Support NeoGAF

[Bigfoot]

I'm thinking about making the move to the LA area (Irvine/Newport) for a job. Has anyone made a move to California in the last few years (especially from Canada)?

I'd just like to know how it was adjusting to the lifestyle? Are you glad you made the move, or do you wish you would have stayed where you were?

Also, what range of salary do you think I'd need before I commit to the move? I'm making decent money right now, and it is a lot cheaper to live in Canada than California. I checked out the apartments in the area I might move to, and they are $1200+/month for a one bedroom.

If anyone has any other tips (take/leave car, getting VISAs, etc), add it to this thread.

If you've lived in Southern California for a long time too, let me know what you like/hate about it.

 

[bjork]

My advice: don't.

But if you do:

driving - make sure to have a car if you have any sort of commute. Even if it's just to drive to and from a Metrolink station, it's worth it.

eating - Hit Mexican markets for better deals (and quality, sometimes) on stuff like meat, produce, and dairy. Non-essentials like chips or whatever can be picked up anywhere.

cocky and funny - not needed, we're too laid back out here for wasting time on that.

edit - what I like/hate about So Cal (I've been here for 27 yrs)

like: you can go from surf to snow to desert, all within about an hour of each other, so no matter your "getting back to nature" preference, it's there. We seem to have an easier time finding stuff due to the number and variety of businesses, also... for example, I work in an anime store, and I have people who come from Nevada just to shop here, as there's nothing like that in their area.

dislike: the freeway systems, though they're in the midst of making some drastic changes to a few particularly nasty interchanges... but that just makes for more traffic while they do the roadwork. The crowding is problem currently, due to that big housing boom we had about three-four years ago... but once people come down to earth and/or pay off the "interest only" portions of their mortgages, I'm assuming that it's going to lead to a lot of repos, people moving back out of state, and more room for ME. I also dislike that the Lakers are here.

Also: our hiphop is better than east coast drivel, we have Carl's Jr instead of homo Hardee's, and E3 is here also, making it a short drive instead of a flight/hotel situation.

 

[Manics]

Someone told me there's a girl out there, with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.

 

[retardboy]

So LA or Orange County? You seem to want to be moving to OC (Irvine & Newport). Anyway, I've lived in OC since I was born. Great place! A lot less crowded than LA and you can drive to LA in a jiffy if you need/want to be there. Quiet place to live for the most part, especially Irvine (Rich ass people live there and Newport too actually). You mentioned take or leave your car... You're going to need a car down here no matter what or you won't be able to do anything. And $1,200 is pretty dang cheap for Irvine/Newport I would think. My friend pays $1000 for a one bedroom in Anaheim (It's not the good part of Anaheim either... which makes me worry about her quite a bit). Anyway, I think you'll like it here. Welcome to the Inland Empire area... home of porn.

eating - Hit Mexican markets for better deals (and quality, sometimes) on stuff like meat, produce, and dairy. Non-essentials like chips or whatever can be picked up anywhere.

For some reason, I've always found Mexican markets to be expensive as heck... Maybe that's because I'm Chinese though. :lol

 

[olimario]

Be prepared to sell your limbs for housing.

 

[bjork]

For some reason, I've always found Mexican markets to be expensive as heck... Maybe that's because I'm Chinese though. :lol

Ha, probably. But hell, if you're anywhere near Rowland, those markets off of Colima have awesome deals on meat and veggies.

 

[Ash Housewares]

Be prepared to sell your limbs for housing.

where I lived used to be one of the few places not ridiculously expensive, Bruce Campbell even mentioned it in his autobiography, he lived down the street from my house

nowadays real estate doesn't start getting cheap 'til ohhh... south of the border?

mexican markets are incredible I second that, got a ludicrous amount of produce for $20 yesterday, it depends what you buy and maybe they charge you extra retardboy... just cuz...

 

[Bigfoot]

So LA or Orange County?

Orange County actually. Being in Canada, I just lump them together, but I realize they are about an hour+ apart.

The job is actually in Irvine, but I was told it's better to live in Newport or Costa Mesa, and maybe Leguena Beach.

Thanks for the advice so far. For the car thing, I would defintly get one... I was just wondering if it would be better to buy one there instead of driving my Canadian car (different speedometer, daytime lights) down.

 

[Rorschach]

Los Callejones used to be bargain central!

