pickle967

Hello All, I am a registered nurse,recently employed by ucla hospital nearly done with paperwork . i have been told by my agency they will only put me up for pityful 7days . now my question is where should i be looking at regarding aparments? what sort of prices should i expect? is it really more expensive than london (eg comparing to fulham)? i hear crime rate is shocking ,please tell me i am wrong.and anybody know if nurses are better off financially in california than england.london is very vibrant, as you know what is california like?..................Any reply would be appriciated .

pickle967 :scared:

ScousePete

I've used http://www.rent.com quite a few times. Worked well for me.

syllk

You're right and you're wrong. LA is a huge place, and just like there are places in London where you wouldn't want to go at night, the same applies here. On the other hand though, there are some extremely safe cities around, this page is from 2001, but should give you some idea as to some of the safest areas. I live in Thousand Oaks myself, it may not be the cheapest place around, but overall it's a very safe place to live.

cabritpop

LA is expensive to live in just like London. I have lived in Orange County (about 30 miles south of LA) for 8 years now. I hate LA, I avoid going there unless necessary or to pass through on the freeway. The air in LA is so unhealthy you can always see a yellow/brown band of smog in the sky. Most people who work in LA don't live in the city and commute in. There is no good public transportation in southern california so you will have to drive to work on the heavily crowded freeways yes there are buses but they are mostly used by people without a driving license or poor people.
The people are very fake in LA generally or are crazy or both but, you will soon find this out. If you are female living and travelling alone in LA area then purchase a stun gun or get a handgun permit and get a Glock as they are easy to use.

pickle967

Cabritpop

You scaring the s..t out of me.What is a Glock? am i likely to have sombody break into my apartment and attack me i am seriously rethinking going to los angeles .

Pickle967

syllk

Ok, I've lived here for 5 years now, and so far I have witnessed:

• No car jackings
• No muggings
• No murders
• No autotheft
• No drive-by shootings
• No rape
• No burglary
• No bank heists
• No purse snatching
• No fighting
• No weapons being used
• No drug dealing

Of course, now that I've said that, my life will no doubt be paid a visit by the ****up Fairy, and I'll get to experience one or more of the above soon.

Until then however, you probably won't be needing a firearm permit, nor any other kind of weapon, unless you plan on living in the deepest darkest corner of Compton...and if that's the case, then you'll probably want to arm yourself to the teeth. As I said before, choose one of the cities that is rated as one of the safest in the US, and you'll find that you'll be no more at risk to crime than you are already in London.

veryfunny

Talk about scaring someone to death.

honeymommy

OMG.. Thats the most rediculous thing I have heard in ages. Talk about paranoia and scaremungering....

I have just returned to the UK after 6 1/2 yrs in California... We lived in west hills about 30 minutes from LA on a good driving day....

There is nothing wrong with getting a pepperspray keyring if you wish to, but anything else... Personally no way.....


I am with syllk on this... (above)

I actually felt safer there than I did in Reading, Berkshire, UK....

I went to skid row in LA many times as a volunteer, even there I didn't feel as bad as I did on the Oxford Road in Reading in the evening walking to the hospital to work a night shift...


Now I am not saying it is squeeky clean and nothing ever happens.. Bad things happen in any large city... It's the usual areas thing... Just find the right area to live and it will be fine...

You say UCLA hospital.... They actually have various hospitals/units spread about, so it would be good to know where you will actually be based for work.

Some of the surrounding areas are really nice....

Freeway driving can be a real pain, but being a nurse the shifts do not tie in with the other full time workers, making driving a little quicker...

What type of nursing speciality are you going into there? Hope you don't mind me asking.... Nurse here also....

MightBe

Bit of a drama queen is Cabritpop, as all their posting are.
BUT, He/She does have good taste in weapons.

honeymommy

Yes very nice weapon.... Used one at the gun range in Van Nuys... Did very well much to everyones supprise..... (Didn't tell them I had shot a gun before) The only probelm I had at the range was... I didn't dress appropriately with sweater up to my chin... Dam hot those shells when they fall down your cleavage!!!!! I actaually had a burn blister!!!!

Anyway di you know monkeys can shoot them also....

CaliforniaBride

Thanks for the tip. Planning to do the gun licence thing. NOT because I feel unsafe (as I wouldn't consider having a gun in the house) but just because I'm here and I can.

