preston@fortune.UUCP (Carol Preston) (09/26/84)
Do you or anybody you know plan on moving to the sunny state of
California? If so, have I got an article for you. I moved here
about 3 months ago. I have been attending some classes at the
school of hard knocks. Since tuition is high, and the courses are
very time consuming, I thought I'd share my notes with those of
you out there in net-land. I hope by reading this you won't have
to take the course, too. If you would like more info, send mail to
me and I'll try to look into it for you.
**************************************************************
These notes are based on personal observations so there
may be exceptions, or my cases may have been exceptions.
This is meant to be used as a guide, so you may want to
investigate into these things further.
**************************************************************
Deposits :
1. Pacific Gas and Electric. Get a letter of credit from your current
utility company. If you can't get one until after you pay your final
bill, write down their telephone number so that you can call them and
ask for one later. Shortly after you arrive, you will receive a bill
for a $70 deposit, since you haven't had service with them recently.
The only ways to be exempt from this is to mail them a letter of credit
from your previous utility company or to have 2 current customers of
PG&E mail in a reference letter.
2. Pacific Bell doesn't require a deposit if you give them your
Visa or MasterCard number.
3. Security Deposits. My apartment required a security deposit of
$400. I don't know if this is usual or not.
Cars and Licenses :
1. If your car needs any work done, you may want to do it before you
come here. Labor charges in the Bay Area are around $50 per hour.
Nowadays it seems like labor costs more than the parts.
2. You may want to renew your license plates (tags) in your current
state. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) told me that I didn't
have to purchase California plates until my current ones expire. The
cost of plates is based on the value of your car. I paid $195 for my
1982 Mazda 626. It is necessary to pass the SMOG (exhaust) inspection
before you can get your license plates. This can be done at many local
gas stations ($25-$30). My car had a dirty air filter and didn't pass
the first time. From then on you must have your car exhaust inspected
every two years.
Note : The DMV bases the value of your car on the amount you
write down as the original purchase price of your car. They
never checked if the amount I wrote was correct (Hint, hint).
3. When you apply for a driver's license(DL), they take your current
DL (they don't give it back) and give you a temporary one that expires
after 60 days. Supposedly your 'real' DL will arrive via USnail within
60 days. The temporary DL is just a piece of paper and doesn't contain
you new DL number, nor your picture. What this means is you don't have
any form of picture id or a DL number for 60 days. Cashing checks,
showing id at bars, and filling out application that require the number
is virtually impossible. Another thing, if they lose your license it
will take a long time to get one. They lost mine. They don't like to
issue a new one and try to trace down the one that was lost. I was
hoping it would take about 4 more months, but I received mail from a
netlander who said he had to be a nuisance for another 7 months (9
months total) to get his.
If it's absolutely necessary for you to have a picture id I recommend
the following : Go to the DMV and get what is called a 'personal id'.
This costs $6 and it should arrive within 60 days. They do not take
your current driver's license, so you can use it until your personal
id comes. When it does come, then apply for the drivers license. You
must call and make an appointment to get your driver's license. Since
everyone must call and make an appointment, you may end up trying for
days to get through.
BTW, you make alot of U-turns in this area (many divided roads). The
test I took had 3 questions about U-turns so study them before you
take the test. Otherwise it is pretty simple. When I moved to Mass.
I really had to study (Rotaries, 'Thickly Settled', Red and Yellow
lights together means 'Pedestrian Crossing', etc.)
Cost of Living :
1. Rental Housing. I live in the Bay Area. I looked around the
peninsula at about 20 apartments and found the price of a one-bedroom
apartment to range from $600-$750. There may be cheaper but I would
bet that you would really have to look hard, and it may not be in the
best of surroundings. I will not attempt to go into houses and condos
here. If you want to know about this, send me the type of housing you
are looking for and I will get some samples from the newspaper. I have
no idea what the prices are in other areas. If you want to live with
a roommate, there is a heading in the classifieds called apartments
to share. I know of some people who found their apartment that way.
