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From: preston@fortune.UUCP (Carol Preston)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Helpful Hints for moving to California
Message-ID: <4343@fortune.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 25-Sep-84 21:00:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: fortune.4343
Posted: Tue Sep 25 21:00:53 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 27-Sep-84 04:27:11 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Fortune Systems, Redwood City, CA
Lines: 160



	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 94065