23 year old thinking of moving to Southern California

[x Tame Impala]

Not sure if this should go in your thread or not, since its (mostly) not hockey related...

A few things about me:

-I'm 23 years old
-i live about 45 minutes away from Chicago
-I'm in the city all the time so i'm used to the big city life
-Still in school, looking to go into Engineering
-Have 2-3 years of school left
-work at a nice Italian Restaurant
-LOVE hockey, Hawks (obviously) but also actually playing

A buddy of mine were talking and we're ready for a different life. We wanted to move somewhere and he's an Amateur boxer so he naturally wanted to go to Southern California. I know it might be a difficult question to answer but would it be a smart idea to move down here with all you Kings fans?

I'm mostly concerned about...

-Affording rent in a decent place
-Being able to go to, and get into a decent school
-Being able to play hockey
-Being able to have fun
-(Long Term) get an engineering job

Thanks in advance for whatever responses i do end up getting.

Click to read more...

 

[Reclamation Project]

Rent is rather expensive, we have great colleges, I play hockey , tons of fun everywhere, and you might be able to find an engineering job. What kind of engineering?

 

[Herby]

I grew up in SoCal and now live in the Chicago area, so I could probably help.

Your rent will be higher, no doubt about it. Chicago area is pretty expensive but SoCal will be higher for comparable neighborhoods.

So Cal is much more of an urban sprawl than it is here. Downtown LA is not quite as much as a destination as downtown Chicago. Where Chicago has nothing like Hollywood, South Bay etc

Lots to do in CA, all year round. The weather is great, you will really appreciate it your first winter. And if you want to see snow, you are a short drive to the mountains.

Public transportation sucks in CA compared to Chicago. You will miss the Metra and the L trains. If you move to CA make sure you bring a reliable car.

Traffic sucks in both places, people say LA is worse, and it probably is a little. But you will be used to the traffic having been in Chicago a lot, so it won't overwhelm you like it will some people.

Lots of places to play hockey in So Cal, everything from beginner to open leagues. You will be ok there. And there are a ton of Chicago transplants and Chicago sports bars to watch the Hawks and Bears.

You will be hit pretty hard if you try and go to a state school right away before gaining residency. But if you really want to be there it will be worth it, I have no regrets about the extra money I had to pay as an out of state student in college.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Weather, hot chicks, and medical cannibis!

 

[Riposte!]

My advice, having grown up here and lived here my entire life: don't do it.

That said, if you're looking to get into engineering and want to play hockey, live near El Segundo because that's where the Kings practice facility is and probably the best place to play in LA, along with being a large center of engineering in socal. But as far as finding affordable rent goes, give up that pipe dream immediately. No such thing in LA unless you want to live in a shanty.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Even an LA shanty is well above the national average

 

[x Tame Impala]

Thinking about Chemical Engineering but (atleast in Illinois) its mostly the same classes regardless of what Engineering i want to go into. It only really gets specific my last year which might be 2 years away.

I work in a relatively nice Italian restaurant. Its not some $70 per plate place but its definitely way above an Olive Garden. Its fine dining so would it be difficult to find a job pretty quickly with this place on my "resume"? The buddy i would be moving with sells cell phones (works for AT&T i think).

Would a waiter and Cell Phone salesman be able to afford a decent place? I realize i'm not going to be walking around with a bank roll every day but as long as i can support myself while i'm in school and afford to have a good time doing it, i should be fine.

 

[Word]

Weather, hot chicks, and medical cannibis!

Nice place to live but very high taxes.

 

[christhn]

Even an LA shanty is well above the national average

Who is the girl in your avatar?

 

[ElKingsFan92]

You know, it's funny you should bring this up because my friends and I will probably looking for new roommates. Long story short, a lot of the guys I live with are moving out at the end of the semester since they're graduating. That'll leave 2 or 3 spots open and the other two guys I live with want to stay where we live because it's a great neighborhood and the commute to school is easy (like 10-20 minutes tops on surface streets). Not to mention that the house we rent is ample enough for 6 guys with the costs split evenly making paying rent and bills very easy and reasonable (I only pay 390 a month and an extra 80 to 120 dollars a month on bills)

Don't be afraid to PM me so I can shed a few more details about the situation if you're interested.

