Rep Power: 583

whats up? this is a first for me posting to the Cali forum and all, but i need your guys help.

my manager gave me the opportunity to transfer to our LA office (im in NJ right now), and i need to tell him by tuesday if im seriously interested and can commit to transfering. ive wanted to move out to cali for a while now, this is just the first real relatively risk-free opportunity i have to do so.

ive never been out there tho, so i have no idea what kind of costs of living to expect. i was hoping some of the peeps around the LA area could help me out. if i move, i want to find a place somewhere thats no more than an hour long commute to the office (which is at 355 South Grand, in LA).

i have nothing against finding a roommate, so im expecting rent to be somewhere in the range of 500-650 per month (is that about right)?? what im wondering is everything else. like food, gas, car insurance costs (ill be 25 in june), any other costs or expences i might expect?

thanks a lot in advance!

-Dan

 
Rep Power: 346

LA ownz NJ!!!!! I am originally from PA, so I know

However, to live on the Westside of LA it is gonna be a lot more then $500-$600, even with a roommate. But since you will be working in Downtown, you have a lot of options...Diamond Bar, La Puente...basically the Inland Empire. Most of the members on here are from the IE, but I dunno how many pay their own rent.

Keep in mind that LA is the third most expensive place in the world to live behind Hawaii and San Francisco.

...and working in Downtown sucks phat nutz, I would never do it. It is dirty, no parking, and every street is fu(kin one way.

No snow, and constant weather all year!!!!! Hardly rains.

Worst traffic ever in LA though...make sure you have a good sound system, because you will be using it alot and waking up early!

...just some quick thoughts

 
Rep Power: 583

haha...well, i dont need to live by the beach, just in a decent and relatively inexpencive area. ive heard of silverlake, west hollywood, studio city, pasadena, Burbank, Glendale, Eagle Rock, Highland Park ...i just have no idea how expencive those areas are, and what its like living there. are they nice? i have a friend that lives in irvine, how far away is that from downtown LA?

i know LA is a pretty expencive place to live, but i live in a pretty pricey area right now too. im right near NYC, and the part of north jersey where i live has some rich *** neighbourhoods (like alpine, englewood, tenafly, franklin lakes, etc.) so im kind of used to paying up the goat-***...im just looking for price estimates so i can compare what it would be like in LA as opposed to here. not just rent tho, like everything that i might be needing to pay for.

 
Rep Power: 346

Those areas sound good, and not to far.

Rent, TAXES, and car insurance are the big killers...everything else will be pretty much the same.

1/3rd of my check goes to taxes

 
Rep Power: 359

Higland Park? Ain't that where Dom and his sister lives? lol Those places are ok, prettyold houses though. All the new stuff is being built out in the IE. Around the Diamond Bar area it's still pretty expensive, like $1000 more or less but if you have a roomate it's cool. Pasadena I would say is good enough not too close to dirty LA people and not too far from work but dunno what rent is like there. Good Luck!

 
Rep Power: 0

Your job is right in the middle of LA

East of your job: Diamond Bar (30-35 miles), Rowland Heights (30miles), Cerritos(15miles), Long Beach (25miles)

West: Westwood (10-15 m)Santa Monica Beach (15m), or maybe somewhere by Koreantown (4-7m)

North: Pasadena (15m), Glendale(20m)

South: Nowhere

I live by Cerritos and go to LA often ... and i know that your job will be 15m away.
The east is nice and quiet and in the medium price range.
West is expensive but that's where the fun is on the weekends (except koreatown, lol)
North is also expensive and somewhat peaceful
There's nothing in the South

It's really up to you. IMO Diamond Bar & Rowland Heights are too far from your job..about 30-35 miles away.

As far as prices from the mention cities above
East: $800-1200
West: $1000-1400
North: $900-1400
South: $free below the LA bridges

 
Rep Power: 583

daaamn...are those prices just for rent? or total monthly cost?

 
Rep Power: 0

um... rent.

 
Rep Power: 346

haha, prolly even more as you go farther West!!!

 
Rep Power: 359

South: Compton (25m), Huntington Park (25m), Boyle Heights (20m), South Central (More than an hour cuz you would be taking the Bus, no more Civic) and Inglewood, (a lil less time but, nice mall?)

BTW: You don't wanna live in any of these places.

 
Rep Power: 583

HAHA...yeah, i was thinking the same thing.

 
Rep Power: 334

500-650 per month rent??

ahahhahaa.. I laugh!!!!

Uh.. no, unless you are sharing a room with someone. I don't mean sharing a place; sharing a ROOM.

You are just going to get up and move over here? All the places you mentioned are.. umm.. yeah.. expensive. Your friend that lives in Irvine .. well.. Irvine is also sort of expensive compared to other places.
Irvine is also way south of your job. It is over an hour away from ur job is u plan on working during "normal" hours (the freeways are awful). If you plan on living in Irvine, the 5 freeway and 405 freeway will be your best friends and worst nightmares (lol.. only way to get there, but crowded as heck!!).

