Questions about living in LA - Please don't be too hard on me thanks :) (Los Angeles: apartment complex, for rent)

[TheOldBear]

Many people want to move to Southern California. Many of them aspire to live in one of the “famous” areas like Hollywood or Beverly Hills. Many more would like to live near the ocean. This is all understandable. I have lived in SoCal for 60 years in a variety of communities, some very nice and some, not so much and the weather makes it one of the greatest places to live in the USA. Anyone with basic cable can see most of the advantages of the area. Baywatch, Keeping up with the Kardashians, the weather at the Rose Bowl Game.


Here are a couple of things I would suggest anyone considering a move here consider.


I costs a lot of money to live here. A lot. Rent/Home Prices are just the start. Getting around is expensive. Gas costs more on the west coast than anywhere else in the US. Parking for many renters is a nightmare, sometimes non-existent. It is also a big problem for many employed downtown or in other densely populated areas. Like near the beach. Public transportation costs more than other places too. If it works from where you live to where you want to go. Food isn't cheap either although some things, like fresh produce can be had more cheaply than in places further from production. Other costs, like healthcare are higher here as well.


Traffic. This will shock anyone who doesn't commute over a bridge or through a tunnel every day. We have heavy traffic seven days a week, all year long. It eases a little in the early AM but by then, most drivers stay off the roads to avoid the drunks. Over the last 25 years it has grown to extend, along with the 'burbs, ever outward. Dozens and dozens of miles east, west, north and south. Both ways. Darnedest thing trying to figure out why so many of these people didn't move closer to where they are going everyday.


Diversity. This freaks some people out. I kinda dig it, but we have an amazingly large number of different cultures here. Some represented by millions of people, some, seemingly, by only a few dozen. They all have their own cuisine and they all have a restaurant in a mini mall somewhere. Someone wanting a 2 1/2 hour micro-view of LA can start near the Greek Theater and take Western all the way downhill to the sea. You begin with the Hollywoodland estates of the rich and famous in Los Feliz and cruise through every imaginable ethnicity, Latino, Asian, southeast Asian, Central and South American and that's just before you meander through the Mid City, USC off to the left and Leimert Park down to your right, into South Central. More and more neighborhoods until you end up a little south of the Trump Golf Course on Palo Verde, home of even more amazingly rich white people.


That's just a nutshell view. Los Angeles is great. Southern California is even greater but they are big, can be lonely and it's not very forgiving to those who forgot their street smarts. Should you decide to move here, welcome. And bring money.

[MItoBH]

Originally Posted by TheOldBear

Many people want to move to Southern California. Many of them aspire to live in one of the “famous” areas like Hollywood or Beverly Hills. Many more would like to live near the ocean. This is all understandable. ...


That's just a nutshell view. Los Angeles is great. Southern California is even greater but they are big, can be lonely and it's not very forgiving to those who forgot their street smarts. Should you decide to move here, welcome. And bring money.

Great post, thanks!

[UKWildcat1981]

I heard South LA especially Watts is nice this time of year

[jamesdenver]

I don't know if it's the same everywhere, but when I moved to NC, I had to show proof of residency, a local bank account in the form of permanent checks with a local address and a local driver's license to get a PO Box. So know that getting a PO Box and having mail forwarded (someone would have to get the mail and forward it; the post office workers won't do it unless you're changing your address) may not be plausible.

Or you could just make up an address to use on resumes and applications - from a large apartment complex or mailbox store. (Along with a Google voice number of your new city's area code.) Seriously, when does a potential employer actually "mail" you something before being hired? It's no more of a misrepresentation than using a relative's address that you don't reside at.

Just be ready to fly out at a few day's notice for an interview if you represent yourself as "local" - and of course, know the area that you now "live" in or hope to soon.

[Candycupcakes]

When you say I could "just make up an address to use on resumes and applications - from a large apartment complex or mailbox store" Do you mean I would need to call them and get a fake address? Thanks everyone for posting replies I appreciate it this would all be easier if I actually knew someone who lived there. That way I could actually stay with that person while I find a job etc. I don't intend to go near Southern California I've heard it can be really dangerous.

