moving to LA (San Diego, Huntington Beach, Irvine: transfer, high school, community college)

[saucemoney]

Hey im a freshman college student from minneapolis, mn looking to move to LA during the middle of the summer. I was looking at attending some two year community colleges to see if LA is a place i can handle being in for the next 4-5 years. I was thinking these areas:

west LA
west Hollywood
Brentwood
Westwood
Santa Monica
South Bay
Orange County(costa mesa, laguna beach, huntingbeach...)

if anything i just wanna know the pros and cons of the cities regarding jobs, lifestyle, so on so forth

[Mel2882]

I can't give you details about all of these places, but I can tell you that I lived in Costa Mesa as a college student for 5 years. Orange County is a great place to be. It's cleaner and more safe (well, the places you listed at least). Orange Coast College is the community college in Costa Mesa. I've had friends attend there...I'm not sure how it compares...but it's a community college, you know. Costa Mesa is good because you are 5 minutes from the beach, 15 from Disneyland and a bunch of other places. I have a few friends that came from MN to Costa Mesa and loved it. That's my two cents! Good luck wherever you choose!

[SouthBayTodd]

i'd say you are best off in the south bay. i've got tons of info on my site (southbaychat.com) - for me at least, people in the south bay are nicer and more accepting than other parts of LA area

[whinton]

Santa Monica College has a good reputation, is affordable (although Santa Monica and the surrounding areas are expensive)....many students from SMC end up transfering to UCLA.

[vfrpilot]

I would suggest looking at Palomar Community College in San Marcos. It is a very nice campus in North San Diego County. You can still hang at the beach, if you don't have to work. I think the San Diego is way nicer than LA. My daughter has been attending Palomar, a 2 year institution, for the last 6 years
BTW-unless you're an illegal alien from Mexico, you're going to pay huge fees. You might consider living and working for a year to gain residency status.

[warmweather!]

Hey, I live in the Minneapolis metro. I can't tell you anything about California. I was just looking at warm places because we are in the middle of a huge snowstorm right now. At my house, the snow is very high. There is a 40+ inch snow drift on my deck. The regular parts of the snow is probably 2 feet, but it's still snowing. I wouldn't mind going to California myself, but I'm still in high school.

[Burbankhotty]

You're cute,
those area you named are the most expensive in LA.
There are junior colleges all over, I agree with the poster who said to check out Orange County. From what I understand also expensive, but nice.
I think you'd have an absolute blast in San diego.

Good luck

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

Check out Orange County! ( I can tell you're not thrilled about LA) Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine, and Costa Mesa are excellent options for students.


_UCI_4 year state school_Irvine
_Irvine Valley College_community college_Irvine
_Orange Coast College_community college_Costa Mesa
_Goldenwest College_community college-Huntington Beach



As far as pros and cons: LA has the most to do, but it also has the worst traffic, crime, gangs, and is eroding in it's shoes from illegals. OC has less of the "celebrity aspect" and it's more centered around the beaches. San Diego is another decent option.