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Old 05-22-2009, 11:03 AM
 
7 posts, read 27,359 times
Reputation: 11

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Hey everyone thanks for opening my post. I plan on moving out to Santa Monica next summer of 2010 and I need advice on what areas to live and what areas to avoid. Here's my story.

I need to move out of Riverside due to the air quality and personal issues. While Los Angeles air isn't much better than Riverside air, living in Santa Monica would be a huge improvement to my lungs and to my skin. I have huge sinus, asthma, and allergy issues and Riverside makes my life miserable. The heat from Riverside also makes me break out into huge eczema breakouts and I get a ton of heat related issues.

I have $10,000 saved up through my earnings and allowances and it will continue to grow until I move out next summer.

Why not move out now? Well because I'm not 18 yet. I can't legally sign a contract and my parents have told me that if I tried to move out before I was 18, they would report me as a runaway. I'd rather not be hauled back to my parents' house by the police, so until I'm 18, I'm staying put. It sucks that they have such control and that I have to put up with one more summer of no air conditioning and health issues, but I did it for 16 years so what's one more right?

So I'll be turning 18 next spring, but I won't be moving out to Santa Monica until next summer so I can finish my semester at Riverside Community College.

I plan on going to SMC. I plan on having roommates just because I don't see the point in spending more money than I have to. I want my saved up $10,000+ to last. I'm going to keep working my butt off to save up more than the $10,000 I have now because my parents have made it clear that once I move out, I am no longer a part of their lives. Sounds drastic, but both my parents have a mentality that I'm going to stay in Riverside with them, live next door to them, and have a handsome husband with 5 kids, at the same time working as a doctor with my father in his practice. I can't even handle Riverside in the summer, how am I gonna handle the rest of my life?! haha. So I'm prepared to take out $40,000 in private student loans to pay for my last two years of university. Hopefully my parents will come through, but if not I made the choice to move out and I'll accept the consequences.

So I'd appreciate some affordable locations (with roommates) that I can commute to SMC from. Apartment names and cross streets are welcome.

I'd also appreciate places to avoid.

And can anyone tell me how safe and also bike friendly are 6th street and pico, and 5th street and pacific street? Also if pico blvd in general is safe and also bike friendly?

I do not want a car. I really don't. I love riding my bike. I like safe, but not secluded just because I'll be taking public transportation. Just to let you know though, I can handle areas outside the middle class kid bubble. I did grow up in Riverside after all and I don't even think it's that bad. If I have to walk through residential streets to get to a bus stop, I'd prefer to shell out extra to live directly in front of the bus stop. After nearly being kidnapped in my neighborhood several times as a kid walking to the bus stop, I'd prefer to live near the hustle and bustle of things.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading. Can't wait to hear your responses.


Last edited by LateNightSunshine; 05-22-2009 at 11:14 AM..
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Old 05-22-2009, 11:31 AM
 
Location: South Bay
7,226 posts, read 22,118,727 times
Reputation: 3626
all of santa monica is generally safe, but the areas adjacent to Pico are definitely the least safe in the city. as long as you're careful, i'm sure you will be fine. also, the buses in santa monica are great and will get you anywhere on the westside of LA. no matter where you live in santa monica, except for the super expensive single family home areas, you will be within a few blocks of a bus stop. also, bicycles are great for getting around santa monica. you should know however that there are hills in the souther portion of santa monica, so getting a bike with gears would be highly recommended. i think you're only issue will be affording your apartment. $10k can be spent real quick when you're paying $1000/month for a dingy studio somewhere near pico. you'll obviously need a job, and at your age, you'll be stuck with menial jobs that don't pay very well. you may look into the costco in marina del rey or the home depot in playa vista, both of which can be reached by bus or bicycle from santa monica. since the bus system is pretty good around here, you may also consider some cheaper neighborhoods to live in that are nearby like mar vista, west la or even palms.

ps- i wouldn't disown your parents quite yet. honestly, they're probably just looking out for your best interests. if you need to move and live in the city, then you need to move, but don't write off your parents quite yet, they may be able to help you out down the road some day.
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Old 05-23-2009, 11:54 AM
 
Location: Playa Del Rey, California
269 posts, read 781,785 times
Reputation: 364
My parents really put a lot of pressure for me to go to OSU since they lived in Columbus, but I wanted to go to an aviation college in Daytona Beach. They thought I was making a really baaaad decision to want to move away for college, sure that I would party too much and drop out. But with trying to avoid any drama, I kindly told them ERAU was my choice. It did get bad at times, but when they finally realized I wasn't going to OSU, they gave me their support. I graduated, and things went well!

It is important you communicate with your folks. Let them know you really desire to go somewhere else for college, and that you've put a lot of research into it. Try to not escalate the conversation into an arguement. If it is starting to turn into an arguement, end it with "I can give you guys some time to think about it, but right now that is what I'm leaning towards". Hopefully after you've talked about the decision enough times, one day they'll open themselves up to it. "Wow, she really wants to go to college there."
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