Job offer in LA, I may move cross country

[MordinSolus]

Originally Posted by BeatAngMoh

LA pronounce it ... El A

Or just stop trying to make "El A" happen. It's never going to happen.

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by AverageGuy2006

My frined said the company is located in an area that isn't the greatest.

He himself has always lived close to public transportation, and he takes the bus or train to work. Sounds like the traffic in LA is the worst in the nation.

He recommended I try to avoid driving to work as well, and mentioned the following neighborhoods to check out online:
Long Beach, North Hollywood, Culver City, Shermeen (spelling?) Looking tonight, I see some houses for rent in Long Beach for around $1500. But it seems some of the ads mention section 8, so I am guessing that $1500/month is on the lower end of rental property values ?
FWIW, I don't mind taking public transporation to work.

Originally Posted by AverageGuy2006

I recently received a job offer in LA. I'm not from Cali, as I would be completely relocating. I need to make up my mind and call my friend tomorrow with a decision. If I take the job, I will need to move quite abruptly, as I was not planning on moving cross country. However, I have wanted to live in LA for many years now, after having been out there many times visiting friends.

The job is an engineering position, through a life long friend. The job should be a good fit for me and the company, so things should be pretty stable there. The job is located just east of West Hollywood and Culver City, pretty much right off the 110 and 10.

I have been looking at apartments online, and home values. I am learning that housing is about 2-3 times as expensive in LA compared to where I live now.
I can't swing a 600,000-800,000 mortgage anytime soon, so it looks like I'll be renting for a while. My friend is letting me stay with him initially, but he has a 1 bedroom with his gf, in Long Beach, so I won't be staying long. I'm sure he will help me find a decent place, as he has been out in LA for about 15 years. I pretty much figure to be in my own place in a week or two at the most. My friend will help me find a decent place for what I can afford.

My question is, how far will $1500/month on rent get me ? In the ghetto ? In a house? In a studio ? Right next to the ghetto ? In the ghetto in a studio with my car on blocks in two weeks ? I'm sure my buddy won't drop me off at the corner, but it is nerve racking to imagine I am moving out there with no home and I have no idea of the area and what to expect initially.

I read this forum a bit, and it seems many people ask questions about relocating to LA here. I read Lakewood neighborhood, and some other areas that might be ok for me. But i guess I'm asking, what are some things that I can expect to deal with in LA that I would have no idea about ? Are storage facilities accessable and available, or are they hard to come by? Most likely, all my stuff won't fit into an apartment, as I currently live in a one bedroom house.
Roommates are not really an option for me, as I pretty much only know one person out in LA, and he is the one in Long Beach.

Originally Posted by AverageGuy2006

Oh, and so far I see my two biggest hurdles outside of actual housing are how to handle my two cars, and my two cats. Are apartment complexes willing to allow 2 parking spots ? And how likely is an apartment to allow cats ? I can have my family take care of my cats for a while.

You friend said the area isn't the greatest, but how bad can it be considering he takes public transportation to work? Is it west of the 110 south of the 10?

Storage is big business in LA, easy to find, there are ample places willing to overcharge you to store your junk. People will pay hundreds and thousands over years to store their stuff that isn't even worth the price of the storage.

Finding a place for your 2 cars will be easier than finding a place to accept cats.

$1500 is a good budget. Low end is $1000 for a two bedroom apartment. There are areas you can buy a condo with that mortgage payment and you'll have a 2 car garage and have your cats, plus have easy access to the Metro Link Train system.

What to expect, depending on where you are from, you'll need to make at least $1000 more a month to cover you housing cost if want to rent a house and pay more for gas. Where are you from across the country where they call freeways "The 110"

Originally Posted by BeatAngMoh

LA pronounce it ... El A

Thanks for clarifying I thought that use of el A had to do with the emphasis of hispanic makeup of the city, but 'Los' is already in Spanish and should convey that. Wouldn't it be el Ay,do you also type double you double you double you because the way it is pronounced and why not use DTeLA or DeeTeeElA.

