CALLING ALL CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS! PLEASE HELP!
 

Hello!

I found this board and I am excited and hoping to get your advice.

We (no kids) are planning to relocate to California. The problem is we are not sure where. We had been thinking Southern California but we are open to other areas.

My husband and I are both medical professionals (2 pharmacists) so I would think we can get jobs easily.

We are looking for warm winters with no snow, no killer traffic and we love the ocean but will be OK with driving 45 min to get there. We also would rather not live in the blazing heat and want a low crime area.
We are nature loving kinds of people.

Our plan is to rent for the first year and that will give us time to make sure we are in the right area before we buy. The only draw back to that is that we have 2 big dogs (labs) that are older and I don't know if no one will want to rent to us.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your ideas on where we should move to. Thanks for your time. It's a big help!

PS. Almost forgot, I'd like to avoid areas that are famous for Spring Break. Thanks! :)

No contest...Santa Barbara, hands down.

As pharmacists, you'll be "squeezed" by every "payer" in the state as there is no indemnity insurance and no one left there who pays his own pharmacy charges.
If you think the current MC/MC fiasco is bad, just wait 'til you experience CA reimbursement.
I remember visiting "Pete" Stark in the late '80s and being told that until the MC benes were lined up for miles outside his office that hospitals and docs would see reimbursement fall well below "cost".
Fortunately, I retired before my 59th birthday.
M

Laguna Beach.Natural beauty,culture,dining.Busy in the summer.

I would suggest Sonoma...about 45 mintes from ocean depending on where you settle...there are several state hospitals, private drug/ETOH facilities and other options.
You can drive to ocean, people are kinda nature loving and like critters, lifestyle is healthy...only bad thing is property is high cost and it might be hard to find a rental, you would occasionally have to deal with kiler traffic if you went to "town" IE OAkland or San Fran....but if I had a choice that is here I would go...

I've lived in the OC for almost 20 years, and am still getting used to it. The best things about it are the weather and the shopping.
There's little culture, housing is expensive, people (on the whole) very conservative.
I'm stuck here, but would never choose to move here again, though the weather's spoiled me for colder climates. I do like the feel of Northern Cal.
Laguna Beach is about as good as it gets in the OC.

I would suggest the Monterey Peninsula.
The is no killer traffic and the ocean is right there. There is no blazing heat on the Peninsula.
For nature lovers there is Big Sur just 26 miles away for hiking and camping and Yosemite just 3-4 hour drive.

Santa Barbara .Paul

I'd choose the central coast - Monterey, Aptos, Capitola, Santa Cruz, etc. It has pretty much all the things you are looking for. The area gets crowded in the summertime because it is a tourist area, but it isn't bad. And the tourism is more family or couples oriented than the spring break-type partiers you are looking to avoid.

Hi o2,

If you are nature lovers and don't want killer traffic - southern CA is NOT the place! Consider other places, like maybe the Motherload country or north of San Francisco. Perhaps San Luis Obispo a bit more central and nearer the beach.

Another vote for Central Coast. San Luis Obispo is one of my favorite towns in the area, and there's all sorts of fun nearby. It's getting pricey, but....

With two big dogs, you should try to rent a house with a yard. It will be very difficult to get an apartment that will allow two big dogs. Discrimination against animals is still allowed.

I agree with anything away from big cities and the South and Central parts of California. Anywhere along the central coast on upward, inland nearer Lake Tahoe or anything north of San Francisco/Sacramento would be OK.

I kind of like pharmacists. Never a pharmacist I didn't like! :) So I'm not certain what mikemo's objections are - perhaps if you worked for a hospital or an HMO like Kaiser you will be insured. I can't imagine the pharmacists working in these hospitals not being insured!

Good luck and welcome to California! :)

Please don't post in capital letters. It is the internet equivalent of shouting and difficult to read.

We looked all over California for a place to live and decided on San Luis Obispo. We've been here 3 years and totally love it! The weather is great (almost all of the time-today is an execption), we have an independent movie theatre showing lots of good "indie" films, there's a nice amount of culture, we have some of the best wineries anywhere and the people are the nicest I've ever met.

Unfortunately you aren't the first pharmacists who have thought of moving to the very places lauded above. I would certainly do more than just "think" you could get jobs...I'd kinda check out the professikonal literature to see what kind of openings there might be before I set my heart on a location.

Thanks you to all of you for your kind comments and ideas. I am taking notes on all the suggestions.

I have to say that I think that the people from California that I have meet have been such kind people. It's very refreshing to see all of you take the time to post your ideas for me.

