Is California as dangerous as they say?

You should approach California without falling into the trap of being dazzled by Hollywood hype. The reason why San Francisco and Los Angeles bashing tends to get a little hysterical is because of unrealistic expectations. Millions come here every year expecting to live like a high-tech CEO or movie star. Of course, it rarely happens the way these newcomers want it to. Then after six months, they start behaving as if California was the worst place in the whole universe. San Francisco is greedy and competitive. Los Angeles is superficial and dim. You can't walk the streets without getting mugged, raped, and murdered. The pollution is so bad, you can see the toxic clouds. So on and so forth. Reality is more complicated than that. If you embrace the complexities and keep expectations in check you will have a much better experience. To be sure, San Francisco isn't Disney World. But it isn't Johannesburg or Baghdad either. The economic crisis has resulted in a rising crime rate. However, it sounds scarier than it actually is. Most crimes are opportunistic. That is, they are usually the result of the victim(s) behaving foolishly. There are between 7 to 8 million people living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Only a very small fraction of them will have the misfortune to encounter violent crime. You should always follow common sense in a major city (e.g. don't walk alone at night, lock your car doors and windows, and so forth). But paranoia is not warranted. San Francisco has an extremely high average decibel level. And so do most of the "inner" East Bay suburbs (including Berkeley). You do get used to background noise. Police sirens and trains aren't nearly as annoying as bad neighbors. Music - which is the most common form of noise coming from neighbors - is much more difficult to tune out. If you want quiet, then you need to choose your surroundings carefully. Stay away from apartments with lots of singles and nightlife areas. Practically every religion and denomination has some representation in San Francisco. All the Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist sects are here. And then there are the "new" religions like Scientology and Mormonism as well. You should have no problem finding a place of worship to your liking. With around three million followers in the Archdiocese of San Francisco (as well as the suffragan dioceses of Oakland and San Jose), however, the Catholics are still the dominant religious force. I'm always a bit bemused by the differing standards people attach to vague terms like "friendliness." It is all a matter of perspective. Those who complain about rudeness in large cities are usually being rude themselves (without knowing it). There are certain unwritten rules everyone is supposed to follow. Because personal space and time are two commodities locals don't have, privacy and speed is both appreciated and respected. For example, you should stand to the right on escalators and pass on the left. In San Francisco, a waitress who races through your restaurant order is actually doing you a favor by not wasting your valuable time.

You have to be very careful about where you live. The place with the cheapest rent might not be such a good deal and you should be able to tell if the neighborhood is a distressed neighborhood. Ppl who said that it's expensive to live in Calif. are right. All of the taxes are high-- sales tax, property tax, etc. and the result is that the cost of goods and services are also high. But if it's your dream to live in CA, go for it. You will only be young once. And in every big city, you can find high crime areas (not just in CA).

It really depends on each person. For me, the SF Bay Area was not the place for me. I'm 38 and I was born in SF and raised in San Mateo area. I just moved out 2 months ago and I realize that it was a great move. People in SF Bay Area are nasty, period. It's way beyond snobbish. That would describe the people in the area I'm living in now, Seattle, although that description may be a bit harsh. When you get locked out of trying to merge over from lane 5 to lane 6 on Highway 80 Northbound, trying to exit Ashby or University you'll wish you were back in the midwest. People will literally go out of their way to make sure you can't get in the lane you want. Happened to me on a daily basis. When you get pushed out of the way shopping for groceries at the local supermarket by another woman and she doesn't say "sorry" you'll wish you were back in the midwest. When someone accuses you of doing something you didn't do you'll wish you were back in the midwest. This type of things will happen to you in Berzerkeley. People in the east bay drive like they are crazy too, very fast and aggressive. If you're going to live in the Bay Area I would live in a more sane place like the Peninsula, either San Carlos or Belmont or maybe even Sunnyvale. There's nothing sane about Berzerkeley, it's a crazy environment (see: tree huggers at Cal), and don't even get me started on owning a bicycle (you won't own it for long). The Bay Area sounds like it might be a good place for you because you mentioned you want to have money, and I would recommend the Bay Area if you want to have wealth because you can definitely find it if you have the skills. The problem is, be prepared for a downgrade in quality of life. You obviously have not been paying attention to the news. The state of CA is in shambles. The gov cannot even pay it's employees, giving them IOU. They are nearing bankruptcy and it's bad. The unemployment rate is over 10%, although the Berzerkeley may be better. I love the Seattle area because the quality of life is better. People are nicer and will go out of their way for you. I can find $3.99 sandwiches with meat, lettuce, mayo and mustard inside. Tough luck finding that in Berzerkeley. In greater Seattle area (specifically Federal Way) you can find a 3BR house for $250,000 (one of my patients just bought one).Tough luck finding that in Berzerkeley. I think you need to analyze what you want to do in life. If you want to do something technology related, the SF Bay Area is tough to beat for Biotechnology and tech related jobs. The biggest employers are Google, Yahoo, Oracle, Apple, Hewlett Packard, Genentech, and others. Most of my patients were employed by some sort of technology company. The SF Bay Area really is nasty, I'm not making this up. There's too much greed and negative energy over there right now for me. If you can handle it, more kudos to you. You will see the difference immediately, trust me. Very difficult to trust anyone. I would not worry about the crime. That's a common sense thing. Don't walk down a dark alley at midnight, duh. Stick to public areas, walk with a friend. I can walk down the streets in Berzerkeley right now and I wouldn't have a second thought about crime. It's not the criminals you need look after, it's the regular common citizens.

