Exploring (Possibility of) Moving to L.A. (Los Angeles, Santa Monica: transplants, rent)

[PastTheSky]

Sorry in advance for any sloppiness in this post!

I'm just checking off the "register on a forum" on my "move to L.A.?" checklist. So hi. I'm 29 this year, got my degree in Music Business of all things and feeling pretty restless in rural NC working for the family company. I've always dreamed of moving to a big city but my few encounters with NYC (where most of my college friends who made it out of NC ended up) were less than heart-warming. I guess I'm just used to being outside and wearing light clothing during a large part of the year, and the colder climate does a number on my outlook.

I'm probably soaking this up from the Netflix I'm watching right now (Love and I Don't Deel at Home in This World Anymore) but L.A. seems like a vibe I could enjoy. Pllenty of culture and variety but not overly pretentious and not cramped. And nice warm sunny weather to sweat in! I'm a small town boy but for some reason the vibe of L.A. seems more relaxed than NYC. Not trying to be a flatterer! After all, I wouldn't know as I've never been to L.A. Anyways, my "big dream" is (wait for it) to work in film or TV/advertising doing musical cues and soundtrack type stuff, sound design/foley and site sound recording. For now I'll settle for living somewhere interesting and the adventure of living in a culturally vibrant place doing whatever I can to make ends meet.

I have about $3k in savings, a good 2002 Subaru Forester (replaced the head gaskets), and mad skills on guitar. Jobs I've held: chimneysweep, dishwasher, waiter, host, bookseller, fire alarm tech, remodeling worker, barista, delivery driver, retail associate, and more. I have an associate in fine arts (music) and as I said, a BS in Music Industry Studies - Audio Recording & Production and minor in Business.

Whew that's a long introduction. If anybody actually reads this, thanks! Oh and I'm a guy. Straight but not narrow as they say! Progressive/liberal (another reason I'm longing to leave NC).

Nice to meet you!
-T

[Xanathos]

I strongly suggest you do some strong internal research on this.

First, 3K likely wouldn't get you off the ground. You should plan/expect to have to pay 3 months rent upfront when renting a place, given you have no job and no prospects. Even if your relocation costs were 0, 3K isn't going to make that happen. Most of your previous jobs are low-skill, and thus there will be a lot of competition for the positions you find. So it's a dice roll as to how long it'll take you to land one.

The other thing I'll laser in on is the comment about how you get the impression LA isn't "overly pretentious" or "cramped". 1 trip on the freeways will disavow you of the misguided notion it's not crowded. And you're talking about a city that is dominated by the entertainment industry and liberal elitism, where half the job is Surpassing the Joneses and peacocking. I'm in the process of relocating to the area myself, but if there's one thing I can tell you from a lot (a LOT) of trips there over the years is that pretentiousness is pretty much one of the 3 or 4 biggest drawbacks you have to decide if you want to tolerate.

[swithywizzy]

Xanathos offers some good advice. Los Angeles is known for being cramped. And the OC is known for being pretentious. Stereotypes, yes, but there's a reason why they form in the first place. And while it isn't as bad as NYC in terms of everything being cramped together, it's certainly going to seem so compared to NC. There's a lot of opportunities here, but just as many, if not more, opportunities to fail. From first glance it seems like what you're interested in will suit you well here, but competition is fierce in the LA job market. Not to mention the living costs associated with being in the Los Angeles area.

I'm sure you've experienced city life once or twice, but if you haven't, visit the most urbanized part of NC you can find, imagine it exponentially more crowded, bigger, etc and then imagine living there.

[sacreole]

Just to echo the aforementioned comments about your prospective LA move, all that glitters in Hollywood is not gold. I was born and raised in the Los Angeles area and moved away 25 years ago. Southern California is highly competitive and pretentious as well as a helluva lot more crowded and expensive. Not to scare you away but I would suggest that you make a visit first to get a feel for the region.

Perhaps you could consider moving to a mid-size city with a thriving creative class for starters. I'm sure Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta or Austin could be options.

[Western Urbanite]

Everybody should live in LA at least once. I came from a small town, and never want to leave.

[Cloudwalker]

You need to visit before you make a decision to move, but there is definitely work here in the field in which you have trained. Googling "jobs Los Angeles audio recording" brings up multiple listings (including with Netflix) at all levels from interns on up.

