Is this smart? (low cost, expenses, money)

[newtolafromoh]

as i stated earlier I'm very serious about this. I just tried to brighten the mood in here but nvm lmao

[NewbiePoster]

Originally Posted by TheKiwi

OP, I'd love to give you some real, first-hand advice if I may.

I just moved to LA in January. I had about $6000 saved for the move. Luckily I've had somewhere to stay for free for my first 3 weeks out here which helped stretch my money, but I've still managed to spend about $1000 in those 3 weeks, or about $47/day on average. This money has gone for things like gas, food, occasional drink out with a friend, parking fees, and a doctor visit and medicine when I got sick. I'd say overall I've been very good with my money, eating out only 1 meal a day at most (sometimes making all my meals at home), only having alcohol maybe once a week, eating out for breakfast or lunch when I do go out to eat with friends so the meals are cheaper, looking for free street parking as much as possible even if it means I have to walk a lot, etc. My big splurge since I've got here was treating the friends that let me stay with them for free to a nice dinner when I got into town (about a $100 meal). That is still included into that $1000 I've spent since getting here 3 weeks ago though. I'd say that is living pretty cheaply. What I've done to occupy my time on the cheap or for free is go on a lot of hikes, post up in a coffee shop and use the Wi-Fi to look for jobs and send out my resume, and hang out with friends at their houses.

If you have someone to stay with starting off, I'd say you can easily live on less than $50/day if you are frugal with your money. You may even be able to get that amount down to $10-20 a day or so on average if you shop for your groceries at a cheap store, don't eat out, walk a lot, and don't drink. But you'll have to live very small and it sounds quite isolating honestly.

Let me tell you, when you don't have a comfortable place to rest your head at night (since you say you'll be homeless), it affects you mentally. You are going to have a lot harder of a time finding a job, because the things you take for granted doing every day (using the bathroom, taking a shower, getting dressed, brushing your teeth, opening the fridge and grabbing breakfast, etc) will all of a sudden become much harder, and it'll take much more work to get going in the morning. How can you mentally be looking for a job/money when you've been searching for a public restroom for 45 mins and you're about to explode? Or you can't even concentrate because you ran out of money for food 2 days ago and that becomes your #1 priority instead of this magical acting career? I just have to ask you, what is the rush? Get a job in Ohio, save up as much as you can, and then come out here with at least some savings in your pocket and a real plan for where you are going to be living starting out.

Dude, he doesn't care. He's gonna do what he's gonna do. He's blowing everybody off. Thread's a waste of time.

[radiolibre99]

I seriously think half the people that post threads about moving here with no money are people with serious emotional issues. They think their problems will be fixed by moving to LA. People give them sound advice but they don't want to listen. They come in here looking for validation.

[PDF]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

I seriously think half the people that post threads about moving here with no money are people with serious emotional issues. They think their problems will be fixed by moving to LA. People give them sound advice but they don't want to listen. They come in here looking for validation.

It's a big lifestyle change. I moved out to LA with 17 grand and I was still worried. Amazingly, I found a good job within 3 days. But that doesn't happen to everyone.

People who relocate anywhere without money saved up (preferably 10K) are just asking for trouble. We see this all the time on City-Data, people talking about how horrible their life is in their hometown and they want out even if it means they'll be homeless.

The smart thing is saving up some money and then getting out. This kid would rather drop out of college and be homeless. He asked us if it's smart, and we told if it's not. But he still doesn't want to listen.

[goldenglory18]

Originally Posted by PDF

This kid would rather drop out of college and be homeless. He asked us if it's smart, and we told if it's not. But he still doesn't want to listen.

Kinda sums up my whole generation. We're all f***ed...

[radiolibre99]

Its a sign of hopelessness. They feel they have no escape except to do something drastic. Anyone thinking being homeless in LA is an answer to a stuck life in Ohio is clearly emotionally unstable.

PDF did it right. I mean 17k is an insane amount to bring over. That's being really responsible but little to no money? No job lined up? I moved with 3k and a job that paid 50k lined up. And even then I was scared.

[PDF]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Its a sign of hopelessness. They feel they have no escape except to do something drastic. Anyone thinking being homeless in LA is an answer to a stuck life in Ohio is clearly emotionally unstable.

PDF did it right. I mean 17k is an insane amount to bring over. That's being really responsible but little to no money? No job lined up? I moved with 3k and a job that paid 50k lined up. And even then I was scared.

10k is a good number. Some people do it on less, but anyone who is serious about moving cross-country without a job is going to have a decent amount of money saved up. Especially in an expensive city like LA, it's crucial to have that much. Smaller/less expensive cities it's definitely doable on less.

[goldenglory18]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

I moved with 3k and a job that paid 50k lined up. And even then I was scared.

This is exactly what we are doing. I'm even making a little more and still s**tting bricks....

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Its a sign of hopelessness. They feel they have no escape except to do something drastic. Anyone thinking being homeless in LA is an answer to a stuck life in Ohio is clearly emotionally unstable.

PDF did it right. I mean 17k is an insane amount to bring over. That's being really responsible but little to no money? No job lined up? I moved with 3k and a job that paid 50k lined up. And even then I was scared.

While you make a good point, I think you're reading too much into the original thread.

This is the case of a 20yr old stoner living at home who is looking out at the snow and cold and "I should move to LA" pops in his head.

People all over the country in the areas impacted by snow right now say this. They want to move to a warmer climate. I know someone who has lived in the Boston area their whole life, now due to the ridiculous amount of snow they're talking of moving, I doubt they really will.

Once the snow melts and spring comes it will be forgotten.

Because if there was any real motivation to move the OP could have even with a part time job out of HS saved up money over the last couple of yrs to move on, instead he smokes it.

[bruhms]

Originally Posted by goldenglory18

Kinda sums up my whole generation. We're all f***ed...

There is nothing wrong with taking risks.