RickIsYoDaddy

Hey everyone,

I might be looking at moving to the Los Angeles area sometime towards the end of this year and Im coming from FL/GA. It would be my first time in Cali so I really dont know what areas to look for or expect for housing, gas, cost of living, etc.. So...

Here in FL/GA, we have 93 Octane everywhere. In CA, is 93 Octane available everywhere or would I need to retune my car for something else? I will keep my car registered in FL to avoid Cali emmissions and any fees or whatever they got out there. My family back home can just mail me my new registration every two years, so that wont be an issue.

Ill working in LA. Not sure where exactly where yet, so where are some affordable places to live that are in safe areas? To break even where I am at now financially, my rent would have to be $1500 or less not including utilities. I want a 2 bedroom place, but with a garage, driveway, reserved space, or somewhere to park thats not a street and my car wont get stolen.

What areas should I avoid all together? Anything else you can suggest? Looking for a roommate? Thanks everyone,

Rick

jh4db536

Your car is 2hrs from the border or less than an hour from longbeach port. No where is absolutely safe. The best thing you can do is park in a garage (your own), have a 2 way alarm, a shotgun, and a home/driveway/garage layout where you can drag the mofo inside your house if you have to use it.

Find roomate(s), rent a house.

You should probably retune for 91 if you're FI, just check your knock logs.

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B.C.

Rick,

1500.00 won't get you much, depending where you live. 1,500, you will need a roommate, and have a carport or parking pass.

In terms of insurance, if they find out that you are perm. resident of California, they will NOT pay for your accidents. Perm, means more than 1 month. Save yourself the trouble, make it cali friendly.

Its a rough world in Cali right now. Its not as glam and fame as you think, unless you're a professional out here. Even some professionals are barely making ends meet.

Good luck with the move, and continue to post here if you need anymore help

ronny5

you can find decent spot... ALHAMBRA/ MPK / san gabriel 15min away from downtown. ALOT oF ASIANS tho...

pasadena would be great place to live.. you can find it. just have to search..

don waste your time with WEST LA area. shit is bank... but its so nice there.

downtown LA is expensive too, they are trying to be NYC without the damn NYC. its mostly a loft area with bums surrounding em like zombies.

silverlake is cool - but lots of hipsters.. wannabe brooklyn ( williamsburg )

North Star

Here is a good site to search for places out here. Good luck!

Hallmark Property Management search

RMurphy

Um, I live on the West side and about three months ago there was a two bedroom place in my complex available at about the cost the OP was saying is his budget. Gated parking garage. It's doable, but just like anywhere else, you have to shop and search. And you end up looking at a lot of dumps before you find the right place. Admittedly, you can typically get more for your money in the San Fenando Valley area, but it all depends on where you want to be and where you plan to work.

It is really hard to give advice with so very little background info (like where do you figure you will work? do you want a place with a swimming pool in the complex or do you not care about any amenities? are you in love with the ocean and willing to give up an awful lot of everything else to be close to it? or would you rather be close to where you know can always find a 24 hour boba place?). Los Angeles is huge!

Like others said, tune for 91. That is the highest octane that is readily available at most stations.

Regarding the registration and insurance aspect: I'm a big fan of keeping things legit. Life is simpler and easier that way.

North Star

To the TS, there are more Ethanol stations popping up out here so you can always tune your car for that as well.

RMurphy

www.westsiderentals.com is also good (they cover WAY more than just the west side anymore). I went ahead and paid for an account when I was looking for the place I'm in now and it was well worth it. Craigslist frequently has hidden gems, but you have to weed through a lot of complete **it-holes before you find anything good.

lilazngrl4o8

I've heard good things about westsiderentals too. If/when I move, i'll probably sign up for an account. Heard is far better than CL as you're likely to find what you want more easily than sifting through the incomplete ads on craigslist.

RickIsYoDaddy

Thanks for the replies. I got a job offer in Los Angeles, but I wont find out exactly which office I will be working in. Its a great position with what I would say is a great salary, but the cost of living alone looks like it would eat up all my new added salary.

If I get sent to the main office, it will be in downtown LA. As for as amenities, the only thing I want is a safe neighborhood and safe place to park my car and can work on it while under $1500 a month. I would love to be closer to the beach but its not really needed. My fiance is Korean but I have heard from some Korean friends in LA that near Korea town isnt safe at all

If I was to transfer my plates n stuff to Cali, how much are vehicle registration fees normally every year and the inspections you guys have? In GA they have this extremely ghey ad valorum tax which is pretty much sales tax on your car every yea. Since I refuse to pay that, I keep it registered in FL since its only like $50 a year and Im in FL like every other weekend.

I currently get crappy MPGs 17city 23hwy, so switching to ethanol is something I dont want to do. I can get a retune for free for 91 octane, not an issue, just changing out my X-pipe/Cat delete every so often will suck.