I want to move from the UK to California, however I'm only 17!?

[enaytee]

I know this sounds really naive, but Im a 17yr old female and I would like to either a) study in university over there or b) after uni here, move there. Ive heard you cant live over there unless you have a visa, and to get that you have to work or have family or something silly. Anyway yes could this ever be possible? even If i just lived there for a year or something, working etc. I know it sounds stupid but I want to experience something like that, and Cali has always appealed to me.

[klpeake]

Anything is possible, but you better be prepared to work hard because the cost of living here is very high. Also, is your goal to come to the US or specifically to CA? CA isn't the most wonderful place on the planet after all. Some will argue that fact, but it has a lot of downfalls. The cost of living, the cost of housing, the attitude of the people, the illegal emigrant population, the crime. I have lived my whole life in CA (both northern & southern). The warm, temperate year-long weather is what can't be beat anywhere else. So if weather is very important to you, then give it a try. Coming from England, you probably would be very excited by the weather, but don't let it cloud your judgement (no pun intended :-)). As a 17 year old, you will be be excited by the social activities that we have in CA also. We are a very instant-on, constant entertaiment in life type of place. People don't like to be bored here and they are running, running, running. We always have places to go, people to meet. But to the detriment of things like stopping to smell the roses and helping out your fellow man, etc. What you should do is go to the forums of other states and ask the CA's that have moved away, why they did so. You will find a lot of people became very disenfranchised with the glory of CA and went to find greener pastures elsewhere.