Another Single 20-something Girl Moving to LA post. Advice requested. Decision needs to be made ASAP. (Los Angeles: real estate market, apartment)

[ak806]

Hey City Data goers,

I'll keep this short, but I need your advice. Badly. Since 2011, I've had a pipe dream to move to LA. I kept putting it off because my parents are ultra conservative and wanted the 'respectable job' path for me, and I always kinda lived my life in fear of what they would think and what they wanted. They supported me for most of my life, so I felt like i never really had a say for what I wished for. My biggest terror was disappointing them. The thought of this move probably came at the worst possible time in the world, but what it boils down to is I'm screwing around with no direction in my life. I got my bachelors in 2012 (in Business), flip flopped around with jobs, and realized that I still don't know what the hell I'm doing or want.

OK - this is the worst part. I got into grad school, but haven't paid tuition yet (Thank God.) That's what I would essentially be backing out of. The thing is, I thought about ... and forking over 100,000 to do something I basically am not sure that I want to do will be a helluva waste. I already messed up my undergrad career by being "uncertain", but managed to graduate debt free. I intended to take on grad school as a "second chance" to find a practical job.

Here's my leg up - my sister lives out there so I have a place to stay - she's not going to make me pay rent until I find a job. Better yet, she said she can probably hook me up with some service jobs (cocktailing ... err, I have only retail experience and she knows this, but we have to discuss later) or temp work, which I have experience with. Just to get my feet wet. Gotta grind on my own afterwards though.

Here's my setback - I only have about $1,000. I won't have a car. I signed on a place, so I'd have to find a subletter ASAP - it shouldn't be too hard though, since the real estate market where I would be going for grad school is hot right now. The rest of my family is entirely against me (minus the sister) and I got into an ugly, screaming crying fight with them today. I feel guilty about breaking my mom's heart since we're close ... but i'm kind of at the age where I want to make my own mistakes. I have been sheltered for 99% of my life, always been told "don't do this" so I never did, lived in fear of taking risk.

I may be getting cold feet for grad school, but my thing is - why go 100,000 into debt and take 10-20 years to pay it off when I can just rough it out and find my own path? This town is tough, I know. Unemployment is high. People come here to wander all the time and pack their bags within a year to leave. That could be me. It can be hell if you don't have your **** together.

OK that wasn't short ... but ... thoughts? experiences? Is this stupid? Should I just go to grad school?

[Exitus Acta Probat]

Post a pic so we can see what you look like.

[PDF]

Well moving to LA won't automatically fix your life. So only do it if you're sure. But having a place to stay would give you a head start. Although a thousand bucks and no car won't.

[ak806]

I definitely know it won't. But I just have this feeling it will buy me some time to really just get everything out of my system, and start fresh.

This is an unconventional decision ... grad school will not guarantee me a job either, it is what I put into it. I think that's the case with anything, including LA.

[ak806]

Originally Posted by Exitus Acta Probat

Post a pic so we can see what you look like.

HA. I'm wary of posting my pic on forums, but I'm cute. Asian.

Not a super model though. Maybe later...

[California Vagabond]

If your sister lives close to downtown or Santa Monica, you might have reasonable mobility aboard the public transit system. But Los Angeles is a terribly spread out place, and most depend on cars there. $1,000 won't last long or go far. You'll depend on your sister for support until you can find a shared rental, or have enough for the significant outlay for an apartment of your own.

I don't think I have enough information to give good feedback, but my reaction when I read your post is that you want your freedom, but may be sabotaging yourself by grasping for that freedom in an impulsive, not-thought-out way.

I suggest that you take a breather, seek out some of your most level-headed friends, explain your concerns and ask for their feedback.

[ak806]

She lives in Venice. Will that work?

What information do you need? I'll be glad to share.

Thanks for your honesty. I appreciate how city-data has a minimal amount of trollage in this community, and people giving frank, wise well-thought out responses.

[kasuga888]

Can you delay the grad school for a year without penalty?

If you have a buisness degree, why don't you look for an office job? You limit your opportunity potential without a car in SoCal. However, if you are just wanting to pick up any service type job, I'm sure you can find something nearby walkabe/bikable assuming your sister does not live in the hood or really way in the suburbs. But that is sorta dead end in the long term.

[ak806]

Originally Posted by kasuga888

Can you delay the grad school for a year without penalty?

If you have a buisness degree, why don't you look for an office job? You limit your opportunity potential without a car in SoCal. However, if you are just wanting to pick up any service type job, I'm sure you can find something nearby walkabe/bikable assuming your sister does not live in the hood or really way in the suburbs. But that is sorta dead end in the long term.

Yes - I can defer my application actually even after acceptance, but there is no guarantee I will be re-accepted. The only thing I have to get out of - and quick - is my lease. Luckily I haven't moved in yet, but I need to decide on what to do before Monday so I can start hustling to look for one ... I realize it's all happening too quickly but I can't afford to waste much more time.

Yeah, I realize that service jobs are a dead end eventually :/ they also rely heavily on looks ... But I've kind of been tempted to try them out and start networking a ton. I would be open to office jobs too!

[ak806]

Originally Posted by California Vagabond

If your sister lives close to downtown or Santa Monica, you might have reasonable mobility aboard the public transit system. But Los Angeles is a terribly spread out place, and most depend on cars there. $1,000 won't last long or go far. You'll depend on your sister for support until you can find a shared rental, or have enough for the significant outlay for an apartment of your own.

I don't think I have enough information to give good feedback, but my reaction when I read your post is that you want your freedom, but may be sabotaging yourself by grasping for that freedom in an impulsive, not-thought-out way.

I suggest that you take a breather, seek out some of your most level-headed friends, explain your concerns and ask for their feedback.

I would also like to mention that I understand how you'd think I want freedom. I have for a very, very long time. I grew up in an ultra-conservative household. There were expectations of what I should and shouldn't do, and a clear line between what was good and what was evil. There were also expectations of getting a stable job, and leading a stable life, meetigg a nice guy, settling down.

But I've always wanted to try a career in the non-corporate field, something more creative, and "live" while I'm young. I realize that sounds incredibly juvenile ... but I have grown into such a boring, stagnant, thrill-less person that I can't help but inherently feel unfulfilled as a person. I'm still wandering in life. I still want to try everything. If I go to grad school, I'll get a normal job, won't have my youth any longer and don't know if or when I'll have the opportunity to do something like this again.