2. Car Insurance. I can only tell you relative to what I previously
paid. I am female, single, 25, and no accidents in the previous 3
years. When I lived in Massachusetts in 1982, my insurance rates
were $700 per year. In 1983 in Michigan my rates were $400 a year.
The rates I was quoted here were around $400 a year. Rates are not
regulated (as they are in Massachusetts) so it is wise to shop around.
3. Food. I was pleasantly surprised at the availabity of fresh fruit
and produce. The price of this is cheaper than anyplace I have lived.
Plus, I have been to some roadside stands where produce and fruit is
really cheap. The price of meat is more expensive than in the Midwest
but cheaper than the East Coast. There is no bottle deposit law, so
the price of soft drinks and beer isn't as much as in the states that
have that law. I don't off-hand know what the liquor tax is. If you
would like to compare the price of anything, send me mail about what
you want the price of. BTW, the grocery stores that I have been to
have a large selection of mexican, chinese and japanese food.
4. Taxes. The following figures were given to me by the state tax
board. Personal income tax is 11%. The state sales tax is 6%, which
is not charged for food which will not be consumed on the premises.
Since I don't own a home, I can't tell you what property taxes are.
Miscellaneous :
1. Registering to Vote. Libraries and Post Offices have a form
that you fill out and mail in.
2. Most banks are only open from 10-3. Some have drive up tellers
that have longer hours. There are 24-hour machines, but they are
pretty sparse. Usually each bank has about 1 per city. The banks
due charge a service charge if your checking account balance falls
below the minimum. This varies from bank to bank. Personally, I
chose the one with the most convenient 24 machines.
3. As far as I can tell, good pizza parlors haven't made it this
far west. Lots of excellent ice cream and relatives (gelato etc. )
---------------------------------------------------------------
I hope this doesn't give you a bad impression of California.
This was meant to be a list of helpful hints and things to
look out for. I know of people who haven't had any problems.
I just have bad luck. I went through alot worse problems when
I moved to Massachusetts. I have moved to enough states now
that I have wished that people would have written stuff like
this up for me. The laws and procedures are so different.
If you have any comments or questions, please mail them to me.
I'll post any additions, or corrections as warranted.
Carol Preston
{sri-unix, amd, hpda, harpo, ihnp4, allegra}!fortune!preston
(415) 594-2891
Fortune Systems, 101 Twin Dolphin Pkwy, Redwood Shores, CA 94065
--
Carol Preston
{sri-unix, amd, hpda, harpo, ihnp4, allegra}!fortune!preston
(415) 594-2891
Fortune Systems, 101 Twin Dolphin Pkwy, Redwood Shores, CA 94065faunt@saturn.UUCP (Doug Faunt) (10/01/84)
One note to add. If you have a TRUCK, even a dinky pickup, it's considered a commercial vehicle, and must be registered in a very short time, or it gets VERY expensive.
