LaurieHK

Hi all,

I'm Laurie. I'm 27 and from London. I've lived in Zurich, Switzerland for the past 3 years (due to my husbands job). At the end of the summer we will be upping sticks and moving across the pond to LA.

I will be arriving in LA without a job and potentially no work-visa either, so will need to find something to occupy my time with! I’m considering going back to university if I can find an affordable course! I have a degree in Product Design and have worked in London as a Lighting Designer, so will probably be snooping about for good design courses to enrol in!

I like travelling (having grown up in Hong Kong, I have an unconditional love of South East Asia), food, design/furniture, going to the cinema, playing about with photoshop, DIY, dogs, chocolate, exercising and having great friends around.

Please message me if you're like-minded and want a new friend come the end of summer. I’ll be free for coffee all day, everyday ("what a loner!").

-Laurie

GeoffM

Hi and welcome. There's plenty of Asian food around here - I think LA has not only Chinatown but Koreatown, Little Tokyo, and Little Manila. That said, I thought Chinatown was quiet and small compared to London's Chinatown but maybe there's more in a different area to the "official" square. Anyway, lots of places to get Asian food supplies of all kinds.

HighCountry

Welcome! You'll enjoy LA

Jerseygirl

to BE Laurie.

I suggest you post in our US Immigration forum regarding obtaining a visa to live/work/study in the US.

Noorah101

What visa will you be coming to the USA under? Is your husband getting an H1B or an L-1?

Welcome to BE!

Rene

markwm

My wife took a voluntary postion with a local museum, working a couple of days a week - that is something you could try: quick and easy way to meet people and have something interesting/worthwhile to do especially if your visa precludes working for money!

Do you know in which part of LA you intend to live? You could also post in the Meet-Ups section.

lisa67

Hi Laurie and welcome to BE.
I'd you're looking for some ideas for volunteer work you could take a look at www.volunteermatch.org

scrubbedexpat091

Welcome.

School will likely be pretty pricey as you will likely have to pay either non-resident tuition or international student tuition both of which are pretty pricey.

LaurieHK

Hi Geoff,

That’s music to my ears! Switzerland is distinctly lacking in good Asian food so i’ve been craving it for pretty much 3 years solid (apart from when I’m back in London).

Sounds like i’m going to have fun exploring!

Thanks for the advice!

Laurie

LaurieHK

Thanks HighCountry! I really hope so, i’m very nervous about the move. I’ve never lived anywhere that I’ve had to rely on a car to get around, so i’m worried it’s going to come as a bit of a culture shock!

I’m sure i’ll embrace it once i’m there though!

Cheers,

Laurie

LaurieHK

Hi Rene!

We will be coming on an L1 visa as the job is an internal move within his current company.
I am under the impression that an L1 visa gives me the ‘opportunity’ to apply for a working visa, but doesn’t guarantee me one...:fingers crossed:

Cheers,

Laurie

LaurieHK

Hi Markwm,

Thanks for the positive advice. Yes I hope to be able to do something similar if I don’t get a working visa. I hadn’t realised that it was possible to volunteer even if you don’t have a working visa. I assumed there would be some liability insurance issues in doing so, this is therefore very welcomed news! Thanks

My husband will be working in Calabasas, so we will be looking to live somewhere in North West LA. We will be searching for somewhere once we arrive and will have a look at the different areas to see what we think. Any suggestions?

Cheers,

Laurie

LaurieHK

Hi Lisa67,

Thanks for the link! Like I said above, I was under the impression that I wouldn’t be allowed to volunteer due to liability insurance issues, so this is very good news indeed!

Cheers,

Laurie

LaurieHK

Hi there and thanks for the welcome!

Yes, I have done a little poking around some uni websites and the prices seem fairly ridiculous. I am open to community college or evening classes too, so hopefully I’ll find something reasonable! :fingers crossed:

Cheers,

Laurie

Jerseygirl

Keep an eye out for Sally...she lives in Calabasas and will no doubt be along soon.