Why not live in Berkeley? It's not bad for someone your age. It's not as if you intend to plant your roots there and raise a family. You're 21 and overdue. You'll find many college students younger than you who are on their own. Make some friends, hang out, but don't lose your sense of who you are. I went from a small town to Manhattan when I was a teenager. You become streetwise pretty fast.

Depends on wear you live. Some places are worse then others, such as LA, but it's not all bad. San Clemente and Ventura are pretty nice. Mine please? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090727204530AAHeAmz

A lot of people covered the "attitude," but I just want to add that there are good people everywhere, once you get to know them. And for crime, there is a lot of crime in California, but the vast majority of violent crime is gang on gang violence. So stay out of gangs, stay away from drug dealers, and lock your car and your house, and you will be safe enough. I think your overall plan needs some deeper thinking, though. For one, Hollywood does not accurately represent any place, even itself. I don't know what you've seen of Berkeley, probably hippie-type protests from the 60s, but it is quite different now. While the *city* of Berkeley still has that hippie element, the Cal campus doesn't really have it. It's mostly serious students who are focused on their grades. In some cases (like pre-med or engineering) the students can be extremely cutthroat, even sabotaging each other. I don't think the overall political feel of the campus is farther left than any other secular college; if you want a truly far-left college, check out UC Santa Cruz. As far as richness and wealth in concerned, somewhere like Berkeley there will be a lot of homeless people, and that alone might be a culture shock for you. That being said, you don't have to go to a CC in Berkeley to transfer to UC Berkeley. You can go to ANY of the CCs in California (there's got to be a hundred or more) and transfer to Berkeley. Rent is pretty high there, due to its proximity to high-paying jobs in the Bay Area. But will you have a high paying job? If any, you will have a minimum wage job. Pretty much any town in California has a CC nearby, so you might want to check out places that have cheaper rent (Sacramento perhaps?) Now, *that* being said, right now is a terrible time to consider going to college in California. Our state is one of the hardest hit by the housing crisis, and the state government has made deep, deep cuts to college funding. This is going to cause higher tuition, as well as cuts to classes offered. So you will have to pay more for less education. I strongly recommend looking for out-of-CA alternatives. For instance, Asheville NC is a nice college town, fairly open-minded, and is home to a few colleges. And of course, big cities like Chicago, New York, and Boston also have lots of colleges. 1. I'm not saying California is full of rude people, but the culture here is different. Sure, traffic congestion may drive some people to the point of terrible road behavior, but that is only one aspect of life. Like I said, when you get to know people, there are good people everywhere. The only "rude" people I encounter on a daily basis are people who have immigrated from a country I won't name, but for them it is part of their culture. California does have much less of the "fake friendliness" that you might find in the South. 2. In my opinion, you should expand your college options beyond CA. Like I said, college budgets have been slashed, and it is really going to be a bad time to be a college student in CA. There are 49 other states with better economic situations, which means there are 49 states where you can be more successful and less frustrated in your college journey. 3. In CA, I would suggest looking into Sacramento. It is a large city, so it has the diversity you are looking for. It has relatively low rent compared to the Bay Area. Being in the Central Valley, it has a stronger presence of Protestant Christianity (although every Christian denomination is pretty much well represented everywhere). And while the economy there has been hit as hard as anywhere, it's not AS bad as some other central valley cities, like Stockton and Modesto. Outside of CA, there are thousands of colleges and CCs so it is hard to recommend one for you. I have mentioned Asheville NC as a nice college town, but I'm not very well traveled. I just think you would do well to invest some time into researching other options outside of Berkeley.

Calif is a great place if u can deal with over a million cars a day on freeways in the SF bay area, deal with one of the highest taxed places in the nation, afford rents that can run as much as 2000.00/mo for a nice 2 bedroom apt and live in Berkeley which is the most far left town and school in the country. Plus the bay area has the highest crime rate in CA outside of LA

It is a great place especially if you are lesbian or gay. If you are straight it may be hard to find a straight boyfriend that is not at least bi-sexual. There is a lot of culture and things to do. It is not that warm in San Francisco like in Los Angeles. Make sure you have money. There are some really bad areas and you will need money to keep safe. You will have to pay OUT OF STATE TUITION for Berkely City College. You will not be able to use a false address. That is a criminal offense and you will loose your credits. Didn't you say that Christ has helped you so far? You have dishonesty issues and are an insult to the Christ and Christianity. California is in economic ruin right now. People are desperate and homeless.

*_~ So glad that you're considering moving to SF. All places are danger if you're careless.. Check Craigslist for roommates in the city, it's also a great way to save money and meet some new people. I grow up here, always wanted to leave Bay Area However after my travel for the last 7 years to Seattle, LA, San Diego, LAs VEgas, Florida, New Orlean, HK, China, Japan, Hawaii, Thailand and Europe.. I can tell you that there's no place like the Bay Area!! I just love the weather and the diverse culture here!! Traffic can be hectic but still bearable. Public transport is great! You can always take Bart, ferries, bus, taxi or cable car etc.