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Old 12-13-2010, 05:47 PM
 
Location: denver, co
49 posts, read 180,605 times
Reputation: 65

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about a year ago i posted on this site my intent on moving back to LA from CO. i mentioned that i didn't have a job lined up but we had a decent savings and since we had lived in LA 3 years earlier, we felt we could make it... i asked for advice.

flashback 10 years earlier...

when i was 22 i left boston and drove cross country to live in LA. i had never been there before and i had about 2k (my entire savings) in my glove compartment. i found a person looking for a roommate, took any job i could, and in about 6 months i was working for one of the biggest companies in LA and worked my way up the ladder to a director within the company. I DID IT! it was hard work and in the beginning i wasnt making much but i did it. i met my wife in LA, found my career in LA made a bunch of money in LA... then we moved to CO. (so i made one bad decision!)

present day...

when i asked for advice, i got a ton of people saying how LA has changed and we would be crazy to come with no jobs because people are standing in line for unemployment and blah blah blah. well, i am happy to say that we did return with no jobs lined up. we took a small apartment in venice and worked our butts off to find work in our field. we scrimped and saved and tried to keep our spirits high and in 3 months we found great jobs in our respective fields and me, my wife and our dog have a wonderful life back in LA.

the point of this story is not that we made it. its that YOU can make it if you really want to. you may have to work hard, you may have to tighten your belt and you may have to sacrifice much but if you have an education, have ambition and a good attitude YOU CAN MAKE IT.

Good luck, enjoy the ride and welcome to Southern California!
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Old 12-13-2010, 05:52 PM
 
4,213 posts, read 8,287,203 times
Reputation: 2680
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilczy View Post
about a year ago i posted on this site my intent on moving back to LA from CO. i mentioned that i didn't have a job lined up but we had a decent savings and since we had lived in LA 3 years earlier, we felt we could make it... i asked for advice.

flashback 10 years earlier...

when i was 22 i left boston and drove cross country to live in LA. i had never been there before and i had about 2k (my entire savings) in my glove compartment. i found a person looking for a roommate, took any job i could, and in about 6 months i was working for one of the biggest companies in LA and worked my way up the ladder to a director within the company. I DID IT! it was hard work and in the beginning i wasnt making much but i did it. i met my wife in LA, found my career in LA made a bunch of money in LA... then we moved to CO. (so i made one bad decision!)

present day...

when i asked for advice, i got a ton of people saying how LA has changed and we would be crazy to come with no jobs because people are standing in line for unemployment and blah blah blah. well, i am happy to say that we did return with no jobs lined up. we took a small apartment in venice and worked our butts off to find work in our field. we scrimped and saved and tried to keep our spirits high and in 3 months we found great jobs in our respective fields and me, my wife and our dog have a wonderful life back in LA.

the point of this story is not that we made it. its that YOU can make it if you really want to. you may have to work hard, you may have to tighten your belt and you may have to sacrifice much but if you have an education, have ambition and a good attitude YOU CAN MAKE IT.

Good luck, enjoy the ride and welcome to Southern California!
Maybe, and I'm not discounting entirely what you say. But for every story like yours, there are many more others who come to LA and end up working in dead end jobs just barely scraping by, can't survive and move home, or in extreme cases, become homeless and or get involved in sex work.


It's still possible to make it out here but the odds are against you. Consider the bigger picture and what your backup options are.
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Old 12-13-2010, 05:55 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,595,462 times
Reputation: 17830
A lot of people would say that just about anyone can make it if they work hard enough and sacrifice enough but a more desirable way to succeed is to make it without working too hard or sacrificing too much.
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:00 PM
 
Location: Uncharted island
329 posts, read 1,046,030 times
Reputation: 463
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilczy View Post
...
I am personally all for people moving where they want to without much money to take a crack at making a living there. you'll never know until you try.

But your advice is, in general (ie. in most cases), not a good idea to follow. i mean, would you give this advice to your own children?
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:00 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
749 posts, read 1,859,001 times
Reputation: 431
Quote:
Originally Posted by disgruntled la native View Post
Maybe, and I'm not discounting entirely what you say. But for every story like yours, there are many more others who come to LA and end up working in dead end jobs just barely scraping by, can't survive and move home, or in extreme cases, become homeless and or get involved in sex work.

It's still possible to make it out here but the odds are against you. Consider the bigger picture and what your backup options are.
Oh please Disgruntled: You are so over the top sometimes. Homeless and sex work! You do provide quite a bit of comic relief! I think I might be your number one fan, even if we disagree much of the time.

To the OP: Congrats on finding your way back and finding employment in your field! I imagine your prior stint here helped the networking process. Still, no small task in the current econ. climate!
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:04 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
749 posts, read 1,859,001 times
Reputation: 431
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobinsonCrusoe View Post
I am personally all for people moving where they want to without much money to take a crack at making a living there. you'll never know until you try.

But your advice is, in general (ie. in most cases), not a good idea to follow. i mean, would you give this advice to your own children?
I can't speak for the OP but he did indicate he is about 32 yrs old and SAVED a "significant" amout before moving back this time. I assume he and his wife are childless, only other family members mentioned was a dog.

Also, he noted he worked in LA for a big company before...I am sure his prior contacts and work history helped him.
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:09 PM
 
Location: South Bay
7,226 posts, read 22,150,283 times
Reputation: 3626
i'm sure the OP also had significant work experience and a college degree, that certainly never hurts either. usually the dreamers have zero work experience and might have some college credit.
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:15 PM
 
Location: People's republic of California
245 posts, read 544,006 times
Reputation: 231
Well congrats and good job. I used to be like that and honestly if you go with a positive attitude and the will to make it, anything is possible. A few years back I moved back to Cabo San lucas with no job, 200 dollars, struggled for the first week, but then landed a great job, hung out with old friends, made new ones and it all worked out. Obviously times change, I am now older and married, but I will soon move out of here to SoCal, and yes I have done my research and have some friends out there. A co worker of mine just packed his stuff up and moved to NorCal with like 200 bucks, he now was his own place and loves it there. Of course I get many people telling me its expensive, the unemployment is sky high, I wont afford gas or groceries, we are doomed if we go to CA, but here in AZ utilities can be expensive in the summertime too. I guess my point is that if you at least try, then you have the peace of mind that you tried, you may struggle to get back on your feet but to me that is better than waking up and being 68 and asking yourself why didnt I try this back when I could.
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:16 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles
749 posts, read 1,859,001 times
Reputation: 431
Quote:
Originally Posted by BRinSM View Post
i'm sure the OP also had significant work experience and a college degree, that certainly never hurts either. usually the dreamers have zero work experience and might have some college credit.
Very, very true.
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:20 PM
 
Location: SoCal
2,261 posts, read 7,220,649 times
Reputation: 960
Wow. I think the OP & I are one and the same.

I, too, drove out to LA from Boston 10 years ago (and found work at one of the biggest companies in LA), moved away (bad decision), and just recently moved back. I also met my husband here in LA.

We also moved out here without jobs (but with substantial savings). I haven't found a job (although I do some freelance work) yet, but then I haven't started looking either. I've been called on a few, though, because my resume is up on a job board. So.... that bodes well. My husband just found out he might be a head writer on a show that looks pretty good to be picked up. My husband & daughter will be in a major Funny Or Die video at the end of this month (or beginning of next year). A lot of really great & amazing things have been happening to us since the move.

I also was a bit freaked out by these message boards about moving back without jobs and how dire everything is.

I can't even begin to describe how happy I am that we moved back here.
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