 

[Dilbert]

I like Orange County, but it is definitely a very exclusive area. Newport Beach and Laguna Beach are gorgeous, but frickin' expensive. Costa Mesa is a little bit more affordable and might be a good compromise. Also keep in mind that commute time is a factor, and I believe that Costa Mesa would save you a good amount of commute time to Irvine -- the other two places have extra miles just to get to a freeway.

You will 100% definitely need a reliable car, and not knowing much about Canadian regulations, you might want to buy one here. California emissions standards are fairly strict, so if there is any chance a car bought in Canada might not pass, then buying one here would be a good idea. Also, there is a lot of competition for car sales here, so that might also work in your favor. However, since the cost of living is so high here, if you have a car you like, you might as well keep it.

Finally, before you commit, you should make sure that you will actually be making more with respect to cost of living with the move to So Cal. There are several online calculators which can help you figure out the difference...here are two which Google found right away:

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html
http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html

Obviously, if this is a good career move for you and/or if you just want to move to So Cal, then money isn't the primary factor. Still, you should be sure that you aren't taking an effective step backwards unless it's balanced by other factors.

 

[xsarien]

Someone told me there's a girl out there, with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.

Isn't that San Francisco? (My new stomping grounds as of 17 April.) :eek

 

[Cooper]

I'm also a life-long SoCal resident. I grew up in Orange County, but I moved to Los Angeles in 1996 to go to school at UCLA, and I've lived in LA County since then.

The Irvine area is quite suburban, so depending on your preference for that sort of place, you'll either find it very clean, safe and quiet, or totally boring. You'll definitely need a car if you want to get anywhere. As long as your car can pass the California smog check, I'd think a Canadian car would work fine.

I personally love SoCal and have no desire to live anywhere else. Among things I enjoy are:

Weather - No explanation needed.
Anti-smoking laws - Smoke free restaurants rule. It feels so primitive to travel to another state where smoking is allowed indoors.
Variety of places to go - You can go to the beach, the desert, or the mountains whenever you have a free weekend.

The traffic is boring and the housing is expensive, but it's worth it to me.

 

[xsarien]

Be prepared to sell your limbs for housing.

I think there are reasons why the cost-of-living in California is more expensive than, say, Texas, Oli.

 

[milanbaros]

Someone told me there's a girl out there, with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.

That was strange, I had just started playing that song literally seconds before seeing this thread.

 

[rastex]

Where are you coming from in Canada?

I'm from Waterloo and have spent about a year in Northern California, with a few trips to LA. The best thing about California is the weather, hands down. It's incredible and when it's february and you're going outside without a coat it's a very nice feeling. And there's a lot of stuff to do. Like someone mentioned already, California contains almost every single geographic type, so no matter what you're into there's something to do.

However, everything else is WAAAAAY better in Canada. Medical services can't be compared. Even though I'm under insurance I'm still very paranoid about getting injured as I don't know exactly what's covered, and you can get screwed over very easily. Then there's the drivers who have no sense of others and just drive like they're the only ones on the road. Then there's the mentally handicapped service people who will constantly screw up your orders, take far too long and generally just make everything difficult for you.

And lastly, there's the Fear. I don't know where it comes from, or when exactly people start feeling it, it took me about a month, but in the US there's this ever present pervasive sense of fear. It makes you constantly on edge and anxious and is just a negative feeling that's constantly carried around.

If you're the American/Californian type, then you're probably going to love it out here. Personally, I can't wait to get back to the Great White North. Since I've been here my appreciation of Canada has increased exponentially.

 

[Bigfoot]

I'd be coming from Calgary. As you can tell, I'm still a little undecided. I love being close to the mountains, and snowboarding all winter, but I hear that you can do this in California too, and they also have the beach which is great.

I guess I've got to decide it if it's worth taking the bad for nicer weather and the ocean. I'm going to be flying down there for an interview soon, so I should decide then. What started this all is a phone call from an old friend that lives in Irvine now, and he knew I'd be good for the job.

Thanks for the advice rastex. It's good to get everyones input, but I especially wanted to hear from Canadians that have had made the move.

 

[Zelda-Bitch]

I'd be coming from Calgary. As you can tell, I'm still a little undecided. I love being close to the mountains, and snowboarding all winter, but I hear that you can do this in California too, and they also have the beach which is great.

