relocating from Minnesota - help?!? (Los Angeles, Long Beach: hair salon, apartments, for rent)

[Frankie Romance]

Hey everyone!

I could sure use some help with this, seeing as how time is slowly but surely running out. Here's the situation I'm in:

I just received a job out in L.A. which I start on January 2nd. The address for my new work is 110 East Ninth Street 90079 in downtown Los Angeles (it's in the California Market Center building if that helps..). I am 23 and in the music business, so I really feel that it's cruicial for me to be out in L.A. for my career choice. Plus I landed a very good job which I'm really excited about...

My girlfriend, who is 21, will also be living with me but her situation is a bit different. She is a hairstylist but she just sold her car to free up some money for California. In other words, we need a nice & SAFE area to live in where she can bike or walk to a "hip" or "trendy" salon, seeing as how she won't have her own car out there.

With that being said, I don't really wanna drive hours just to get to my work, but I don't really want my girl roaming the seedy streets of Los Angeles either. I guess when it comes down to it, I would rather put more miles on my car and spend more time getting to and from (within reason of course!) work, as long as I know that she's gonna be safe and have good opportunities around her as well.

And finally...price is, of course, also an issue. We are looking for a studio or a 1 bedroom, and I REALLY don't want to go over $1,000/month...But then again, I know you really shouldn't skimp on rent out in Southern California either, so I'm willing to pay more if I have to.

I have a few friends out in the area, and so far everyone seems to suggest entirely different cities and/or neighborhoods:

Long Beach
Korea Town
Silver Lake
Pasadena
North Hollywood

I have been researching like crazy on www.apartmentratings.com, www.craigslist.com, www.rent.com, etc., etc., and am trying to talk to EVERYONE out there that I can. I know these types of questions have been asked and answered a million times on this board already - but everyone's situation is different. We would both really appreciate some honest replies as to where we should decide to make our new home...

Thanks guys!

[Jonah K]

I'm not sure if a "nice and safe" studio or 1 bedroom apartment for less than $1,000/month is available in Los Angeles.

[Des_Demona]

Long Beach might be a good bet but a pretty terrible commute for you I think. It's affordable, not safe (but no where for that cheap is), has the hip hairstyle element to it and is still in commuting distance to Downtown L.A. Pasadena is another good choice. Finding something where your gf can walk or bike to work though will be hard. Southern California isn't exactly known for it's walkability/bike paths or public transportation. I'm sure it can be done though... If you want to raise your price range and say exactly how high you can go on rent then we can start talking about safe and all that. Do you really want to move to LA and take a job that is only going to enable you to pay $1,000 a month for rent? That's REALLY really low pay in CA.

[Frankie Romance]

Well...

I'm more trying to stay within the $1,000 price range for her sake really. She hasn't even been out of school for more than a year yet, so I have to factor in that she's going to be making a lot less than I am. As for the job that I received...I don't really think it's that low-paying at all. I mean, I make just under $25K/year in MN and will be making $32K/year in CA (only I'll be salary in CA; not hourly like I am in MN). I'm also pretty young and new to the field though, so I have to work my way up so to speak. I also used that "relocation calculator" tool, and apparently I need to make $29K/year in Long Beach or $32K/year in L.A. to keep my same lifestyle. Which I'll be making slightly more than that.

Would Pasadena be better than Long Beach do you think? As far as the commute for me, safety for us and the hip hairstyle element for her? I don't know much about the area, but I have a friend out there who's a property manager and can get us a deal on an apartment there. Do you know anything about this area:

300 East Bellevue Drive - Pasadena, 91101 (Buena Vista Apartments)?

They go for $1359 - $1509 for a 1 bedroom, but it sounds like she could get us in for $1200.

Otherwise she can get us into Crescent Gardens Apartments - 1274 N. Crescent Heights Boulevard West Hollywood, 90046 for $1400/month.

Anything over $1400/month is going to be hard to swing.

What do you think?