mab@ttidcb.UUCP (Michael A. Bloom) (10/06/84)
In article <4343@fortune.UUCP> preston@fortune.UUCP (Carol Preston) writes about her experiences moving to California. Some of what she says may be peculiar to the Bay Area. I had different experiences when I moved to the L.A. area from New York. > Deposits : > > 1. Pacific Gas and Electric. Get a letter of credit from your current > utility company. If you can't get one until after you pay your final > bill, write down their telephone number so that you can call them and > ask for one later. Shortly after you arrive, you will receive a bill > for a $70 deposit, since you haven't had service with them recently. > 2. Pacific Bell doesn't require a deposit if you give them your > Visa or MasterCard number. Before moving here (in February 1977), I lived with my folks and never had any utility company credit. I did not have to pay any deposit for gas, for electricity, or for my phone. > 3. Security Deposits. My apartment required a security deposit of > $400. I don't know if this is usual or not. I've lived in four apartments since coming to California. The first was in Anaheim, where I paid 195.00 for a 1 bedroom/nicely furnished/utils paid in a good area. The security deposit was 110.00 The second was a furnished one bedroom apt in Hollywood, which also cost 195.00, utilities paid. This place had a swimming pool which was condemned by the city shortly after I moved in. I moved out very quickly. Discovering what Hollywood car insurance rates were like was an important factor. The security deposit there was one months rent. The third was a furnished one bedroom in Glendale (ten minutes from downtown L.A) which had two swimming pools (having at least one is common for L.A. area apartment buildings) and gas barbeques. This cost 205.00 and went up to 260 before I moved out in 1980. The security deposit was 170.00 I've always gotten my security deposit back. The only hassles I ever had were with the apt in hollywood.. While there was no question of my right to the deposit, I had to fight pretty hard over the phone to motivate the management company's business office to do the tedious job of putting it in the mail. At the Glendale apt., not only did I get the deposit back, but the manager *gave* me most of the furniture that had originally come with the apt., as all of the furnished apts were being converted to unfurnished there. I then moved into my current 1 bedroom unfurnished apt in Northridge, (a college community, about 20-25 minutes from downtown) which cost 335.00 with no utilities. Four years later, my rent is 410.00. This seems to be about 20.00 below par for the neighborhood. The security deposit here was last months rent (@335.00)+200=535, for a total of 835.00 initial outlay. It is a fairly nice building. The pool is kept clean, and they have gardeners in several times a week. > Cars and Licenses : > > 1. If your car needs any work done, you may want to do it before you > come here. Labor charges in the Bay Area are around $50 per hour. > Nowadays it seems like labor costs more than the parts. True for L.A. too. > 2. You may want to renew your license plates (tags) in your current > state. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) told me that I didn't > have to purchase California plates until my current ones expire. The > cost of plates is based on the value of your car. I paid $195 for my > 1982 Mazda 626. While I don't have a California Drivers' Handbook in front of me, I believe that there is a time limit (like a month or two) for registering in California, that begins the day you establish residence. When I bought my Plymouth Volare new in 1977, I paid a 97.00 registration fee. This was for a 6000.00 vehicle. It decreases each year as your car depreciates in value. I just got a renewal notice asking for about 35.00. > It is necessary to pass the SMOG (exhaust) > inspection before you can get your license plates. This can be done > at many local gas stations ($25-$30). This will be expensive for out of state cars that don't have catalytic converters. Platinum does not come cheap. > 3. When you apply for a driver's license(DL), they take your current > DL (they don't give it back) and give you a temporary one that expires > after 60 days. Supposedly your 'real' DL will arrive via USnail within > 60 days. The temporary DL is just a piece of paper and doesn't contain > you new DL number, nor your picture. It took a little over a month after I traded in my N.Y. license. What I found really hurts is that most car rental places wouldn't rent to an individual with only a temporary license. > Another thing, if they lose your license it > will take a long time to get one. They lost mine. They don't like to > issue a new one and try to trace down the one that was lost. I misread this on first reading to say "if you lose your". It's not so bad if you are the one who loses it rather then they. I lost my license once, and had it lifted (along with my wallet) another time. Both times I had a new license within 45 days. Before you take your test, pick up a copy of the state drivers manual at the DMV. This will help greatly. Be especially wary of numbers contained within. The test is multiple choice, and if you are familiar with another states laws, something that is correct (and clicks in your head when you see it) in another state, may be different here. > 2. Car Insurance. I can only tell you relative to what I previously > paid. I am female, single, 25, and no accidents in the previous 3 > years. When I lived in Massachusetts in 1982, my insurance rates > were $700 per year. In 1983 in Michigan my rates were $400 a year. > The rates I was quoted here were around $400 a year. Rates are not > regulated (as they are in Massachusetts) so it is wise to shop around. Insurance rates also vary greatly by zip code. When I first bought insurance in Anaheim, my rates were about 700.00 a year, at age 20. When I moved to Hollywood, this jumped to 2000.00 a year. Of course, I moved out of there in less than two months. In Glendale, I paid just under 800 a year. (it would have been twice that if I had lived across the street in another zip code). This went up to 900 a year when I moved to Northridge, and is now just over 600.00. (Since I'm over 25 now) > 3. Food. I was pleasantly surprised at the availabity of fresh fruit > and produce. The price of this is cheaper than anyplace I have lived. > Plus, I have been to some roadside stands where produce and fruit is > really cheap. The price of meat is more expensive than in the Midwest > but cheaper than the East Coast. There is no bottle deposit law, so > the price of soft drinks and beer isn't as much as in the states that > have that law. I don't off-hand know what the liquor tax is. If you > would like to compare the price of anything, send me mail about what > you want the price of. BTW, the grocery stores that I have been to > have a large selection of mexican, chinese and japanese food. Most Hughes markets have an especially good selection of oriental food. Also prices in above average to good restaurants are slightly over half of what they would be in New York. > 2. Most banks are only open from 10-3. Some have drive up tellers > that have longer hours. There are 24-hour machines, but they are > pretty sparse. Usually each bank has about 1 per city. In L.A. you can usually find an automated teller for a given major bank within a mile or two in most areas. > 3. As far as I can tell, good pizza parlors haven't made it this > far west. Lots of excellent ice cream and relatives (gelato etc. ) Alas. A Good Pizza is hard to find. There are, however some pretty good places in Hollywood. And one or two in the San Fernando Valley. The first pizza I had out west was at a chain called "Shakey's" My first comment to one of the friends I was with was: "This tastes like frozen pizza". The response I got was "I NEVER eat frozen pizza". Best to view California pizza as a regional variety, and aqquire a taste for it, I guess. It's not really pizza, but if you can accept that it is something else, you might find that it's pretty good for the something else that it is. Good luck if you decide to move out here. There's lots to be said for California besides woody allen's remark about the only cultural advantage being that one is able to make a right turn on red. (Even the laws on that are changing...) Side note to Carol: Welcome to California. btw, do you know if fortune will ever add job-control to their kernel? Ive heard some rumors.... -- -- Michael Bloom --- {philabs,trwrb,cadovax,randvax}!ttidca!mab
jimb@amd.UUCP (Jim Budler) (10/10/84)
> > Cars and Licenses : > > > > 1. If your car needs any work done, you may want to do it before you > > come here. Labor charges in the Bay Area are around $50 per hour. > > Nowadays it seems like labor costs more than the parts. > > True for L.A. too. > > > 2. You may want to renew your license plates (tags) in your current > > state. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) told me that I didn't > > have to purchase California plates until my current ones expire. The > > cost of plates is based on the value of your car. I paid $195 for my > > 1982 Mazda 626. > > While I don't have a California Drivers' Handbook in front of me, I > believe that there is a time limit (like a month or two) for registering > in California, that begins the day you establish residence. When I bought > my Plymouth Volare new in 1977, I paid a 97.00 registration fee. This was > for a 6000.00 vehicle. It decreases each year as your car depreciates in > value. I just got a renewal notice asking for about 35.00. > Although this *is* the written law California, by agreement with other states *does* allow your current plates to expire. They are considering changes to this *policy* due to the large number of cheaters who have friends or relatives in their home state continue renewing their plates in that state. > > It is necessary to pass the SMOG (exhaust) > > inspection before you can get your license plates. This can be done > > at many local gas stations ($25-$30). > > This will be expensive for out of state cars that don't have catalytic > converters. Platinum does not come cheap. > The policy allows people moving into the state meat their old state requirements rather than the applicable California requirements to some extent as their is provision for cost limits. This means some extra paperwork and a certification by the mechanic as to the cost of the changes. It is usually worth it. ($20-$50 for the mechanic and I believe $5-$7 for the waiver certificate vs. $$$$$$$ for the changes). > > -- Michael Bloom --- {philabs,trwrb,cadovax,randvax}!ttidca!mab -- Jim Budler Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (408) 982-6547 UUCPnet: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra,intelca}!amd!jimb Compuserve ID: 72415,1200