what is it like to live in southern california

Craving a new locale featuring plenty of sunshine, easy access to the body of water and delicious food? Moving to California might be for you. California is amidst the biggest states in the nation, both in terms of land size and population, and so there is a huge range of corking places to live. Still, California is as well 1 of the most expensive places to move to in America, so be prepared to spend more than of your income on necessities like housing and transportation than you may take in your previous home.

What Is It Like to Live in California?
- The Climate of California
- Working in California
- Getting Around in California
Where Should I Live in California?
- Moving to Los Angeles
- Moving to San Francisco
- Moving to the Bay Area
- Moving to San Diego
- Moving to Sacramento
How to Motility to California

What Is It Like to Live in California?

Talk to a Californian about what information technology's similar to live there, and they'll likely call out three things first: the weather, the food, and the relaxed, easy-going civilisation. California's location and topography hateful that much of the country, especially along the coast, experience remarkably consistent warm weather year-round. (For example, Los Angeles has an average of 263 sunny days per year.) And in that location are enough of opportunities to brand utilise of that great weather. California is domicile to 28 national parks, including Yosemite, Sequoia and Joshua Tree. And at that place are many places statewide for outdoor activities, including beaches, hiking trails and more.

Great food is also readily available. California's Primal Valley is a major agricultural heart, so fresh produce is inexpensive and very high-quality. What'southward more, California has a diverse assortment of cuisines available to its residents, due in part to its strong immigrant communities.

Some other event of its historical role as an immigrant landing ground: California's population is remarkably diverse. In fact, it's the 2d-most ethnically diverse state in the U.S. and has the highest number of immigrants, both in absolute terms and per centum of its overall population. If you live in California, you're likely to alive and piece of work with people from all backgrounds and walks of life.

The Climate of California

California is known for having a warm, sunny climate, and that's generally accurate. However, the state has an incredibly varied geography that results in a wide multifariousness of dissimilar climates. It'due south known for having "microclimates," where temperatures tin can range dramatically from one place to the next, despite a short altitude separating the ii. For example, on a summertime day, it might be threescore degrees in Palo Alto but eighty degrees in San Jose, less than 20 miles away.

In full general, it tin be useful to retrieve of California equally having v climate regions:

South Declension
North Coast
Primal Valley
California Desert
Sierra Nevada and northern forests

The littoral areas of California take the virtually consequent weather and are the virtually densely populated, with 68% of California residents living in counties along the sea. More often than not speaking, the S Coast is warmer, sunnier and drier than the North Coast. For example, the average summertime loftier in Los Angeles is in the mid-80s, and the city gets well-nigh 23 rainy days per twelvemonth. Meanwhile, a typical summer high in San Francisco is in the mid-60s, and the city gets about 45 days of pelting annually.

The Central Valley, California's agricultural center, has more pronounced seasons than the coast. Its hot summers regularly hit the loftier 90s and low 100s, while winter highs hover effectually the mid 50s. Of the people who don't live in California'southward littoral regions, the balance more often than not live here, in cities like Sacramento and Fresno.

The mountains and northern forests of California, including the Sierra Nevada and Sierra Madre, are much libation and see far more precipitation (including snow) than the rest of the state. At higher elevations, snowfall sometimes persists belatedly into the year, making it sometimes possible to become skiing in July or later. At that place are pocket-size towns throughout the mountain ranges, but they're far less densely populated than the coasts.

The California deserts, bordering Nevada, are hot and dry out yr-circular. Expiry Valley in item is famous for being 1 of the hottest places in the world, having fix the tape for hottest recorded temperature in history. The deserts are inhospitable to humans and sparsely populated.

Wildfires

A consequence of California'due south sunny weather is that the state gets less rain than most other states. A recent yearslong drought has led to wildfires being a consistent problem for the state. Since 2000, at that place have been nigh 8,000 wildfires each year, with 655,000 acres of land consumed by flames.

Toll of Living in California

By many metrics, the cost of living in California is consistently amongst the highest in the nation, especially in desirable areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles. It's very difficult to find a cheap place to live here. The median abode value is $539,800, which is the second-highest countrywide—just Hawaii beats it. This is somewhat balanced by California'south loftier wages, as the median household income is $67,739. But this however means the home cost ratio is 800%—far higher than Texas (329%), New York land (448%) or the national average (377%).

Unfortunately, renters don't fare much better. The median rent for a new apartment in the entire state of California is $two,507. That's even more expensive than New York Urban center, where the median rent is an already-high $2,322—non to mention almost double the national median of $1,442. California'southward median hire works out to be 44.four% of the median salary, meaning a typical Californian may be spending nearly one-half their income just to pay for housing.

Working in California

California has a most endless diverseness of chore opportunities for new residents. California has a gross land product of $2.7 trillion. If it were a country, its GDP would exist ranked fifth worldwide, putting it alee of Groovy Great britain. California also boasts a various fix of industries that contribute to its potent economy, pregnant at that place are many different types of jobs for residents.

