From OZ to LA! (Los Angeles, Long Beach: apartments, rent , job)

[LABoundKid]

Hey everybody,

In case you haven't noticed already I posted a thread last night but upon reading it and its responses I realized that I really didn't give much incite into the situation at hand and my drive for moving to Los Angeles from Melbourne.

My names Rick and I turned 18 in April, I live in Melbourne, Australia. I'm currently at High School and am about to graduate in October. I am a student, a salesman and a comedian. I have wanted to move to America ever since I was young because there seems to be a lot more going on over there than there is here. I have finally settled on the decision to move to Los Angeles because I like to party and live it up as much as humanly possible.

I would like to work over there with a career in mind and not just getting by so don't get me wrong. I understand a lot of people move there to get famous and such, that'd be nice but its not my drive. So now I have two choices either one will end up in Los Angeles in the end one sooner than the other and the other more precautionary.

I can choose to either stay here next year and study for a year or two year and get a diploma in Marketing and then move to America to work. Here are the queries with this plan.

Q1. Will my qualifications here be the same in Los Angeles or will I need to redo my qualifications there?

Q2. If I do need to redo my qualifications would it be smarter to just do my further education in America?

Q3. I realize you have different educational facilities in America like college would anybody be able to explain these to me and what way I would go if I were to do my further education over there?

My other plan is to move over to LA when I finish High School on what ever money I can scratch together (maybe $10,000) and see where life takes me. My queries with this plan is;

Q4. I have found crappy apartments for $1000 rent (i think its per month), how long do you think it would take me to find a job?

Q5. Do I need to get a 'Green Card' I think its called or can I just start working?

Q6. If I do need to get a 'Green Card'. What is the process and how long will it take?

Q7. What can you tell me about Los Angeles? Good things, I've heard all the bad things from my readings.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[msnorman67]

I have only been here for a month but I love it. Based on my life experience I say do what feels right. As long as your "parties" do not affect your "drive" you will be fine. You can always change your mind and you may be wiser for the adventure. As for the details of your request I am not qualified to answer. I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you.

[summer111]

Hi LABound.
If you were to further your education over here, you could apply to several schools in LA, such as UCLA, Calstate Long Beach, USC, etc. UCLA is hard to get into, but Calstate Long Beach is not as hard. I'm not sure how different the facilities here are from Australia, but what you will need to do in order to go to a college here is apply online in November. They will let you know if you are accepted in the spring. Then, you would have many options to pursue whatever you wanted - the schools here offer lots of programs for business, sales, and anything you are interested in pursuing.
In terms of how long it will take you to find a job, it may take applying to several different places before you find one that pays enough to keep up with the rent, since the economy isn't doing well in the U.S. right now. Just apply to as many places as possible and you should find something within a couple months.
Since it seems you've heard about the bad in Los Angeles, I can tell you of the good areas. I recommend Culver City; I lived there for 10 years and it's a safe area and is governed separately from the rest of LA, so it has a lot less crime and gang issues. Don't shop at the Fox Hills Mall though. Also, Westchester, Westwood, Pasadena, and South Long Beach are safer areas. Just stay away from North Long Beach, but the part of Long Beach close to the ocean is pretty safe and there's a lot to do. Good luck!

[CESpeed]

Young and idealistic. Another victim of the LA PR machine. Life in LA is not a 24/7 party. And most of the parties are for social networking, not for having a good time. If you really want to come here, do so with an exit strategy. There's nothing worse than moving halfway around the world to find that your dream place is exactly that: a dream. Try coming here to go to school. It safer and will allow you to explore without being stuck. That way, if you discover that LA life isn't for you, you can go back to NZ or find another city in America that will better suit your lifestyle. A website I love to recommend is Find Your Spot.com. Good Luck.

[katenik]

a high-school education does not give one "qualifications" to do anything except A) obtain employment at or near the minimum wage, or B) gain admission to a college or university. if you want to experience living in the US, your best chance is to take advantage of B. however, you (or your family) will have to be prepared to pay the cost of your education and living expenses, because you will not be permitted to work full-time (if at all). you will also be expected to go home when you complete your studies.

to find an employer to sponsor you for a work visa, you need job skills, education and work experience of the kind that someone your age, no matter how bright, will lack. green cards confer permanent legal residency, and offer the same work rights as citizenship, except in some categories of government employment. they are issued to individuals who enter the country on immigrant visas, which are different from work visas. the process to obtain an immigrant visa takes years, and without familial or employment ties to the US, it is nearly impossible. unless you left out some salient detail, that pretty much rules out your second plan.

[LABoundKid]

OK. so the best way to go is with plan 1, which is to come over as an international student. Now I need to get information on that. Thanks for all your help it really just narrowed down my options to ones that are more rational. Now I need to know...

Q8. Next year I'll do what we call over here a TAFE course in marketing. I think TAFE over here is what you call 2-year courses. Over here we can use our TAFE course as a pathway into university. When I complete my TAFE course (2 year course) here will I be able to do my degree in an American university?

Q9. If so which university's in LA would you recommend and what could you tell me about them?

Q10. How much do university's cost in LA for international students and how much do you recommend me to save before coming over? $10,000? $15,000? $20,000?

Thanks for all your help so far.

[CESpeed]

Any of the UC schools would be very good. You want to choose a good business school; however, in schools here YOU are required to do a lot of research and looking for a good American University is a great way to begin your "research chops". You want a good business school. There are several in the LA area. Search each school's website for costs, etc. I would recommend anyone have at least $ 10,000 to move here. And leave enough money to buy a ticket home until you are 100% certain that this is the move for you. If you want to know which schools are top ranked begin with US News and World Report. You found this site, you can find the school's sites. Good Luck.