Starting over from scratch in a new city

So I've got big changes ahead of me. I just got a new, high-paying job in Santa Rosa, CA (about an hour north of San Francisco) that starts June 10th. I'm not from there. I have no friends or relatives within five hundred miles of the place. So I'll be starting over from scratch.

The big problem is that I don't have much money saved up. About $1,000 in the bank, and that'll maybe be around $1,500 by the time I set foot in my new town. I'm not sure of the best way to make this move. I'm already planning on leaving most of my belongings behind. My new gig pays very well ($30/hr, about three times what I have been making), but I know cost of living is a lot higher there. I've looked into long term hotel stays, but they're too expensive. I need to figure out how to survive for the first month or so, until I get a couple fat paychecks and can start looking for an apartment.

Any tips from people who have lived through similar situations or are currently living in the north bay would be most appreciated.

 

I can't offer any advise for your move, as I'm old, retired, and on the east coast of Canada. But I LOVE your name, and actually have the original Gorgo movie on DVD. My kids can't understand why I love it.

Good luck with the new job, though!

 

When I moved into a new place, I found that a lot of my money went to supplies for my new place.
Cleaning supplies, kitchen supplies, bedroom supplies, bathroom supplies. It all adds up.
You don't need all that to start out, though, since you'll probably be moving into a better place.
You can do a lot of shopping at discount stores, (Dollar stores) until the cash starts to flow, then buy better stuff.

As for places to stay, check out the local paper's want ads, (maybe check to see if any are online) and find you a cheap-ish rental room, house or what have you.

Don't forget to figure the costs of getting utilities started up.

I feel like this is only half advice, but I really can't think of anything else at the moment, except, make sure you have some form of entertainment for the first night(s) in your new place.
I didn't have internet, tv or a radio and I was about crawling the walls with boredom the first couple of nights.

Good luck, Gorgo.

 

Can always look on craigslist to rent a room. I did that while I went to school in the twin cities, it was the only way I could make it! I wish you the best with your move and the new job!

 

Thanks, it's probably my favorite monster movie of all time. I love it even more than Godzilla!
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I've been looking into this. Right now Craigslist is crowded with people renting temporary space for a music festival. I'm looking for something more then just a weekend. I'll try again next week.

I'm also going to ask around at my new job. Maybe somebody there can rent me some couch space.

It's just a weird situation. I'm likely to be sort of homeless for a while.

 

I can only advise you not to do it like I have.

I got a re-location allowance from my work, so the move wasnt financially difficult - but I haven't made any friends really in the new city I live in, and I've become very disconnected from my friends back home.

I would recommend you do the sort of things I tell myself to do and dont... join some sort of club or society (or a night class, or a sports team, or a pub quiz team, or anything to meet people), get involved in the social stuff that happens at work as much as you can, and make the effort.

 

craigslist is your friend for furniture. a lot of people get rid of barely used stuff when they're moving and you can pay about 10% of what you'd be paying at a store.

normally it's bad to do credit card stuff but if you have decent credit, you can get a new card and just pay it off or even dip into a cash reserve on your checking if you have that and just pay it back with your first check.

at a full time 30$/hour you should level out nice and fast.

 

I dont know if they have this in the US, but in the UK Freecycle has always helped me when I was starting out.

Ive got loads of stuff on there for the cost of a car trip (and have given away a few things too)

 

Some hostels I've stayed at require foreign passports, so ask about that.

One other option that I would do is to live in a campground. Buy a tent, a good air mattress, and see how that goes for the next few months. You might need to get a PO Box or some address for your paperwork at work (tax forms). I'm not sure what happens if you are living out of your car or homeless. And a campground isn't really a permanent address. An RV park with a campground that doesn't have length of stay restrictions might be something to look into. I don't know since I haven't done this. But, this time of year in Northern Cali, camping would be my choice.

 

Looking into renting a single room it looks like it's going to go between $500-$800/mo. I should be okay as long as I can do my laundry on the cheap and eat junk food. I am actually going to have a bit more cash than I thought because I was able to fit my possessions into a much smaller storage unit than I anticipated. Saved me a couple hundred bucks.

So it's looking like renting a single room for two months and then look for a condo.

I was just down there a couple days ago for some pre-employment meetings and had some In N' Out Burger. Oh my.

New job officially starts June 10. Wish me luck.

 

Check out all the social services you can find there. They can help with all kinds of needs from temporary housing to free meals. You can start with a search for the local chapter of the United Way there as a good source for lots of information. You can even just search for social services In Santa Rosa and perhaps find more. I am currently homeless, and while never ideal, it can be done with financial benefit if you stick to your plan to keep it temporary. And once you start using the homeless social services, the homeless themselves will point you to wherever your needs lie. Word of mouth is the most important tool to homelessness. Keep your plan and your money close to the vest and keep focused on having a place in a month, which it sounds like you would be able to do with your financial situation there.
As far as getting to meet people there, Strange Famous is on the right track. To take her thoughts further, and if you choose to get the benefit of these social services, consider paying back to these social services through volunteerism. The most decent people you will ever find are those who give their time to help others.
Good luck in your new life.

 

I've lost the reply in an unfortunate informatic event -.-

Long story short: a long stay hotel or a short-stay room are your only viable way. Otherwise just the rent in advance and the deposit will be over your total budget, without considering the kitchen and the furniture and the everyday use supplies.

 

You could always ask your new workplace for an advance to help with the move/getting setup...

 

Not only can buy/sell sites help you out with buying stuff once you get there, but it can also help you out with getting some extra cash by selling your old stuff that you would otherwise be leaving behind?

 

So I thought I'd update everybody on my situation.

I left my wife and kids behind and that was the hardest part of this whole adventure. We are going to be apart until September but in the end it will all be worth it. I have already arranged to Skype my kids every night. My wife is a trooper and is handling all this very well.

I spent a week staying at a long-term stay hotel for a rate below the one I was quoted on-line. It's amazing what a business will do for you if you simply ask. I got a 20% discount with nothing more than a polite question.

I started my new job and I love it. I made a lot of friends and one of them offered to let me stay at his house. I crashed there for about ten days until I found a small furnished apartment near my office. So really, I didn't have much of a homeless period to speak of. Not even a night in the car or a tent.

Missing my wife is hard, but she's been sexting me pretty regularly, so that helps. She's also letting me see other people while we're apart (we've been in an open relationship for years) but I've been too busy to take advantage of that freedom yet (usually she vets all my hookups and vice versa).

I got my first fat paycheck and it's great. I've never seen a check with so many numbers on it. I should have moved out of the sticks years ago. It won't be long until I can start house hunting, then reunite the family and start living the good life. I am very excited.

 

As a long-term resident of Greater Hipsterland, I can give you a few words of advice.

First, you are at the outer edge of greater hipsterland. You don't have to deal with insane rents (up 10% in 3 months in SF) and lack of living space (60 sq ft? $1000 please).

That said, as long as your wife and kids aren't ready to move in, you should find a house that is looking for roommates and join them. Find some sonoma state kids and you'll get cheap rent (~$400/mo), no lease/contract and people who can show you around town.

Of course, you'll have to deal with cheetos ground into the carpet and the sound of your roomies banging their girlfriends for 25 overhyped seconds before falling asleep drunk, but thats life on the cheap.

I don't know if you brought a car with you, but if not, you can get a cheap one from Bizzaro's auction in the south bay (Millbrae?), south of san francisco. Drive it till the wheels fall off. Get AAA so that someone can come and get you when the wheels do fall off.