Moving from Vancouver, BC to L.A. (Los Angeles, San Diego: apartment, rent)

[Kubo]

Hi.. I work for a freight forwarding company and they have decided to close down 7 stations.. with Vancouver being one of them. They are re-locating me to their head office in Los Angeles. I was raised in Vancouver.. and barely ever traveled. In January of this year, I was in LA for my 2 weeks training. The food sucks, but I felt the place was very dynamic and fast paced! If you've been to Vancouver.. its the most boring.. slow paced city ever. Yeah sure theres skiing, nature parks, hiking, no traffic, quiet, clean, etc. Its a nice place to live in if you're retired. But for a young man like me, I'd like to get my career going. The opportunity in Vancouver is extremely small.. so I decided to take this offer and re-locate to LA. I've been living with my parents all my life.. I will be moving out to a city I am totally un-familiar with.. and begin my new journey. The office is in City of Industry area.. my co-worker there has a friend that can rent me a room in his apartment 20 mins away from work. I am very excited about this opportunity, but honestly, I've heard more bad things than good things about living in L.A., for example, the police don't like Canadians O_O
Can you tell me what I can be expecting and any tips on places I should avoid.. would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Hungry For Cheese]

One of my best friends moved from B.C. and now lives here. He is going to law school and resides in Upland(near Ontario) and has lived near me in the valley(San Fernando), as well as Lahmabra. He loves it. He is into the Cali style and lowriders and all that though. And he is Muslim...no problems.
If the police don't mess with a Muslim Canadian, then I doubt they would mess with you....even if you were Muslim. You'll be fine.

[Winston Smith]

As a foreigner whose first experience with Southern CA was Los Angeles, I can tell you that the place can take a while to get used to. Beautiful Vancouver, BC is very different than LA, but if you give the city a chance, you might grow to appreciate it. At least you're arriving with good English skills. That's more than I had in the beginning. LA has people from all over the world and the energy can seem overwhelming at first. Knowing this going in might help you deal with the first few weeks.

I would implore you to venture out and explore a little. Take the train to San Diego or Santa Barbara for a weekend. Get to know the broader region. Vancouver is close to nature. Southern CA is too. Though different in geography, climate, etc., So CA's nature has its own beauty, nevertheless. Consider this: whatever your interests, you'll likely to find a social network somewhere in the region.

And if all else fails, with a direct-flight ticket you're never more than a few hours away from Vancouver. No big deal.

[Educatorspeakingtruth]

I would advise you to stay in the Northwest if you can. Although, you may need to move down here to experience it for yourself rather than taking others advice. You will eventually move back! It is beautiful up there! No smog, less traffic, affordable housing, higher quality of life, less people, lower crime. The list can go on and on............! I know I'm not alone with my opinions. Best of luck to you!

[Kubo]

Thank you for all the advise!!!!!
I'm excited to move there!!

[bbw57]

Sounds like you have the right attitude and personality to do just fine in Los Angeles. Please let us know when you arrive. Also, let me know what kinds of things you like to do. I work in the entertainment industry and can let you know about various events going on etc.

[katenik]

Originally Posted by Kubo

Hi.. I work for a freight forwarding company and they have decided to close down 7 stations.. with Vancouver being one of them. They are re-locating me to their head office in Los Angeles. I was raised in Vancouver.. and barely ever traveled. In January of this year, I was in LA for my 2 weeks training. The food sucks, but I felt the place was very dynamic and fast paced! If you've been to Vancouver.. its the most boring.. slow paced city ever. Yeah sure theres skiing, nature parks, hiking, no traffic, quiet, clean, etc. Its a nice place to live in if you're retired. But for a young man like me, I'd like to get my career going. The opportunity in Vancouver is extremely small.. so I decided to take this offer and re-locate to LA. I've been living with my parents all my life.. I will be moving out to a city I am totally un-familiar with.. and begin my new journey. The office is in City of Industry area.. my co-worker there has a friend that can rent me a room in his apartment 20 mins away from work. I am very excited about this opportunity, but honestly, I've heard more bad things than good things about living in L.A., for example, the police don't like Canadians O_O
Can you tell me what I can be expecting and any tips on places I should avoid.. would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

i have to ask: where did you eat? LA has some of the best restaurants in the country. vancouver has salmon...and salmon. oh, and i almost forgot salmon.

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by Kubo

Hi.. I work for a freight forwarding company and they have decided to close down 7 stations.. with Vancouver being one of them. They are re-locating me to their head office in Los Angeles. I was raised in Vancouver.. and barely ever traveled. In January of this year, I was in LA for my 2 weeks training. The food sucks, but I felt the place was very dynamic and fast paced! If you've been to Vancouver.. its the most boring.. slow paced city ever. Yeah sure theres skiing, nature parks, hiking, no traffic, quiet, clean, etc. Its a nice place to live in if you're retired. But for a young man like me, I'd like to get my career going. The opportunity in Vancouver is extremely small.. so I decided to take this offer and re-locate to LA. I've been living with my parents all my life.. I will be moving out to a city I am totally un-familiar with.. and begin my new journey. The office is in City of Industry area.. my co-worker there has a friend that can rent me a room in his apartment 20 mins away from work. I am very excited about this opportunity, but honestly, I've heard more bad things than good things about living in L.A., for example, the police don't like Canadians O_O
Can you tell me what I can be expecting and any tips on places I should avoid.. would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

LA cuisine in superior to Vancouver's. I have eaten in NYC, chicago, SF, France, and Tokyo, and Vancouver, and LA is superior to Vancouver.

Vancouver is quite good, but places like Providence, Lucques, grace, hatfields, water grill, patina, melisse, ortolan, and on and on are just a class above Vancouver.

In Vancouver, its easy to find B- cuisine, and in LA, C- cuisine is more prevelant, but LA is a HUGE region and has A quality restaurants everywhere. despite my best efforts I couldnt find a single restaurant in Vancouver that would receive a single michelin guide star rating.

[Sorcerer68]

All I have to add is that you can find literally every kind of food in L.A. I just moved back after a 4 year hiatus and the food was at the top of my list...and I've traveled a LOT.

[Kubo]

I must've been eating at the wrong places ><
Oh well, I'm moving there around Aug 1st. Very excited!!!
Can't wait to see what I've been missing out