New graduate wanting to relocate to LA (Los Angeles, San Diego: transplants, cheap apartment)

[woodsywinter]

Hello everyone,

I'm graduating from an accredited institution in Missouri and I'll have my Master's in Accounting so I'll be eligible to sit for the CPA exam. I am wondering how feasible it is to move to Los Angeles and basically start my life there. I've always loved the ocean and I hate Missouri's weather (it snowed a bit today actually). I'd be looking for a place to live that is:

-affordable (can be paid for with my accounting salary of maybe $45-$50k)
-safe
-is close to beach but not bad commute to accounting jobs

I know there is good public transportation in LA and I would like to utilize this because I have heard horror stories about the traffic in LA. Being from MO, I have never used public transportation so any tips/input on that would be helpful too.

Thanks!

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by woodsywinter

Hello everyone,

I'm graduating from an accredited institution in Missouri and I'll have my Master's in Accounting so I'll be eligible to sit for the CPA exam. I am wondering how feasible it is to move to Los Angeles and basically start my life there. I've always loved the ocean and I hate Missouri's weather (it snowed a bit today actually). I'd be looking for a place to live that is:

-affordable (can be paid for with my accounting salary of maybe $45-$50k)
-safe
-is close to beach but not bad commute to accounting jobs

I know there is good public transportation in LA and I would like to utilize this because I have heard horror stories about the traffic in LA. Being from MO, I have never used public transportation so any tips/input on that would be helpful too.

Thanks!

Perhaps the reality of the beach at Santa Monica might change your mind about loving the beach (if you can even find it among the usual week end crowd.)
They always look so dammed inviting and carefree on tv, and movies, but these pictures are the reality.
Bob.

[drunk on kool aid]

Originally Posted by woodsywinter

Hello everyone,

I'm graduating from an accredited institution in Missouri and I'll have my Master's in Accounting so I'll be eligible to sit for the CPA exam. I am wondering how feasible it is to move to Los Angeles and basically start my life there. I've always loved the ocean and I hate Missouri's weather (it snowed a bit today actually). I'd be looking for a place to live that is:

-affordable (can be paid for with my accounting salary of maybe $45-$50k)
-safe
-is close to beach but not bad commute to accounting jobs

I know there is good public transportation in LA and I would like to utilize this because I have heard horror stories about the traffic in LA. Being from MO, I have never used public transportation so any tips/input on that would be helpful too.

Thanks!

Everything depends on where your job is.

Many of the words on your list of wants are very subjective: safe, close to beach, not bad commute, etc. More specifics such as length in time (not distance) of desired commute or a city/neighborhood whose crime rate you are comfortable with would be helpful.

L.A. is safe as far as large cities go but actual crime rates depend heavily on where exactly you are and who you are.

By close to the beach, do you mean right outside your doorstep (out of your budget), short drive or hour away? Do you plan to go every day?

I don't know where the accounting jobs are. Are they in DTLA (not close to the ocean), clustered somewhere else or scattered all over the metro?

Public transportation, especially buses will get you virtually everywhere. It's better than most people think but will disappoint those coming from Chicago, NYC, DC, etc. If you pick your job and home carefully, you could make an easy commute using PT possible. Don't Missouri cities like Kansas City & St. Louis have at least buses?

Depending on where your job is, places like Culver City, Palms, West LA will be easily possible with your budget and still be reasonably close to the beach. If you have roommates, you could live even closer. If your job is in DTLA, places such as Koreatown, Hollywood or Pasadena will let you commute into Downtown using light rail.

If you have kids, then school quality might be something you have to factor.

Do you want to be close to bars, music venues, symphonies, hiking, halal markets, etc?

Have you considered Orange County or San Diego? What about the Southern and Southeastern U.S.?

Good luck.

[noris212]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

Perhaps the reality of the beach at Santa Monica might change your mind about loving the beach (if you can even find it among the usual week end crowd.)
They always look so dammed inviting and carefree on tv, and movies, but these pictures are the reality.
Bob.

The pier is a fun place and yeah it gets busy sometimes, but I enjoy it even though I've lived in California my whole life; I would think someone from Missouri would love it. So why are you posting pictures of large crowds trying to talk him out of moving here? How is that even relevant to his post?

To answer some of the original questions: I think West LA (just outside of Santa Monica) is your best bet. It's a great location but more affordable than Santa Monica (right down the street). I live in a 2 br place in West LA with a roommate and we pay a total of 1600/mo (800 each). I should mention that places typically run closer to around 2000 for 2 br though. The area is nice and safe, lots of places to eat, is only 2 miles from the beach, pier, Downtown Santa Monica, etc. But if you want a place to yourself, I would probably live somewhere else til you make a bit more money.

Anyways, it's definitely doable making 45-50 as long as you're willing to have a roommate; if not, you'll be a bit strapped for cash.