I guess I've got to decide it if it's worth taking the bad for nicer weather and the ocean. I'm going to be flying down there for an interview soon, so I should decide then. What started this all is a phone call from an old friend that lives in Irvine now, and he knew I'd be good for the job.

Thanks for the advice rastex. It's good to get everyones input, but I especially wanted to hear from Canadians that have had made the move.

I say go for it. You're probably young and the experience in itself would probably be worth it. Who knows who you'll meet along the way or experiences you may have. That in itself would make it worth it to me.

 

[Manics]

That was strange, I had just started playing that song literally seconds before seeing this thread.

I believe alot of threads can benefit from some sound Led Zeppelin advice.

 

[videogamer]

The job is actually in Irvine, but I was told it's better to live in Newport or Costa Mesa, and maybe Leguna Beach.

Yeah, if you have the money it might be better to live in say Newport. However, the commutes around Irvine can be nasty. What part of Irvine is this job? Irvine is a pretty spread apart city. Different areas offer different things. Also, what do you like to do for fun?

 

[golem]

And lastly, there's the Fear. I don't know where it comes from, or when exactly people start feeling it, it took me about a month, but in the US there's this ever present pervasive sense of fear. It makes you constantly on edge and anxious and is just a negative feeling that's constantly carried around.

nah im pretty sure thats just in NorCal.. which sucks

 

[xsarien]

And lastly, there's the Fear. I don't know where it comes from, or when exactly people start feeling it, it took me about a month, but in the US there's this ever present pervasive sense of fear. It makes you constantly on edge and anxious and is just a negative feeling that's constantly carried around.

It's our culture of fear. The way we beat it into our citizens nearly everyday that they're either going to get beaten, mugged, killed, raped, or kidnapped (or some combination of the five) if they set one foot outside.

Is it any wonder that we have a gun violence problem?

 

[fennec fox]

nah im pretty sure thats just in NorCal.. which sucks

Bullhonkey, because I lived in San Francisco for 3 years and I didn't feel the "fear" until I drove south to Los Angeles. I can't handle that city, seriously, and I still resent going to E3 because of it.

As far as advice, well, follow all the other advice here -- shop ethnic, and spend as much time as you possibly can looking for accomodation before moving.

Personally, I love the time I spent in SF, and I think it's the nicest city in America. But now that I'm in Houston, I'm living in an obscenely huge and luxurious apartment in the nicest part of the city for what a shitty one-level crack house costs in OC, and I take in more money even though my salary's way less, thanks to 0 state taxes. That's hard to ignore. Plus, ferrets aren't illegal.

 

[Bigfoot]

Yeah, if you have the money it might be better to live in say Newport. However, the commutes around Irvine can be nasty. What part of Irvine is this job? Irvine is a pretty spread apart city. Different areas offer different things. Also, what do you like to do for fun?

Not really sure what part of Irvine as I'm not familar with the area, but the website says its on Hughes. Using MapQuest, it looks like it's south of some Air station (El Toro)

For fun, aside from videogames , I like to mountain bike, hike, and snowboard on weekends. I play volleyball year round and Ultimate Frisbee in the summer. I have done a lot of Scuba diving on vacations, and that's something I can't do in Calgary.

 

[rastex]

For fun, aside from videogames , I like to mountain bike, hike, and snowboard on weekends. I play volleyball year round and Ultimate Frisbee in the summer. I have done a lot of Scuba diving on vacations, and that's something I can't do in Calgary.

I don't know about SoCal, but in NorCal all of those activities are available pretty much year round. The snowboarding season starts in November or so (maybe earlier) and goes all the way until the end of April. People surf year round, and there's tons of places to bike and hike if you're willing to drive a couple of hours. But that's in NorCal.

I really really really really hate LA. I've stayed there probably a week and a half total in my life, and the place is just so dirty and congested and polluted, it just makes me frustrated the entire time.

 

[Seth C]

And lastly, there's the Fear. I don't know where it comes from, or when exactly people start feeling it, it took me about a month, but in the US there's this ever present pervasive sense of fear. It makes you constantly on edge and anxious and is just a negative feeling that's constantly carried around.

I'm from the backwoods of Kentucky and never felt "the fear" when in Los Angeles. I go out and walk around at night, even in the bad parts of town, and never feel any fear. Now, perhaps I've taken things to the other extreme, but....

 

[fart]

And lastly, there's the Fear. I don't know where it comes from, or when exactly people start feeling it, it took me about a month, but in the US there's this ever present pervasive sense of fear. It makes you constantly on edge and anxious and is just a negative feeling that's constantly carried around.

