Learn to LOVE Craiglist

    I've learned to rely on others more than I've ever been used too, and a lot of this came from Craigslist. Before moving to California I lived on my own in a two bedroom house and lived on my own easily. When I moved here I realized I had to have roommates to afford the cost of living here. This taught me that I was going to have to rely on others and hope for the best. This was a very scary feeling knowing that if I couldn't find good roommates I could potentially be stuck without a house.
     So upon moving here I got very familiar with Craigslist. I hadn't ever used this site before because there simply weren't enough people in Wyoming. This website found me roommates within a week, and after a few months I found two jobs with Craigslist. This website offers many different tools and has tons of different categories of things around you. Since I moved here with nothing more than my clothes and an air mattress I needed to find furniture for my room. I went to Craigslist for this and found my bed, a desk, dressers, lamps, and other miscellaneous things. I started relying on people and giving it a shot to see if they would help me. One item I got from Craigslist was free, which is my desk. This was a blessing because I didn't have a vehicle to moved the desk so I asked the man if there was anyway he could help me out. He immediately said yes no problem come on down here we will load it up and i'll bring it over. After we arrived at my house he offered to move it into the house and after we got it in there he offered to reassemble the desk because it could be confusing. This took an hour and a half out of his day. This was a free desk let me remind you and he did it out of the kindness of his heart. I offered him 50 bucks for his help and he denied the money and asked that I pay it forward. He mentioned that he had a daughter in college and hoped others would do it for her.
    Also Craigslist has helped me find 4 different jobs since I've been here. I started off rough with not so great of jobs, and I was constantly looking for something better and I always went straight to Craigslist to find new job opportunities. Another thing Craigslist has helped me do is find a new place to live. It shows more than most realtors can offer when it comes to renting a new place.
     Overall Craigslist can be a huge help with your move and can save you money and time. Without Craigslist I wouldn't have half of what I have now. Actually I would probably live in Wyoming again due to not finding a place to live that I could afford. It brought me into a house with good roommates, got me a bed, a job, and its now gotten me a home.

What California has to offer.

     When looking for a new place to live you want to make sure there are good jobs, neighborhoods, activities, and environments to make your home. When I moved to California I was moving for the simple fact that there was nice weather and beaches. I didn't look into the jobs as much as I should have.
    Jobs are essential to many peoples lives and many people move with their jobs if they are worth it, so this is an important thing to look into when moving to a new city. In the state of California there are 39 million people, which makes for a lot of competition for jobs. The national unemployment average is 6.7% and the unemployment average of California as of February of 2014 is 7.9%. The last time California's unemployment was under 8% was in 2008, so it is a growing economy slowly, but steadily. Minimum wage in California is at $8.00 and is being raised to $10.00 in July. This is a good thing, but keep in mind the cost of living in California and the price of housing here. (Discussed in last post) Also to keep in mind is the competition in California and how hard it is to actually get a job. To give you an idea i'm going to share the problems I had when trying to get a job here. When I moved here I had two years experience serving in restaurants. I thought I was good to go with a job as soon as I moved here, but it took me a couple months. First off everywhere you apply they have another 100 applications waiting for them. You are a very small spec in this huge state, and they don't owe you anything. Even jobs that don't take much experience or schooling are very competitive and hard to get. Once you get this in mind and know that it isn't going to be an easy ride to getting a job here you can set out looking in reasonable areas of work. California offers any job you can imagine weather it be in movies, music, business, communications, or construction.
     Next is the neighborhoods in California, which California offers any type you would like. If you like the mountains and the outdoors you can find a great house on the outskirts of the city on top of one of our many mountains. On the other hand there are great neighborhoods in the middle of the chaos of California, giving you the fast life. Also if you want to have a small commute to the city you can live out in the valley away from all the people and have a few horses and farm animals. Last but not least is a beautiful beach front neighborhood. California's beach houses are everything you see in movies which is rich, laid back, good vibes, and surfer style homes.

     Activities is what keeps us all sane, and happy with our daily grinds. California literally offers nearly any type of activity you would like. California very well might be the only place in the World that you can go surfing in the morning and Snowboarding in the evenings. California offers many plays, live shows, concerts, clubs, hiking, touristing, and much more. If you thing is to live in the city then you can do that here and shop, explore, and find new places. If you like a slower paced type of activities you can ride horseback through the mountains, beach, or just through the suburb streets. California truly has everything you can imagine, but again keep in mind this all cost money and the price is high here in California.
     The environment in California is great and is completely customizable. One thing that was weird to me is that the neighbors aren't as friendly here, but then I moved and realized it was because I wasn't reaching out to them. If you want to have the up beat mainstream environment then move to the valley where trends are set for the Country. If you like a homey environment then move away from the major cities and take a breath. The environment of California is to be and do exactly what you want, with openness from the people around you.

