Information: Gainesville, FL; Springfield, IL; Bakersfield, CA

Definitely do your research on California and their tax setup. They do have a state tax and everything in California is very expensive...even in Bakersfield. Keep those things in mind if you get to the salary discussion point during your interviewing process.

But...even though you are inland, you're still in California...which means you have tons of kick ass single guy stuff to do that is close by (within 3-4 hour drives).

Good luck.

 

While not as bad as CA, Illiniois is pretty damn expensive to live in as well. State tax, various sin taxes, and i think some cities/counties also have their own tax.

Buying property up here is pretty tough too... not quite CA levels again, but its really expensive.

Even small things like pizza and haircuts are 2x as expensive as in Texas.

In FL, no state income tax - but then again you're forced to live in FL. I lived there for a few years and did not enjoy it one bit.

 

I had a friend who lived in Gainesville and said it's pretty much UF and that's it.

 

I really don't have any personal experience, but I would think that Gainesville would be awesome for a young, single guy. Especially if you like blondes.

 

Bakersfield does have some Buck Owens stuff, so that's pretty cool. You are close to some great hikes, camping, and outdoors stuff. You aren't too far from LA, and not too far from the coast. You could take up both surfing and snowboarding/skiing.

But the town itself is pretty small and not real metropolitan.

 

Hmm..I pay $10 at the barber shop for my hair cut here in Chicago. Not sure your stat is accurate, unless of course you're referring to Tony's on HWY 6, which is definitely one of these.

 

Bakersfield is awesome. I love it, but then again I'm from Houston.

 

OK we need to talk because I have yet to find a place to get a basic hair cut for under $30 in Chicago. I miss my Supercuts in Houston.

 

What part of town do you live in? I go to this place on Irving Park & Pulaski (right near the Irving Park Blue Line station).

 

I think you'd have to really want to live in Bakersfield.

Regarding the outdoor stuff, the vast majority of cool places will take some driving (Sequoia NP is one of the best places in the country) and on most days, you can't see the Southern Sierras from town because of the air pollution, which is really noticeable. When you drop down from Tehachapi Pass, you can clearly see the layers of brown air in the valley.

 

Thanks! I'll give it a shot this weekend. I am closer to the Brown Line off Irving Park.

 

Bakersfield is crap.

If Fresno is the ******* of California, Bakersfield is probably the taint.

 

If you do move to Gainesville, please find this guy and be his friend. Should be awesome.

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This story begs the question: "What, they're different people?"