Moving To LA in Spring (Los Angeles, Pasadena: transplants, apartment, lease) - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

gou5923 · 12-13-2010, 04:55 PM

Hi. I will be graduating college in May of 2011 with a degree in Marketing and I am planning to move to California. I definitely want to live near LA but not exactly in the hustle and bustle of the city. Could anyone give me any advice on some close cities that aren't too far from LA. Obviously safer areas are preferred and I'd like to be somewhere which has some shops and grocery stores in walking distance. Also I am moving basically across country so if anyone else has ever done this and knows the best way to get all of my things that far for the best price I would really appreciate it.

Thanks A lot.

yoyoma02 · 12-13-2010, 05:00 PM

Do you have a job lined up? Do you have a preference on where to live? (South Bay, Santa Monica, Pasadena)? Are you familiar with the area?

I just moved here from the Midwest in July for a job and the biggest advice I can give: Live close to your work.

gou5923 · 12-13-2010, 05:22 PM

No I do not have a job lined up yet. I was going to start looking over Christmas break. I was kind of nervous about that because I applied to about 50 internships in LA, last summer and got 2 callbacks. I thought maybe because of the distance they weren't interested. Do you have any suggestions on good job sites? And as far as the area goes I really have no clue where I would prefer to live I just know I want to be close to the city.

Thanks!

nighthouse66 · 12-14-2010, 09:24 AM

gou5923, as i have been telling anyone who asks on this forum, there are 8 people for every job in this city. it is in the top four worst cities to find a job right now. this recession is very scary and frankly as a 5-year local i would rather the job go to someone who has been here and struggling and needs a job than someone new to the place. i don't mean to be harsh to you because i understand why anyone would want to move here, but its probably the worst time EVER to do so. you can underestimate this if you want, but i have been officially unemployed for two years, and i wouldn't have made it if i weren't REALLY tight with money and living with zero luxuries. i would sincerely, sincerely urge you to wait a year. there are LOADS of people with much better resumes than yours without jobs. please, hang back for a while for your own good. i only recommend coming here if you are prepared to live on an inheritance or something. and when i say jobs, i mean all of em. starbucks. fast food. professional. every type of job.

yoyoma02 · 12-14-2010, 11:59 AM

I disagree with nighthouse. You're young, now is the time to try something that you want. Obviously, coming out with a job and apartment lined up is the best route. But, don't let the doom and gloom of California's economy scare you.

You decide if you find work and make a life out here, not the recession or the DOW. I say start tweaking your resume, sharpen those interviewing skills, and welcome to Sunny California!

nighthouse66 · 12-14-2010, 01:00 PM

i want to clarify that when i moved here, i had 600 dollars and a van payment. i also had a job- a not-great retail job, but a job. i came from georgia and i had never been farther west that taos, new mexico. people thought i was crazy. i had to sell everything i owned to get out here, and i have never, ever regretted it.
i am usually the one on these forums who encourages everyone's crazy plans. mine paid off. but it was a very very different time. knowing the number of highly employable people here who can't find a job, i know the reality is ugly and no one wants to hear it- but its still there. i would definitely line up a job, but i know that most companies want some face time before they add you to the team. do you have friends here? if you do, i would suggest staying with them for a couple months before you move lock stock and barrel. again, this is not coming from someone who has made safety and security their goals in life. i have lived in my van. i might have to again. i believe in following your dreams- i have done nothing but for the past 30 years. i don't regret it. and i wouldn't listen to ANYONE when i came out here. hell, i want to move to detroit in a couple years, if that shows you anything about my character and tastes. i am just saying wait for a year. i am in no way discouraging the move altogether.

seain dublin · 12-14-2010, 01:15 PM

You really can't plan on a place to live in LA unless you know where you will be working. I can tell you this you want to live as close as possible to work.

I used to work at UCLA and commute from the Valley, although it was only 13 miles it could take more than an hour each way.

I wouldn't tell the OP not to come, but line up a job first.

Mike121 · 12-14-2010, 01:17 PM

Here's what *not* to do when moving to LA.

First, ask for neighborhood advice from the slightly paranoid, which includes almost all rich people and almost all newly arrived transplants from other states. They will tell you that if you aren't spending $2000/mo to live in Santa Monica, Los Feliz, Beverly Hills, or Manhattan Beach, you will die.

Then, move into an apartment in these expensive neighborhoods mostly sight unseen, sign a one year lease, move in all your stuff so that your basically stuck there.

Afterwards, start looking for a job. This will take months while your savings is dwindling, so that you get increasingly desparate, eventually taking a job for less that you wanted that is an hour commute away from your apartment.

Then, settle into the life of working 9 hours and then spending two hours on the freeway in bumper to bumper traffic every day, spending all of your money on rent and travel with nothing left over.

After a year, return to your home state (which is almost always New York), bitter and demoralized, and tell everyone that Los Angeles is hell.

LOL.

But seriously, find a job first, staying in a temporary housing situation until you get one. Then live as close as you possibly can to your job, even if the neighborhood is boring or busy or not too pretty. You will then have the time and energy and money left over to enjoy what the city has to offer.

disgruntled la native · 12-14-2010, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nighthouse66

i want to clarify that when i moved here, i had 600 dollars and a van payment. i also had a job- a not-great retail job, but a job. i came from georgia and i had never been farther west that taos, new mexico. people thought i was crazy. i had to sell everything i owned to get out here, and i have never, ever regretted it.
i am usually the one on these forums who encourages everyone's crazy plans. mine paid off. but it was a very very different time. knowing the number of highly employable people here who can't find a job, i know the reality is ugly and no one wants to hear it- but its still there. i would definitely line up a job, but i know that most companies want some face time before they add you to the team. do you have friends here? if you do, i would suggest staying with them for a couple months before you move lock stock and barrel. again, this is not coming from someone who has made safety and security their goals in life. i have lived in my van. i might have to again. i believe in following your dreams- i have done nothing but for the past 30 years. i don't regret it. and i wouldn't listen to ANYONE when i came out here. hell, i want to move to detroit in a couple years, if that shows you anything about my character and tastes. i am just saying wait for a year. i am in no way discouraging the move altogether.

As you said it's a much tougher time. I think a move to LA is pretty much a way to burn through cash quickly if you don't have a job. A good job too.

Almost everyone here says live close to your work. Truer words were never spoken. Driving is hell here, and long commutes will destroy your health, leisure, and pocketbook (gas). I once turned down a pretty good job opportunity because it was 15 miles away.

nighthouse66 · 12-14-2010, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

As you said it's a much tougher time. I think a move to LA is pretty much a way to burn through cash quickly if you don't have a job. A good job too.

Almost everyone here says live close to your work. Truer words were never spoken. Driving is hell here, and long commutes will destroy your health, leisure, and pocketbook (gas). I once turned down a pretty good job opportunity because it was 15 miles away.

yup, once i took a place in downtown after surmising it was "only" twelve miles from work. HA! twelve miles sounds like nothing, but it took me an hour and a fifteen minutes to get to work. i moved out of the place after a week because of that. ONE CANNOT overestimate the ability of a long commute to rip your nerves to shreds.

and mike- great advice too. especially about the paranoid rich people and the eventual move back to your homestate telling all and sundry that LA sucks. LA CAN suck, and suck much harder than some other cities. it also is amazing, much more than other cities.