 
Rep Power: 0

hmm LA huh? traffics going to be a breeze in the morning and a breeze in the afternoon! i hope you're planning to bring your civic.. if its an auto!

 
Rep Power: 0

If you live in Riverside you can get a 1 bedroom apt for like 400-500 a month. i pay a total of around 550 a month including utilities. Its not the greatest place to live but its cheap!

 
Rep Power: 334

Riverside = even farther from his work.

 
Rep Power: 0

I might be a lil off topic, but the girls are reeeeal hot here is southern california .


But anyways, yea it is expensive to live here, but I wouldnt live anywhere else. One of the only places I can go snowboarding and surfing all in one weekend, all an hour away.

 
Rep Power: 417

well my area isnt too badd... van nuys is ghetto but sherman oaks isnt too badd.
expect to pay around 1200 for rent. but ya get a roommate so its like $600...
gas is kinda expensive here... i payed $1.73 yesterday for 87 octane at chevron.
food shouldnt be too expensive...
insurance i have no idea...

 
Rep Power: 583

thanks for all your input guys (keep it coming if you think of anything more).

i talked to one of my friends this past weekend and he said that hes moving to LA in oct./november also with another person i know. so if all works out, and my boss dont mind that i wait till then to move, i can have a nice living arangement with 2 other roomates, so the rent might be not too bad. i mean whats a 3 bedroom go for somewehre in west LA or in the better towns people have suggested here?

am i crazy to think that we can find a 3 bedroom place like around west hollywood for around $1800? 600/person isnt too bad i dont think. and im probably gonna drive to a train station and commute to the office anyway cause parking is a pain in downtown i hear.

someone tell me if im nuts. hehe

 
Rep Power: 0

Eh??

I work downtown and I love it! It's not dirty at ALL where I work...in fact it's pretty upscale, with a lot of hot "uptown" chicks. As for parking, my company pays for it. Every street is one way, but that's what keeps the traffic moving.

PbFoot, you gonna work in the IBM building? Or is it the Coopers-Lybrand building? You're gonna love it here...I'll be half a block south of you (500 S. Grand). Don't listen to Fonto...the 300 block is one of the nicest here in downtown.

The most convenient places to live while commuting to downtown (IMO) are the cities to the north. Glendale, Pasadena, La Canada/Flintridge are ok, Silverlake is good if you're into the laid-back, "I'm a wanna-be screen writer"- lifestyle. Stay away from Highland park and eagle rock as those neighborhoods aren't too good. Further up north are places like Studio City, which are fine.

If you can afford it, I would try living in the westside (WLA, Santa Monica, Brentwood, etc.)... It's where I lived while in college and I still miss living there. IMO, it's the best part of LA.

West Hollywood is great (if you don't mind that it's a gay community...) but you'd have to commute using surface streets.

Places like Rowland Heights, Cerritos, etc...are a nice places to live once you're married and want to settle down, but while you're still young, the westside & West Hollywood are the best places to live. Just so many things to do there.....a lot of nice restaurants, close to the Hollywood clubs...etc. As a homeowner, I haven't done any apt searching for a while, but I'm sure you can get a modest 3 bedroom apt for around $2,000 in the W.Hollywood area (not that I hang around there a lot.....and not that there's anything wrong with hanging around there!).....slightly higher for some parts of WLA. Glendale & Pasadena are slightly cheaper.

If you're company's not going to pay for parking, then yeah, look into public transportation. It's not a pain to find parking in downtown...it's just that it's expensive.

 
Rep Power: 583

sounds good to mee!

Quote:

PbFoot, you gonna work in the IBM building? Or is it the Coopers-Lybrand building? You're gonna love it here...I'll be half a block south of you (500 S. Grand). Don't listen to Fonto...the 300 block is one of the nicest here in downtown.

ill actually be working at the KPMG office (not sure which building it is). ive never been at that office, so its very possible that they just have a few floors of some building there.

Quote:

The most convenient places to live while commuting to downtown (IMO) are the cities to the north. Glendale, Pasadena, La Canada/Flintridge are ok, Silverlake is good if you're into the laid-back, "I'm a wanna-be screen writer"- lifestyle. Stay away from Highland park and eagle rock as those neighborhoods aren't too good. Further up north are places like Studio City, which are fine.

If you can afford it, I would try living in the westside (WLA, Santa Monica, Brentwood, etc.)... It's where I lived while in college and I still miss living there. IMO, it's the best part of LA.

ill suggest that to my friends, not sure if theyve looked already or not.

Quote:

West Hollywood is great (if you don't mind that it's a gay community...) but you'd have to commute using surface streets.

ill have to mention that to them as well. not that i care really, i mean i hang out in the village in NYC more than anywhere else in the city, and thats a gay area also. dont really bother me as long as they dont hit on me.



thanks!

 
Rep Power: 0

El Segundo! WoOt! 10min walk from the beach.. lolz..
ummm.. i think rent for a 2 bedroom condo was 1200$
for my pops and me last yr.. but yah.. good luck.. cali
r0x uR s0x!