^^ sis vivalavida, no relatives at all here in the us? i admire your courage. I'd say go, but of course mas maraming hurdles. We are in the same situation, the only difference is I was born a citizen but was born in the Phils. Being a citizen makes almost everything easier for you.
San Francisco is a very lovely city, very liberated and great night life. Kaya lang kung lamigin ka, the bay area is not for you. It's about 10-20degrees F cooler than LA or Vegas all year round.
Mas mahal din ang cost of living dito so if you were to rent your own 1 bdr or bachelor style apartment, make sure na medyo malaki ang kinikita mo. Most of the new immigrants I know try to find a roomie or rent a room in a house. Very friendly din ang mga tao dito.
Los Angeles is a very diverse city (SF is too). Halos lahat ata ng nationalities represented dito. Weatherwise, mas masarap ang weather dito, tamang tama lang, hindi mainit or sobrang malamig. I would like to think na mas affordable ang mga apartments dito esp if you get one close to the downtown or valley area (basta wag lang sa west LA, and the mountains- mas mahal). Marami ding jobs, higher mimimum wage than Las vegas and a lot of filipino areas, stores and businesses. LA thrives on film tv and anything showbiz related industry.
Las Vegas is a different story. you might think na everything here is all glam and glitter, but that's just within the little "strip" that it is famous for. About 2-3 miles away from the strip it's mostly DISYERTO. Taking that into consideration, the weather is harsh- summers are ridiculously hot and dry, winters are brutally cold (sorry to say that). Minimum wage is much lower compared to SF and LA. But of course, cost of living is also much lower, you'd probably have no problem finding an apartment of your own that's within your budget. LV thrives on the casino, shows, gambling industry. But that's not all encompassing. I'm sure there are a lot of other industries out there.
The thing that I forgot to mention to you is that in all of these 3 places you will need your own transportation. MAHIRAP ANG PUBLIC TRANSIT. There are places where the public buses do not go and taxis will cost you an arm and a leg. You definitely need to get your own car, kahit 2nd or 3rd hand lang, (which are still in top condition) so that you can get around. Kaya lang in order to do that, you should be able to pay cash outright, because they wont probably offer you financing unless a relative of yours co signs for the loan. Yun ang pinakamahirap na pinagdaanan ko dito.
I think you can find some related jobs to your field in any city that you decide to move to.
btw sis, if you don't mind, how old are you? if you're below 25 it's going to be a little bit tougher to live on your own here. They won't even rent you a car if you're below 25.
pm me if you need more advice! goodluck!