Significant industries statewide include trade, agriculture and tourism. In Southern California, including Los Angeles, notable industries include entertainment, like film, television and music production. The San Francisco Bay Area is known for being host to engineering science giants similar Apple, Google and Facebook, non to mention thousands of smaller companies and startups.

The median household income is among the highest in the land, exceeding both Texas ($56,565) and New York state ($62,909), though high wages are offset by a high overall cost of living.

Getting Effectually in California

In the vast majority of California, the dominant way to become around is past car. That means that the cost of getting around primarily involves gas, insurance, and the cost of ownership or leasing a car. Gas prices are very loftier in California. Over the terminal vi months, gas prices in the state of California were 30% higher than the national boilerplate. This places it alee of every other state in the land for gasoline costs except Hawaii.

Automobile insurance rates in California are likewise on the high side—in a nationwide study, we plant that California placed 44th out of 50 states when it came to affordable auto insurance. Yet, car insurance shoppers can frequently find a meliorate deal by shopping around from multiple insurance companies. For example, residents in Folsom, California, who purchase Geico insurance can save nearly 40% from the average annual rate, which is around $ane,660.

Automobile Insurance Requirements in California

California does not take peculiarly stringent minimums for auto insurance coverage. The just requirements are liability coverage for actual injury and belongings impairment. You're not required to get uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage or personal injury protection. However, you lot should consider your ain insurance needs and what level of risk you're comfortable with when buying motorcar insurance, not just the minimum amount necessary by law.

California Required Car Insurance Coverage	CA Required Minimum Limits
Bodily injury (BI) liability insurance	$15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident
Belongings impairment (PD) liability insurance	$v,000 per accident

Where Should I Alive in California?

California has an endless array of different places to live, each with its own style, price of living and task opportunities. Below, take a look at a few pop destinations forth with their cost of living and some pros and cons to proceed in mind.

Moving to Los Angeles

Los Angeles is California's largest city and centerpoint of sunny SoCal civilization. The city itself is large, just the unabridged county is almost equally big every bit the state of Connecticut. At that place are hundreds of unlike neighborhoods and places to live, from beachy Santa Monica to upscale Beverly Hills. But that size means it tin take a long time to become anywhere, and Los Angeles' traffic is notoriously headache-inducing. Depending on where you live, y'all might run into celebrities. But with a population of nearly 4 meg, y'all'll have to keep your eyes peeled.

Key industries: Entertainment (music, movies, television)
Median rent for one-bedroom apartment: $2,366
Best perks: Beaches, hiking, Disneyland
Biggest drawbacks: Urban sprawl, traffic

Moving to San Francisco

San Francisco was long considered 2nd dabble to Los Angeles, just the tech boom of the belatedly 20th and early 21st centuries have put San Francisco on equal footing with Los Angeles in terms of cultural cachet—and more than expensive when it comes to the price of living. It has famously variable weather condition that doesn't correspond to typical seasons. The warmest months are September and October, and temperatures tin fluctuate wildly based on location and time of day. Only there is always something exciting happening, and y'all'll be treated to cute row houses, earth-class restaurants and parks correct in the city. The metropolis'south modest size and high density hateful that information technology's far easier to go automobile-free here than anywhere else in the state.

Key industries: Tech companies and startups, finance
Median rent for 1-bedroom apartment: $three,677
Best perks: Great restaurants, no car needed
Biggest drawbacks: Very high housing costs

Moving to the Bay Area (Outside San Francisco)

Given San Francisco'southward tiny geographic size, it's no surprise that San Francisco's culture has spread beyond the urban center itself into the surrounding Bay Area. The Bay Area is home to Silicon Valley and tech giants Apple tree, Facebook and Google. Some of the all-time universities in the state are also located here, including Stanford Academy and University of California-Berkeley. North of San Francisco are Marin, Napa, Sonoma and the Redwood National Park.

In some ways, the Bay Area feels more similar the residual of California than it does like San Francisco itself. The weather is warmer, things are more spread out and you'll likely need a motorcar to alive in that location. Simply rents in cities shut to San Francisco, like Berkeley and Oakland, are still more than expensive than a typical California apartment, and the same cultural ethos prevails. The largest metropolis in the Bay Area, San Jose, is actually bigger than San Francisco itself. So SF is non your only selection for a big city in the region.

Key industries: Tech companies and startups, finance (like to San Francisco)
Median rent for one-bedroom apartment : $2,397 (in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metropolitan area)
Best perks: Enough of green space
Biggest drawbacks: Depression density means you have to drive everywhere

Moving to San Diego

San Diego is California's ultimate beach town. It's the 2d-biggest city in the state, and it's located in California's southwestern corner, just over the border from Tijuana, Mexico. Despite its big population, it has much more than of a small-boondocks feel than Los Angeles. Life in San Diego is by and large very relaxed, with abundant opportunities to become to the beach yr-round. The average high in July is 75°F, while in January it's just 10 degrees libation, with an average high of 65°F. However, the city'south unbeatable weather means that rents are very high.

