[willow wind]

As far as cost of living ( DH & I both have numerous family members living in the Bay area and in the San Diego area and we visit on a regular basis and have for decades.) We browse houses and cost of living every time we go- lol . You're going to find this.

You'll save big on utilities. The closer you are to the coast the more even the climate. You'll seldom need heat or AC. Big, big savings. Both those regions are huge, as they are both cities and giant counties. The further inland you go, the hotter the summers will be and the more you will need AC ( much more desert type ). It's a land of micro climates, depending on proximity to the ocean. The ocean is cold.

Rents will be similar, but you'll find tons of really nice rentals. There will be many apartment communities. The type of places where you can rent either an apartment or townhouse that comes with pool, clubhouse, other amenities. Homes prices will vary, again depending upon what town/area and how far inland you are. What you will find, is that homes, even large homes, are on,for what we would consider to be teeny, tiny lots. Residential areas may seem much more dense than what you're used to.

Gasoline may be a bit more expensive, groceries and most other things not much difference to worry. about. What I always find unusual is that single family housing in CA is expensive overall, very expensive for what you get. At the same time, salaries in southern CA seem to be slightly lower than CT for comparable jobs. ( IMO).

Have you picked an area where you expect to live ? LA is huge. PS- it's a good move- I think you'll like it there.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by nep321

I thought LA was way too big, congested, expensive and pretentious. The weather is very monotonous and boring. I love dark gray overcast for days on end, snow, as well as 100 degree weather with high humidity.

What do you think of Stamford? Norwalk? Vernon? Charlotte?

......I'll stop now.

[SeaDoo342]

Originally Posted by willow wind

As far as cost of living ( DH & I both have numerous family members living in the Bay area and in the San Diego area and we visit on a regular basis and have for decades.) We browse houses and cost of living every time we go- lol . You're going to find this.

You'll save big on utilities. The closer you are to the coast the more even the climate. You'll seldom need heat or AC. Big, big savings. Both those regions are huge, as they are both cities and giant counties. The further inland you go, the hotter the summers will be and the more you will need AC ( much more desert type ). It's a land of micro climates, depending on proximity to the ocean. The ocean is cold.

Rents will be similar, but you'll find tons of really nice rentals. There will be many apartment communities. The type of places where you can rent either an apartment or townhouse that comes with pool, clubhouse, other amenities. Homes prices will vary, again depending upon what town/area and how far inland you are. What you will find, is that homes, even large homes, are on,for what we would consider to be teeny, tiny lots. Residential areas may seem much more dense than what you're used to.

Gasoline may be a bit more expensive, groceries and most other things not much difference to worry. about. What I always find unusual is that single family housing in CA is expensive overall, very expensive for what you get. At the same time, salaries in southern CA seem to be slightly lower than CT for comparable jobs. ( IMO).

Have you picked an area where you expect to live ? LA is huge. PS- it's a good move- I think you'll like it there.

Thanks, that's what I'm finding ....that rents are similar and in lots of cases higher in Stamford. We are looking in Century City area of LA, but people on the CA forum have told me that its cheaper if I go further out, but then it seems like utilities rise and I would have to deal with traffic, kind of like living in New Haven and commuting to Stamford...

[SeaDoo342]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

What do you think of Stamford? Norwalk? Vernon? Charlotte?

......I'll stop now.

Lol, awesome

[nep321]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

What do you think of Stamford? Norwalk? Vernon? Charlotte?

......I'll stop now.

Among all of those, Vernon was the best, in my opinion. Just a regular middle class semi-quaint, semi-laid back town with nearby natural beauty. Probably the best town I ever lived in, actually.

[SeaDoo342]

Hey guys, once again thanks for all of the comments.

I went to LA for a few days and honestly, I hated it. It felt dirty, there are traffic lights everywhere. It felt like every road was the Boston Post Rd and you can't get away from the chain restaurants. The apartments we saw there were nicer than what you could get in Stamford for the same price, but you have to pay extra to park your car. Did I mention it was dirty??? Plus everyone that we met there is from somewhere else, and they think because they moved to LA, they are kings and queens. The LA locals were actually the nicest people we met.

The positives were that the weather is awesome and the beaches are GREAT. There are a ton of things to do outdoor in really close distance that blow CT out of the water.

So we might look further out....but for right now I'm not sold on LA......

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by SeaDoo342

Hey guys, once again thanks for all of the comments.

I went to LA for a few days and honestly, I hated it. It felt dirty, there are traffic lights everywhere. It felt like every road was the Boston Post Rd and you can't get away from the chain restaurants. The apartments we saw there were nicer than what you could get in Stamford for the same price, but you have to pay extra to park your car. Did I mention it was dirty??? Plus everyone that we met there is from somewhere else, and they think because they moved to LA, they are kings and queens. The LA locals were actually the nicest people we met.

The positives were that the weather is awesome and the beaches are GREAT. There are a ton of things to do outdoor in really close distance that blow CT out of the water.

So we might look further out....but for right now I'm not sold on LA......

Did you look further out? Unfortunately what you described is why I'm not a huge fan of LA proper. The suburbs are great. You can head up to "The Valley" and check out Encino, Woodland Hills, Calabasas, etc. Those are all nicer, quieter areas and not a bad commute to LA. That said, your AC bill will be higher in the summer months because it gets hot. You can also go out the Pasadena/Arcadia way and it gets much less congested and rents are cheaper.

[VTGal]

Originally Posted by SeaDoo342

Hey guys, once again thanks for all of the comments.

I went to LA for a few days and honestly, I hated it. It felt dirty,

So we might look further out....but for right now I'm not sold on LA......

LA is not my cup of tea, prefer northern CA, and the air quality is bad in LA, smog is horrible.
I agree with the previous poster, look farther out. Maybe you could stay at one of those extended stay hotels for a few weeks while you look around for a place.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Did you look further out? Unfortunately what you described is why I'm not a huge fan of LA proper. The suburbs are great. You can head up to "The Valley" and check out Encino, Woodland Hills, Calabasas, etc. Those are all nicer, quieter areas and not a bad commute to LA. That said, your AC bill will be higher in the summer months because it gets hot. You can also go out the Pasadena/Arcadia way and it gets much less congested and rents are cheaper.

I agree the OP should look further out but commuting from the Valley to LA proper is like commuting by car from Fairfield to Stamford. Not fun at all. I suggest the OP post his questions on the Los Angeles forum where he can get more responses. Jay

[NewCanaan]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I agree the OP should look further out but commuting from the Valley to LA proper is like commuting by car from Fairfield to Stamford. Not fun at all. I suggest the OP post his questions on the Los Angeles forum where he can get more responses. Jay

He is right. Valley will be really hard to commue in.