There are a few people that I would like to respond to...
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Author: Ag3046
Date: 03/14/2006, 05:00 pm
Please don't post in capital letters. It is the internet equivalent of shouting and difficult to read.

Response: Thank you for your kind "welcome" you extended. YIKES! I am perfectly aware of this computer etiquette. But I am also aware that it is perfectly acceptable in titles or subject lines and does not indicate "shouting" when used in this application. I wasn't aware that Fodor employed people to police the boards looking for violations. While I am at it,please note that Internet is spelled with a capital I.

Next : Mikemo: Thanks for your warning. We don't own our own Pharmacy and so the company we work for will deal with the billing and payment issues. Currently we are employed by a major hospital and we never even see any billing issues. It is all handled by the accounting dept. We all are controlled by the insurance companies. I am just glad we don't have to deal with it.

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Easy Traveler: Thanks to all your comments :) I think Mikemo wasn't asking if we were insured as in malpractice, I think he was saying that is is hard to get payments from the insurance companies :) I think tha tis what he meant :)
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Intrepid1;
Thanks for your concern. I realize we are not the first RPh's to want to move to California and we aren't just aimlessly moving there. We had to take both the NAPLEX (federal) as well as the California exams in order to obtain a license there. Keep in mind the NAPLEX is the test we take when we are right out of college. Imagine taking that test again 20 yrs later? So we have done plently of homework looking into the placement opportunities, home buy out programs, sign on bonuses,etc. So when I said "I think we can easily get jobs there" I should have said " I know we can easily get jobs there." The minute we passed the tests, the recruiters came out of the woodwork. One recruiter had 170 positions available alone!

We are just trying to look for good locations that best suits our life style. Thanks again for your concerns :)

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Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. I'm thrilled to have so much information from all of you.

I have found so much valuable information from this board. It's great to have such an awesome resource.

Just wanted to say to you please don't take offense by AG3046. You should know there are some people who have ego issues and it makes them feel better about themselves by scolding people and showing their "authority".

There is a really great group of people on this site and I sure hope that one person won't ruin your opinion of this great site.

We are looking at moving to Santa Barbara area. I'm going to be going there in about 1 month to visit again.

Enjoy your quest and ignore the trolls along the way!

Jenny

I love Orange County, but then I have two kids. The schools are great. It's crawling with restaurants where they make strong drinks and kids are welcome even on Friday nights. I am not sure I'd want to be here if it weren't for the family lifestyle. You might want to stay far away. I would look into Northern California along the coast. It's beautiful there. But again, I might look for jobs first, or plan a long driving trip where you go from San Diego to Eureka and check out the different vibes.

I liked the advice about seeing what jobs are available first. I think of pharmacies like Longs and Walgreens. Or Kaiser Permanente. I live in San Jose, however am close to the central coast area mentioned (Santa Cruz, Aptos, Monterey, etc.). Based on your criteria, I think the central coast is best.

Ventura!

sfamylou, had to laugh at your comment about crawling with restaurants with strong drinks! LOL! You're right, that's one good thing about Orange County, the restaurants!

I'd have to 2nd the San Luis Obispo area over Santa Barbara although both areas are great as I have lived in both.

SB is closer to LA if you ever want to do "city stuff" for a day. I personally didn't like the SB people, very prejudiced against newcomers and sort of snobby. SB traffic can be a killer on weekends because of the tourists but it's mostly jammed on city streets, not the freeway.

SLO is soooo beautiful and the people are very laid back. A traffic jam is 2 people coming to a 4 way stop at the same time, except for the weekends when Cal Poly starts and graduates plus some festivals during the year.

good luck

I second Ventura . . . I love it here!!!

Hi nez, I have family in Ojai and my favorite place to go to is Ventura! You are so fortunate to live there. And so much more relaxing IMO than Santa Barbara.

Pharmacist salaries are actually pretty good these days, but cost of living - especially housing - can be a shocker. If you have a PharmD there are some great clinical positions but if your credential is RPh you stand a good chance of winding up in a godawful retail job or the equivalent in a managed care system - look carefully before leaping!

It'd hard to recommend that anyone move to southern CA right now with the housing market the way it is... but if you're sure.... :-)

I live in L.A. and it's just non-stop gridlock. Makes you crazy. I like it here, but from what you say you want, I think this is not the right place for you. Ditto San Diego.

