In response to someone searching the following question and finding my site:
How easy is it to move to LA?
Well, that depends on where you're moving from. I moved from Colorado without the help of an employer or the military and I don't think it was too difficult. I had a friend move to LA from Boston with the help of an employer and he seemed to do it without terrible difficulty.
The first and largest hurdle is of course cost. Doesn't it always come down to money? See my previous post about what I spent here. Saving was difficult for me as my wife was in school and not making a whole lot of money. I ended up teaching part time at a community college (in addition to my regular job) and having all the extra income go directly into savings.
I guess the second hardest part before we even hopped into the moving truck was finding a job. It's extremely difficult to get someone to hire you in Los Angeles while still living in another state. Fortunately, I really lucked out and found someone who was into taking chances and saw no problems with hiring the kid from CO. My friend who moved from Boston didn't have so much luck initially. I moved out here a few months before him and he called up to ask if he could use my LA address on his applications. That way it already looked like he was a California resident and the potential employers wouldn't see him as a high risk hire. If you want more clarification on this point leave a comment with your email and I'll get you an in depth response.
Third? Finding a place to live. Again, see the post I mentioned above. Be prepared to slum it for at least 6 months while you get to know the city and the parts that you like and don't like. If you have any questions about parts of the city leave a comment with your email and I'll definitely get right back to you.
Another irritating part of moving to LA was dealing with all the naysayers. I can't tell you how many people told me I was going to hate it. "Too much traffic", "Shitty people", "Too much pollution", "It's earthquake country!". The naysayers went on and on. My biggest piece of advice? DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! Follow your heart and just try and not do anything too stupid.
I guess to sum it all up: If you can save a little money, find a job and a place before you move out here the only thing standing in your way is one long drive or short flight.
See you soon?
Just wanted to say I love your website, I check it on a regular basis! I interned in LA my last semester of film school and have been trying to get back since the day I left; graduated in January '08 and decided to save to have some padding. Alot of my friends have moved out there; some found jobs quickly, others didn't. Now I'm just kind of waiting to see how this recession goes the next couple of months; I'm hoping to move out in September :)
You said your friend used your address to apply to jobs - how does that work? Was he still working in Boston when he flew out for interviews? If so, did he put his current job on his resume? I'm heading out to LA next month for a week to visit friends, but I am putting out resumes in hopes to get a couple interviews. I'd like to put my friends address (in Cali) on these resumes, but my current job is in Philadelphia - I figured I could tell them I already had an apartment out there with my boyfriend (I don't, but they don't know that) and was waiting to get hired before moving to CA permanently. Any advice?