Questions (Orange: apartments, rent, vehicle registration)

[jreckrote]

Hi,

So i have a few questions. and currently concidering moving to CA, and before we go any further i will tell you it is not to be a movie star/singer or anything like that. My wife was diagnosed witha pituitary tumor ( brain tumor on the pituitary gland ) a little over a year ago. she had brain surgery for it November 19th 2008, and told that when people have this surgery they go 15-20 years before they have to even consider having it again.. well.. she just had it again November 10th, 2009. after doing some research UCLA is one of the leading places for pituitary tumor research and treatment. So we are considering moving out there and trying to get her in there for treatment. we are in our mid 20s, and dont have a whole lot of money to just up and move. but was wondering if you could tell me how the job market is out there. and how much we would need to save up to actually move out there and not end up on the street?.. thanks.. sorry if this post is all jumbled and confusing. kinda hard to think straight right now.. oh, and as far as career field, i am in the IT field. i have 5+ years experience in hands on IT field. maintaining, troubleshooting and repairing windows based servers, workstations, as well as business LAN/WAN equipment. most notably in the automotive dealership industry.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by jreckrote

,,,,, So we are considering moving out there and trying to get her in there for treatment. we are in our mid 20s, and dont have a whole lot of money to just up and move. but was wondering if you could tell me how the job market is out there. and how much we would need to save up to actually move out there and not end up on the street?.. ,,,,,

The job market in CA is dirt poor. No one is hiring, people are loosing their homes. Doctors even have a hard time being hired right now, even on the deep fryers at Mc Donalds.
I would only move here if you have already been hired.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by jreckrote

...after doing some research UCLA is one of the leading places for pituitary tumor research and treatment. So we are considering moving out there and trying to get her in there for treatment.

You don't have to live in West L.A. and might find less expensive housing further out. Have you looked at search engines in your field? While the job market isn't good here, your priority is your wife's health. Good luck to you.

[socadje]

Hi...sorry to hear that life is so rough for you and your wife right now. I agree with ca4now--jobs are tough to find--DEFFINITELY. But look for jobs here from where you are....try the LA Times Classifieds or maybe the Orange County Register (both papers here that are online). Start a notebook to write the leads down or contacts. IT jobs are hard to find--but you may find something else. You may even check websites for large companies here directly under their sites on their employment page.

That may show you rents as well. Rent is usually about$1200 month and up in any area that would be clean and safe--thats for apartments.
However, if you are not sure that UCLA would take her as a patient--then I would suggest that you contact them FIRST. Find out your options, will they take your insurance, is there a waiting list. They likely will have you come out for an evaluation (bringing all your test results etc) or perhaps be able to set up a skype type conference with you and your current Doctors. That said--when they've decided to see and treat your wife--you will have a better time frame for a move or if you'd just be here for a few weeks of treatment--and not have to move permanently. If youre here just awhile--maybe you could get short term state disability payment for your current job as your wife's caregiver while she's here. Check your states rules.

Usually when all those arrangements are made--they will likely have a coordinator or social worker thru UCLA Medical Center who can help folks coming in from out of state find accomadations maybe job lead type things and help with you both thru the journey of your wife's treatment.

Sorry this is long--just sharing from some personal experience. Good wishes and prayers to you both.

[amyellaine]

If i were you, I would take in consideration that this state is broke and is taxing the crap out of it's residents. They were already high and getting higher so even if you see a great job opportunity, keep in mind that your tax rate is going to be much higher than what you are probably already used to. Vehicle registration is outrageous. Example: my car last year was $380, this year $501. In WA state the same car was $80. This is just one example of how the state is sticking it to everyone. 10% increase in state taxes that were already high to begin with, i don't need to go on... It's beautiful here, but if i could get a job any where else i would move in a heart beat.
With that said, you have several cities within driving distance outside of CA that you could try looking at. Reno, Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle, Boise... I don't know how often you will have to go to UCLA, but it might be worth it to commute. Just look at a map and do some web searches....