     This week I just wanted to share some of the great things California has to offer and some information on employment. Although it is a competitive state you can make things work and you can become way bigger here where their is opportunity to grow. You can only be as big as your dreams.
   

Starting Out in California

     As many know California is the state of many opportunities and luxuries. California offers many different opportunities in whatever you want starting with careers, schools, scenery, adventures, fame, and much more. Along with the opportunities that California offers it has many luxuries available in your neighborhood from the happening streets of Los Angeles, the beachfront housing, the hills living, the fine dining, the night life, and anything you can imagine. Along with all of the greatness this state has to offer it requires a lot in return.

     To start things off I'm going to share what it took for me to get started in California and the road I chose to travel. For me I moved in February and I didn't have much of a plan, just a dream to live here. When I was looking for jobs and houses down here a month in advance I was having no luck because I couldn't go in for interviews and no one was willing to give me a chance and wait. So I found out I just had to be here to make things work. I came down here with $3,500 dollars in my pocket, some clothes, and an air mattress. Before my move many people told me I would want about $15,000 saved up to make it work down here, but I simply did not have the time or money to save that kind of money. Although this would have made things easier I made it work with what I had. 

     Next is the cost of a house in Southern California, which is actually cheaper than Northern California. The average price of a house in the area of Ventura County is $600,000 and this is relatively cheap compared to Downtown Los Angeles. If you are looking to rent the average cost for a one bedroom apartment around 450 sq ft you will be paying $1,250.00 and this is very minimal in what it offers. Again this is in the suburbs where you get much more for your money if you plan on living downtown you are going to be paying $1,800.00 for a 1 bedroom and it will be smaller than one on the outskirts of the city. 

     Finally when looking for a place to live out here you need to take into consideration the location. The internet literally saved my life when moving here by informing me of each area and the demographics, safety, and cleanliness. Personally being from a small town I didn't think of safety so I was looking for the cheapest place possible. Also with California being so populated there are many cities minutes apart, which I didn't understand. I wanted to live in a place called Oxnard which was just down the road from where I live now, but what I didn't know was how dangerous this city truly was. This is only a few minutes from me, but it has multiple gangs, very dangerous neighborhoods, and is complete night and day from my current city Thousand Oaks. What was so appealing about this place is the renting cost is about 400 dollars cheaper. When I first moved I still wanted to live there regardless, of what I had read, but after venturing into the city for a few minutes I realized I didn't belong. 

     California is an amazing place to live with so much to offer and limitless opportunities. With the rich environment, culture, and people comes a lot of need for money. Although it can be a lot you can make it happen if you want it enough.

A Little About Myself.

My name is Colton and I've had a simple life growing up on a ranch with plenty of animals to tend too. My days consisted of going to school, then to my job, and then I would end the day with chores. Only a few months passed after my eighteenth birthday and I was out of the house and on my own. I started my college career and started learning about bills and deadlines. All of this was foreign and very overwhelming, yet i'm still kicking and making it through. I stayed in Wyoming for a few years after my high school graduation and then decided to pack up my things and book a hotel for a week in Camarillo, California. Not sure of where I was going or what my future held I hopped in the car on a arctic -2 morning and ended my day at a comfortable 54, in a not so comfortable hotel. At first I was very scared of my surrounding not ever venturing far from home before, and not truly knowing the unknown of California. I tackled the next few days with exploring the cities around me and seeing where I wanted to settle down for a while, as well as applying everywhere and I mean everywhere. I made my way into a new house with 5 other guys in college, which I found on craiglist. This was very unsettling, but luckily all went well and I was able to stay with them for a while. After a month and a half I was getting very nervous that I would have to pack up and move back home due to me not finding a job. Finally my luck had come through and I landed two jobs in one day.I worked hard and picked up any shift available to afford this type of living.  I lived with the 5 guys for 10 months until I was on my feet and found some good friends to live with, even though it was in their garage I am happy with it and saving extra money.  Now my days consist of working my two jobs and getting myself through school. Each day is a challenge to get out of bed, but somehow I find the motivation and push through. 
     Free-time! I wish I could say I had plenty of it, but i'm usually busy with something. Although this isn't all bad because soon I'll be done with school and get into a better job situation and be on my feet. First off when I get free time i'm usually at the beach relaxing with some music and friends and getting anything on my mind off of my mind. Second I go on many hikes, which is another place I escape from the real world. The last thing I do when I have free time is go into the very real world of LA and explore everything and everyone. After all I moved here so that I could enjoy my surroundings and start new with new dreams, and i'm doing very well at it.