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Old 01-25-2007, 08:32 AM
 
Location: Oslo,Norway
22 posts, read 150,787 times
Reputation: 16

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Hello evryone

My name is Aldarion im 22 yrs old and live in Oslo, Norway.
Im planning on moving to LA and live a couple of years(Maybe forever) and have some (many) questions.

1.What is the average rent prize on appartments in LA.(about 40-50Squaremeters). of course a decent area .i pay about 1200$ in oslo

2.How much to buy an appartment in same size.(Costs about US700.000-800.000$ in Oslo)

3. And if i want to buy can i get a loan in US or do i have to take up a loan in Norway.

4. How is the job market in LA? is it easy to get jobs there as a chef or cook (is educated cook).

5.Whats the average salary per. month.(i earn about 3500$a month wich is 20$an our)

6. Were do i apply for an work permit. (US embassy?)

7. How much does it cost too live in LA(food, taxi, subway, electrisity, etc.) in average a month.

8.and lots of other questions.......

plz just give me whatever info you have, that you think i should know about because i know pretty much nothing.

Thank you......

Aldarion

And also, im sorry for my bad writing. talk much better then i write.
And how about taxes?
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Old 01-25-2007, 12:56 PM
 
Location: South Bay, California
1,703 posts, read 6,471,133 times
Reputation: 342
Quote:
Originally Posted by TarAldarion View Post
Hello evryone
My name is Aldarion im 22 yrs old and live in Oslo, Norway.
Im planning on moving to LA and live a couple of years(Maybe forever) and have some (many) questions.
1.What is the average rent prize on appartments in LA.(about 40-50Squaremeters). of course a decent area .i pay about 1200$ in oslo
2.How much to buy an appartment in same size.(Costs about US700.000-800.000$ in Oslo)
3. And if i want to buy can i get a loan in US or do i have to take up a loan in Norway.
4. How is the job market in LA? is it easy to get jobs there as a chef or cook (is educated cook).
5.Whats the average salary per. month.(i earn about 3500$a month wich is 20$an our)
6. Were do i apply for an work permit. (US embassy?)
7. How much does it cost too live in LA(food, taxi, subway, electrisity, etc.) in average a month.
8.and lots of other questions.......
9. And how about taxes?
Hey Tar, I'll help you out a bunch!
1,2. A decent apartment in a decent L.A. area will cost you about a $100 to $300 more than you are paying for your Norway apartment. I'm not sure about Norway, but income tends to be higher in California. Go to realtor.com and type in Los Angeles, and then search apartments for rent.

3. You can get a loan in the United States easily.

4. The job market is excellent, the cullinary field(chefs and cooks), is wide open, Los Angeles has lots of restaurants.

5. The average salary per month for everyone in Los Angeles?! If you tell me what you do for a living, I can tell you where you'll fit into regarding status.

6. Sorry, I don't know where you can get a work permit, but it won't be difficult, unless you're here illegaly.

7. Los Angeles is quite expensive, ecspecially if you have kids. We don't have a subway, food can be cheap depending on where you eat. Don't take a taxi(lol), you'll pay sixty dollars for ten miles. The electric bill isn't high, because California has very moderate weather. If you live inland, you only use your appliances during the summer, which could be quite expensive, but it only lasts three months. The inland temperatures don't go below the high 30's during winter nights. If you live near the ocean, it never gets about 85 and never below 45, so you won't need heat or A/C in the house.

8. The taxes in the United States are relatively high. Yes, property tax in Los Angeles is expensive, but won't kill you!

9. Please do make sure wherever you work, the commute to and from your house is not unbearable.

Anymore questions friend!! If you thought I was helpful please click rate this post positively below my quote. I hope that helps you!!!
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Old 01-25-2007, 02:41 PM
 
Location: Earth
17,440 posts, read 28,635,052 times
Reputation: 7477
[quote=dusesean1986;305633

8. The taxes in the United States are relatively high. Yes, property tax in Los Angeles is expensive, but won't kill you!
[/QUOTE]

They aren't high compared to taxes in Norway....
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Old 02-02-2007, 10:37 PM
 
17 posts, read 98,765 times
Reputation: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by TarAldarion View Post
Hello evryone

My name is Aldarion im 22 yrs old and live in Oslo, Norway.
Im planning on moving to LA and live a couple of years(Maybe forever) and have some (many) questions.

1.What is the average rent prize on appartments in LA.(about 40-50Squaremeters). of course a decent area .i pay about 1200$ in oslo

2.How much to buy an appartment in same size.(Costs about US700.000-800.000$ in Oslo)

3. And if i want to buy can i get a loan in US or do i have to take up a loan in Norway.

4. How is the job market in LA? is it easy to get jobs there as a chef or cook (is educated cook).

5.Whats the average salary per. month.(i earn about 3500$a month wich is 20$an our)

6. Were do i apply for an work permit. (US embassy?)

7. How much does it cost too live in LA(food, taxi, subway, electrisity, etc.) in average a month.

8.and lots of other questions.......

plz just give me whatever info you have, that you think i should know about because i know pretty much nothing.

Thank you......

Aldarion

And also, im sorry for my bad writing. talk much better then i write.
And how about taxes?
hi!

