Best city in California for a young college bound waitress?

I am 18 going on 19. I am moving out of my house this December or January. I will be working as a full time waitress for some years and will be saving money for college. What are some cities in California... 1. that has lots of restaurants and customers? 2. I will be rooming so rent will cost between 500 to 900 dollars. 3. safe for a young person/lady like me. 4. Culturally diverse 5. Air is not worse than LA 6. Fun cities can't hurt too :] (even though i'll be working a lot) Thanks!

Public Comments

1. Lots of places in California that fit your requirements. I'd stay away from the biggest cities on general principal, though. Too much craziness! South Lake Tahoe or Truckee if you like snow country. Santa Cruz if you like the beach, though rents are likely fairly high. Santa Barbara too, with rents way up there. Oxnard is a better lower rent choice with a lot of tourist activity nearby. I'm a big fan of Arcata way up in the North Coast of California. Or Mendocino somewhat south of there. Anywhere in the Napa-Sonoma wine country. Sonoma itself is a great town. Any of the smaller towns around Santa Rosa.
2. Well your main problem is your rental range since most bigger cities that have a lot of restaurants tend to be to expensive. I would suggest Sacramento as place to look for mainly because of your rent range since when i lived there a 1 bed room apt will only cost you around 500-700 depending on where you are. The city is pretty safe i never really saw that as a issue. There are a lot of shopping areas in Sac so there are plenty of restaurants. Sacramento claims to be very culturally diverse but i found that the Bay Area is a lot more diverse. Whether the city is fun or not i guess it would depends on your meaning of fun. Also they have a CSUS nearby and even tho its not the best CSU, its one of the biggest and i found getting classes a lot easier.
3. Well you will get a lot of opinions on this one. So here is one more. I would say San Diego, CA. would be a good fit for you. With the rebuilding of Downtown San Diego the gas lamp district has a ton of new and upcoming restaurants. With the community collages and the Universities here you would be shoe in this area. The east county would be less expensive for you (car needed) Most younger people seek the beach area because of the party life style. However if you get to town and are still looking for a good room to rent look me up i have 4 rooms for rent at this time. Best of luck