re white, like me, concidering its the most dangerous city in the USA for 6 years straight. Chicago, 2nd place, i believe… Camden isnt too far from where I live in jersey,and im in Bergen County for now.
I know i’ll have more questions later, so thanks for all your imput so far.
It’s -15 wind chill here in Chicago. Anyware in Cali would be a drastic change. Airizona or Las Vegas seems like the best place. I hear Arizona is inexpensive. Chicago is exxpensive.
Talk to Mike Mahler.
Basically, I would consider Cali to be the most diverse state in the country. The beaches and steriotypical Cali lifestyle is not all we have to offer. There’s deserts and mountains (with 4 seasons and snow), the southern coastline AND the vastly different northern coastlines each with there own type of people. No one ever talks about it but are actually a LOT of full-on redneck towns and people up north. I was born and raised in San Diego. I loved it because it was THE steriotypical Cali lifestyle. Now I live in Nor-Cal and love it also. Each has a very different vibe. One draw back is that with all of the different places to go and things to do I rarely leave the state! It’s a curse and a blessing.
Im wondering if Cali is as much a police state as Jersey is. I got arrested a whole slew of times here in Jersey, mostly for stupid shit, like driving a 67’ Ford Mustang into a neighbors pool. But aside from that, the cops in Jersey are not very leanient at all. I blame NY for that, but in any case, Jersey isnt as liberal as it seems.
With the election, we saw that Cali voted prominently Democratic, so i would guess that crime isnt so bad and the people are fairly liberal, with the exception of LA, of course.
Aside from the politics, would it be fair to say that a 20 year old, single, Black-Belt T-man would have a good time around the south to mid Cali area?
I live in So Cal. Way too expensive. Even in the ghettos are expensive. Unless you have a good paying job, I suggest you not move to Cal or you can struggle making a living.