I apologize for this rant way ahead of time, but I felt like I had to get it off my chest and share a possible bit of epicness with my fellow Sneap brothers.
To start off, my parents both grew up in Northern California, they moved around for sometime when I was younger, but even I have spent most of my life in Northern California too (I am 20 and have been in the same town for 10 years, in California for 12 years total). I have actually liked it and haven't complained.
Things change though, by all means I am not saying I hate this state at all, I couldn't see myself living anywhere else permanently, but giving my past 4 years living condition I have felt a strange itch. About the time I graduated high school my parent's relationship went extremely sour when my alcoholic father was accusing my mother of having an affair, in return he held all finances from her, which lead in a system where I have had to ask him to money to basically survive as opposed to just receiving what I needed as a child to survive.
I figured I would get a job, and the week that I had started looking the stock market collapsed and went to absolute shit. Since the area of California that I live in was new expansion built on credit got hit hard, real estate basically collapsed period. Our neighboring cities are on Forbes most miserable cities of America. Finding jobs has been a job in itself. I found a job a few months after the stock market crash only because I had relatives with extended family in Human Resources, but the job didn't last long. I timed it perfectly because I started going to a trade school for Electrical Engineering.
The last 3 years going on 4 of my life have been the same thing everyday, when I graduated I couldn't do much more than sit at home and watch TV and chat on the forums (when I joined), most of the douchebags I went to school with I wanted nothing to do with. I was say the social outcast, and I hated everyone due to how fake they all were. Bottom line I live in a large residential area, so other than houses, and more houses, there are only a handful of grocery stores, without a job nor a car, you become a prisoner of your own home. My motto has been if its not a walking distance away and isn't free, I can't do it. I spend 90 percent of my time in my room on my computer and the other 10 percent at school. I have done that for the past year solid.
What sucks is that it hasn't been that I haven't been searching for a job, 20+ applications later in a year period I have only managed 2 interviews and the other people they interviews that they do hire have less experience in the field that I do. Around here they have been hiring people that know nothing of the field and train them than hire someone who already knows the ropes since it saves them salary. I never even had the thought of leaving the state for jobs because as I had said before I didn't see myself anywhere else but a recent event came to take place that had me thinking.
Long story short, my mom had reconnected with old military friends which are now in Chicago. They have a daughter that is two years younger than me, we grew up together, inseparable back then. Her parents talked about sending her here to visit as a graduation present. Shortly after, sparks began to fly between the two of us. Of course two weeks before she was supposed to visit, my mom's chronic neck injuries came back and she was put on a medication thats side effect includes irritability. Guess who was the one person she had to take it out on? The first girl in over 5 years to have interest in me. To sum it up she changes her mind, because well my mom pissed her off and she would rather party with friends. A few days later I get the we live to far away we should just be friends speech.
Well my natural tendency to covet everything of my friends and family got me thinking. I have been single for 4 years, unemployed basically my whole life, living the same boring day everyday in solitude, I have most of my life in one spot (I haven't left the state since I moved here 10 years ago, if you count bum fucked Nevada, Vegas and Reno for two days when I was 12 or 13). I know that the culture of California is quite different to the rest of the country, not only do I want to explore the world and leave the country, I want to be able to see the perspective of American culture that a non-American would have, but I feel that I haven't really experienced the heart of American culture being in this state for so long. I feel that I need to really experience the culture of my own country before I can see other cultures, go to other countries, because I really would love to go to Europe sometime soon.
So basically I have decided that when I graduate school summer next year that I am moving out of the nest and getting the hell out of the state for at least a year or two. At first I just wanted to get out of the house because of my dad, my mom has been pissing me off lately and I just want to completely get away from my whole damn family for awhile and explore the rest of the country. My plan was to have my career services at school land me a decent 40-50K a year job and a place to live in a city that is big on my field of study at the time I graduate, so I can move and get into it within weeks of graduating. Unfortunately in order to save up I need a part time job like NOW and need to work my ass off for a good 12 months so that I have some backup money.
When I started researching some things were shocking. The larger cities around me are one of the worst in terms of economy, crime, real estate, and employment, (Stockton coming in at number two, only surpassed by Cleveland Ohio) even though Sacramento is one of the best cities in the country for jobs. What has been happening is that all these people in these cities are trying to get jobs here and there is just not enough for everyone. Then I giggled a bit when I started looking for cities that would be better for my field, have better employment rates and better cost per living.
