Smuggler Archive
Thread: need help from fellow smugglers(off-game topic)
DrevenStrobe
Sun Sep 26, 2004 10:13 am
#14
SithLordElvis wrote:
LA as in Los Angeles, or LA as in Louisiana? You said dangerous, so you must mean Los Angeles. Don't wear red or blue, or any baseball hats with any sports team logos on them until you're certain they're not gang affiliated unless you don't mind getting shot at.
I'm hoping he meant Los Angeles...because, while Louisiana has it's share of violence, I wouldn't really consider it to be "dangerous". Considering the unofficial (or it might be official) slogan is "Let the good times roll!" ("Laissez bon temps rouler!" <<---- *thinks he spelled all that right).
And I don't have to worry about getting shot in my blue shirt or what baseball team I happen to be supporting this season...
Louisiana is fun...not dangerous...
djtorre
Sun Sep 26, 2004 11:27 am
#15
hehe sorry for the misunderstanding i did mean LA as in Los Angeles.
well i was thinking that because im half spanish it wouldnt be a problem if i encounter any gangs on the street,and i will try to feign death but i dont think that would work hehe.
one more thing guys,if its not too much to ask,how about rentals?i mean what cost for renting an aprtment per month?
i wont buy a house at the begining until i decide where to live.
oh and computers and iinternet how much?ball park figure would do.
thnkx guys
somerandomuser
Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:35 pm
#16
born and raised in California.. it's a nice state.. you can be on the beach for sunday brunch and still have time to drive to the mountains and ski down the slopes a couple times all in 1 day..
unfortunately california is fairly cost intensive in most areas.. i'm on the coast about an hour south of SF near the 'Silicon Valley' and renting a 'room' in this town is in excess of $500
from my understanding most of the coastline in california is just as bad or worse..
so avoid anything on US-101 or California-1
cities/towns along I-5 tend to be more reasonable and the further North you travel prices tend drop as well..
places like Fresno and Modesto are fairly reasonable from what i understand although i haven't lived in either.. Redding was relatively cheap when i was living there (nearly a decade ago)..
*shrug.. don't know what else to tell you.. I'd avoid Southern California like the plague.. and avoid the greater SF Bay Area/Silicon Valley as a place of residence.. although commuting to work in SF/Sili Valley is a pretty popular trend
as far as natural disaster concerns..
anywhere in California can suffer from flooding.. inland tends to be worse
most of California is prone to earthquakes.. although there haven't been any 'serious ones' from Sacramento/Davis and all points North that i can recall
wildfires can ravage most of California as well.. particularly the inland areas
i don't recall ever having heard of tidal waves or wayward sea-monsters causing any problems
nor do i recall ever having heard of a hurricane or serious tornado (although parts of cali tend to have small dust-devils type ones that tend to frighten people doing very little damage.. but causing people to drive like compelete idiots)
we have a few active volcanoes.. but those are problematic primarily to their localized regions and easily avoided..
people/culture:
people in California can't drive.. it's a fact..
as much as Californians like to think of themselves as trend-setting progreessive people.. this is not always the case.. we have just as much 'hate crimes'.. and bigoted residents as anywhere else
we have large populations of most every ethnic background scattered around most of california.. from middle-eastern.. to south-american.. european.. african.. far eastern.. naitive american.. and former iron curtain people's..
translate that last bit into: 'OMG GOOD FOOD FROM EVERYWHERE!!'
art of every type.. science.. schools of every flavor..
plenty of 'history' for such a 'young' place relatively speaking
well i think that's about all i can say.. i hope it's a fair review.. trying not to bias it much toward one side or the other..
so let me sum up.. it's a neat place with a fair amount going for it.. but has its' problems same as anywhere else on our planet
edit: Post-Script
PS..
if you think California is where you want to end up.. feel free to PM me and i can help you narrow down your options and dig up relevant materials
and as dumb as it sounds.. 'yahoo local' is a great place to start to see what each metropolis offers and a good guide to see property/rental rates
unfortunately california is fairly cost intensive in most areas.. i'm on the coast about an hour south of SF near the 'Silicon Valley' and renting a 'room' in this town is in excess of $500
from my understanding most of the coastline in california is just as bad or worse..
so avoid anything on US-101 or California-1
cities/towns along I-5 tend to be more reasonable and the further North you travel prices tend drop as well..
places like Fresno and Modesto are fairly reasonable from what i understand although i haven't lived in either.. Redding was relatively cheap when i was living there (nearly a decade ago)..
