Welcome to Cali .. I'm from VA Beach also. Get ready for the culture/diversity shock and no Sweet Tea unless you like the McDonalds Sweat Tea.

You can find alot of roomates on Craigslist or even rooms for rent to share a house.
Fastrak is the way to go to sut cost on Toll. As much as legally possible keep your car registered to Virginia to avoid smog cost.

Good Luck with the move

 

I have been out to SF and surrounding areas a few times, and its been pretty chill. Very nice people, unlike here in virginia beach. As you know its a mixing pot of people here with all the military bases and such. Is it really that big of a difference living there? I grew up in NY so we were not subjected to the sweet tea, so i have never got into it really.
I was just hoping to find someone who was into cars and had a garage as a roommate. Im not sure how much I really trust craigs list... :/

 

the weed here is great, ask me how I kn-ooh a drum circle

 

hahah +1 on the herbs...i still have never ventured into the woods to find the santa cruz drum circle haa

 

Lotsa mixes, UC is a cool city to live in. Hayward it depends on where you're at, Fremont it gets more expensive, but pretty much safe (cops suck **** in Fremont). Oakland... San Leandro IMO is a bit run down. Find a spot in Union City, you'll be cool there. Get yourself a free Fastrak for anything with tolls (fast lanes/bridges).

And be ready to pay a lot more than most other places... I believe Norcal is one of the most expensive areas to live in America.

 

Gross... SWEAT tea? Is that kinda like sweaty?

 

you should tell us a little more about yourself. The basics how old, mrital status, got a kid, hobbies, certain living preferences.... bcs I will tell you as someone who has lived all over this state, some of these answers are TERRIBLE. I would not want to live in Union City, no social life whatsoever, same with Milpitas/Fremont/Hayward.

As far as Oakland goes, yes it is dangerous in certain places, and some say the cops suck. My thoughts (as an Oakland native): I actually like living here, obviously some neighborhoods are nicer than others, the vehicle traffic isn't as bad, people are much more nicer than you think (I'm a nerdy asian guy and I have big latinas greeting me, thug looking black dudes saying good morning...just an attitude you gotta have towards others I guess) and like certain parts of SF, the community is actually really close. Lots of little grassroots social events and whatnot. Oakland has also won municipal awards statewide and nationally? a few years in a row. Take that how you will, but I was just in jury duty last week, and I will say the court workers were leagues better than my previous experiences with Santa Cruz county courts. Also re: police, the police here are severely undermanned, hence suckage. I honestly feel bad for those guys bcs they really bust their *** but the city just can't pay for more. As of now, we have a decent mayor though.

My bottom line .02: Don't overlook Oakland bcs of its negative national coverage, it's a pretty cool place to live. Obviously, it's not sunny on every corner, in every neighborhood. If I were to do it all again, I'd live near Grand Lake, closer to Piedmont, but as near the lake as possible. Or I'd live near the Oakland/Berkeley border. Just not near MLK Jr.

 

A little about me: I grew up in a small NY town of about 10,000 people, very small town with 3 stoplights. 2hours north of the NYC, In other words, the sticks. I did a lot of outdoors stuff, like fishing, hiking, mountan biking, snowboarding, and occasionally some hunting haha I then had a chance to move to Virginia Beach. It was nice for a bit, it was nice living by the beach, and it was especially nice to be in a larger city. I have been out to the bay a few times and its awesome, It reminds me the terrain NY. But without the winters. I have always wanted to live out west, and I work with Safelite and am able to transfer. So I figure, why not try it out. Im Single, 27 and have no kids. Im looking foward to living in a even bigger city. I like to go out every now and then, Im not into clubs and such, just appreciate a nice bar selection. Ideally i would like to live out the outskirts of a city, a nice small house with a garage possibly, I dont really like the idea of living in say SF for example where parking is very tight. (im not sure how the surrounding cities area.) I dont want to live in the slums, but I cant afford to live in the nicer parts. So im not sure what area is right for me. I was looking at Berkley, but i dont want a heavy commute everyday. Hope that helps

 

Welcome in advance! Were are you from? New Palz area? I spent a year in NY (Tarrytown) but am originally from SJ. It is different here for sure but each place has it's ups and downs.

I 2nd what Fizay has to say about Oakland. But there are lots of great places to live. Depends on your interests, personality etc.

I commute from Alameda (close to Oakland) to Redwood City (near San Mateo/Palo Alto etc.) and it blows. I love Alameda though so its worth it for sure. But if end up on the peninsula (san mateo, foster city, palo alto etc.) you would be going opposite commute, so should be no problem. Coming home from Union City to the Peninsula, you could thumb your nose at all the suckas stuck in traffic trying to get to 880 from 92 (me included).

Anyway, best of luck and have a great time in your transition.

 

does anyone have preferances on living in San jose? how bad of a commute is that? It doesnt look bad. But i have no idea what traffic is like in that area.

 

Try the Red Rose Cafe in Santa Rosa on Piner.

 

most san jose traffic is bad...commuting on 880 during commute hours sucks, traffic is bad all the time haha, closer to your work would be the best

 

Traffic here shouldn't even be allowed to be called traffic. It's simply a minor inconvenience. You want real traffic? Move South.

 

Anything with stop and go for a mile + is considered traffic in my book, and that's been from sj to oakland before, 95% stop and go - that's traffic, so cal just sucks

 

You can compare the traffic going to Norfolk Naval in the afternoon to the traffic at the Maze ( 580 / 880 / 280 )