The top 3 cities that kept coming up were, Seattle, Chicago and Bethesda. Each one has at least one good reason for me to go to. I was born in the Seattle area, I was thinking early this year about moving there. Among a list of things I was born there, the weather is more to my taste than the miserable hot no snow California and the job special revolves around computers and electrical development. Bethesda doesn't have so much in my field as the others, but the cost of living, and crime and standard of living is just a place you could raise a family and again its weather is a lot better. Chicago is the one that stand out though. Having the strongest/most stable economy, my field is almost as big as Seattle but also has less competition for those jobs (since 50% of residents have undergraduates in the field I would be competing harder for those jobs), the weather is the best, as it has the most snow, and after not seeing that stuff in like 12 years its about time, the girl of interest is there, and will be for sometime as she is staying there for school, AND I figured, since Sacramento has sucked in terms of talent and genre preference of metal for local bands that I would since Chicago is a much bigger city be able to find remaining members better (300,000 people versus some 2.8mil) although I might loose my drummer because he wouldn't want to wait around for me to get back. I also have the benefit that I would make more money off of mixing bands over there possibly than here since there are a heel of a lot more bands out there.
So in a nutshell Chicago seems to have more pros and least cons out of the three. So I will most likely end up there, the frontier holds freedom, money, girls, music...epicness. I know there are some Chicago fags (and other nearby places) on the forumz, it would be cool to be able to shoot the shit over a beer with some of you guys too. Hell with the size of the state that I am in now, Mr. Sturgis is never too far away either
Yes I covet, and right now its having freedom and a strong close knit of good family (something I never really had growing up), at the same time wanting to get away from my own, and for as far as I know, the move could lead me to starting my own.
So I am asking for advice, talk me into it, talk me out of it, whatever you feel. I have nothing to loose and shitload to gain...possibly, if even it means I got out of the state and away from my family for a year or two while gaining experience in my career and obtaining some lifelong lessons, whether good or bad, either way I am ready to grow as a person and see more of the world than the small bubble I am in now.
Again I apologize for the long rant. And please, if you read this whole thing respond to it, it took me almost two hours to type that whole thing, I really don't want 100+ views and no replies
To start off, my parents both grew up in Northern California, they moved around for sometime when I was younger, but even I have spent most of my life in Northern California too (I am 20 and have been in the same town for 10 years, in California for 12 years total). I have actually liked it and haven't complained.
Things change though, by all means I am not saying I hate this state at all, I couldn't see myself living anywhere else permanently, but giving my past 4 years living condition I have felt a strange itch. About the time I graduated high school my parent's relationship went extremely sour when my alcoholic father was accusing my mother of having an affair, in return he held all finances from her, which lead in a system where I have had to ask him to money to basically survive as opposed to just receiving what I needed as a child to survive.
I figured I would get a job, and the week that I had started looking the stock market collapsed and went to absolute shit. Since the area of California that I live in was new expansion built on credit got hit hard, real estate basically collapsed period. Our neighboring cities are on Forbes most miserable cities of America. Finding jobs has been a job in itself. I found a job a few months after the stock market crash only because I had relatives with extended family in Human Resources, but the job didn't last long. I timed it perfectly because I started going to a trade school for Electrical Engineering.
The last 3 years going on 4 of my life have been the same thing everyday, when I graduated I couldn't do much more than sit at home and watch TV and chat on the forums (when I joined), most of the douchebags I went to school with I wanted nothing to do with. I was say the social outcast, and I hated everyone due to how fake they all were. Bottom line I live in a large residential area, so other than houses, and more houses, there are only a handful of grocery stores, without a job nor a car, you become a prisoner of your own home. My motto has been if its not a walking distance away and isn't free, I can't do it. I spend 90 percent of my time in my room on my computer and the other 10 percent at school. I have done that for the past year solid.
What sucks is that it hasn't been that I haven't been searching for a job, 20+ applications later in a year period I have only managed 2 interviews and the other people they interviews that they do hire have less experience in the field that I do. Around here they have been hiring people that know nothing of the field and train them than hire someone who already knows the ropes since it saves them salary. I never even had the thought of leaving the state for jobs because as I had said before I didn't see myself anywhere else but a recent event came to take place that had me thinking.
