Young girl from Canada wanting to move to LA (job market, buying)

[AlanisJane]

I am thinking of moving to LA in the next few months. I am an educator and a musician. My plan for money is to work as a substitute teacher. I am wondering what is this like in LA and how is the market for it? I am quite familiar with a chunk of the city as I've visited a few times. I am wondering where is a good place to search for housing? Cars? Jobs? What are somethings I should possibly know before I go and any other advice tips would be greatly appreciated. If possible I would like to secure something before my arrival.

[MordinSolus]

Secure a job before you come. Once you know where you'll be working you can plan from there. You'll want to live as close to work as possible and know your income before making the decision where to live.

[nightlysparrow]

Get the right work visa first:

Canadians in U.S.A. - Working in the U.S.

[redturtle]

No work visa, no move.

[AlanisJane]

I'm aware about visas. My main question is the accommodation, buying a vehicle, and what the job market is like for my field. If anyone has answers regarding those 3 questions I would appreciate it.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by AlanisJane

I am thinking of moving to LA in the next few months. I am an educator and a musician. My plan for money is to work as a substitute teacher. I am wondering what is this like in LA and how is the market for it? I am quite familiar with a chunk of the city as I've visited a few times. I am wondering where is a good place to search for housing? Cars? Jobs? What are somethings I should possibly know before I go and any other advice tips would be greatly appreciated. If possible I would like to secure something before my arrival.

None of us are going to be able to help you until you get the visa and the job. You have to have both before you can move to America. A subtitute teacher isn't going to qualify you for a work visa I don't think. You need to discuss your plan with the Embassy. You also can not come just to visit, secure work and then apply for the visa. I know you say you are familiar with the requirements, but I am not sure you realize you must have the job first. You say you want to move in the next few months. Even if your desire to be a substitute teacher would work, you are talking about a lot more than a few months to secure a position and make the move.

[AlanisJane]

Originally Posted by nmnita

None of us are going to be able to help you until you get the visa and the job. You have to have both before you can move to America. A subtitute teacher isn't going to qualify you for a work visa I don't think. You need to discuss your plan with the Embassy. You also can not come just to visit, secure work and then apply for the visa. I know you say you are familiar with the requirements, but I am not sure you realize you must have the job first. You say you want to move in the next few months. Even if your desire to be a substitute teacher would work, you are talking about a lot more than a few months to secure a position and make the move.

I am only just trying to get an idea about those 3 things. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing so and multiple people usually ask such questions before opting to move.

So far every response has been about the visa yet not one person says anything about the job market for the field I asked about. Unless I have a better idea of that I am not going to bother applying for anything. I said I am thinking about it. I am in no rush to pick up and leave right now. If you or anyone can help answer those questions great if not that's ok too I'll ask around elsewhere. Thanks for your time.

[nightlysparrow]

"Educator" is pretty vague.

Are you a Certificated schoolteacher? Elementary or Secondary? What subjects? Any specialized credentials? Do you have experience? What kind? How many years? Do you have a Masters degree?

[seain dublin]

Well in order to teach in CA you have to take and pass an exam called the CBEST(California Basic Educational Skills Test). It is only given a few times a year.

But you can't sub in LA County without it.

Now perhaps if you're a fully credentialed teacher in Canada, you may not have to do this, but you're vague as to what you're actually certified in.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by AlanisJane

I am only just trying to get an idea about those 3 things. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing so and multiple people usually ask such questions before opting to move.

So far every response has been about the visa yet not one person says anything about the job market for the field I asked about. Unless I have a better idea of that I am not going to bother applying for anything. I said I am thinking about it. I am in no rush to pick up and leave right now. If you or anyone can help answer those questions great if not that's ok too I'll ask around elsewhere. Thanks for your time.

i did, I said as clearly as I could: you can not come to this country expecting to be a substitute teacher. You would have to have a school district recruit you and they do not recruit sumbstitute teachers as a rule. What more would you like someone to tell you? You also asked about searching for cars and a place to live; you have to have the job and the visa before you can even consider any of this. You also said, "in a few months" my comment was, you can't even think about doing anything like this in a few months. Not a one of us can give you any answers. You need to talk to autorities. If you were moving from one state to another that would be different, but one country to another isn't the same.