Where are some of the better places to live as an autistic adult in California?
I'm stuck in rural CA, USA. It's a medical desert, and there are no adult autism behavioral therapists (not to be confused with CBT) within a couple hours' drive who could help me with social skills or job skills. My family never got me evaluated for ignorant reasons and it's making getting that evaluation as an adult immensely difficult because I'm now in my 30s, my insurance won't cover it, there are no neuropsychologists who evaluate adults here, and I can't afford it out of pocket anyway.
The local employers are all small enough that they justify not adhering to ADA or hiring people who need work accommodations, and all in types of work that most autistic folks (myself included) struggle with. Because they are small, their model is "understaff and overwork", so even roles I could probably manage at a different employer elsewhere are made unfeasible because the employers combine several unrelated roles. The DOR here is underfunded, and there aren't local employers who will hire people with my challenges (processing delays, sensory overload issues, difficulty doing math quickly, social skill deficits and being perceived as "off"). I have about a year or less of unemployment through my school retraining program (my previous B.S. degree is useless within a few hundred miles of me) before I have start working again following my last layoff (related to my autism).
The population here is also mostly senior retirees. Every meetup is folks more than twice my age. Everyone I knew here left as soon as they could because they either weren't autistic and could work enough in customer service to save up money to move, or had family who could afford to help them relocate. I am only not homeless yet because my dad lets me stay here without rent, but he is getting older and wants to sell the house and move into a more affordable retirement community, so this is not a sustainable arrangement.
So where should I aim to move within California that has better resources for autistic people and more autism-friendly job opportunities? I am a liberal/left atheist as well, so for safety reasons it would need to be somewhere that is at least more liberal.
Today, 1:59 pm