I can answer with regards to work permit. It would be better if you can get a sponsor for a working visa before going to the USA. But, other foreigners who are lucky enough to be granted tourist in the USA have used the time to look for employers-sponsors for a working a visa, thus stay. Otherwise, don't work without necessary papers coz people would love to report you for deportation in exchange for a couple hundreds or a thousand dollars.
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Old 02-03-2007, 11:25 AM
 
31 posts, read 135,423 times
Reputation: 42
Default Planning on moving to LA

Hi Norwegian,

I am Dutch, so the Northern European standard of living is not unfamiliair to me and since I moved to LA I might be able to provide you with some helpful information.

One word of wisdom... do not come here without a work permit or anything that can truly help you working legally in this country... Could you otherwise work ? Well, with the millions of illegal immigrants in this country who are working the proof is in the pudding... but: you don't want to jeopardize your stay in the USA nor do I think you would like to work for less than US $ 10 per hour ...
So get those papers before you swap the cold for sunny LA.

Living in LA is a great experience.
I have lived in different continents and I can now wholeheartedly say that I enjoy living in LA.
Despite the negativity -which is also understandable- of many people.
It's not an easy life, in the USA on the whole I think that people tend to be way more making-money-oriented than they are in Europe where people enjoy life more.
Here it's all about "making money, how to get the best deals, discounts".... and I hear less about the quality.
That is probably the part where I personally struggle with.
On the other hand: it's not too bad.
The Americans I have met so far are friendly and helpful.
As you may be aware of there are many foreigners in LA: it's a melting pot of cultures which makes it -in my opinion- interesting. Spanish is the second language in this city... apparently California belonged to Mexico...,so it explains. The Mexican flavour is evident in many things and it adds. Yes, there is crime but not more than in any other city. It depends on the area where you choose to live.

The nicest areas to live and when you work in the culindary industry I could imagine you would like to live in Santa Monica, West Hollywood.
Rentals are affordable, it depends whether you want the place by yourself or are looking for a roommate.
One of my friends moved here and found a great (affordable) rental on craigs list (not sure whether I am allowed to give names here ??) Here you will also see that many jobs are offered, take a peek and see for yourself.

I think that for us Europeans it's a great experience to live in LA. It took me a while before I got used to it, before I moved to LA I lived in Laguna Beach which is in Orange County. OC is gorgeous although a bit boring.. everything is very organised and has less character than LA.
The big city has a lot to offer, more than just the Hollywood sign and the stars...

To answer your question whether it's hard to find a job in LA... I am a producer and when I arrived I thought that LA would not exactly be waiting for another producer.
Luckily I was wrong, but it did take me 2 months before I found the job that I really like.
You are in a different industry, so it might be easier for you. There are many great restaurants in LA; check www.losangelesmagazine.com where you will be able to see all the latest restaurants in town, it might be a good source of information for you. Restaurants in LA are not nearly as good as they are in NY, but they are getting there...

I have lived in New York and compared to NY LA used to be a big suburb... it's not like that anymore.
It still does not have the exciting vibe that NY has, but it absolutely has a lot to offer to those who live here.

Standard of living.
Again... you come from Norway, which is not cheap.
I find LA not that expensive to live.
Housing is probably the most expensive.
Cars -and you need one, you asked for prices of taxi (outrageously expensive, don't take taxi's, they will blow your budget in a jiffy) or subway (very limited) but you do need a car. In New York you walk and get somewhere, it doesn't work in LA. There are busses (big blue bus, rapid bus) but I don't know whether they are any good.
Supermarkets etc. are definitely not more expensive than in Europe, but the farmers markets all over town -and as a chef you would appreciate that- are high in quality and not expensive. Hollywood Farmers Market is a very good one, every Sunday, can recommend that one.

In terms of where to live....
Try to live in West Hollywood, that's where the best and latest restaurants are and you would be in the centre of where it happens.

Let me know if you have any more questions.


Good luck and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do !


A Dutchie
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Old 02-03-2007, 12:26 PM
 
4,875 posts, read 10,083,518 times
Reputation: 1993
Quote:
Originally Posted by dusesean1986 View Post
We don't have a subway,
I believe the Red Line is Los Angeles' sole subway line.
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Old 02-05-2007, 11:32 AM
 
Location: Oslo,Norway
22 posts, read 150,787 times
Reputation: 16
Default thanks

evryone that helped me out a lot....
evryone got a positive rate
dutchie its good too learn about others experiences in moving to LA from europe so if you would like to tell me more about setteling in LA please just share it with me.
is there anyone else from europen here please share your experiences bothgood and bad...

oNe more thing i am wondering about is if i can get a car license in la, or do i have too get it in norway, and how much does i cost? (it costs like hell in norway)
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Old 02-05-2007, 01:27 PM
 
31 posts, read 135,423 times
Reputation: 42
Smile planning on moving to LA

hi,
I will send you a private message with info that might be useful to you.

You can expect my mail this week, ok ?

Cheers
Dutchie
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Old 02-06-2007, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Oslo,Norway
22 posts, read 150,787 times
Reputation: 16
Default ok

thank you very much...looking forward too to read it....
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