 

[KBA4life]

Thinking about Chemical Engineering but (atleast in Illinois) its mostly the same classes regardless of what Engineering i want to go into. It only really gets specific my last year which might be 2 years away.

I work in a relatively nice Italian restaurant. Its not some $70 per plate place but its definitely way above an Olive Garden. Its fine dining so would it be difficult to find a job pretty quickly with this place on my "resume"? The buddy i would be moving with sells cell phones (works for AT&T i think).

Would a waiter and Cell Phone salesman be able to afford a decent place? I realize i'm not going to be walking around with a bank roll every day but as long as i can support myself while i'm in school and afford to have a good time doing it, i should be fine.

Dumb question, but do you and your friend have mid-western ish accents? Those will probably go over well if you and your buddy are looking to get into the service industry. Koreatown has rents that are at least fairly reasonable (sort of) and is seemingly becoming more hipster every day. More desirable locals (downtown, and anywhere close to the coast) are going to cost an ass ton for a very modest place. I understand wanting a fresh start and all that but the cost of living here is a huge hindrance for a lot of recent transplants...I love so cal, but Chicago is a great city too. Think about it long and hard before taking the plunge

 

[x Tame Impala]

Nothing thick like a "Superfan" accent but after talking to me, not so much my friend, for a few minutes you could figure out I'm from Chicago

 

[Captain Mittens*]

Nothing thick like a "Superfan" accent but after talking to me, not so much my friend, for a few minutes you could figure out I'm from Chicago

When you move out here, can you say "Da-Bears" for us a bunch of times before your accent thins out?

 

[Butch 19]

Not sure if this should go in your thread or not, since its (mostly) not hockey related...

A few things about me:

-I'm 23 years old-i live about 45 minutes away from Chicago
-I'm in the city all the time so i'm used to the big city life
-Still in school, looking to go into Engineering
-Have 2-3 years of school left-work at a nice Italian Restaurant
-LOVE hockey, Hawks (obviously) but also actually playing


Thanks in advance for whatever responses i do end up getting.

I see you are on the 8 year track... nice! (hey - I was there too)

If I were moving to LA now, I would look at getting an apartment anywhere near a metro or metrolink station. Metro is the LA co. mass transit system, and Metrolink is the regional train. Some areas I would look at are:

Blue line: Long Beach
Gold Line: Southwest Museum, Highland park...?? Or even all the way to Pasadena memorial park or Lake Ave.? South Pasadena likely too expensive.
Expo line: I have not been on this yet, but it goes thru some good areas.
Red line to North Hollywood/Universal Studios...?? anyone?... I don't know this line either.

And the blue and expo line have a stop at Pico, which is at Staples Center - this is a great option for going to Kings games.

You will need a car, but having a mass transit option will make it much easier.

 

[Butch 19]

Thinking about Chemical Engineering but (atleast in Illinois) its mostly the same classes regardless of what Engineering i want to go into. It only really gets specific my last year which might be 2 years away.

I work in a relatively nice Italian restaurant. Its not some $70 per plate place but its definitely way above an Olive Garden. Its fine dining so would it be difficult to find a job pretty quickly with this place on my "resume"? The buddy i would be moving with sells cell phones (works for AT&T i think).

Would a waiter and Cell Phone salesman be able to afford a decent place? I realize i'm not going to be walking around with a bank roll every day but as long as i can support myself while i'm in school and afford to have a good time doing it, i should be fine.

Can you sing? There's a lot of starving singing-waiters-and-waitresses at Miceli's below. Actually, I imagine they do pretty well...

And the food is relatively nice!

http://www.micelisrestaurant.com/index.html

 

[ElKingsFan92]

I see you are on the 8 year track... nice! (hey - I was there too)

If I were moving to LA now, I would look at getting an apartment anywhere near a metro or metrolink station. Metro is the LA co. mass transit system, and Metrolink is the regional train. Some areas I would look at are:

Blue line: Long Beach
Gold Line: Southwest Museum, Highland park...?? Or even all the way to Pasadena memorial park or Lake Ave.? South Pasadena likely too expensive.
Expo line: I have not been on this yet, but it goes thru some good areas.
Red line to North Hollywood/Universal Studios...?? anyone?... I don't know this line either.