*shrug.. don't know what else to tell you.. I'd avoid Southern California like the plague.. and avoid the greater SF Bay Area/Silicon Valley as a place of residence.. although commuting to work in SF/Sili Valley is a pretty popular trend
as far as natural disaster concerns..
anywhere in California can suffer from flooding.. inland tends to be worse
most of California is prone to earthquakes.. although there haven't been any 'serious ones' from Sacramento/Davis and all points North that i can recall
wildfires can ravage most of California as well.. particularly the inland areas
i don't recall ever having heard of tidal waves or wayward sea-monsters causing any problems
nor do i recall ever having heard of a hurricane or serious tornado (although parts of cali tend to have small dust-devils type ones that tend to frighten people doing very little damage.. but causing people to drive like compelete idiots)
we have a few active volcanoes.. but those are problematic primarily to their localized regions and easily avoided..
people/culture:
people in California can't drive.. it's a fact..
as much as Californians like to think of themselves as trend-setting progreessive people.. this is not always the case.. we have just as much 'hate crimes'.. and bigoted residents as anywhere else
we have large populations of most every ethnic background scattered around most of california.. from middle-eastern.. to south-american.. european.. african.. far eastern.. naitive american.. and former iron curtain people's..
translate that last bit into: 'OMG GOOD FOOD FROM EVERYWHERE!!'
art of every type.. science.. schools of every flavor..
plenty of 'history' for such a 'young' place relatively speaking
well i think that's about all i can say.. i hope it's a fair review.. trying not to bias it much toward one side or the other..
so let me sum up.. it's a neat place with a fair amount going for it.. but has its' problems same as anywhere else on our planet
edit: Post-Script
PS..
if you think California is where you want to end up.. feel free to PM me and i can help you narrow down your options and dig up relevant materials
and as dumb as it sounds.. 'yahoo local' is a great place to start to see what each metropolis offers and a good guide to see property/rental rates
Message Edited by somerandomuser on 09-26-2004 01:41 PM
djtorre
Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:46 pm
#17
hey somerandmuser i really apreciate the help,
/sigh
tough starting all over again,been traveling almost all my life,im 29 yrs old and ive been 12 years in canada,7 in ecuador,1 in argentina,1 in mexico and the rest of the time in spain.
my dad was a bit crazy with all the traveling so i stumbled on a lot of places,hehe
well life is a bout that which makes me think that we smugglers got to move along with our vibe.NO REVAMP YET no problem we can relax and have fun while we wait for it.
Now its my tim eto move on and start all over in a new place.
sory guys im philisofic.hehehe
SithLordElvis
Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:55 pm
#18
djtorre wrote:hehe sorry for the misunderstanding i did mean LA as in Los Angeles.well i was thinking that because im half spanish it wouldnt be a problem if i encounter any gangs on the street,and i will try to feign death but i dont think that would work hehe.one more thing guys,if its not too much to ask,how about rentals?i mean what cost for renting an aprtment per month?i wont buy a house at the begining until i decide where to live.oh and computers and iinternet how much?ball park figure would do.thnkx guys
I came across this. That should put into perspective how much your cost of living may go up.
Kcocemag
Sun Sep 26, 2004 7:14 pm
#19
You may also want to think about the Carolinas. I am from South Carolina, and with the exception of the small towns with their overwhelming narrow-minds, this is not a bad place to live. If you were to try this state out, I would recommend a place just outside of Columbia. You will be near the capitol city which isn't really so large that you'd get lost easily, the cost of living is pretty nice, the job market is much better than the rest of the state due to the proximity of the capitol, and you aren't that far from Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island. (You're also near the University of South Carolina, home of the Fighting Gamecocks!) There are some downsides though. Those include the brutal summers, the constant bickering amognst some of the political groups over mundane topics, the Blue laws rather suck, and you will notice that the reason that the state's public school system is ranked among the bottom in the nation has a lot to do with the upbringing or lack there of. I would give you some info on NC, but I don't know too terribly much about the area up there, so that would be kind of pointless. But I can say with some level of certainty that it is probably not much different from SC with the exception of the weather being just a tad cooler. Anyways, good luck in your search, and I am sure there is some lonely widow in this area who'd love to adopt you. Just be sure to bring some Geritol and Depends! 
thrustfuzion
Sun Sep 26, 2004 11:23 pm
#20
Best state to try is Texas. So much diversity both economically and culturally.
