MISS S2KAY

I just moved from GA to Cali last month.. I live the in arcadia area. Its only about 15 mins from downtown and Its a nice area. everything else is very close as well. As far as cost of living the only real thing you will notice is rent.. Gas, food ect isnt that noticeable.

Are you driving your car here? I did.. through heat, rain and snow.. very scary but it was an awesome trip!!!

best of luck!

ronny5

arCASIA! hehe i like that city. ding tai fong is GOoooD

MISS S2KAY

im prob the only white person here.

05TurboS2k

I'd hate to be moving TO California in a time like this.

gilby1kanobie

unless he moves in with 3 chicks that work at Hooters...

for_my_s2k

I've known a few places in Santa Monica that's a 1 or two bedroom apt for 1500...

RickIsYoDaddy

yeah its gonna suck moving there, but the new salary is great, in the career field i want, and it will open tons of doors for me. If all goes to plan, Id be in Cali for about 2-3 years then get reassigned back in FL.

i would love to move in with 3 hooters chicks, I have no problem with that at all, but I think my fiance would flip out

North Star

You can always look into the commute game too and live outside of LA and just take the train in. Especially working in downtown, you'll be paying a ton for parking.

RickIsYoDaddy

my job will have secure parking for free but thats still a good option too

RMurphy

Unless they have tons of offices, you could conceivably focus on areas near where the likely offices you could be assigned to are located. That might simplify the process some.

I don't get to Koreatown much, but that which I have seen didn't inspire a lot of confidence. But I have very limited experience in the area so my comments can't be considered definitive. The closer you are to the ocean, the more comfortable the summers will be for you when it starts getting hot here. SFV and SGV get danged hot in the summer. But yes, the rents *tend* to increase as you head west. That stated, there are "affordable" neighborhoods in every area. You just have to shop to find them. If you don't want a lot of amenities, you can definitely find something in your price range in a smaller complex. The key issue is going to be the working on the car thing. You'll have to assess the sensitivity of the place to projects like that. At my place, I *could* work on my car all I want and I don't think anyone would say anything so long as I didn't leave behind stained concrete and so long as my car isn't on jack stands for several days. Space might be cramped though if someone parked next to me while I was doing any work. Technically in my lease it says no working on cars. But again, the lease says lots of things that no one ever enforces so long as a tenant isn't being a d*ck about it.

Try Culver City, Palms, Mar Vista, and Venice areas if you like westside but want less costly. Again, you end up seeing lots of sh*tholes but there will be some nice ones in the mix. Use Google street view to help you decide before you go look at a place. And always do a drive by before scheduling to meet with anyone anywhere. You might decide it isn't even worth your time to go inside just by driving by the front of the place. I can tell you right now that I'm paying 1350 for a one bedroom with loft that has vaulted ceilings, tandem parking (that's a single parking space but doublelength to fit two cars) in a gated structure, shared laundry room on site. And the neighborhood is fine for a single woman living alone. There was a very large two bedroom unit in our building available a few months back. Yes, $1500 is doable, but you'll have to shop.