18 year old girl wanting to move from london to LA! PLEASE HELP!! (San Fernando: apartments, rent)

[Raggy dee Ann]

Originally Posted by xcxpebbles

Hi im an 18 year old girl, recently qualified in Beauty therapy and i want to move to LA to get away from London. I am looking at studying Special effects Make-up in La. Im going to move with my freind who is also 18 and is a beauty therapist. We live in quite a bad part of london so were both used to violence, gangs etc. and the area we live in is mainly a caribbean, asian, eastern european community, so being 2 white girls we're used to being the minority race.
I was wondering if anyone could help us, on where to start. how much in general does it cost to live in La? What would be our problems with moving there? Is it easy to find work? places to live? study?
All opinions welcome. I'l just be gald to get any realistic feedback. Thanks

Charlotte

x

To the people telling you to move to another part of London or you are too young , I’m sure they mean well, but people will tell you these things. I was in my early 20’s when I left London and I heard the same thing from some but I still did it. You can make it happen. I was lucky I had family on the East Coast and down in Florida, however after a year of having a big time in Florida and the Caribbean I was running our of money and had to find a job so moved to LA for 10 years before I moved to another state.

First thing, make sure your visas, right to work, study and all that stuff are in place. DON’T move without it. There are zillions of spas in and around LA, Palm Springs Santa Barbara where you can work, although it will help if you can get a year or so under your belt in London before you go to L A. Also won’t hurt for you to contact some spas and let them know you are interested in work and would like to meet them on your visit to LA.

With two of you sharing, things will be easier; however I have to warn you that the type of work you are looking for doesn’t pay that well, especially with the little experience you have. There are special effects makeup schools in London, but if you prefer California, research and talk to people already in the industry. Most important start saving and make sure you have saving to fall back on when you get there...It’s no scarier than London and I’m sure you’ll have a ball…I did. Just be careful of people promising you things and offers that are too good to be. It’s always a great opportunity to move somewhere new and let’s be honest, London sucks. I’m looking forward to relocating back to California in the near future.

[impala666]

Originally Posted by DaBeez

My apologies if I sound harsh, but, what exactly is beauty therapy? Ive never heard of it. Where do you plan on studying "special effects makeup"? I have several friends who are professional movie make up folks and Ive never heard them saying anything about "special effects makeup school".

Maybe both you and your friend should get your parents to help you navigate through all the paperwork.

Cosmetologist.

[Cyanna]

I just got home from London last night. A very traumatic, stressful and depressing event as is always the case. The cost to park for 4 hours over near Harley Street - $58 American dollars. The cost for gasoline/petrol was almost $360 American dollars, using an economy car. London is only 258 miles from where I live. I can't wait to get back to the United States!!!!

If you are that set on moving to the United States check all possible States and cities. I am partial to Los Angeles and California because that is my birth place. As for being a cosmetologist over here, I have already looked into this for my son's girlfriend, who wants to join us in the US after she has completed her beauty courses. What you learn in the UK will not be adequate enough to qualify you for a job in the States. You would have to take the courses again from start to finish once you arrive in the US. The US has more stringent rules around hygiene than the UK has.

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

I'm under the impression she wants to be a makeup artist and not a cosmetologist. Learning special effects or FX is part of learning to be a makeup artist. I know this because my daughter starts school in Hollywood in a few weeks. OP - do a google search on makeup artist schools in Los Angeles. They aren't all created equal though so you will have to weed through them. My daughter will be attending the Studio Makeup Academy, based on a personal recommendation and making a visit to see the school first hand.

London is a very long way but if your mind is set on something do all the research before you move. You not only have to pick the right school you also have to set up all your living arrangements which can be hard to do long distance.

Feel free to PM me if you want more information on the school she selected.

[Clinton167]

You will never get a visa.
To get a visa you will need an employer to sponsor you, and when there are so many other qualified beauty therapists out there there's a very slim chance that you'll find an employer willing to try and prove to USCIS why he should hire you over an American.
Your best bet is to get a student visa and study there for a while - see if you like it and build up some contacts. You need a degree in order to get a work visa anyway.
Getting a visa to the USA is the toughest thing I've ever done - it's taken two years and I'm an "Alien of Extraordinary Ability." Think very hard about how much you want to do it before you start on this road, because believe me, it's an excrutiatingly tough one.