[woodsywinter]

I'm thinking a commute of 45 minutes would be what I'd want maximum and I realize how difficult that is in LA. I'd like a short drive to the beach because I know I could not afford to live right next to it. And accounting jobs are basically everywhere but specifically I would want to be able to get to downtown LA for my commute because that's where most of my jobs would be located. Light rail sounds really nice. Would that enable a short commute? I don't have any kids and I'd be moving here with my girlfriend living in a 1 BR. Living close to restaurants and with a grocery store nearby would be nice. I'm not too worried about being near bars and whatnot because I don't party as much as other young people. And yeah I've considered San Diego but I just wanted to know more about LA.

[rowebil]

I'm thinking about moving to LA as well, from Eastern Pennsylvania. It's a move to the complete opposite area -- western side of the country. Yesterday and the day before, we have had almost 80 degree weather. Today, it started snowing. I am ready to move.

So thank you for posting this thread - I will follow it and look for advice as well.

My best advice is to go to L.A., and find places to live such as areas, and even apartments. Someone on here mentioned the same thing. You could usually find a cheap apartment (quality of course) in person, rather than a search on the web. I believe this is true because of the L.A. traffic, I assume some people don't even bother about posting paid classified ads.

I've seen some pretty nice apartments for $1,200- but I guess the price depends on the location.




This sounds like me:

Do you want to be close to bars, music venues, symphonies, hiking, halal markets, etc?

[drunk on kool aid]

Originally Posted by woodsywinter

I'm thinking a commute of 45 minutes would be what I'd want maximum and I realize how difficult that is in LA. I'd like a short drive to the beach because I know I could not afford to live right next to it. And accounting jobs are basically everywhere but specifically I would want to be able to get to downtown LA for my commute because that's where most of my jobs would be located. Light rail sounds really nice. Would that enable a short commute? I don't have any kids and I'd be moving here with my girlfriend living in a 1 BR. Living close to restaurants and with a grocery store nearby would be nice. I'm not too worried about being near bars and whatnot because I don't party as much as other young people. And yeah I've considered San Diego but I just wanted to know more about LA.

Are you familiar with LA's beaches? Transplants are usually shocked out of their Speedos at how cold the water is, even in the summer. And most people don't end up going to the beach that often. There are tons of people who haven't gone in years even if they live a few miles away. I bring this up since everyone wants to live near the beach but not everyone goes often enough to justify the premium. There are other benefits such as cool summers and better air quality. On the other hand, summers can be cloudy, not sunny until the marine layer burns off. I'm not trying to talk you out of the coast; just making sure you have an accurate understanding of the reality of SoCal coastal living.

In a few years, the Expo light rail line will go out to Santa Monica, making a trip to the beach from DTLA (or anywhere that connects to the Expo line) possible. Metro Light Rail often has at-grade crossings so it's not as fast as it could be but it's convenience and reliability are undeniable.

As stated before, nail down your job first, then find a place to live that makes a PT commute easy and is close to shopping. I don't think there's anywhere in the LA metro that is more than a mile or two from a grocery store. If you pick carefully, you can be within easy walking, biking, bus or rail distance to work and most errands, making a car-free or car-light lifestyle possible.

Check out the Metro site so you can get an idea of where it goes and what are the candidate neighborhoods for your target commute times:

LA Metro Home | Getting Started

The LA metro area is also serviced by a dozen or two municipal bus lines (e.g. Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus).

Good luck.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

Perhaps the reality of the beach at Santa Monica might change your mind about loving the beach (if you can even find it among the usual week end crowd.)
They always look so dammed inviting and carefree on tv, and movies, but these pictures are the reality.
Bob.

What year are those pictures from? I have never seen Santa Monica beach that crowded. The pier, yes, it's always crowded. But the beach?

[rowebil]

Originally Posted by bpeeps

What year are those pictures from? I have never seen Santa Monica beach that crowded. The pier, yes, it's always crowded. But the beach?

The one is dated 1996-1998. Haha and the picture quality looks old, and the bathing suits too.

It looks nice - I like a crowd. I go to a carnival or mall just to walk around and see people.

[woodsywinter]

Originally Posted by drunk on kool aid

Are you familiar with LA's beaches? Transplants are usually shocked out of their Speedos at how cold the water is, even in the summer.

In a few years, the Expo light rail line will go out to Santa Monica, making a trip to the beach from DTLA (or anywhere that connects to the Expo line) possible.

As stated before, nail down your job first, then find a place to live that makes a PT commute easy and is close to shopping.

The LA metro area is also serviced by a dozen or two municipal bus lines (e.g. Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus).

Good luck.

Thanks for the water temperature advice, I didn't know that. Is it too cold to swim in? Do most people swim there?

I do think lining up a job first is a good idea too because then I could find somewhere nearby to live. I have a few more questions hopefully someone can answer.

How far away from my job do you think I could live and still commute to work in around 30 minutes using bus or rail? How long (in general) does it take to get from one part of the city to the other using various forms of transportation. Like say, Santa Monica to Downtown using a car, bus, rail, etc.?

Thanks in advance for any advice!