[Mike121]

Originally Posted by AverageGuy2006

My frined said the company is located in an area that isn't the greatest. He himself has always lived close to public transportation, and he takes the bus or train to work. Sounds like the traffic in LA is the worst in the nation.

He recommended I try to avoid driving to work as well, and mentioned the following neighborhoods to check out online:
Long Beach, North Hollywood, Culver City, Shermeen (spelling?) Looking tonight, I see some houses for rent in Long Beach for around $1500. But it seems some of the ads mention section 8, so I am guessing that $1500/month is on the lower end of rental property values ?
FWIW, I don't mind taking public transporation to work.

First off, it is important that you don't make the mistake that all "coming to LA" people make, by trying to find the perfect neighborhood and end up living too far away and spending way too much money. People that do that end up hating this city.

If you don't want to end up hating your time here, just live by your job. Whether the neighborhood is good or bad or cheap or expensive, just live by your job. And whatever housing is by your job, just deal with it. Accept it.

Expect that bad-day traffic is 10 mph, so a 5 mile commute will be 30 minutes and a 10 mile commute will be an hour. Not every day and not at all times of the day, but, often enough that you need to expect that.

[woodsart]

First, DO NOT DUMP YOUR POOR KITTENS. That you "must" is a load of BS (sorry, folks, but it is) and it is encouraging poor pet ownership. I moved to LA with a large (80 pound) dog, and found places to rent for under $1500 just fine. It is way easier with cats. Practically all of my friends have cats, and almost all the apartments I've looked at over the years allowed cats. Dogs are harder, but still not impossible by a long shot. I have two dogs right now, and my landlord would be happy to let me have a cat as well. And I live in a nice cottage for $1500/month in a good neighborhood.

Second, DO dump the second car if you don't need it. Parking costs in this city. Even street parking costs in many neighborhoods, and some of the areas closer to your work have major problems with car theft, so if you live near there, you'd want to look for off-street parking.

Third, balance commute with living somewhere you don't hate, and that you can afford. This sounds obvious, but people sometimes act like the best thing is to live next to your job. That's only true if next to your job is reasonably affordable and comfortable. You don't want to move here and then hate where you live. Check commutes to various neighborhoods you look at and be aware of it, but don't move to somewhere you hate all weekend because you're avoiding a 30 minute commute on the weekdays.

Finally, try looking for a back house/guest house situation. These are often better deals than apartments and also frequently allow pets with a small pet deposit. Even better if you have a current landlord that can vouch for you being a good pet owner who takes care of the place. Get a letter from that person if you have one. Also, they are not cheap, but Equity Apartments offers a variety of apartment buildings in LA and they generally allow both cats and dogs. I rented from them in Seattle in a luxury high-rise and found their building to be very well maintained and their deposits were very reasonable.

Neighborhoods:

In the immediate 110/10 vicinity, try Boyle Heights/East LA. It's been gentrifying and many areas are relatively safe and nice. It has public transit and excellent Mexican food, is very close to DTLA, and 2 bedroom apartments and back houses can be had for under $1400 on nice streets. The area is still kind of "block by block" though -- some streets/blocks are better than others, so search after you get here and weed out the bad areas. Check both LA crime maps for a few months (Google LA crime mapping and use the police one, not the LA Times one, which is too general) and your gut instinct (so long as you aren't freaked out by urban living in general). Tagging isn't always a sign of bad crime here; many areas like Highland Park still have the tagging but not much crime. However, if there are giant ugly tags all over everything, be a little more wary.

Farther afield is Northeast LA, including Lincoln Heights (gentrifying/transitional) and Highland Park (already transitioned but more expensive, yet probably still affordable). If you don't mind a bit of a cross-town commute (and I will warn you, the 110 sucks for hours both AM and PM on every weekday, as well as PM on the weekends), Pasadena and environs is nice, safe, and affordable. But your commute will suck.

You might also look at Culver City in the opposite direction, but not sure if it's affordable by now.