LA questions from future american) (Los Angeles, Pasadena: real estate, apartment, for rent)

[ladreams]

Hi, now i'm very far from LA, but dreaming about is above 2 years)
first i want to say - your forum is greate, so many info about LA I never saw before.
So, I'm going to move in LA is 2-3 next years. I'm working online, so don't need to search rent oportinities in speciall area, its doesnt matter) I dont have family and dont plan it for 5 years minimum. i'm 20 years old now.
So, i dont have some common problems like area, work, schools, traffic (maybe I'm wrong) etc. But im not rich yet (.
What I wonna ask: where to live is best in my situation? Of course, not very expensive, but safe, nice and lovely) i want this)) im looking about malibu (because of beach), Venice, because of beatifull, west hollywood, but all I find expensive. Maybe i searched bad, but want to see something about 2-3K mountly for rent.
So, first question is: what the best place in LA for relax, working at home, with beaty places and safe etc
Other questions will ask later, because first i want to read some more in the forum.
Sorry for my english, it's not perfect yet.

[LAjorge]

Maybe Downtown Los Angeles or also Westwood, and if you like to be by the beach, choose anywhere in the south bay area

[theunbrainwashed]

Do you have a valid visa to come here on? If you don't, you can't come here. Coming here on the VWP and working from home is illegal as well. You will be deported and maybe face jail time if caught, and you most likely will be banned from entering the U.S. for a number of years. You need the proper authorization to do that first.

[West of Encino]

Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed

Do you have a valid visa to come here on? If you don't, you can't come here. Coming here on the VWP and working from home is illegal as well. You will be deported and maybe face jail time if caught, and you most likely will be banned from entering the U.S. for a number of years. You need the proper authorization to do that first.

I didn't know that working from home or operating a business from home was illegal out here.

[da8509]

My recommendations:

Downtown L.A. (definitely amazing place to live, not far distance-wise from even beautiful Malibu)
Calabasas (rural and adjacent to, though very different from, Malibu)
San Dimas (further away from the beach, but still not too far, and in the San Gabriel Valley -- quaint atmosphere (not unlike that aspect of Calabasas))
Pasadena (also San Gabriel Valley, very central location to everything)
Temple City (San Gabriel Valley)
Arcadia (San Gabriel Valley)

You're right, Malibu's real estate is very expensive (but it's amazing and since it's in L.A. County and thus very accessible (from some places moreso than others), why not visit it often? -- that's what I do!), Calabasas has some very expensive real estate but look at older homes there and there's a wide price range actually, and I avoided mentioning other very vexpensive cities/areas like the San Gabriel Valley city of San Marino, but all the above mentioned feature less expensive real estate and are definitely WONDERFUL! Note: Downtown L.A. can also be very expensive, but depends on many factors, like neighborhood, apartment, loft, etc; Arcadia has mostly quite expensive real estate; Pasadena, depends where in Pasadena, and what kind of home. Feel free to ask me more questions if you want, I myself grew up in the Pasadena area but always liked and continue to like getting to know other parts of greater L.A. Oh, and no, working from home is NOT illegal here.

[Santa's Neighbor]

The OP calls him/herself "future American" in the subheader, so I think that's why the other poster brought that up. It is illegal to have a home business if you're a foreigner, unless you have a visa that allows you to be in business here, which is not easy at all to get. (I'm a foreigner myself.)