[Mr_Geek]

Originally Posted by Candycupcakes

I don't intend to go near Southern California I've heard it can be really dangerous.

What in the world is going on here?

[RudyOD]

Originally Posted by Mr_Geek

What in the world is going on here?

I'm thinking she meant near the University of Southern California, or South Central. That's the only way I can rationalize it.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

Originally Posted by Candycupcakes

Thanks everyone for posting replies I appreciate it this would all be easier if I actually knew someone who lived there.

But in your very first post, you said you DO know people who live there.

Originally Posted by Candycupcakes

I don't intend to go near Southern California I've heard it can be really dangerous.

First you say you might be interested in moving to the Sacramento part of LA ... now you say you don't intend to move to Southern California? Kinda hard to live in LA then. Might I suggest that you take a look at a map?

I used to live in SoCal and wouldn't want to again, although many areas are certainly beautiful. The area is also very crowded and expensive, as others have said.

P.S. With your screen name, there's one career you might consider ...

[Candycupcakes]

Ok I thought Sacramento was in Northern California (I guess not) I do know people that live in California but not enough to ask if I could use their address. I probably should have picked a better username I didn't think it would be that serious. I mean judging someone based on their username on a forum is a bit childish. Are there any places in LA that are not that expensive? How exactly would I be able to obtain a California address? Someone made a post about a Apartment Complex or getting on from a mailbox store how does that work?

[karen_in_nh_2012]

Originally Posted by Candycupcakes

Ok I thought Sacramento was in Northern California (I guess not)

Um, Sacramento IS in Northern California. You didn't seem to realize that from your first post ... you wrote that you were interested in these areas of LA: Sacramento, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills. Hence, when I wrote "the Sacramento part of LA" I added this after it: . It was meant to indicate that what you wrote, well, didn't make sense (as at least one other poster wrote).

Also in your original post you said you knew people who lived in LA. Then in a later post you said you didn't know anyone there. A couple of us were confused by these contradictory statements.

Originally Posted by Candycupcakes

I probably should have picked a better username I didn't think it would be that serious. I mean judging someone based on their username on a forum is a bit childish.

Sorry, but all the choices we make DO say things about us, like it or not. Your user name does sound, well, kind of like what I implied it sounded like. (I was being a bit facetious, though -- hard to tell tone sometimes with the Internet.)

Originally Posted by Candycupcakes

Are there any places in LA that are not that expensive? How exactly would I be able to obtain a California address? Someone made a post about a Apartment Complex or getting on from a mailbox store how does that work?

I think the poster who suggested using an apartment address just meant, find an apartment complex (just search for LA apartments online) and use its address with a fake apartment number, or make up a similar address (a fake address). He was kind of counting on prospective employers NOT mailing anything, but rather calling or emailing if they wanted to contact you, so it wouldn't matter that the address was fake as the employers would never use it. I'm not sure I'd recommend this, though -- if you got called for interviews you would have to fly out (at your expense) with little notice.

There are undoubtedly Mail Boxes Etc.-type places in LA. Again, google is your friend. Once you find some through google, just call them to see if you can rent a box for an LA address even when you live far away. I have no idea if they will let you do that, but it seems worth a try. (But again, if you get calls for interviews, you will need to fly out.)

What kind of job skills do you have? In your OP you wrote that you have a certificate in Graphic Design, were going to start classes to be a Dental Assistant, and were also about to start work from home as a Customer Service Rep. Those are 3 really different fields. Is there any way you could do the Customer Service job from LA? (I ask since you say it's a work-at-home job.) Another possibility might be temp work, if you have some skills they are looking for. Again, you could call some agencies -- some are national (like Kelly -- at least it used to be!) so you could maybe "transfer" to LA when you are ready.

I do wish you luck, although I would also suggest a LONG visit (maybe a month) before moving out there for real -- it would be awful to move all the way from the east coast only to find you don't like it out there.