SAVE YOURSELF

 

[etiolate]

Fear is all a part of America. It certainly is a part of SoCal.

What you'll like about California, outside of the outdoors stuff. is Fry's Electronics.

 

[rastex]

SAVE YOURSELF

I am, by going back to Canada

 

[fart]

god, i hate this place.

 

[AniHawk]

I don't know about SoCal, but in NorCal all of those activities are available pretty much year round. The snowboarding season starts in November or so (maybe earlier) and goes all the way until the end of April. People surf year round, and there's tons of places to bike and hike if you're willing to drive a couple of hours. But that's in NorCal.

It started snowing here in October or November, and there's still snow up in the mountains.

 

[videogamer]

Not really sure what part of Irvine as I'm not familar with the area, but the website says its on Hughes. Using MapQuest, it looks like it's south of some Air station (El Toro)

For fun, aside from videogames , I like to mountain bike, hike, and snowboard on weekends. I play volleyball year round and Ultimate Frisbee in the summer. I have done a lot of Scuba diving on vacations, and that's something I can't do in Calgary.

Why not live near El Toro then? It's going to be built into a park of sorts. Don't worry about jets going in and out; the station was closed years ago. Living in Newport or Costa Mesa will be commute torture in the mornings because, chances are, you will have to go through the abomination that is the 55/405 interchange. It even clogs up on weekends. Irvine has large Persian and Chinese populations, so there's plenty of different things to eat. On weekends, you should have no problem going to Newport Beach or Laguna Beach for snorkeling or whatever. Newport has a nice back bay/wetlands area where you can kayak. But these things are relatively close for weekends no matter where you live in OC.

Also, Irvine is one of the safest cities in the United States. It is also very clean and planned-looking. I have never ever seen a homeless person in Irvine. It has some of the highest ranked schools in OC, if you want to raise kids there.

Edit: Living in Laguna Beach might be a good idea actually. I don't know about the commute though. It might be better than living in that part of Irvine, which has the Spectrum... an outdoors mall with teenagers roving around. On the other hand, Laguna Beach has a significant older persons population... you may or not like that.

 

[909er]

nah im pretty sure thats just in NorCal.. which sucks

Seriously, we're too stoned for that.

 

[909er]

California rocks, although obviously NorCal is the better half. Just remember that it's also expensive as hell.

Norcal is so not the better half. We have the beaches down south, and the mountains. All NorCal has San Francisco, and that's like Central California. That and the word hella, but is that really something to be proud of?

 

[Nintendo Ate My Children]

And lastly, there's the Fear. I don't know where it comes from, or when exactly people start feeling it, it took me about a month, but in the US there's this ever present pervasive sense of fear. It makes you constantly on edge and anxious and is just a negative feeling that's constantly carried around.

:lol

 

[xsarien]

We have beaches, we have mountains, and we have most of Tahoe. Plus, we don't have as many Messicans.

I'll grant you hella. At least we don't say "wicked cool," like East Coasters. That's far more retarded than hella.

As an east coaster (shortly becoming a west coaster), I can attest that I've never, ever heard someone say "wicked cool" unless they were talking about "Weird things people say in California."

 

[909er]

As an east coaster (shortly becoming a west coaster), I can attest that I've never, ever heard someone say "wicked cool" unless they were talking about "Weird things people say in California."

Yeah...nobody says "wicked cool" in California. Unless we're talking about east coasters...

 

[xsarien]

O_O You just blew my mind. Are you sure we're talking about the same east coast?

With the exception of the Mass. stereotype, "Wicked pissah," I've never, ever heard it.

 

[Dilbert]

It's definitely an East Coast thing, and it's usually pronounced "wicket."

 

[bridegur]

I'm thinking of moving down for college, would it be a cheaper/better idea just to live in college housing? Where can I look for apartments around the LA (30 minutes or so away would be fine) area?

 

[Bebpo]

Don't move into Irvine unless it's a lot cheaper than surrounding areas. Irvine is pretty boring and not much to do there and they have strict housing community rules from what I've heard. Newport is better and Tustin (where I hail from) is a nice place too. Basically if you stay away from Santa Ana, Anaheim then the rest of OC is all pretty nice for living.

