Job and LA living suggestions...

[Mtts422]

I got a job offer yesterday from a company out in the LA area. Having lived in the midwest my entire life I'm a little apprehensive about picking up and moving out to the west coast, however it's a really good offer with a brand new company that has a lot of potential.

That said, anyone have general suggestions for a California newb? Right now I'm looking at living situations in a few areas mainly around Santa Monica, Long Beach, Redondo. The main office is at LGB, but most of the work is done away from the office so being close isn't a big concern.

Any advice would be awesome!

[My Flight Surgeon]

Be ready for sticker shock when it comes to rent

[I_Money]

At age 23, I would say Long Beach by Cal State is nice, but I would look somewhere like Huntington Beach - bit more of a scene bit more of Socal. You can get a room there for about $1000 per month.

[jtrain609]

I'm working in Burbank, living in north hollywood. Way too far away from where you're gonna be at, but rent ain't too bad where I'm at.

[Mtts422]

Originally Posted by My Flight Surgeon

Be ready for sticker shock when it comes to rent

Yea, I've been investigating on Craigs List and some of the prices for 1 bedroom places are outrageous. Not much of a choice though!

[JaceTheAce]

You might want to look into Orange County where the rent is a bit less than Huntington Beach, but you'll be further south and would have to commute longer.

[stuckingfk]

Congrats Matt,

So when is your start date?

Did you find out from your dad where that hot girl I met works at?

[MarkE]

Most beach communities are gonna be more expensive than inland. Redondo and Long Beach is probably the cheaper areas. Careful with Long Beach though cause some areas are really bad hoods. You may even want to try Torrance.

[amorris311]

torrance is a great place to find cheap living. i live in hermosa and there are a lot of apts but rather expensive.

[JEP]

Originally Posted by MarkE

Most beach communities are gonna be more expensive than inland. Redondo and Long Beach is probably the cheaper areas. Careful with Long Beach though cause some areas are really bad hoods. You may even want to try Torrance.

Redondo Beach.....

Naja's.....

777 brands of bottled beer
77 beers on tap......

[Adam2006]

I'm in Santa Monica, and I would highly recommend this city. One of the best things here is the rent control. If you have more specific q's ask, I've lived all over socal.

[bradj2000]

Rent isnt that bad, Im OC born and raised. If you do some shopping around and dont mind a roommate. A few years ago I lived in downtown Huntington, ocean view from living room, 3 bedroom apt with 2 girls, $450 a month. Good times...
Whether which is better- OC or LA, Id say it depends on the the social scene you are more into.

[eta71]

Originally Posted by JaceTheAce

You might want to look into Orange County where the rent is a bit less than Huntington Beach, but you'll be further south and would have to commute longer.

LOL isn't Huntington part of OC?
I would suggest as stated before, Long Beach near the college. I have lived in Huntington most of my life, since 82. Most places are expensive, most of OC is expensive. What are you going to be doing at LGB? I work and fly there.

[jml2992]

Just remember that the 405 turns into a parking lot around and the closer you are to LGB the better. Torrance is nice and affordable. I lived in Hermosa and Huntington while I was there and worked at SNA. The commute definitely took its toll on my car and my sanity. Rent is expensive...about the same as out here. Congrats on the new job and enjoy. LA can be a lot of fun...if you let it be.

[gna_in_lgb]

I've lived in Long Beach for almost 10 years now so if that's where you decide to live I can probably answer most of your questions. As MarkE said, there are some areas to avoid completely. Best of luck to you!

[Mtts422]

Originally Posted by eta71

LOL isn't Huntington part of OC?
I would suggest as stated before, Long Beach near the college. I have lived in Huntington most of my life, since 82. Most places are expensive, most of OC is expensive. What are you going to be doing at LGB? I work and fly there.

I'll be doing sales and marketing for a start-up called iFly. Concept is basically an aero-club that provides an alternative to aircraft ownership. More info here if your interested www.iflysmarter.com.

Thanks for all the suggestions, being close to the beach really isn't an issue for me, I've lived in ND for the last 5 years so anywhere within 500 miles of a beach is just an added bonus.

I've found that the LGB area has some of cheapest rent around. I realize that there are some areas to stay away from, and have been told to look at Signal Hill and Belmont Heights. I hadn't looked into Torrance at all but I think I'm going to do a little more research there as well.

I would love to live in the Santa Monica area, but I don't know how crazy I am about finding a random roomate on Craigs List just to make it affordable to live there.

Thoughts?

[MarkE]

If being close to the beach isn't an issue and you want to live in the Santa Monica area another alternative would be West L.A. or Culver City. Not sure how rents are there but most definitely cheaper than SM. As was said, be prepared for a nasty commute on the 405 but to be honest no matter where you live in L.A. you're gonna deal with traffic. You'll get used to it though and find ways to get around it or travel times that work best. By the way, it was 95 by me yesterday...how's that ND weather?

[AlexF]

I was looking into the Ifly system because they have them at the places I usually go, then I saw the prices, and now I look at them from afar afraid I'll kick up a pebble and scratch the paint.

As for what everyone is saying about traffic: it's true, traffic in L.A. sucks. If you are going to do your commuting to the same places at the same times, then it dosn't matter a whole lot on where you live because you will be able to fit your work around the traffic. However, if you are going to different places in different times, then there's a different story. Then you may want a location with close access to various freeways. For instance, living near CSULB you can have close access to the 405, 605 and 22. Same with north torrance/west carson you have the 110, 91, and 405. While some other areas like west torrance/redondo beach can take a sizeable chunk of time just to drive through the city just to get to the freeway. Then again, if it so much as sprinkles over here, most drivers will freak out and crash therefor it dosn't matter how close you are to any freeway cause they're all carbon monoxide emmiting parking lots.

Long Beach is a real great area and has some nice places then again, there are some "less then desierable" places to live as well. Either way, they have an abundance of police with an abundance of ink and tickets who are there if you need them. Nice areas (and expensive) over there are belmont heights, bixby knolls, signal hill, belmont shore, naples and then some other areas that arn't named but part of L.B.

And as a reminder, don't forget to plan for a higher cost of living. Everything from food prices to gas to insurance will go up (and don't forget to get uninsured motorist coverage too!)

[Adam2006]

Santa Monica does offer rent control, I pay $825 for my one-bedroom 1.5 miles from the beach, while some people pay $1000 for a studio in this city. However, I would advise living in the "west-side," only if one works here. The commute to LB is not worth it in IMHO. I would try to find a room off CL(where your not locked in a lease) then find out what area you like. We have many different vibes from the OC, South Bay, to the Westside.