From New England to California (Berkeley, Stanford: apartment, lawyers, schools)

[uptown_urbanist]

Springfield isn't a small town. It's a city, and while the city population itself isn't that big, the Springfield metro area is pretty large. Not LA big, obviously, but it's not some rural utopia with little or no crime. That's not to start a debate about Springfield, but rather to suggest that the poster may well be moving from an area with a higher crime rate to a lower crime rate if he moves to LA. On a practical basis what matters is what specific neighborhood he or she chooses to live in. Sure, 400 people is a LOT of people, (although I think the final tally for 2009 was 314), but there are millions of people in LA. There were 17 homicides in Springfield in 2009 in a city of about 150,000. Most people living in LA don't experience violent crime (or even petty crime).

[lmkcin]

I live in suburban Springfield about 5 miles from the city center. It's metro of about 1,000,000. Comparable New England cities of Hartford and Providence are far more dangerous than Springfield.

I appreciate the concern over crime, but we can safely assume I will be avoiding those parts of the city.

If I did move there, it would first likely to be Orange County, where my family lives. They are willing to let me stay with them while I save money. They have a large condo right on the beach in Huntington Beach with plenty of room.

So my natural questions are about transportation, getting around. I doubt I will have my car with me at first-I'm almost sure I don't want to hassle.

Working in the field of architecture is always been about who you know, that doesn't really change based on location. It would be just as tough for me in New York or Boston where there are more graduates and more architects to compete with.

[bhcompy]

Without a car in HB isn't a great start. Granted OCTA is not terrible, you're still going to have a rough time getting around.

Anyways, the So Cal mindset is the polar opposite of a northeastern mindset. People are more to themselves and people don't care where you come from or what you look like as long as you don't bother them. Keep that in mind as you go about your business and you'll be able to merge in fairly painlessly

[Jay100]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Springfield isn't a small town. It's a city, and while the city population itself isn't that big, the Springfield metro area is pretty large. Not LA big, obviously, but it's not some rural utopia with little or no crime. That's not to start a debate about Springfield, but rather to suggest that the poster may well be moving from an area with a higher crime rate to a lower crime rate if he moves to LA. On a practical basis what matters is what specific neighborhood he or she chooses to live in. Sure, 400 people is a LOT of people, (although I think the final tally for 2009 was 314), but there are millions of people in LA. There were 17 homicides in Springfield in 2009 in a city of about 150,000. Most people living in LA don't experience violent crime (or even petty crime).

Springfield is safer than LA. LOL Yeah...right. 17 murders is nothing. That happens every 3 weeks in LA...not ever year.

Anyway, keep dreaming.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Jay100

Springfield is safer than LA. LOL Yeah...right. 17 murders is nothing. That happens every 3 weeks in LA...not ever year.

Anyway, keep dreaming.

Springfield and Los Angeles rate equivalently on violent crime:
Moderator cut: link removed

[lmkcin]

Yes, I get it, crime. I don't live in the city of Springfield. Every city has crime. It's a given, I really don't want it to deter me from anything.

Any advice beyond crime, would be helpful.

[uptown_urbanist]

Since you're moving first to Orange County, do you want advice on Orange County or on LA? (I almost moved the thread, but then realized that you might want information on LA specifically for down the road).

I think you're wrong to assume that there are fewer graduates or architects to compete with in LA (or Orange County). My husband works in a related-field (he's not an architect, but works with them) and the southern CA offices (OC and LA) were really hit hard (harder than their New England offices) by the economy, and a LOT of people were laid off, with some having to leave the state for work. Things seem to be improving a bit lately, but a lot of the positions are still being filled by highly qualified people who got laid off from good jobs locally. You're in a good position in that you have family you can stay with at first, but just be prepared for potentially a very long job search. (although you could get lucky!) That's not to try to discourage you; it's just that so many posters don't seem to realize that southern CA has suffered a worse blow to the economy than most parts of the country.

LA has pretty good public transportation in many areas, but Orange County could be a different story.

[lmkcin]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Since you're moving first to Orange County, do you want advice on Orange County or on LA? (I almost moved the thread, but then realized that you might want information on LA specifically for down the road).

I think you're wrong to assume that there are fewer graduates or architects to compete with in LA (or Orange County). My husband works in a related-field (he's not an architect, but works with them) and the southern CA offices (OC and LA) were really hit hard (harder than their New England offices) by the economy, and a LOT of people were laid off, with some having to leave the state for work. Things seem to be improving a bit lately, but a lot of the positions are still being filled by highly qualified people who got laid off from good jobs locally. You're in a good position in that you have family you can stay with at first, but just be prepared for potentially a very long job search. (although you could get lucky!) That's not to try to discourage you; it's just that so many posters don't seem to realize that southern CA has suffered a worse blow to the economy than most parts of the country.

LA has pretty good public transportation in many areas, but Orange County could be a different story.

This is all good. I know the Cali unemployment rate is up around 13% (compared to 9% here in Mass). I have been perusing the arch jobs websites, and there seems to be quite a few entry level positions. The move (if it happens) won't be for a few more months. I am only just visiting come June. Although part of the idea is to try and at least meet with prospective employers and show them my interest and develop contacts, and hopefully at one of them could be interested.

I didn't mean to insinuate the LA didn't have as many arch jobs-it has some wonderful arch schools (UCLA, SciArch, USC, UC Irvine). But I imagine it's just as competitve as Boston or New York. The problem with Boston is unless you went to Harvard GSD or MIT, you re almost always at a disadvantage, even though there are a dozen other arch schools. I went to school down in Rhode Island, which is very far off the Boston radar screen, and if it's New York, forget about it.

I would first stay with my family in Huntington Beach, so that was the area I thought most prudent to look at. But I am curious in LA as well, like you said for a future date. Travel in and around Orange County seems very broken, based on what I've been trying to firgure out. But what about between OC and LA?

[BRinSM]

there are a couple of commuter rail lines between OC and LA, but neither are very close to HB. Additionally, the rail lines all terminate in downtown LA, which i doubt is a hub of arch firms for the region (mainly government and financial services).

[uptown_urbanist]

My husband's company has a downtown office (and an Irvine one), so there are definitely some architecture jobs there. Still, it's true that there probably isn't one central location for jobs. Huntington Beach might have some express buses to downtown; not sure about that. Commuter rail and Amtrak (you can get a month pass that I believe works on both of them) provides pretty easy access between parts of OC and downtown LA, but doesn't sound like it will be a very convenient location for you.