Thinking of moving from the NYC area to LA -- Serious Advice?? (Los Angeles: transplants)

[NickL28]

Is there anyone who recently did this??

Before the negative replies --- I have about $50,000 in cash saved, can afford around $1,500 a month rent, 29 / male / single, and don't mind having to 'drive everywhere' (I am beginning to hate the NYC subway system and use it only out of necessity to and from work).

Initially, I plan to sublet an apartment. I have seen listings on Craigslist for 1 bed sublets in West Hollywood, Santa Monica, 'Miracle Mile' for between $1,200 - $1,500 a month so I know it is doable.

The only thing is finding a job. I work in accounting / finance and got many calls about my resume last year from employers in the LA area when I was planning on moving but decided to wait a year. Since my job is being eliminated by year end, I plan on leaving the NYC area by the end of the year.

Any advice on what to expect???

[Californiaguy2007]

When you say the L.A Area,are you referring to the City of L.A,The County of L.A or The Greater L.A Region?

The Location makes a huge difference in your Quality of Life and your Wallet.

[the one]

the places you mentioned are basically west and north of downtown, northwest la i suppose. those are great places, but like everywhere there are dodgey blocks. it really depends on how close you want to be to downtown or any financial district you might work in. once you have a job its easier to pic where you live. if you end up working off wilshire, staying in the general area could be economical, just stay north of wilshire. 8th street is garbage. serious rubbish. k town has some ok places but seriously check it out before you decide(really ckeck it out). if you are the more adventurous type and end up workin in downtown, a loft($$$$) in the middle of down town would be great. or you could stay off the 110 in highland park/hermon for a more economic solution. if you move towards the north west side(weho) then prepare to spend some serious cash to live around a bunch of immigrants and people of the gay persuasion. its clean. lots to do. close to hollywood and brentwood/culver(job possibilites) but pricey. once you gota job you can check out where you want to live. oh and for some reason all the people that i have been meeting lately(foreigners/transplants) all seem to move to the SF valley. i think its a mess up there, as other posters would attest to, but it wouldnt suprise me if you ended up in that area. thats serious traffic tho.

[Des_Demona]

LA's a good place to work for an accountant. I know that the accounting department where I work (UCLA) is hiring and the Universities are always a good place to look for work.

West Hollywood is definitely gay-oriented if you're into that sort of thing. Lots of gay clubs/bars and it is mostly young upwardly mobile males. There is a higher crime rate than you would guess but on the surface it looks nice.

Santa Monica is okay... kind of run down in my opinion but I guess okay for a young guy.

Westwood is nice, Culver City, Brentwood, Los Feliz (if you can afford it) etc.

Just stay out of Hollywood, downtown, south and east LA, most of the outskirts of LA and definitely as the above guy said, stay out of the SF Valley... it's getting really bad up there. I wouldn't live in North Hollywood either. If you don't mind the commute but would like a little escape from the craziness there is always places like Chatsworth and Simi Valley - small towns about 25 miles north of LA that are very nice and not as affected yet by LA. There's not much to do there but you can always drive to LA for fun. You're from NYC so I don't see you being as shell-shocked as a lot of people who might move here. Public Transportation is virtually non-existent so if you're looking to escape public transportation but live in a big city it might not be a horrible transition for you.

Just keep in mind that more than half of the Los Angeles population are minorities so expect to see a lot of things in languages other than English (billboards, busses, gas stations etc).

Another big city to consider would be Portland, Oregon... lots of jobs, not as many people, beautiful architecture, good public transportation, big city/lots to do, and best of all, no sales tax! I'm moving there soon.

Good luck!

[plaidmom]

Originally Posted by Des_Demona

Just keep in mind that more than half of the Los Angeles population are minorities so expect to see a lot of things in languages other than English

Including the city's name.

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by NYC96

Is there anyone who recently did this??

Before the negative replies --- I have about $50,000 in cash saved, can afford around $1,500 a month rent, 29 / male / single, and don't mind having to 'drive everywhere' (I am beginning to hate the NYC subway system and use it only out of necessity to and from work).