[impala666]

Originally Posted by Clinton167

You will never get a visa.
To get a visa you will need an employer to sponsor you, and when there are so many other qualified beauty therapists out there there's a very slim chance that you'll find an employer willing to try and prove to USCIS why he should hire you over an American.
Your best bet is to get a student visa and study there for a while - see if you like it and build up some contacts. You need a degree in order to get a work visa anyway.
Getting a visa to the USA is the toughest thing I've ever done - it's taken two years and I'm an "Alien of Extraordinary Ability." Think very hard about how much you want to do it before you start on this road, because believe me, it's an excrutiatingly tough one.

It took me seven months almost to the day through the EB-5 visa route.
As I have British,Swiss and Russian passports I thought the US would never give me a green card,how wrong can you be.

[kittycatty]

It is very difficult to get a visa especially if you are looking to work in a profession where there are plenty of people available within the US to take the jobs. Just like in the UK, we don't want foreigners coming in to take jobs locals can do - it's the same in the US, so unless your skill is required, for example nurses, then you will have a very difficult time getting a work visa. Even fully qualified doctors cannot work in the US as doctors, they have to re-train, i,e. do residency again.

If you have family it might be easier because you can stay with them while you try to make ends meet. Unfortunately for you, it's easier to get work with a degree and usually it has to be in a profession lacking people as already mentioned.

You may get job interviews etc, but you need an employer to sponsor your visa and they may need to prove that they could not find a person in the US to fill the position. That said, you could go there for school, but your LEA will not cover the tuition fees since it's outside the UK. You will have to pay for this yourself and it can be VERY expensive with tuition fees in the US at 30000 USD per yr, then there's living expenses. You might be lucky to get a scholarship though.

You can try the GC lottery if you were not born in the UK.

I'm not sure why you would want to leave a very rough area in London for a more rough area in LA - I don't see how you can live on a beauty therapist's salary in the UK let alone LA.
You girls could move to Australia - much easier and probably cheaper. A lot of skilled people are required over there, including hairdressers and I believe beauty therapists. It will be easier to get a job and a visa, housing is cheaper, it's warm, beaches etc - just no hollywood though.

for those who are not sure, here is the job profile for a beauty therapist Beauty Therapist Job Profile - *Careers Advice by Careers Advice (http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/profile104/ - broken link)

[ESLGlobalParty]

Move to San Diego!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by xcxpebbles

Hi im an 18 year old girl, recently qualified in Beauty therapy and i want to move to LA to get away from London. I am looking at studying Special effects Make-up in La. Im going to move with my freind who is also 18 and is a beauty therapist. We live in quite a bad part of london so were both used to violence, gangs etc. and the area we live in is mainly a caribbean, asian, eastern european community, so being 2 white girls we're used to being the minority race.
I was wondering if anyone could help us, on where to start. how much in general does it cost to live in La? What would be our problems with moving there? Is it easy to find work? places to live? study?
All opinions welcome. I'l just be gald to get any realistic feedback. Thanks

Charlotte

x

well a couple issues to consider: 1, a couple of 18 year olds in Los Angeles isn't the best thing, you might even have trouble finding a place to live, add to that, in order to even get a working visa you have to have a job before you leave London. Have you thought about things like that? If I were you I would stay put a few more years. You may see things quite differently then..

If you are talking about becoming a make up artist, do you realize how difficult that would be? These jobs are not easy to get.
Nita

[zenkonami]

Let me just state this uncategorically, clearly, and absolutely plainly.

Struggling in L.A. is one of the most depressing, stressful, and difficult to escape things in a first world country. It isn't fun. Your support network becomes stressed very quickly. If you don't have money, it is very hard.

Conversely, the notion of L.A. as dangerous is kind of old news. It's a major metropolitan area, so sure it has it's share of crimes and violence, but it's tamed considerably since it's "glory days." In the five years I've been out here I've not been the victim of violence or theft once. In Phoenix, Arizona, prior to living here, I dealt with numerous small incidents. If your city-wise, and I presume you are if you live in London, crime is not really an issue.

For everything else, I refer you here.