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Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: junkie ()
Date: November 22, 2014 01:20AM

I have recently been contacted by an IT startup in the South of Irvine, CA and the ongoing interviews with them have been good so far. Never before had I become serious about moving to the West Coast, but now I am (whether I get the job with this startup or not). Any advice you could give me on relocating from Coast to Coast if you have done it in the past? Thanks.

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: Cali Blond ()
Date: November 22, 2014 09:28AM

Life is not the same at least in SoCal, from the east coast you will be a square, the east coast guy who seems not as cool as everyone else, in SoCal most people (Young) either surf, skate, play music, covered in tats, or work on and have nice cars.

You will be the geeky transplant east coast guy. It will take a year or so to get the hang and then you can put on Burton Gear but you will still be a poser.

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: FrankRizzo ()
Date: November 22, 2014 09:47AM

If you're not Mexican you're out of place in SoCal.

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: The traffic is worse too ()
Date: November 22, 2014 09:47AM

If you think "phony" people are a problem here...

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: iLester ()
Date: November 22, 2014 11:25AM

Why would you move out there without a job? Is the company in an industry where there's a lot of other startups or contracts, such as the financial services and entertainment industries?

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: Westward, ho... ()
Date: November 22, 2014 11:35AM

Schwab's isn't there any more, but if the IT gig doesn't work out, you can always go stand at 8024 Sunset Boulevard and wait to be "discovered". Easy peasy.

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: Countryside ()
Date: November 22, 2014 11:48AM

Anaheim and Orange Co was the epicenter of the mortgage industry there.

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: Out of tune ()
Date: November 22, 2014 07:02PM

Countryside Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anaheim and Orange Co was the epicenter of the
> mortgage industry there.

Nixon country. Whacko religion and conservitard country. Tons of Muslims and east Asians. The "surfer" lifestyle. LOL! The place lost its way long before it went bankrupt.

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: junkie ()
Date: November 23, 2014 12:09AM

iLester Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why would you move out there without a job? Is
> the company in an industry where there's a lot of
> other startups or contracts, such as the financial
> services and entertainment industries?

Sorry I meant to say that I would try to get an offer from somewhere else if the ongoing interview fell apart. Any offer less than $150K/yr would be a deal breaker due to higher living expense. I am an IT tech guy in a top engineering group within the organization, but the pay sucks for the job I provide.

But that's not the only reason I might want to move out of the area. I am generally not excited about the types of jobs and organizations I can find in this region of the Country. Too much bureaucracy. Super slow adoption of new technologies. I could find myself another job locally for a better pay, but I would not tolerate a boring job. Fixing codes that somebody else wrote is not a real job. It is an insult to my intelligence.

Many things we hear about the West Coast are negative. Expensive gas, water shortage, power shortage, tougher environmental regulations, etc. But among those who lived on both sides of the Coasts, more than half seem to say life in the West is better. A few of my former colleagues went to the West and they seem happier, but of course they got offers from a great company which was a pre-IPO back then.

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: Escapee ()
Date: November 23, 2014 09:08AM

Talk about being late to the party. California was probably the place to be until about the late 1970's. But it is way past its prime.

SoCal has become a place you leave, not go to. I spent nearly 17 years there and couldn't wait for an opportunity to get out.

High taxes, crime, worse traffic than NoVa, unaffordable real estate, a corrupt state legislature, and skin-deep people is what it is made of. And if you are caucasian, you will find out what it is like to be a minority, unless of course you can afford to live in a White ghetto.

Best of luck...

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: Be prepared, scout ()
Date: November 23, 2014 09:59AM

If you are some Caucasian who thinks "race" is a top-of-the-charts factor in things, you aren't going to like living anywhere in the US for very long.

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: Socal ()
Date: November 23, 2014 10:03AM

I liked southern California a lot when I was younger. The traffic is complete shit, worse then here, believe it or not. But its friendly and casual and more fun.

I'm going to push my kids to go to California schools.

Fixing other people's code can be OK if the code was supposed to do something cool, and it doesn't, but you can make it work right.

I think in general software development fits better with a more relaxed California lifestyle than it does with the rigid government bureaucracy-driven lifestyle around here.

Go West!

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: junkie ()
Date: November 23, 2014 01:43PM

Thanks for additional comments. Anyone familiar with NorCal also? I don't intend to limit my focus on SoCal alone.

I don't care about racial diversity. I care about making $$$ while being happy doing what I do in my job. No thanks to fed gov jobs. I just don't feel excited about them.

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Re: Please advise if you are originally from the West Coast
Posted by: please go ()
Date: November 23, 2014 03:31PM

junkie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have recently been contacted by an IT startup in
> the South of Irvine, CA and the ongoing interviews
> with them have been good so far. Never before had
> I become serious about moving to the West Coast,
> but now I am (whether I get the job with this
> startup or not). Any advice you could give me on
> relocating from Coast to Coast if you have done it
> in the past? Thanks.


It sounds like a great idea. Please go, go now.

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