Yup, another moving thread... (combined threads) (apartments, how much, find a job)

[jcp123]

I'm about to graduate college and after I broke up with my longtime girlfriend I am thinking about a lot of places to live.

I am originally from Northern California (Bay Area) and of course, California's unique culture calls me. I also understand fully the hardships that come with California's insane cost of living and rising unemployment. As much as I do like the Bay Area, where my brother and friends live, however, I don't particularly want to live there. LA has a bad rep in my family, especially my Mom who lived there for 8 years, but it also has a certain charm, if you will.

I am 24 and will have a bachelor's degree in business administration. I am also into classic cars and motorcycles and so, a more urban-living type of place that doesn't offer me a chance to enjoy that wouldn't be good. I enjoy the beach but don't mind a drive to get there. I am something of a culture vulture - I like a lot of different kinds of foods, music, cultural opportunities, community events, etc. But being a fresh graduate, I won't have a whole lot of $$ - say, something under $1k/mo to be shared with a roommate. What kind of areas would offer what I might be looking for? If it happens to be in the OC, San Berdoo, etc. then that's fine too. Also, being that I'm looking at a lot of places (Vegas, Austin, TX, Galveston, TX, Dallas, TX, Virginia Beach, VA, Washington DC metro, Seattle, WA, etc.), what can you tell me that would really sell me on the LA area?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by jcp123

classic cars
motorcycles
urban-living
the beach
different kinds of foods,
music,
cultural opportunities,
community events




What kind of areas would offer what I might be looking for?

In what locations are your job offers? Provide that list and we can tell you which place will provide you with the most of your desired amenities.

[jcp123]

None yet, I am simply doing a lot of poking around on a preliminary basis at the moment

[Charles]

Originally Posted by jcp123

None yet, I am simply doing a lot of poking around on a preliminary basis at the moment

It's 69 times easier to find amenities near a job than it is to find a job near amenities.

[trez07]

So Im wanting to move LA within the next year and I was just wondering

1. How much it would be to live in an apartment?

2. Where's a good place to meet new people?

3. What does LA have to offer?

4. Would I like living there?

Just some basic questions. Hopefully there is someone out there who can help me.

[uptown_urbanist]

There are so, so, so many different answers to this question, and of course we can't tell you if you'd like it because none of us know you. I love LA, other hate it. Start by searching this forum, as these questions have been answered in other posts. Once you have a better sense of specific questions then try asking again, and you'll get more personalized answers that will be more useful than anything else anyone could say right now. Oh, and for apartments, try searching craigslist to get a sense of the range available.

[Green Irish Eyes]

Your questions are really too general to provide decent answers. Do you have a job lined up? In what field? Typically the best advice is to live close to where you work, so that will be a major factor. How much will you be earning? THAT will be a big factor in where you live. What kind of people do you want to meet? If we don't know that, we can't tell you where they might be.

Details would be helpful .....

[charlierock]

hi everybody , i just need a good advice from somebody from LA, im 29 years old and ive been living in South Florida for more than 7 years, i am a musician and i recently graduated from culinary school , righ now im working as a supervisor in a customer service company, and im just tierd of been here , ive been thinking on the posibility of moving to LA , i have some family and good friends over there so i will have a place to stay until i find a job and make enough money to move by myself, also i think that i will have more chances with my career and my music , i know that LA is a big city but i dont care because i lived in a big city my whole life until i came to this boring State, i have 4000$ in my bank account . i want to know if its hard to find a Job there and what do you recommend me to do
THANK YOU

[JumpingBird19]

Stay where you are! You are lucky to have a job. Four thousand dollars is a lot of money. But enough to move, food, etc until you find a job. People in LA are running out of employment before they get a job. Some restraints are closing and others are very slow and hours are cut. Stay where you are for awhile or until you have about #15,000 to make that move. Or try to get a job before you move.

Good Luck

[MtnSurfer]

This is a wierd thread combined like this. But then again it is like the same ones we see over and over again with similar questions. Maybe we need to do a sticky answering some of these basic questions. And also some suggestions for asking more specific questions - the non mind reading type.

Ok, so first of all none of us have crystal balls. So we have no way of knowing if CA will be good for you or if you will like it. The best place to start is looking for a job. I know that may sound boring or maybe something your parents might say. But really why wonder about all these other things if you have no job offers? CA has a lot of opportunity. But you need in demand skills to land a job especially from another state in the current economy. So put your resume out there and see if any companies are interested. If you get no offers then you have your answer. Stay put until you build the skills that companies are actively seeking. Then worry about all the other stuff like good music, food, culture, etc... Of course these can be found in many cities in CA. Its the good jobs that are harder to come by.

My 2c,

Derek