Key industries: Defence/military, merchandise, tourism, biotechnology
Median rent for one-sleeping room flat: $1,851
Best perks: Beaches, San Diego Zoo
Biggest drawbacks: Low wages compared to housing costs

Moving to Sacramento

Sacramento is the capital of California, and with a population of around 495,000, it's the land'south sixth-largest metropolis. It's located well-nigh two hours inland by car from San Francisco, so you're missing out on the easy oceanfront access of other locales on the list, simply it'southward a far more affordable place to live. An average rental in Sacramento is a relative bargain at $1,700 per calendar month. There are plenty of lakes and rivers to explore in the surface area, so you lot don't demand to travel far to get on the water. Plus, Sacramento puts you closer to skiing and national parks like Lake Tahoe and Yosemite.

Sacramento doesn't receive as much of a moderating issue from the ocean every bit coastal California, and so its weather gets much hotter in summer, with summer highs commonly reaching the low 90s. Winters are cooler, but not cold: Wintertime lows are typically in the low 50s.

Key industries: Land government, merchandise, agriculture, health care
Median rent for ane-bedchamber apartment: $1,400
Best perks: Easy access to national parks, affordability
Biggest downsides: Hot summertime weather

How to Move to California

If you've committed yourself to moving to California, the first affair to keep in mind is how expensive it is to practise so. Near places in California are very pricey to live in, and so the bigger a fiscal cushion you can put together, the better off you'll be. If you're able to secure a job offer before you motility, even ameliorate, especially if your company can cover moving expenses.

Renting an Apartment in California

California's high rents and low vacancy rates make it very challenging to rent an flat in most places in the state. Information technology'due south particularly challenging in desirable locales like the Mission in San Francisco or Culver Metropolis in Los Angeles. The start pace is to pick an gauge area to alive and an judge price range. A good dominion of thumb is to divide your annual bacon by 40, and set that for the amount you should spend. Information technology will exist about one-tertiary of your salary. For example, if y'all make $40,000 per yr, you lot should aim to spend around $1,000 per month on rent.

The ideal strategy to locate an apartment in California is to combine looking online and hunting in person in your neighborhood of choice. Y'all can survey a much wider area by using online tools like Craigslist, Streeteasy and Zillow; only searching on foot or by car allows you to get a better feel for what a neighborhood is really similar. Plus, you might discover a nifty deal for a place non listed on the web.

If you do end upward working with an apartment broker or amanuensis, the landlord volition usually pay their commission. You lot don't need to worry nigh whatever additional costs across an application fee, which may run in the $30 to $50 range.

Housing Considerations in California

There are some benefits and points to consider when choosing where yous'd similar to live in California, across just the feel of a neighborhood. Here are some mutual ones, so you can make up one's mind which are must-haves and which you tin can live without.

Building size and fashion: In that location are lots of unlike options for housing in California, from stand up-alone houses to multiunit complexes. Alpine flat buildings are relatively less common in California, but at that place are apartment complexes that can include amenities like a shared puddle and exercise center.
Commute time: California traffic is consistently bad. If you can, effort to pick a identify that will make your commute as piece of cake as possible, then you can spend less fourth dimension in your car and more time enjoying living in California.
Parking: Some apartments include parking every bit function of your rent, while others may charge extra for a spot. And some places don't provide parking at all. Go on the possible extra cost of a parking spot in mind when setting your budget.
Air conditioning: Depending on the region you live in and your ain tolerance for heat, you may or may non need air conditioning at all. Consider whether you lot'd be comfy with fans or a window unit of measurement, or if you need primal AC.

What to Bring When Looking for Apartments

Once y'all're prepare to start hunting for your flat, ready your paperwork and bring it with yous to each showing. If y'all love an flat, putting in your application immediately may boost your chances at securing the charter.

You should bring:

Checkbook to pay the deposit
Photo ID
Proof of employment or pay stubs
References
Credit score

An private application may not not require all of these items, but competition for apartments is fierce. If you lot're missing a necessary document and some other applicant submits their awarding first, you lot might lose out. So information technology's better to come prepared.

Renters Insurance

Once you lot move in to your new California apartment, make sure to buy a renters insurance policy. The cheapest renters insurance policies but cost a few dollars a calendar month, and yous'll be protected if your belongings are damaged or stolen. Some landlords even require you lot to buy renters insurance in order to movement in. Coverage will cost you around $10 to $20 a calendar month. See our total breakup of renters insurance in California.

Registering Your Car in California

If y'all're bringing your car when yous motility to California, you'll have to annals it with the California DMV inside 20 days of moving to the country. Before doing so, yous'll need proof of insurance, your previous title and registration, and an emissions certification (unless your car is under 4 years old, or a hybrid/electric vehicle).

When you become to register your car, a DMV employee will perform an inspection and verify your VIN. Once you've completed all the necessary forms and paid the appropriate fees, you'll be issued California license plates and registration.

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Source: https://www.valuepenguin.com/moving-to-california