Do you have experience? If not, you may find that taking on an unpaid internship could be your best way in initially, to get to know the industry and make contacts. Most of the studios have wide-ranging intern programs, but you need to get on to it right now as they are starting to advertise and fill the bulk of their positions now for the end of the school year. Work as an intern during the day and a barista at night to pay the bills for a few months. There's also a lot of construction and remodeling work around at the moment.

Get your resume together, make some online applications, find cheap flights, come out for a week or 10 days, stay at hostel in Santa Monica, get around on the metro, and give it all you've got. Even if you don't have a job, you'll know by the end of that time whether it's a realistic option for you. The worst that could happen is you spend $1500 and conclude that maybe it's not the place for you.

I say go for it. If not now, then when?

[Cloudwalker]

I also find the people here, whether born here or transplants, to be no more and no less pretentious than any other big city such as New York or Sydney or London.

[Maliblue]

Los Angeles has gone from being a laid-back, sprawling city to a dense, more vertical one. However, it lacks the infrastructure most vertical cities have evolved over a century, which gives it a new claustrophobic edge it never had before.

Not cramped? I'd like to hear that while you are trying to make your way out of Hollywood at 5PM along Sunset Blvd.

Not pretentious??? LA is the most pretentious city in America, outside of Las Vegas. People build castles to themselves here!

Honestly, when strangers ask "should I move to LA?" My answer is always no. It is already overcrowded, filthy, cut-throat, ugly, and overpriced. We really don't need more.

However, your mileage may vary.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

I strongly suggest you do some strong internal research on this.

First, 3K likely wouldn't get you off the ground. You should plan/expect to have to pay 3 months rent upfront when renting a place, given you have no job and no prospects. Even if your relocation costs were 0, 3K isn't going to make that happen. Most of your previous jobs are low-skill, and thus there will be a lot of competition for the positions you find. So it's a dice roll as to how long it'll take you to land one.

The other thing I'll laser in on is the comment about how you get the impression LA isn't "overly pretentious" or "cramped". 1 trip on the freeways will disavow you of the misguided notion it's not crowded. And you're talking about a city that is dominated by the entertainment industry and liberal elitism, where half the job is Surpassing the Joneses and peacocking. I'm in the process of relocating to the area myself, but if there's one thing I can tell you from a lot (a LOT) of trips there over the years is that pretentiousness is pretty much one of the 3 or 4 biggest drawbacks you have to decide if you want to tolerate.

You're right about the 3K not being enough money. And I agree it's crowded.

But I noticed you have never lived in LA, so you really can't give advice on what's like to live here.

I can, I have been here since 1988 and did so after college, so a few years younger than the OP is now.

Despite what seem to people like to think or say the freeways are not jammed all night and day, ridiculous. Yes the 405 is a parking lot often, but I can count on one hand in the last two years how many times I have been on it.

Like the OP you sound young, so if you associate with recent transplants who are young who are trying to get into the entertainment industry, well than you will run across pretentious people posing as something they're not.

I know several LA natives(yes they do exist), least pretentious people I have ever met. So please don't stereotype a city you have never even lived in and only visited.

There are many people here who get up go to work, drive average cars(who cares anymore and who even looks at other cars, they're all texting at the traffic lights, this isn't 1992), and don't work in the entertainment industry, your views on LA are very narrow to say the least.

Your comments show your visits were probably very limited and didn't go east of the 101 or north of the 134, and went to trendy places. That's not all LA has to offer.


LA is actually many cities. The vibe you get in West LA isn't the same as you get in Silverlake, and the vibe you get in Silverlake isn't what you find in Sherman Oaks. But you actually have to spend time in different areas and live in them to know that.

We had a former poster who moved here from TN and planted themselves in West Hollywood and than complained about exactly what you're doing. But they limited themselves to one area and never went anywhere else. Well there you have it....LOL.

OP, you need to save up at least 10K, you also need to visit first, it doesn't sound like you have.

Yes, LA is much more laid back than NYC, I came here from NY where I was born and raised, I prefer LA, at least I do now.

I won't tell you not to come, because I was you once.....LOL. Not in regards to the music industry, but a young person who wanted to move to LA.

But save up more money and visit first.

Best of luck.

[jamesblazen]

You need to be smart and successful to make it in LA. It's expensive and a dog eat dog culture. Nobody will care about you. It's sink or swim. If you've got what it takes, by all means, give it a try.