Florida to Cali with a few friends, few questions here. (Santa Monica: to rent, house)

[Speed3max]

I am new on the forums but have been lurking around for a few days now.
Couple of my friends and I want to move out to California. (5 including me) Could any body tell me if this is going to be plausible? We are looking into renting a house within commuting distance to UCLA and a Community College. Would like a pot friendly county if possible. We all will need jobs once arriving out in California, is the job market good out in California? What is going to be the cheapest way to survive out in Cali?

Any suggestions or help will be much appreciated!!


Thanks
-Speed3Max

[uptown_urbanist]

Cheapest way to survive? Don't try renting a house within commuting distance of UCLA. As far as job market: no, the job market is most definitely NOT good in California. It is, in fact, one of the worst in the country. Are you (or one of you) already accepted into UCLA? If not, and you just want a commuter college and then will try to transfer, there are certainly far, far cheaper parts of the state to live than anywhere near LA. If you do want LA (and near UCLA, at that, which is definitely not one of the cheaper parts of the area) then a lot of people go to Santa Monica College and then transfer to UCLA.

[OC Investor2]

OP abuse for calling CA "Cali" to commence from the usual suspects in 3....2.....1.....

[Brenda-by-the-sea]

Check here for advice on moving to Cali.

Embassy of Colombia

http://www.cali.gov.co/

[Oakland Uptown]

Originally Posted by oc investor2

op abuse for calling ca "cali" to commence from the usual suspects in 3....2.....1.....

lol

[skyway31]

All of this depends on you having a source of money (i.e. income) to live off of. You've got to have that, and tell us how that factors into a budget before moving and before we can help you. The state of the economy is IRRELEVANT. All that matters is whether or not YOU all can land jobs. And that all depends on your specific career/job area, resume and your individual success or lack thereof in finding someone to hire you. If you land a suitable job, the fact that the economy sucks is irrelevant. Just like the economy being strong not mattering if you yourself can't find a job.

You could probably find affordable housing fairly close to UCLA if you look a little south of Wilshire and/or a little west of Sepulveda.

But, again, without knowing your budget or income, there is not much of value we can share with you.

[Speed3max]

Originally Posted by skyway31

All of this depends on you having a source of money (i.e. income) to live off of. You've got to have that, and tell us how that factors into a budget before moving and before we can help you. The state of the economy is IRRELEVANT. All that matters is whether or not YOU all can land jobs. And that all depends on your specific career/job area, resume and your individual success or lack thereof in finding someone to hire you. If you land a suitable job, the fact that the economy sucks is irrelevant. Just like the economy being strong not mattering if you yourself can't find a job.

You could probably find affordable housing fairly close to UCLA if you look a little south of Wilshire and/or a little west of Sepulveda.

But, again, without knowing your budget or income, there is not much of value we can share with you.

Budget... About 1k/mnth per residence. (5). Total of 5k for living(including electric, water and waste)
Funding... We all should have a job that at least makes us 1.8k/each a month.
School... 2 of us have been accepted into UCLA and the rest would need community college to xfer later on in the year.

Thanks for the help, I haven't much time to look into Cali-FORNIA yet due to finals, but very curious on what California has to offer!

[mateo45]

Originally Posted by Speed3max

Budget... About 1k/mnth per residence. (5). Total of 5k for living(including electric, water and waste)
Funding... We all should have a job that at least makes us 1.8k/each a month.
School... 2 of us have been accepted into UCLA and the rest would need community college to xfer later on in the year.

Thanks for the help, I haven't much time to look into Cali-FORNIA yet due to finals, but very curious on what California has to offer!

Y'all sound like a fairly resourceful bunch, so I suspect you'll figure something out when you get here. As a former (South) Florida resident myself, perhaps the first things you'll notice are the lack of humidity, the lack of bugs (like skeeters, palmetto bugs, etc.), and that Cali ain't flat (unlike all of FL)! Also, if you're seeking "pot friendly", etc., rest assured that's really most of the state these days to one degree or another, and obviously even more so if the November initiative for legalization gets passed. Certainly you'll find the attitudes (and the available quality) much improved... good luck!

[KnoxTown]

The problem here is that your budget is assuming you ALL get jobs that pay that much. I really hope you guys have alot of money saved up before you get here.

[uptown_urbanist]

Since location in or around LA is a definite, I'm moving this to the LA forum -- you'll get more location-specific answers there.

I'd stick close to UCLA (or at least on that general area) for the sake of convenience and take a very close look at Santa Monica College for the easiest community college option.

The economy is relevant in that jobs are tougher to find, but obviously there are some jobs out there. Look into campus jobs, too.