Is relocating to West LA even possible anymore? (Compton, Carson: apartment, renter)

[Jer3784]

I originally posted on this forum back in 2009. I was a (somewhat) naive 24 year old, looking to make the leap from Chicago to West LA. Being someone who was looking to get into the music industry, I networked a lot, and trusted my contacts would give me work. I moved. I stayed for a year. I had zero luck.

I always had the urge to move back. The problem always became -- lining up work before making the move is nearly impossible. I don't know how many interview requests I was given over the last 10 years, only to have them taken away once they found out I'm in Chicago looking to relocate. Literally.. no one will Skype.

In more recent years, my work has transitioned into something different. I'm still pushing for entertainment work, but in an aspect of the industry that is freelance based. I thought.. If my networking is good and I'm a bit more cautious this time, maybe I should make the move again. Trying to crunch the numbers in any situation seems almost impossible.

A studio apartment costs about $2,300, more than double the cost for my prime location studio in 2010. A shared apartment costs about $1,300, about $400 more than my shared unit when I moved in 2009. And rooms shared (yikes..) are at $900. It sounds completely insane! Even if I had a lot of full time jobs in the LA area, I'm not so sure I would be able to make those costs work. As for transferring within a company to a West LA location, I don't see how that is even possible unless they give you a major raise.

So.. How is / has everyone here done it who has relocated rather recently? Only way I see possible is if you are married and have both incomes coming in.

Is there something here I'm missing?

[NJ Brazen_3133]

Originally Posted by Jer3784

I originally posted on this forum back in 2009. I was a (somewhat) naive 24 year old, looking to make the leap from Chicago to West LA. Being someone who was looking to get into the music industry, I networked a lot, and trusted my contacts would give me work. I moved. I stayed for a year. I had zero luck.

I always had the urge to move back. The problem always became -- lining up work before making the move is nearly impossible. I don't know how many interview requests I was given over the last 10 years, only to have them taken away once they found out I'm in Chicago looking to relocate. Literally.. no one will Skype.

In more recent years, my work has transitioned into something different. I'm still pushing for entertainment work, but in an aspect of the industry that is freelance based. I thought.. If my networking is good and I'm a bit more cautious this time, maybe I should make the move again. Trying to crunch the numbers in any situation seems almost impossible.

A studio apartment costs about $2,300, more than double the cost for my prime location studio in 2010. A shared apartment costs about $1,300, about $400 more than my shared unit when I moved in 2009. And rooms shared (yikes..) are at $900. It sounds completely insane! Even if I had a lot of full time jobs in the LA area, I'm not so sure I would be able to make those costs work. As for transferring within a company to a West LA location, I don't see how that is even possible unless they give you a major raise.

So.. How is / has everyone here done it who has relocated rather recently? Only way I see possible is if you are married and have both incomes coming in.

Is there something here I'm missing?

Is likely, the people who are able to move to West LA have better connections, and are able to get that spot at that wage.

[D-Doc]

Become rich or homeless.

[TexasBound19]

Originally Posted by Jer3784

I originally posted on this forum back in 2009. I was a (somewhat) naive 24 year old, looking to make the leap from Chicago to West LA. Being someone who was looking to get into the music industry, I networked a lot, and trusted my contacts would give me work. I moved. I stayed for a year. I had zero luck.

I always had the urge to move back. The problem always became -- lining up work before making the move is nearly impossible. I don't know how many interview requests I was given over the last 10 years, only to have them taken away once they found out I'm in Chicago looking to relocate. Literally.. no one will Skype.

In more recent years, my work has transitioned into something different. I'm still pushing for entertainment work, but in an aspect of the industry that is freelance based. I thought.. If my networking is good and I'm a bit more cautious this time, maybe I should make the move again. Trying to crunch the numbers in any situation seems almost impossible.

A studio apartment costs about $2,300, more than double the cost for my prime location studio in 2010. A shared apartment costs about $1,300, about $400 more than my shared unit when I moved in 2009. And rooms shared (yikes..) are at $900. It sounds completely insane! Even if I had a lot of full time jobs in the LA area, I'm not so sure I would be able to make those costs work. As for transferring within a company to a West LA location, I don't see how that is even possible unless they give you a major raise.

So.. How is / has everyone here done it who has relocated rather recently? Only way I see possible is if you are married and have both incomes coming in.

Is there something here I'm missing?

You shouldn't move to LA unless you make 150k+

[Jer3784]

Originally Posted by TexasBound19

You shouldn't move to LA unless you make 150k+

A bit of an exaggeration, no?

I find it hard to believe that the majority of the city population is that rich.

Say people who work basic retail jobs. I'm sure they work 2 jobs, but still do not make over 100k a year. They somehow survive,

[Finper]

Originally Posted by Jer3784

A bit of an exaggeration, no?

I find it hard to believe that the majority of the city population is that rich.

Say people who work basic retail jobs. I'm sure they work 2 jobs, but still do not make over 100k a year. They somehow survive,

It’s not a exaggeration if your moving here cold and want to live in W LA. People that work retail or in restaurants here live at home or have multiple room mates. In addition to sky high rent you have to pay for parking, expensive gas, food, expensive utilities, LA and SF are one of the most expensive places to live in the nation. The struggle is real

[Vic Romano]

Originally Posted by Jer3784

A bit of an exaggeration, no?

I find it hard to believe that the majority of the city population is that rich.

Say people who work basic retail jobs. I'm sure they work 2 jobs, but still do not make over 100k a year. They somehow survive,

Absolutely correct. He's a troller who spares no chance to denigrate the L.A. area.

But with lower paying jobs, you will have to be good with your money to survive in West L.A.

[saybanana]

There are 100+ different areas you can live that are cheaper than West LA.
West LA is one of the more expensive areas and people who are poor and work retail dont go living in West LA unless they had a rent controlled apartment 10+ years ago and never left.
If you want something cheaper, try the entirety of South LA and the all the cities there from Carson to Compton. Try the gateway cities. Try the southern San Gabriel Valley. Try the central and eastern San Fernando Valley. Try all the communities around Downtown LA except Echo Park/Silver Lake/Mt Washington/ Highland Park. as rents are high up.
Try Koreatown and East Hollywood. for now.

IF you want to establish yourself and save money until a more steady flow or more income comes in the near future, do that. Then after move to West LA.

[socal88]

West LA is definitely super expensive now. And not to mention, quite congested.

Assuming you want to live without roommates, you'll probably have a better bet finding a place in the Valley, on the Eastside, or in outlying suburbs.

Unless you are making six figures so that you can at least save some of your money to buy a place down the line, you'll be stuck in an eternal renter cycle. It's just unbelievable what folks are willing to pay for older product. And at this point, you'll be lucky to find a crap shack for $1 million.

[SoCal25]

So how do you get here and survive without a golden ticket or big pile of cash? First you have to really want it because you will be poor. A much better style of poor than elsewhere maybe, but you will be poor.



1. Be responsible for only yourself...you got dependents ignore what follows.
2. If you know someone, line up the couch for awhile.
3. Move here with just a couple suitcases of stuff...you can't be hauling your junk around or paying good money to store it. You may be moving frequently while you get settled.
4. Don't move to the Westside or similarly top of the top market places. Most people in LA can't afford the Westside, be real.

5. Find a job and move as close to it as you can afford.




This is just gets your fingers on the bottom rung of the ladder. What you do next is up to you. Sure, you can stay where ever you are now saving up some cash and waiting for the right time, but the right time never comes and the little bundle of cash is never enough.