Initially, I plan to sublet an apartment. I have seen listings on Craigslist for 1 bed sublets in West Hollywood, Santa Monica, 'Miracle Mile' for between $1,200 - $1,500 a month so I know it is doable.

The only thing is finding a job. I work in accounting / finance and got many calls about my resume last year from employers in the LA area when I was planning on moving but decided to wait a year. Since my job is being eliminated by year end, I plan on leaving the NYC area by the end of the year.

Any advice on what to expect???

I relocated from NYC three years ago. The $50,000 should be more than enough to keep you going until you find a job (IF that happens). There's no need for you to sublet if you plan on spending that much for an apartment. Landlords here make you sign a one year lease, then it's month to month after that.

Please tell me you have friends that can hook you up with a decent paying job? If not, you're going to be struggling big time. I've been here for three years and have not been able to secure permanent employment. I have a legal secretarial background, so it's not like I came here without skills. Also, the temp market sucks too.

Here's how temp agencies work:

You go in, register, fill out a ton of paperwork and tests for one to two hours. After that you meet with someone. They tell you to call in your availability for work. You'll be called back with a job and once you say you're interested they'll tell you "well, I have to submit your resume first". And if the client likes you, then they'll want to interview you either on the phone or in person. ALL THIS FOR A **** TEMP POSITION THAT MAY OR MAY NOT GO PERM. The problem is the client is getting resumes from MULTIPLE agencies for the same position your applying for. Trust me, the temp agencies will blow smoke up your a$$ making you think something's gonna happen. The truth is you stand a better chance of winning $500 from a scratch off ticket than getting a temp position.

I'm just warning you ahead of time. The only thing that saved me when I first got here was that I lucked out with two or three long term temp jobs and the rest of the year was spent collecting California Unemployment (and I got stories about them too).

If you MUST move to Cali, try the Bay area outside of San Francisco. Most people work in San Francisco and commute home, pretty much like in NYC. You may say how u hate the subways now, but you'll appreciate it once you see how it's taking you two hours to drive to work everyday.

Or check out Orange County. Been hearing good things about them.

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by Des_Demona

Just stay out of Hollywood, downtown, south and east LA, most of the outskirts of LA and definitely as the above guy said, stay out of the SF Valley... it's getting really bad up there. I wouldn't live in North Hollywood either.
Just keep in mind that more than half of the Los Angeles population are minorities so expect to see a lot of things in languages other than English (billboards, busses, gas stations etc).

Another big city to consider would be Portland, Oregon... lots of jobs, not as many people, beautiful architecture, good public transportation, big city/lots to do, and best of all, no sales tax! I'm moving there soon.

Good luck!

Hey Des, I just wanted to say that I've been living in North Hollywood for three years and yeah, it can be bad in some parts, but not everywhere. I'm a 13 minute walk from the Metro Redline and Orangeline stations. The area is majority latino/armenian (like everywhere else), but they're trying to build it up.

Man, I ain't never saw so many foreigners in my life until I came here. Yes, NYC is diverse, but there's still some regular old "english as a first language" americans there. The foreigners in NYC at least TRY to learn the language and culture. Not here. Sometimes I think I've stepped into Mexico by mistake.

[Californiaguy2007]

You hear alot of Spanish spoken in L.A,because it has a large percent of Hispanics/Latinos,and also since Mexico is just across the border,the city receives alot of Legal and Illegal Immigrants from there.

These Immigrants don't feel the need to learn English since they are surrounded by Spanish Speakers and they are accomodated in their language in practically everything.

If New York State bordered Mexico,you would see the same situation in NYC.

Originally Posted by marilyn220

Man, I ain't never saw so many foreigners in my life until I came here. Yes, NYC is diverse, but there's still some regular old "english as a first language" americans there. The foreigners in NYC at least TRY to learn the language and culture. Not here. Sometimes I think I've stepped into Mexico by mistake.