NestorMakhnosLovechild Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I've ruled out Altoona because I'm really not willing to be part of a 1% black people demographic. That's a little more uncomfortable than I'm willing to deal with. Trenton, NJ has replaced it as an option. Trenton itself is a shithole. It's affordable because it's the fourth most dangerous city in New Jersey. There are nice places you can live outside of Trenton, but I wouldn't consider moving into the city itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S John Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I would choose either Trenton or Clovis given those options. Trenton - Right next to Philly, close to New York City. You'd have some solid weekend options there I think. Clovis - not in the most exciting part of California, but I would be tempted by being ~3hrs from Yosemite, the Pacific Ocean, and San Francisco. You'd also have some national forests right on your doorstep. Might be a good place if you're outdoors-inclined at all. I'd be out in the woods all the time if I lived there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deleted01 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I know nothing of these places, and you've already had some good advice, but I'd like to add my experience. Before I moved away to uni, I visited the city to take a look round. I instantly felt relaxed, at home. If you don't already know the places you listed (and it's financially possible), I'd suggest visiting them and getting a feel for the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Trenton really does worry me because of the crime rate. And I'm not exactly ecstatic about moving from inner city Akron to, well, inner city anywhere. But the pay for electricians is great and it's in such a convenient location. It wouldn't make sense to dismiss it before I can visit. I'll look into some of the surrounding areas.Clovis is appealing for the fact that it'd put me in an affordable situation, let me knock living in California off my bucket list, possibly allow me to make a lot of money as an electrician and provide a plethora of site seeing opportunities. There are really no cons with it for me. Of course, I'll be looking into more areas and visiting all these places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch-MaesterPhilip Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Why not Burlington NJ? I'm not sure what the crime is like there but is a suburb of Philly which is accessible by NJ Transit. A fella I work with commutes to New York from there everyday but it costs him an arm and a leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily Valley Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 LITA, DO NOT MOVE TO A HIGH CRIME AREA. My hometown has become one of the whitest counties in America. Going home is very bizarre for me. I have some observations on that front. I think you are wise to take demographics into consideration. While you're shopping around, have some FUN! This is a big country. You can find just the right spot for right now. God Bless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudguard Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 have you been to all of those places? I've visited Yosemite and Sequoia and have hiked various parts of the Sierra Nevada. There's some amazing natural scenery, from 2000 ft waterfalls in Yosemite to 300 feet tall sequoia trees in Sequoia to 14000 foot mountains throughout the mountain range. If you have a dog, the National Forests are much more dog friendly and generally allow you to hike on all the trails with your dog. Lake Tahoe is about 4.5 hours away too. There are plenty of places to go snowboarding or skiing too in the winter, from Tahoe to places that are much closer to Clovis. ETA: People tend to think that living in California is expensive, but that mostly just applies to the large coastal metropolitan areas like LA/OC, the Bay area, and San Diego. The housing crash hit the rest of the state really hard and dropped housing prices to reasonable levels. Clovis/Fresno should be very affordable. There's also Cal State U. at Fresno, which is a solid state university, if you want to continue your education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRider Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 California is NOT a "right to work" state so this is an important issue to consider. I live in Nevada, which is a "right to work" state and we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and wages have really dropped. Wisconsin has been turned into a union bustin' state thanks to it's Tea Party governor, and has one of the lowest rates of job creation and climbing rates of unemployment. Look at a the places you have in mind and find out if the state is a "right to work" state and avoid these like the plague they are. I've been harmed by the "right to work" BS and am looking a move to Cali myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Burlington is a little out of my price range, Philip. I'm looking for a decent place between $500-$800 a month. I'll probably use the internet to search for roommates, though. So that might be mitigated. Lily, I'd only live in a high crime area again if the money was too good to pass up. Trenton has good opportunities from everything I'm reading. Mudguard, that entire post puts Clovis solidly ahead of the other places for now. I'm gonna make sure to visit when I'm out in Cali this March. New Jersey and California are the two important ones for me that aren't right to work. I'm reading into what's going on in Wisconsin with stuff like that. Missouri is also right to work and Ballwin is probably the second place city I'm considering based on my research. I'll report back what I find about Wisconsin. I didn't even know about this whole right to work stuff until you mentioned it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the maid of woodlynne Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Trenton proper might not be the best place to live, but there will be places on the outskirts that