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Old 01-13-2011, 05:24 PM
 
326 posts, read 811,272 times
Reputation: 188

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I currently have 2,000 saved up and a car....how long will i last out there? and are jobs easy to find (as in waitressing)?
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Old 01-13-2011, 05:25 PM
 
Location: Here and There
2,538 posts, read 3,862,059 times
Reputation: 3790
Are you for real? If so, good luck with that
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Old 01-13-2011, 05:34 PM
 
4,213 posts, read 8,265,222 times
Reputation: 2679
Quote:
Originally Posted by tweetybird11208 View Post
I currently have 2,000 saved up and a car....how long will i last out there? and are jobs easy to find (as in waitressing)?
How long will you last out here? A couple weeks.. maybe a month?

Are jobs easy to find? No.

Should you move here at this time? Probably not. I refer you to the other threads on the entertainment industry and aspiring actresses like yourself.

Seriously, beware. How many people from a town like Powder Springs have I met to make it out here, only to turn away home, but have no money for gas..
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Old 01-13-2011, 05:35 PM
 
Location: SW MO
23,593 posts, read 37,323,682 times
Reputation: 29336
Quote:
Originally Posted by tweetybird11208 View Post
I currently have 2,000 saved up and a car....how long will i last out there? and are jobs easy to find (as in waitressing)?
Sorry, Dear. You and a million others. Schwab's pharmacy closed in '83 and as happens too often in California, no matter how iconic, was torn down in '88.

As much as I wish you every success, your savings will likely evaporate in less than a week so please make sure you save out gas money to get back.

I wish you well!
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Old 01-13-2011, 05:59 PM
 
277 posts, read 377,934 times
Reputation: 273
Very cliche, an aspiring actress that wants to come to LA with very little money. The industry that most women in your situation end up in is the porn industry. I'm not trying to be funny either.
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Old 01-13-2011, 06:02 PM
 
Location: South Bay
7,226 posts, read 22,106,899 times
Reputation: 3626
most, if not all of your savings would go towards a deposit and first months rent on apartment then you would have nothing elft. not many landlords are going to rent to someone in your situation. the other option is to rent a room from someone already in a lease or from someone who owns a house. these are not cheap options either and i would imagine that they would require more reserves than $2,000. what you're trying to do can be done, but it might be easier to find a needle in a haystack, you should know that going in. you're better off living with family if you have any here or sleeping on a friend's couch for a while if that is an option. good luck, you will need it.
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Old 01-13-2011, 06:21 PM
 
Location: Melrose District
4 posts, read 10,587 times
Reputation: 12
$2,000 is a good budget for an LA vacation, but not enough to really give it a shot to make a life here. You need to save more. Just focus on saving for now and worry about the rest later. A step at a time my friend, you can't take step B until you have step A done.
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Old 01-13-2011, 06:35 PM
 
Location: No Fixed Address
132 posts, read 362,746 times
Reputation: 65
If you could save a little more money as a cushion, you could get work in background acting, but it might not give you enough to live on. It's not predictable work, it's very last minute and you have to hustle a bit to get it, but if you can live with that, it's there. I have a friend who does it, sometimes he gets lots of work and sometimes it's very slow. It's not his only job, so it's easier to do if you're not financially dependent on it. It's relatively easy to get into, you sign up with a bunch of casting agencies. If you're dependable and reliable that's how you get the most work. It doesn't pay well.
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Old 01-13-2011, 07:02 PM
 
Location: Coachella Valley, California
15,639 posts, read 40,925,504 times
Reputation: 13467
Unfortunately for the OP, and I don't wish her anything bad, but this is what I was thinking too:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Setsuko View Post
Very cliche, an aspiring actress that wants to come to LA with very little money. The industry that most women in your situation end up in is the porn industry. I'm not trying to be funny either.
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Old 01-13-2011, 07:06 PM
 
Location: L.A., CA
89 posts, read 214,349 times
Reputation: 82
Quote:
Originally Posted by tweetybird11208 View Post
I currently have 2,000 saved up and a car....how long will i last out there? and are jobs easy to find (as in waitressing)?
How long you'll last out here depends on how seriously you take your craft and your career. Here are some things to consider:

What sort of training or local experience do you have? If the answer is "none," or even "I was in all my school plays," then you need to start taking classes and auditioning for professional productions in your local market.

Have you started laying your L.A. career groundwork from where you are? Have you networked with people who live in L.A.? Decided where you want to take classes when you get here, and figured out how you're going to pay for them? Do you have your head shot and resume? How about a reel?

I highly recommend you get your hands on a copy of Bonnie Gillespie's Self-Management for Actors, which will help you decide if you're ready to make the move and guide you through what to do once you get here. It's available for about $7 in Kindle format, which you can read with free apps on most smartphones. (Disclaimer: Bonnie's an acquaintance of mine - and just about everyone else in L.A., it seems!)

As for finding survival jobs... it's hard to find ANY job in L.A. This is part of why you need a strong network: If a server job opens up at a restaurant, you stand a better chance of hearing about it if you know someone who works there.

But the best advice I can give you is to stop calling yourself an "aspiring actress." Either you're an actor, or you're not. Whether you're working is another matter entirely.
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