Moving from NY to LA (San Francisco, Vista: relocating, real estate, for sale)

[CaliforniaDreamin']

Originally Posted by HmmMocha

I'm noticing apartment postings with notes that the fridge and/or stove are included. Sometimes when pictures are posted, I don't necessarily see a fridge. Is that the norm in Calif.? A fridge and/or stove are not necessarily part of the apartment package? BTW, I'll be visiting your fair city for a few days beginning tomorrow. I've got my maps and GPS. I'm keeping my fingers crossed all goes well.

Funny you say this, I've also noticed that. When I first started looking at apartment listings and didn't see a refrigerator listed I thought it automatically comes with one like it would in NY but then I saw listings specifically listing refrigerator and realized it must not be a necessity LOL. It does strike me as very odd. Most places come with a microwave but may not have a refrigerator

Hope your trip and move go smoothly, I'll be doing the same thing next year LOL

[DaBeez]

LOL at the poster who recommended Pacoima. Pacoima and Panorama City are the Comptons of the Valley. (EDIT) Pacoima did give us the wonderfully talented and beautiful Jessica Alba though. So it cant be ALL bad.

Anything along the 405 corridor and you'll be just fine. Also, Studio City is NOT a terrible commute to Century City. I commuted from Toluca Lake to Century City for a number of years and it was not a problem. I just took Beverly Glen or Coldwater Canyon through the canyons and was fine. Just about anywhere you live or work in Los Angeles you can expect a 45-60 minute commute.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by DaBeez

LOL at the poster who recommended Pacoima. Pacoima and Panorama City are the Comptons of the Valley. (EDIT) Pacoima did give us the wonderfully talented and beautiful Jessica Alba though. So it cant be ALL bad. .

And, further in the past, Ritchie Valens and Bobby Chacon.

[HmmMocha]

I'm here in LA and well... it's not NY. I've been looking at apts. for the past 2 days. Needless to say it's not going so well. The ones I've seen so far don't look so nice and your paying an arm and a leg for basically zero square footage. Oh my goodness, it is New York !!! haa haa. Just thought I'd make a little joke. Anyway, I asked about the no fridge and/or stove issue. The rental place told me that in LA they find the maintainance/up keep of those items is too expensive and not worth it !!! On second thought this isn't NY. I can't see that happening in NY. In NY it's the law that those items are to be in an purchased/rented home. I know, stop comparing LA to NY. I'm in LA now. I'm trying, I'm trying. BTW, I took a chance & looked at a place in Pasadena, right off the 110 (haa haa that's LA lingo for the Pasadena Freeway...I think..so I'm not quite there yet w/the lingo) not nice. So Pasadena is out. The traffic hasn't been too bad but I don't want to jinx myself so I won't talk about it any further. I love the weather. That's one thing I won't miss about NY. Lastly, cars. You all were right about the BMW's here. BMW must make a killing in LA. That's not all you see but mostly in the more affluent areas. I'm still getting my Honda or Audi. I'm thinking convertable...if I'm going to live in LA why not do it right, well almost right. Haa Haa.

[katenik]

Originally Posted by HmmMocha

I'm here in LA and well... it's not NY. I've been looking at apts. for the past 2 days. Needless to say it's not going so well. The ones I've seen so far don't look so nice and your paying an arm and a leg for basically zero square footage. Oh my goodness, it is New York !!! haa haa. Just thought I'd make a little joke. Anyway, I asked about the no fridge and/or stove issue. The rental place told me that in LA they find the maintainance/up keep of those items is too expensive and not worth it !!! On second thought this isn't NY. I can't see that happening in NY. In NY it's the law that those items are to be in an purchased/rented home. I know, stop comparing LA to NY. I'm in LA now. I'm trying, I'm trying. BTW, I took a chance & looked at a place in Pasadena, right off the 110 (haa haa that's LA lingo for the Pasadena Freeway...I think..so I'm not quite there yet w/the lingo) not nice. So Pasadena is out. The traffic hasn't been too bad but I don't want to jinx myself so I won't talk about it any further. I love the weather. That's one thing I won't miss about NY. Lastly, cars. You all were right about the BMW's here. BMW must make a killing in LA. That's not all you see but mostly in the more affluent areas. I'm still getting my Honda or Audi. I'm thinking convertable...if I'm going to live in LA why not do it right, well almost right. Haa Haa.

don't rule out pasadena on the basis of one place you saw. pasadena has lots of great real estate. if you rule it out, do it because the commute to century city would be horrendous, not because you assume it isn't a nice place to live. it is.