[fastfilm]

Two of your locales depend upon your personal comfort zones.
Scratch Koreatown unless your girlfriend is fluent in Spanish and Korean, as it's unlikely she'll encounter anyone who speaks English. My husband works in this area, so I'm quite familiar with it. Good restaurants, but a place that even the poor try to leave the second they get their first raise. And the Crescent Heights address would have been promising if it had been closer to 3rd St., Beverly or Melrose: those areas have great pedestrian appeal, but your address is in the Crenshaw district. If you're comfortable with a total urban "Vibe Magazine" ambience, that's what you'll find there. Not a put-down, just a description.

Silver Lake has a music biz mien, but parts are a little dicey: it is a close commute to downtown though. N. Hollywood, same but parts are even dicier: you'd have to rent near "the media district" for safety and interestingness. Long Beach is nice but too far from the music biz, and for your commute. Your girlfriend won't want to see the effects of this road-rage inducing commute on a daily basis in you. Pasadena is nice for home-owners, but I'm not sure about apartments: it might be possible to rent a guesthouse there eventually.

You'll never really have to worry about weather again, but you have a lot challenges ahead of you here. L.A. is more like NYC insofar as good and bad blocks are side by side, and bad here means armed gangs who consider anyone who's not them to be their natural enemy. For networking in the music business (on the non-CEO, non-top level, those guys live in the Malibu colony or on top of the mountains in very private estates with their own recording studios) you might eventually want to live around Burbank closer to its Hollywood side. That's were the studios are, both film and music. Best of luck to you.

[Frankie Romance]

Wow, very helpful. Thanks! Just a few follow-up questions (if you don't mind) :

-What neighborhoods, streets, etc. can I look for as far as apartments in Silver Lake? And what price range can I expect for a studio or 1 bedroom in one of these areas?

-Where exactly is "the media district" in Hollywood? Can you give me street names, etc.? Same thing: What should I expect price wise?

-That $1200/mo. apartment in Pasadena: Does that seem like a good area and a good deal to you? What about the girlfriend and her needs for hip & trendy salons around that area?

-Is Burbank affordable at this point in the game...? What areas should I look in?

My girlfriend and I are both very aware that life in L.A. will be VERY different than life in St. Paul. However, it's just that with what we both want to do in life, there are really little opportunities in Minnesota and in the Midwest in general. My parents are really opposed to this whole thing; but I think it's something that we at least have to try.

Thanks again!!!

[UB50]

You might also think about the West Hollywood area. There are a lot of recording studios still in Hollywood and a lot of trendy/hip hair salons in West Hollywood. West Hollywood does tend to have a lot of gays but I don't think it's a terrible place to live.

Burbank is pretty much safe all over. If you are looking for an apartment, you might look for a place near the Media Center but there are apartments all over town. (Some are very expensive, like $4K for a one bedroom, and they can be right next door to a place that rents one bedroom for $1K. The only difference is that the $4K place may have a lot of "new" movie stars and the studios were responsible for renting them a place.)

[fastfilm]

I think you're going into this with the right attitude, to see if you can accomplish what you want. The Media district is in North Hollywood, around Lankershim and Vine. Burbank and North Hollywood abut one another. I'll try to find a map for you next post.

[UB50]

A lot of the recording studios in this town don't have their name on the building at all. I was so shocked to find out that a really famous recording studio was only a few blocks from my house, across the street from a restaurant that I ate at all the time. Some famous albums were recorded there and the room had a reputation for having great "sound."

It'll take awhile to figure out the music industry around here...

[Stevedr83]

$32000 a year, the illegal immigrant gardners make more than that. Our freeways are full of music and actor people who can not even afford the auto insurance. If your music is that good, you don't need to move here, send a tape, get a following. This is a meat grinder, you will be eatin alive. They will prey on you because they know you are desperate, try out for American Idol that's your best shot. I can tell by your post you're getting in over your head, you haven't said anything about your record deal or your uncle Andrew Lack. Your parents are right they care about you, trust me no one here does.