I have to say that if you're nature-loving people I highly recommend looking at the areas north of L.A., specifically Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Santa Barbara is just the most beautiful, postcard-perfect S.CA area. It's not cheap to live there, but the quality of life is really nice, it hasn't built up quite as much as L.A., San Diego and Orange County, and there's lots of stuff to do outdoors. I like the proximity to the central coast, wine regions, horse trails, hiking, etc. You might also consider Ventura, which is a less expensive area to live in than Santa Barbara while sharing some of its better qualities.

I'd like to add my vote for San Luis Obispo or even Pismo Beach. San Luis is very close to the ocean without the fog--June gloom we call it :) Santa Barbara is beautiful but SLO is more relaxed and as someone else mentioned, close to great wineries!!

What can you afford?THAT is the question.
From there, you need to do a lot of homework. The closer to the coast the higher the price. Expect $500,000 and up if you have a view of the sea. There are deals like fixer-uppers for less, but then you have to fixer-upper.
Lots of thought to be had on your part.

Arroyo Grande to Santa Maria may be a little more affordable than SLO or Pismo. But I love that whole are. As well as Santa Cruz/ Monterey/ Pacific Grove. But it is pricey. Watsonville/ Castroville in that area may be a little more affordable.

I live in southern OC, Capistrano Beach to be exact and a teardown in my neighborhood cost you a million. I was born and raised here and will never be able to buy a house here now. I am looking at Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

You will love the Central Coast!! Great climate, great people, and no traffic!

In San Luis Obispo, there are two hospitals... Sierra Vista, which is owned by Tenet and French, which is owned by Catholic Healthcare West. (CHW also owns Arroyo Grande COmmunity Hospital and Marian in Santa Maria.)

$500,000 will not buy you much home here... anywhere here... ocean views are much, much more than that... a previous poster was a little off the mark.

It's a beautiful area... great quality of life... hope it works for you!

I have lived in various parts of California for the better part of 40 years. There are advantages and disadvantages to various areas. Southern California has much better climates than Northern (they have cold winters up North!) but is more congested.

I think taking everything you've mentioned into consideration I'd go for South Orange County. Homes are expensive but more affordable than LA County and there is less congestion. Shopping, restaurants and schools are excellent too. It doesn't have as many cultural spots as LA County or the Bay Area but if you're into sports you've got the Angels and the Ducks near by. You can golf year around. You'd be near John Wayne Airport too. It's also a breeze to get to San Diego for the day. OC is quite dog friendly so you should be OK with your two labs (just may take a bit more searching and an additional security deposit will be needed).

I'm in northern Cal (Bay Area) and love it but the home prices are truly awful.

Sticker shock aside--I agree with recs for central coast (San Luis Obispo and nearby areas--university town and decent hospitals) and Santa Barbara, which I think, however, may be expensive.

Up north, one area to consider is Santa Rosa--yes a bit suburban, but thriving, and they are working to avoid turning into San Jose (with regard to sprawl etc.) If you were to need to commute to San Francisco, though, or even just south of Santa Rosa during communte time, ICK!! But it has a couple of good hospitals i.e., Santa Rosa memorial).

My nephew is a pharmacy director for one of the Kaisers in the south bay area, and he can't keep up with hiring needs, but as another poster said, that is for pharm.d's; I don't know about the job situation for other pharmacy profs.

Hi o2deep2...

Just poking through some posts and saw/read this one. I hope you have found your dream town by now but if you have not I would highly recommend the San Luis Obispo area. We have lived all over CA and the East Coast and this is it...San Luis Obispo is a wonderful easy place to live. We will never leave.

Good luck!

Thousand Oaks. We know people who love it there, and it is pretty nice, and yes, there is a moderate housing market.

I live in Orange County and would recommend it. Laguna Beach is beautiful, but the traffic - especially on weekends - is terrible.

What about Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, Ladera Ranch or Dana Point?

They're all south county cities within 30 min of the Pacific and if you get a job at a local pharmacy, you won't have to deal with freeway traffic.

And there are many hiking trails in those areas.

Avoid Riverside/Temecula. You might be able to reach the ocean within 45 min (if you're lucky), but the heat is brutal.

The Central Coast is beautiful, but it's not the most exciting place in the state.

o2deep2 posted her questions in March <b>2006</b> (and has not been on any other thread since August.)

Doubt she will see your info . . . .

Wow. When I read your question I thought, &quot;San Luis Obispo&quot;, and I've only been there once - briefly. I do know that it has a great college, and is in a nice part of the State, and I usually like the folks I meet from there. Guess the place has a great reputation. Better buy now!