are less stressful (the names of which escape me ATM). Property taxes in NJ are ridiculous, but that won't be an issue unless you're planning to buy a house. If there is anything I can do to help you research the Garden State, just let me know. And of course if you move here we'll be able to hang out! \m/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrum Aeternum Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Dothan is decent enough considering it's in Alabama, but it doesn't stand out apart from being kinda close to several of the neater places in the Southeast like north FLA, Mobile and New Orleans. Plus your earnings potential there will be far lower than the other cities you've listed. Oh, and your summers would be spent in a nonstop broiling sauna, because south Alabama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 Trenton proper might not be the best place to live, but there will be places on the outskirts that are less stressful (the names of which escape me ATM). Property taxes in NJ are ridiculous, but that won't be an issue unless you're planning to buy a house. If there is anything I can do to help you research the Garden State, just let me know. And of course if you move here we'll be able to hang out! \m/ I'll be in contact with you soon to inquire. Dothan is decent enough considering it's in Alabama, but it doesn't stand out apart from being kinda close to several of the neater places in the Southeast like north FLA, Mobile and New Orleans. Plus your earnings potential there will be far lower than the other cities you've listed. Oh, and your summers would be spent in a nonstop broiling sauna, because south Alabama.The smoldering heat doesn't bother me too much. I lived in Clinton, Mississippi for a while and it can't get much worse than the summers there. You did list the biggest draw for and biggest turnoff about Dothan, for me personally. I don't know how willing I am to sacrifice a substantial amount of earning potential, even if I'd be at the proverbial back door New Orleans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NestorMakhnosLovechild Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 New Jersey and California are the two important ones for me that aren't right to work. I'm reading into what's going on in Wisconsin with stuff like that. Missouri is also right to work and Ballwin is probably the second place city I'm considering based on my research. I'll report back what I find about Wisconsin. I didn't even know about this whole right to work stuff until you mentioned it. As someone who lives in New Jersey and who has lived here most of his life - if you have the option between moving to New Jersey or California to go live... do yourself a favor and go to California. New Jersey has its charms for sure, but if I wasn't so established here, I'd move to California in a heartbeat. Plus, like I said, Trenton sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 As someone who lives in New Jersey and who has lived here most of his life - if you have the option between moving to New Jersey or California to go live... do yourself a favor and go to California. New Jersey has its charms for sure, but if I wasn't so established here, I'd move to California in a heartbeat. Plus, like I said, Trenton sucks. I feel ya. That earning potential for working as an electrician in Trenton, though, is just too good to not seriously consider. especially if I can just commute instead of love there. I have a lot to think about. Lakewood might be nice if I get a roommate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AverageGuy Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 That's true, I guess I wanted to limit the cold weather climates but I'll keep on researching and see what I like. Then of your five, you probably want to avoid Wisconsin barring a bunch of other advantages. You said you're currently in Akron? I don't think any of the other four should be worse when it comes to cold weather. Even Trenton's average lows appear to be a few degrees warmer than Akron's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Then of your five, you probably want to avoid Wisconsin barring a bunch of other advantages. You said you're currently in Akron? I don't think any of the other four should be worse when it comes to cold weather. Even Trenton's average lows appear to be a few degrees warmer than Akron's. you're right, but Brown Deer is a location I'm willing to make an exception for. I appreciate it's better emphasis on education, its similar (and staistically superior) racial diversity, the general affordability and the allegedly good atmosphere for an asthmatic such as myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Doing more research, I found that there's an apartment complex that rents them for $700 in Pinole, CA and that's only a 16 minute commute to the most lucrative city in California for an electrician, that city being Vallejo. Gonna have to do some research into those two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Walker Texas Ranger Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 How soon are you moving? If it's more than a few months, then I'd suggest looking at average rents rather than specific apartments. I'd also suggest avoiding Trenton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 How soon are you moving? If it's more than a few months, then I'd suggest looking at average rents rather than specific apartments. I'd also suggest avoiding Trenton. I've been compiling both average rents and specific apartments, that way if I decide to leave sooner than I expected, I can afford something right now. I consider the averages more for a long term move. I don't plan to move right now any sooner than January, but I could if I needed to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefingers In The Air Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Any of y'all lived in or traveled to/through Surprise, Arizona? If so, what can ya tell me about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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