Pleased to meet you all!

Hello, my name is Paul and I just joined the forum. I joined because I need some advice about moving back to Northern California. I'm living in Texas right now with my mom and step dad (ugh) but only briefly in order to save up money before I make the final move back to the best place I have ever been - California.

Here's a bit about myself:

I lived in San Francisco in 2010 after graduating college, and I got a job at a firm downtown. I made good money for 6 months, but I quit that job because it wasn't me. I worked in a cubicle managing data for 6 months in order to pay my rent, and then after I quit I spent the latter 6 months of 2010 having the time of my life. After I ran out of money I moved back home to Tennessee to do a semester of graduate school, but that wasn't my thing either.

I don't know what I want to do with my life, but I know where I want to do it, and I know the kind of people I want to be around. If money wasn't an issue, I'd be a potter. I studied pottery in college, and literature, but pottery is my main passion. I love making wheel-thrown pottery.

And, I love California. I miss California. California is where I want to be.

I have friends in SF that I could stay with, but I think the city is too expensive. I drove to visit them back in March of this year and stayed for a week, but they pay around $900 per month each for a room to live in an apartment at Haight St. and Masonic. It's a great neighborhood, but I'd rather visit them on the weekends and live somewhere up north.

Golden Gate Park is my favorite part of the city. That's the vibe I'm going for when I move back. When I lived in SF in '10 I lived a few blocks from Ocean Beach in the Outer Sunset, and I would spend all of my free time with my roommate, or by myself, biking around, hiking, and befriending all of the great people who happen to find their way there, as if guided by a star.

The year I lived in San Francisco was the best year of my life. I met so many wonderful people and had such amazing experiences. I want to have that feeling back again. Telling all this to strangers on the Internet feels like I'm shouting into a void, but if I can slowly build some relationships with any of you fellow Californians through this website, then maybe I'll have some friends to meet up with in person when I finally make my way back there again.

That won't be long. Texas is no place for a person like me. I can have a few thousand dollars in the bank in a couple of months, and that's all a guy like me needs to get started.

 

Hi and Welcome.

 

Ever thought about moving into the Tenderloin? I know it's kinda sketch but i know the rent is cheap.

 

Welcome!!!!

 

I don't think I'd like living in the Tenderloin as much as I liked the Outer Sunset. I have a friend from high school who lives in Humboldt that I might be able to stay with until I find work, but I haven't asked her yet. Whatever happens, I'd feel like a nuisance if I couch-slept more than a week, even if I do the dishes and toss my friends some money. No matter what, it all boils down to where I can find a job. I'm confident I can find a job wherever I land, but I'd rather find a good group of people in a smaller town than fuss with all the hassles of living in a big city, so I'll probably head north.

Even if the rent is cheaper in the Tenderloin, I know I'd be going to the same bars with my friends, and that can add up. The city is expensive. I'd rather spend my weekends around a campfire instead of throwing my money away on the pleasures of big city living.

Nature is my goal. Not buildings. The Tenderloin has more of a downtown vibe, and I'm looking for trees and grass. I walked through the Tenderloin a couple of times, and I saw a lot of downtrodden people, one of whom threw trash down on the ground, another giving me the stink eye. It was a downer. Kind of like the opening lines of HOWL.

 

Isn't a tenderloin a kind of steak lol?
I hope you make your way back out here and do everything you want to!

-From your neighbor down south

 

More about myself:

Everyone has a long story to tell, and mine is no different. I want to introduce myself further to any Californians on this thread that might be able to help me. I'm overwhelmed by the whole forum experience that is going on here. There are so many different conversations and so many different links to click on. I've always thought of myself as a luddite of sorts, so joining a hippie website doesn't exactly make sense to me.

Hipforums feels like an oxymoron, doesn't it? I feel like hippies would be the last people to spend their time transfixed on a computer monitor, like a bunch of business executives dancing around on the beach.

But, here we are...

I don't know if I even qualify as a hippie. I've always held environmental concerns, and I love great music, but I grew up during the '90s playing Nintendo, and I went to prep school. I feel like I've been groomed for a clean shirt lifestyle, but I don't want any of that. I'm a hippie at heart, but my actions haven't proven that yet.

I'm sure there are a lot of great people out there [you] who live all over the world, and who would be great to meet, but the purpose of me joining is to find a specific group of people, or one person, in California, who can help me get me feet on the ground once I get there.

My prospects at this point are homelessness. I can foresee myself walking around with my backpack, but I'd rather secure a job and a place to sleep before I set out. Like I said, I have potential residence in the city and in Humboldt, but I'd like to explore as many options as possible.

I've worked a lot of jobs over the years, and I feel like I can do anything. I've been a flake in the past, but I'm done being a flake. I'm ready to commit to California and stay there for good this time. My goal is to find a place to sleep for a couple of weeks until I find a job, and then I'll be able to pay my way and have my own room. Any advice or suggestions are appreciated.

Again, I'm not sure what this whole "hipforums" website is all about. I haven't used the Internet like this before. It looks overwhelming. I'm just fishing for some advice or friendship. Maybe if I surf around for a couple of days I'll get the hang of it.

Thanks for welcoming me.

 

Welcome to the show...