We live about 40mins from downtown LA and imho cabritpop is a nut, the kind to avoid. So I suppose LA must have at least one.

honeymommy

I was thinking Glendale is quite close and a nice area.... Had friends that lived there, they loved it...

I agree with the nut part of your post most definately... LOL

I really enjoyed going to the shooting range. It is quite expensive though. One thing... If you do go to one, get friends to recommend a good one, just to be on the safe side... Some of them can bea bit seedy if you know what I mean.... Gentleman company can bit a little of the hick side...


OK... Nurse wages.....
With the cost of living, rent,benefits, vacation allowance etc... Compared to the UK I feel I would be worse off in LA..... I have just joined NHS professionals here in the UK and 2 nights work pays me more than full time work in LA.....
You do get medical insurance with the job, but only the basic usually so better to top up to a higher coverage..

I took a 1 yr nursing course in the US.... Had that been my first experience of nursing...... I would not be a nurse..... Standards and work environment OMG!!!!
Take a look at the nursing section on the forum... Lot of unhappy nurses I there re: work conditions....

OK one last thing..... The agency are giving you 7 days accomodation... They should be helping you find a rental and there should be some sort of relocation payment if they are a decent company..... You should be allocated a relocation specialist to inform you of areas and lifestyle, show you how to open accounts, get utilities etc..... I would ask them what help and support they will give and get it in writing......

Definately check out car prices, car insurance, rentals, etc before going to avoid a shock later...

pickle967

hello honeymom.
thank you for replying .my mind is certainly at ease now. still a bit worried about not being able to make better money than i do in england, which is one of the reasons i decided to pack my bags.i am a peadiatric nurse.i will be working at the Mattel Hospital i am not sure exactly where it is. so honeymom do you think i will be better off financially here in England? how much do you think i should be looking at for a nice clean secure apartment? how much do you think i will be making ? my agency has been very cagey about money and frankly very slow.which gives me a lot of time to think.are you back in england for good.thanks pickle967

honeymommy

Here's a couple of links for you...

Mattel hospital website...

http://www.peds.ucla.edu/

Map of position and area.....

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp...rchtab=address


Rental properties... Depends if you are going to rent a room or a studio appt.... Room share, anything from $500/mth studio from around $900 I would say... Depends on the quality definately....

I personally would not want to live in that area..... Which would mean commuting....

You say the agency are being cagey about money etc..... Little honeymommy caring and concern here then.....

You need to be fully informed by them as to the position and wage. They should tell you the visa type and what it will mean. If you are wanting to go permanantly then make sure you are getting the right visa....
They should be fully open with you about everything pertaining to the job and relocation.....
Personally it sounds a little iffy... I would make sure you have all the information you need before commiting to anything... Just ask, and get it all in writing too... LOL....
My instructor allways said.. No question is a stupid question, it shows a willingness to learn and be informed, a great quality.....

As far as peadiatric nursing pay... Not sure.... I would check into it definately. I remember something a year ago about UK childrens nurses not being recognised for their qualification and being paid as a basic RN.....

Please... This isn't just a job up the road, it's 5000 miles away... Tell them what you want to know, get the details in writing, and question anything you don't understand... You are worth a LOT...Tell them that.....
If they are still messing around, then personally I would leave it and go for another job elsewhere.....

You could allways contact UCLA directly and see what vacancies they have you know...... They probably have a good relocation package.....

pickle967

hello honeymommy. (got it wrong the last time).

my agency quoted a salary 0f $28hr, that was two yrs ago (seeing as immigration takes so long) i have since asked them if the salary has been changed they are just not coming with the information. last thing i want to is go out there and find out there and find out things are not what the seem.i am actually not a peadiatric trained i trained as an adult nurse,got bored of it and decided to go onto kids.your estimate of rent fees are actually very good .i have been lead to believe that i should be looking at $1100 and up for a safe nice place.(1bedroom apartment).In regards to visa they have said ucla will be be sponsoring for green card which is taking tooooooooooooo long so greencard hopefully early next year. i have asked my agency how much i am likely to get every month because i don't know how much tax ,or any deduction automatically taken off my wages every fortnight or every month, will leave me i need to be able to plan ahead.apparently we need to take 4000 pounds sterling with me to get me started.do you think this will be sufficient.thanks again honey mummy