In houston its an industrial city with a relatively good market for jobs. Some areas of houston are covered in a thick forest (The woodlands), while other parts are peaceful suburbs with growing families (Suga Land).There is tons ofdiversity there. Cons are a high crime rate and smog.
In Austin you have the liberal haven but not quite so filled with jobs. This place used to becalled the second silicon valley due to so many computer places opening shop here. Sadly most of these are closed down with the exception of Dell. But on a plus side the best live music I have ever head comes from here. Cons are the job thing once again and Traffic.
San Antonio is a great city to work in. It is filled with history and all sorts of tourist attractions. Cons: A high spanish only speaking population pretty much means you have to know atleast a little spanish.
Dallas is the most popular city in Texas. Its actually three city's put together that give dallas so many people. Its a nice city with a great commerce district. Cons: Tragc things happen in dallas and its pretty much a steel city without a ton of beauty.
If not Texas go to Louisiana, my 2nd favorite sate. New Orleans is the best.
THrust Malco
AldaronTavish
Mon Sep 27, 2004 12:23 am
#21
In truth guys I'm originally from Naw'lins 
And I moved to Wisconsin. The job market is better here, the cost of living is lower and what you can buy for 100K for a house here will get you a shack in La.
What you have to put up with here is cold whether and tornadoes with the thunderstorms. For someone coming from Canada I suggest checking out the Mid-West and Great Lakes States.
And I moved to Wisconsin. The job market is better here, the cost of living is lower and what you can buy for 100K for a house here will get you a shack in La.What you have to put up with here is cold whether and tornadoes with the thunderstorms. For someone coming from Canada I suggest checking out the Mid-West and Great Lakes States.
djtorre
Mon Sep 27, 2004 6:07 am
#22
well guys many thankx for all the helpful information.
i spend hours a day cruising the internet and printing tons of info.
now its up to me to decide where i go.
to erveryone that helped out big hug from sunny spain and if u ever need anything just let me know and ill be there to help out in any way i can
so nice to have your colegues around in times of need.
gomi321
Mon Sep 27, 2004 6:47 am
#23
For me to give advice I'd like to know what kind of job you are looking for.
I'm a programmer that lives in Augusta GA (right on the border of SC) and here the IT job market is awful. Columbia SC and Atlanta have strong IT job markets with Columbia having the lower cost of living.
The south is a great place to live. I love it here.
Korrack
Mon Sep 27, 2004 7:03 am
#24
Speaking asa Canadian who moved to the USA 6 years ago, how are you just freely moving to the USA? SInce 9/11, immigration requirements have become more strict and it's almost impossible to get a work visa unless you fall into one of the government's special categories (doctor, nurse, engineer, computers, extremely rich person, entertainer)?
I am a college educated Canadian with 14 years experience working in my industry and was one of the last foreign nationals given a green card under the old system. What should have taken 2-3 years took 6 because of 9/11. They cancelled all H class work visas and it is very very difficult to get a green card anymore.
I'd be interested to know what you do for a living (unless somehow I missed it here when you stated it). That will be the deciding factor in where you would want to move to. You don't move to central Indiana or Iowa if you wanna do Marine Biology....
SpinningCloud
Mon Sep 27, 2004 7:13 am
#25
Kind of depends on what kind of weather you prefer, what kind of work you do, do you prefer rural or urban?
I'm fond of the west coast, a bit more layed back here than in New England for example.
I grew up in St. Louis, lived in Miami and New London Conneticut, then Silicon Valley in California and now west of Seattle.
All in all I love California Santa Cruz mountains but CA is expensive for the most part.
Olympic Penisula is a paradise though...and, contrary to popular opinion, it does NOT rain all the time here.
Anyway, you can pretty much find anything you want in the continental US, decide then do some internet research on the economics of the areas you're looking at.
djtorre
Mon Sep 27, 2004 8:08 am
#26
well about my type of work,i have a lot of specialties i can do,traveling all over and having to do lots of diffrent jobs.
works in real estate,solicitor for legal work,radio host,dj several types of music,cook,spanish-english translator.
i tought of trying in the usa,i got a period of 3 months so ill take advantage of that time and if nothing arises and i find prob's to get visa i will go to canada.
i know the restrictions and troubles for me to be able to live in USA,ive been looking in the internet to the usa immingratin page and it looks quite complicated,but i will see once i get there.
thnnkx guys