Long story short, my mom had reconnected with old military friends which are now in Chicago. They have a daughter that is two years younger than me, we grew up together, inseparable back then. Her parents talked about sending her here to visit as a graduation present. Shortly after, sparks began to fly between the two of us. Of course two weeks before she was supposed to visit, my mom's chronic neck injuries came back and she was put on a medication thats side effect includes irritability. Guess who was the one person she had to take it out on? The first girl in over 5 years to have interest in me. To sum it up she changes her mind, because well my mom pissed her off and she would rather party with friends. A few days later I get the we live to far away we should just be friends speech.
Well my natural tendency to covet everything of my friends and family got me thinking. I have been single for 4 years, unemployed basically my whole life, living the same boring day everyday in solitude, I have most of my life in one spot (I haven't left the state since I moved here 10 years ago, if you count bum fucked Nevada, Vegas and Reno for two days when I was 12 or 13). I know that the culture of California is quite different to the rest of the country, not only do I want to explore the world and leave the country, I want to be able to see the perspective of American culture that a non-American would have, but I feel that I haven't really experienced the heart of American culture being in this state for so long. I feel that I need to really experience the culture of my own country before I can see other cultures, go to other countries, because I really would love to go to Europe sometime soon.
So basically I have decided that when I graduate school summer next year that I am moving out of the nest and getting the hell out of the state for at least a year or two. At first I just wanted to get out of the house because of my dad, my mom has been pissing me off lately and I just want to completely get away from my whole damn family for awhile and explore the rest of the country. My plan was to have my career services at school land me a decent 40-50K a year job and a place to live in a city that is big on my field of study at the time I graduate, so I can move and get into it within weeks of graduating. Unfortunately in order to save up I need a part time job like NOW and need to work my ass off for a good 12 months so that I have some backup money.
When I started researching some things were shocking. The larger cities around me are one of the worst in terms of economy, crime, real estate, and employment, (Stockton coming in at number two, only surpassed by Cleveland Ohio) even though Sacramento is one of the best cities in the country for jobs. What has been happening is that all these people in these cities are trying to get jobs here and there is just not enough for everyone. Then I giggled a bit when I started looking for cities that would be better for my field, have better employment rates and better cost per living.
The top 3 cities that kept coming up were, Seattle, Chicago and Bethesda. Each one has at least one good reason for me to go to. I was born in the Seattle area, I was thinking early this year about moving there. Among a list of things I was born there, the weather is more to my taste than the miserable hot no snow California and the job special revolves around computers and electrical development. Bethesda doesn't have so much in my field as the others, but the cost of living, and crime and standard of living is just a place you could raise a family and again its weather is a lot better. Chicago is the one that stand out though. Having the strongest/most stable economy, my field is almost as big as Seattle but also has less competition for those jobs (since 50% of residents have undergraduates in the field I would be competing harder for those jobs), the weather is the best, as it has the most snow, and after not seeing that stuff in like 12 years its about time, the girl of interest is there, and will be for sometime as she is staying there for school, AND I figured, since Sacramento has sucked in terms of talent and genre preference of metal for local bands that I would since Chicago is a much bigger city be able to find remaining members better (300,000 people versus some 2.8mil) although I might loose my drummer because he wouldn't want to wait around for me to get back. I also have the benefit that I would make more money off of mixing bands over there possibly than here since there are a heel of a lot more bands out there.
So in a nutshell Chicago seems to have more pros and least cons out of the three. So I will most likely end up there, the frontier holds freedom, money, girls, music...epicness. I know there are some Chicago fags (and other nearby places) on the forumz, it would be cool to be able to shoot the shit over a beer with some of you guys too. Hell with the size of the state that I am in now, Mr. Sturgis is never too far away either
Yes I covet, and right now its having freedom and a strong close knit of good family (something I never really had growing up), at the same time wanting to get away from my own, and for as far as I know, the move could lead me to starting my own.
So I am asking for advice, talk me into it, talk me out of it, whatever you feel. I have nothing to loose and shitload to gain...possibly, if even it means I got out of the state and away from my family for a year or two while gaining experience in my career and obtaining some lifelong lessons, whether good or bad, either way I am ready to grow as a person and see more of the world than the small bubble I am in now.
Again I apologize for the long rant. And please, if you read this whole thing respond to it, it took me almost two hours to type that whole thing, I really don't want 100+ views and no replies
