Planning on moving to LA this fall (living, beach)

[DowntownVentura]

Chicago, all I can say is good luck to you!! I think it is nice you have a spirit of adventure.

[readymade]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Check out the number of Coldstone Creamery stores that have been or will be closed due to the recession here. Maybe a different retail idea? Venice will be costly for commercial leasing. (But I do empathize with you, as my parents were from the Chicago area and once they moved here, they never wanted to go back except to visit.)

That might also because Coldstone seriously sucks!

I think it's great the OP is going to take a chance and follow their dreams! Why the hell not? The time to follow your dreams is when you're younger. If it doesn't work out... it doesn't work out. You have plenty of time to regroup.

I moved to LA when I was 26 and LOVED it! I'm back in Boston (where I grew up) now, expecting a baby... and I wish I hadn't moved back here. My husband & I are moving back to LA in the fall. My husband is from Chicago too, and also loved living in LA.

[Lifeshadower]

Originally Posted by ChicagotoLA

Well actually I did visit LA. Santa Monica beach, Calabasas, Hollywood, New Port Beach, Anaheim, Venice, Marina Del Rey. I have a step dad and a step brother that live out in San Diego and an uncle that lives in Marina Del Rey. My has plans of moving to San Diego but I think I'd rather be in Los Angeles.

I also do plan on going to school there, but I'd rather not wait until I graduate college because I want to settle down and make friends while I'm in college. I was thinking about Miami or Los Angeles but I like California more.

I'll be taking my first year off and then hopefully USC or UCLA for business school. The business I plan on opening is a Hawain shaved ice business and I'm thinking about Venice as the spot as it seems like it would attract business although it is a little weird with all the bums.

It'll probably be expensive to rent out there which is why I'm working now to save money as is my friend. What do you guys think about daily life in LA? And what area would be the best for my budget.

I also plan on visiting again in the spring but I need to know what areas to look in at.

1) Just a point of clarification; Newport Beach and Anaheim aren't in LA, but are in Orange County. To someone from outside of Southern California, I know it's all the same, but lifestyle wise, a lot of the OC is different from LA County. Since you've visited, you now know how far everything is from each other. Again, I ask; are you willing to ship or drive a car over?

2) Honestly, getting into USC and UCLA (note here: as an out of state student your chances are slim to nil unless you have a 4.25+ GPA weighted) is extremely difficult. Perhaps to save some money, you should consider enrolling in a community college. What was your HS GPA and your ECs?

3) In Venice, you will have a thousand competitors all doing the same thing. Not only do you have vendors with shops, but Mexican immigrants on their push carts doing the same exact thing. Really flush out a business idea (if you have one) and think it through. I think college would really help here. If you make it sound more intelligent, you could probably tri..errr convince investors to give you money as opposed to doing it solely out of pocket.

4) At this point, living off $2000 between two people doesn't sound like a good idea in almost any area, unless you really want to live on the margins.

I think your heart is in the right place, but you don't have anything solid at this point. I know how it feels, and I don't want to quash your dreams since I'm only 20 myself and have dreams that are waiting to be crushed. However, in order to reduce a lot of pain along the way, you really need to have a plan. I have a few friends who were transplants to LA at 18-19 (wanted to work in entertainment) and ended up really depressed because they didn't think it through.

Just sleep on it. See how you feel tomorrow/month from now/etc.

[Chichappens]

You don't know how much to lease a space in Venice beach but, your opening up a biz???/HUMMMM

I think you should work for a company that has the same or similar concept and get some experience first. You also need to check out what its going to cost you for biz insurance, lic, registration of a company.... the wagon or cart you are going to use for your supplies, are there any health department lic and reg as well. Is there a health dept class certif that states you enrolled in a class to understand health safety codes in CA....You need a lawyer, an account............. the list goes on..............you can put money in your piggy bank an assume by June 1 you will have enough to open up shop, I am a biz owner and a angel investor in other companies in France and the USA..you don't have a business plan you have a fantasy!

[readymade]

Geez, people. She's doing research! And this forum is part of her research. Why is her asking how much it would cost to least a space in Venice "proof" that she's "not ready."

She's just trying to find out stuff. Figure out what she wants to do and how much it will cost. I think it's admirable.

[ChicagotoLA]

I'm a guy and I've researched a lot about this business and how to make it work. In fact, I've been researching it for over a year and was going to do in Chicago but it would only be profitable for 3-4 months while I'm sure I could get customers even in the winter in LA.

Yes I have a car. So California is expensive let's come to that conclusion but are there any parts of LA that aren't exactly in the hood that could be had for a fair price? 1,200-1,400 monthly?

[E_Superhero]

Parts of Hollywood and plenty of places in the SFV could be had for 1200-1400 a month.

But are you really going to live in North Hollywood and then commute 45 minutes each day to run an ice cream cart?

[ChicagotoLA]

Originally Posted by E_Superhero

Parts of Hollywood and plenty of places in the SFV could be had for 1200-1400 a month.

But are you really going to live in North Hollywood and then commute 45 minutes each day to run an ice cream cart?

Believe me this "ice cream cart" or whatever you want to call it has the potentials of earning 20,000+ a month in a good location. It's not even ice cream but I know it would be successful but the problem I have isn't about me opening up the business but me finding a place in the LA area to live that will give me the opportunity to meet people my own age as well as finding the perfect location for me to open up shop.

So since California is so expensive, how do people make enough money to support themselves? That's what I don't understand.

And how does LA compare to Chicago and New York as far as business goes? As I plan on pursuing a degree in business finance and how competitive is that in the job field?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by ChicagotoLA

Believe me this "ice cream cart" or whatever you want to call it has the potentials of earning 20,000+ a month in a good location.

Why is it then, that the guys that I see selling ice cream, shaved ice, etc have holes in their shoes and are missing a tooth or two?

[Ceece]

Home (http://www.getshavedice.com/Home.html - broken link)

This seems to be working. It never hurts to check out the competition. What flys in Chicago may not work in Los Angeles.

Your BEST BEST is to work and save as much money as you can BEFORE you move to CA so you have capitol for whatever business you try and several months worth of living expenses. Really research your college idea becasue the places you mentioned are very $$, especially for OOS students, and highly competitive. Due to budget cuts most colleges and universities are severely limiting their resources so unless you are some sort of wunderkind you will probably not be accepted to UCLA or USC.

The good news is that rents are coming down and you should be able to fine housing in your price range somewhere. Maybe not in Venice but you aren't tied to that place yet since you don't have a solid plan. Just be flexable.