I used to have a bunch of things I slightly disliked about living in that area, but after having been living away from home for 9months now, I realize how good it really was. You have excellent resturaunts, nice mall-like areas, In-N-Out Burger, a decent amount of import game stores not too far away, lots of small record stores, lots of big chains for other shopping, and your close to the beach, LA, San Diego, and Mexico! Even Vegas can be driven to, partied, and back in a weekend. I really think it's a perfect location to base yourself out of. I'm very biased because it's my hometown, but really there's no place I'd rather live

 

[XMonkey]

I agree with everything Bebpo said.

 

[videogamer]

Don't move into Irvine unless it's a lot cheaper than surrounding areas. Irvine is pretty boring and not much to do there and they have strict housing community rules from what I've heard. Newport is better and Tustin (where I hail from) is a nice place too. Basically if you stay away from Santa Ana, Anaheim then the rest of OC is all pretty nice for living.

The part of Irvine he's going to be working at is pretty far south. Living in Tustin can make for a pretty nasty commute whether he takes the 5 or the 405. Neither Tustin or Newport appear as clean as Irvine. Sure, Newport has some very nice areas, but it simply is not as pristine as Irvine. As for South OC... it's even more boring than Irvine. The schools in south county have great scores though. Those cities are pretty clean too. BTW, if you are going to consider Tustin OK, then why not Santa Ana and Anaheim? Sure, they generally do not look that great, but even Santa Ana has enclaves that look fine.

 

[Bebpo]

The part of Irvine he's going to be working at is pretty far south. Living in Tustin can make for a pretty nasty commute whether he takes the 5 or the 405. Neither Tustin or Newport appear as clean as Irvine. Sure, Newport has some very nice areas, but it simply is not as pristine as Irvine. As for South OC... it's even more boring than Irvine. The schools in south county have great scores though. Those cities are pretty clean too. BTW, if you are going to consider Tustin OK, then why not Santa Ana and Anaheim? Sure, they generally do not look that great, but even Santa Ana has enclaves that look fine.

I dunno, I've had friends who've gotten in a lot a situations in downtown Santa Ana. Anaheim is better but personally I don't go there besides sports games, or the Century 25 theater complex.

And yea, Irvine is defintely a safe and clean place to live. I had a friend live in apartments there and I commuted through Irvine every day for 5 years while attending UCI. It's just ummm, besides eating at the Rubys near the Woodbridge theater and going to import game store that used to be by the freeway back when there was still a Chucky Cheese place, there was pretty much nowhere I'd go to in Irvine. I guess the Spectrum counts as but it's kinda not really what I would consider residential Irvine because of it's location. Living in Newport he'd be right near Dvdplanet, close to Fry's Electronics, near the beach, Triangle Square, Costa Mesa Best Buy, and other useful places. My younger brother had an apartment in Newport near Triangle Square for a year while in college and he liked the location quite a bit.

 

[videogamer]

I dunno, I've had friends who've gotten in a lot a situations in downtown Santa Ana. Anaheim is better but personally I don't go there besides sports games, or the Century 25 theater complex.

I'm not talking so much about the downtown area as much as some other part of Santa Ana whose name and location escapes me.

And yea, Irvine is defintely a safe and clean place to live. I had a friend live in apartments there and I commuted through Irvine every day for 5 years while attending UCI. It's just ummm, besides eating at the Rubys near the Woodbridge theater and going to import game store that used to be by the freeway back when there was still a Chucky Cheese place, there was pretty much nowhere I'd go to in Irvine. I guess the Spectrum counts as but it's kinda not really what I would consider residential Irvine because of it's location. Living in Newport he'd be right near Dvdplanet, close to Fry's Electronics, near the beach, Triangle Square, Costa Mesa Best Buy, and other useful places. My younger brother had an apartment in Newport near Triangle Square for a year while in college and he liked the location quite a bit.

If you are talking about the Triangle Square area and comparing it with the Woodbridge area: aren't they about equidistant to Fry's in Fountain Valley and the South Coast area? In both cases, they're hop on the freeway kind of things. However, I do find it interesting that you mention the Triangle Square area. That's the part of Newport that I don't like. The part I like is across the 73 from UCI by the Back Bay and Fashion Island.

Meh, but yeah, I guess we have different tastes. I just like to lounge around at some tapioca place or check out Mother's. So Park Place and that Asian area around Jeffrey and Walnut are pretty good to me. The movie theater across the street from UCI plays good movies too.