Relocating to California
 

I am in need of help! I have officially decided I'm relocating to Calirornia in May (from New Jersey). I have talked about moving to California all of my life- and now my sister and I have just decided we need to do it now. I was wondering if anyone can tell me good areas to live in- good and reasonable apartment complexes. How's the public transportation in L.A.? I'd be moving to or near L.A. and we'd have one car between the 2 of us. I plan on contacting the DG alumnae association out there as well. Has anyone else moved cross country there? Did you drive or did you have all of your things shipped? Did it take you a long time to find a job? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Honestly, public transportation is not the greatest in Los Angeles. Los Angelenos are very, VERY attached to their cars! I moved into the area about 4 years ago. I found work within 5 months, but I also took most of those 5 months to adjust and settle in.

Feel free to PM me..I'm happy to help however possible!

I have to agree that public transportation around la is not good... but for looking for a place I would check sites like http://losangeles.craigslist.org/ The advantage of it is that they are private listings so some can be much much cheeper...

Ok.. that is about all i can think of right now...

Thanks greeklawgirl and nauadpi!

Look into Watts...the area where USC is. It's really nice and safe and has great prices.

-Rudey

Not knowing what you want to do or where you want to live, I second the recommendation of checking out Craig's list. Also, if you drive around you will find a lot of independent management companies you can call to get information from. I don't know where you want to live, but if you want to be on the westside, my management company is fairly reasonable. Most of their buildings are older, postwar types. Here is a link to their vacancy list.

Feel free to PM me too. I've lived in LA most of my life.

LD

Pasadena's got some great apartment complexes really close to the Gold Line train, which runs downtown. It also has a less-surburby, more "back east" feel to it than some other places in the area, though in my book anywhere in southern California is a great place to be, especially on a gorgeous day like today! I don't know what the Pasadena rental prices are like right now, but there should be a link somewhere in here http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/pasadena.asp that helps you out. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your posts! I'm moving to L.A. to work in TV/Film production- I go on Craigslist all the time for NY work, now I can look on it for L.A. things!

I know this is a slightly old thread, but I see you haven't moved yet, so I hope you get the message. I used to live in Orange County, CA, and now live in New Jersey (north), so I can tell you about a lot of the differences between the two places. Short list: Car insurance: easier to get in CA, and slightly cheaper. Housing: Cheaper in NJ, but not by a lot. Public transit: MUCH better in NJ. I have no complaints whatsoever about NJTransit (emphasis on the "sit") after living in SoCal. Weather: better in CA if the fact that it's the same every day doesn't get to you. It got to me and I was extremely depressed for much of my stay in CA. Driving: exponentially easier in CA. You can make Actual Left Turns. CA taxes clothing and shoes. It's easier to find your way around CA. Art and culture are easily accessible in both places.

As for moving, Mr. Cedar and I hired movers. A UHaul would have been just as expensive as hiring professionals, and the professionals were SO much less hassle. I flew to the east coast and he drove my car across the country. As far as job hunting, it was easier to find a job here, because NJ is known for being strong in my field (though they don't pay as well out here).

Hope this helps.

Does anyone have any advice for the San Diego area. I'm really thinking (seriously) about leaving Phoenix for Caly. I just need a change.
Thanks

I have a few things to say

first off USC is not in WATTS thats near compton. USC is near Downtown LA, granted its not in a great area, but they are attempting to revitalize the area and it was once "the place to be" some of the houses are part of the historical LA area.

Transportation, its tough, but once you get used to it, it not that bad. Of course I never want to take a bus again ever in life, I hated it and I love my car. The Santa Monica transit system is very well done.

There are some great places to live here: Santa Monica, Culver City, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Alhambra, Burbank and Pasadena just to name a few. If you want to work in the industry I would say living in SM, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Burbank and NoHo (North Hollywood) may be where you want to live. The prices are pretty high. I'd say for a decent 2 bedroom you are looking at $1500 and up, again depending on the area.

As for SD, its pretty compacted down there, it has been for the past few years, the rents are high and the jobs are slow to come by. I've heard this from a few friends who live down there. I've only been to SD a few times.

san diego is great....you can live at the beach, or downtown, or mission valley...all those places are close to everything and nice. hit me up for any questions

I haven't been on here for a while, but I was happy to see some more responses- thanks for all of your advice! I'm moving to California in a week and a half and am getting excited! I decided to fly out instead and get a car out there. I'm looking more into Culver City, West LA, and mid-Wilshire area. I've been looking on Rent.com and Craigslist and have been trying to set up appointments to see the apartments- I'm getting a studio for now. Does anyone know of any other good rental sites? Thanks!

the best website for the Culver City, and the west side is actually www.westsiderentals.com. One of my friends lives in Culver City and the biggest complaint is there is no parking what so ever.

If you don't mind a short commute check out the South Bay cities area of Torrance, Redondo Beach, San Pedro, Manhattan Beach, etc. If I remember correctly the website is www.southbayrentals.com

Also, one of our local papers here in the South Bay just ran an article about the rents in the South Bay being a little cheaper then in the rest of Los Angeles. A lot of people who worked in the Aerospace/Defense based industries lived in the South Bay/Beach cities area and have moved since the Navy Base & Shipyard closed along with a lot of aerospace companies. It's keeping the rental prices down a little for our area.