And the blue and expo line have a stop at Pico, which is at Staples Center - this is a great option for going to Kings games.

You will need a car, but having a mass transit option will make it much easier.

Yeah, the Blue Line goes from Downtown to Long Beach, The g
Gold line goes East LA to Pasadena, the Expo Line goes from Downtown to Culver City, the Green Line goes from Norwalk (I think) to the Airport and the Red Line goes from Downtown to North Hollywood.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

I wouldn't even bother trying to plan around mass transit. He'll need a car regardless

 

[Model62]

Dumb question, but do you and your friend have mid-western ish accents? Those will probably go over well if you and your buddy are looking to get into the service industry. Koreatown has rents that are at least fairly reasonable (sort of) and is seemingly becoming more hipster every day. More desirable locals (downtown, and anywhere close to the coast) are going to cost an ass ton for a very modest place. I understand wanting a fresh start and all that but the cost of living here is a huge hindrance for a lot of recent transplants...I love so cal, but Chicago is a great city too. Think about it long and hard before taking the plunge

Nah. You're young. Take the plunge.

Save up some money, maybe ask around at work (ask vendors, too!) if anybody has any connections to restaurants out here.

There are plenty of junior colleges to choose from, if that's where you are now. It'll be prohibitively expensive to attend any of the public four-year universities until you have been here long enough to establish residency (a year, iirc).

You can find affordable apartments -- even near the beach -- especially if you already have a roommate lined up.

 

[Reaper45]

What are you looking at price range as far as rent?

 

[ShattStar03]

Close friend of mine just moved from the Chicago area to LA. He got connected with a church and through the church, he found a job making some decent money. He was just an ordinary Joe, didn't have an extravagant undergraduate degree or anything.

Never know until you at least try!

 

[x Tame Impala]

What are you looking at price range as far as rent?

Well it looks like it'll be three of us. I'm not expecting to live right on the beach or anything but I'm not packing up and leaving to live in a **** hole either. A relatively nice place is all.

I need to be able to...

-afford rent
-afford school
-afford a car
-afford to enjoy myself in Southern California without sacrificing much of any of the above

*also, is saying "SoCal" douchey?

 

[damacles1156]

Well it looks like it'll be three of us. I'm not expecting to live right on the beach or anything but I'm not packing up and leaving to live in a **** hole either. A relatively nice place is all.

I need to be able to...

-afford rent
-afford school
-afford a car
-afford to enjoy myself in Southern California without sacrificing much of any of the above

*also, is saying "SoCal" douchey?

Getting any financial aid ?

Rent alone is about 1400 a month, Three way split is not bad.

A decent car ? finance or buy ? most car payments are 250 to 350.

Insurance is outrages in LA area....Insurance companies love people under 30, or kids under 25 in LA. They get to charge 1600 dollar premiums for six month policy's. (Maybe have your parents get that car, and insurance for you).

Paying for school will be the least of your worries; it's all the other stuff in California that kills your pocket book.

Look into it more before just jumping in.

 

[Dooney]

Well it looks like it'll be three of us. I'm not expecting to live right on the beach or anything but I'm not packing up and leaving to live in a **** hole either. A relatively nice place is all.

I need to be able to...

-afford rent
-afford school
-afford a car
-afford to enjoy myself in Southern California without sacrificing much of any of the above

*also, is saying "SoCal" douchey?

For 3 of you- yes you should be able to fair well and have fun. I think you said you were a waiter/server as well. There are plenty of nice places to work and you can make money after tipping out. My son worked for 10 years at Cheese Cake and walked every night after tipping out with at least 140. Now I'm not saying that is upscale either. As far as insurance he is a successful insurance broker now and was doing both jobs for several years. PM me when you get here and I'm sure he can get you a great rate. You might want to look at surrounding area's such as Sherman Oaks/Toluca Lake various areas within the San Fernado Valley. There are adult ice leagues out this way as well and it is a short drive into the city.

 

[x Tame Impala]

You guys have been awesome so far. Thank you so much

 

[Reaper45]

I pay 1175 for a place in Torrance, 5 minutes from the beach. The South Bay is where to look.