[FarewellLA]

My suggestion is to try: Westchester, El Segundo, possibly Culver City (though it can get expensive in certain parts). Pasadena is nice, but your commute to Century City would be awful (at least an hour each way if you're lucky).

[beone]

Originally Posted by HmmMocha

Hello all,
I’m considering moving to L.A from NY in December 2007. I have a possible position (don’t want to jinx myself ) in Los Angeles, 90067 zip code (by Century City).
I’m trying to figure out where to live? I understand LA is an expensive area to live. My income would be about 65 to 70K yearly. I’m single w/no pets or kids. I’m looking to rent a 1 or 2 bedroom, maybe a duplex or rent a small house. I was budgeting max rent at $1,000. Is that possible? Someplace safe, low crime, family oriented (is OK w/me I don’t really care), near social activities (I am single after all ), doesn’t have to be near the beach can be inland and with nearby food shopping, mall etc. On top of that, I’ll need to purchase a car. Whew!! that was a mouthfull. I keep hearing traffic is pretty bad so I need an easy to commute to work. I heard Santa Monica is good & close (approx. 20-30 min) but it’s expensive. People were throwing names at me like Thousand Oaks, New Port, Orange County, Ventura, Irvine (sp?), Whitaker (sp?), Mar Vista, Marina Del Ray, Studio City, Woodland Hills and Foster City to name a few. All of which make no sense to me as I have no idea how close they are to my potential job and I don’t know if they are nice areas. How much is gas? Here in NY, it’s about $3.79 per gal.
This is all pretty overwhelming. Please Help!! Thanks for your time!

Word of advice - if you love NYC DO NOT MOVE TO LA - you will hate it. I was just there this weekend - been about 7 years since my last visit. Since my last visit I have lived in Seattle and now San Francisco. LA sucks! It is totally lifeless. If you have not been, go before you decide to move. NYC is a million times better. Woe to anyone who lives in LA.

[CaliforniaDreamin']

Originally Posted by HmmMocha

I'm here in LA and well... it's not NY. I've been looking at apts. for the past 2 days. Needless to say it's not going so well. The ones I've seen so far don't look so nice and your paying an arm and a leg for basically zero square footage. Oh my goodness, it is New York !!! haa haa. Just thought I'd make a little joke. Anyway, I asked about the no fridge and/or stove issue. The rental place told me that in LA they find the maintainance/up keep of those items is too expensive and not worth it !!! On second thought this isn't NY. I can't see that happening in NY. In NY it's the law that those items are to be in an purchased/rented home. I know, stop comparing LA to NY. I'm in LA now. I'm trying, I'm trying. BTW, I took a chance & looked at a place in Pasadena, right off the 110 (haa haa that's LA lingo for the Pasadena Freeway...I think..so I'm not quite there yet w/the lingo) not nice. So Pasadena is out. The traffic hasn't been too bad but I don't want to jinx myself so I won't talk about it any further. I love the weather. That's one thing I won't miss about NY. Lastly, cars. You all were right about the BMW's here. BMW must make a killing in LA. That's not all you see but mostly in the more affluent areas. I'm still getting my Honda or Audi. I'm thinking convertable...if I'm going to live in LA why not do it right, well almost right. Haa Haa.

Just wondering HmmMocha, are you not finding a good selection of apartments through classified ads like craigslist or are you doing driveby's, so to speak, and looking that way.

I'm just wondering what is the quickest and best method of finding an apartment ... will have to do it next year

[LASam]

Westsiderentals.com

[Funyun]

I love NYC (well some of the time, at least - winter is not one of them) and also love Los Angeles, so I don't think you can expect everyone to feel the same way you do. And I think Los Angeles is FAR from lifeless, that's for sure!

Originally Posted by beone

Word of advice - if you love NYC DO NOT MOVE TO LA - you will hate it. I was just there this weekend - been about 7 years since my last visit. Since my last visit I have lived in Seattle and now San Francisco. LA sucks! It is totally lifeless. If you have not been, go before you decide to move. NYC is a million times better. Woe to anyone who lives in LA.