Sally Redux

snih

Once again...your advice is much appreciated. Thanks, as now I've got a few web sites to have a look at and a few areas/locations to play around with.

General consensus is that cars (maybe two) are a must. How much do these things go for? I guess its like asking how long is a piece of string. Any web sites you know of that may give me a stear.

Glad you are all enjoying and loving the LA life. Hopefully me and fam will be too. Although to be honest I think the wife is getting cold feet. That said we may not have a choice. If I stay in the UK my team (including me) may be getting the tin tak anyways!! What joy.

What's the suburbs (oops I meant errr something similar to suburbs) like around LA - any names you could throw at me?

Ps area code of office is 90212.

cheers all.

snih

Moshimoshi - good scones you say! hmm

Sally Redux

LA is so different from the UK, I think your best bet would be to come over to some temprorary accommodation and hire a car and then explore and ask around. If it's a transfer, the company you are working for may set this up to begin with for you.

What will your wife be doing when she comes?

We live in Calabasas and my husband used to commute into Cedars-Sinai hospital, it's a tough commute though. Not a lot happening in Calabasas but we moved here for the school district. With a young child as you have, it will be more fun and sociable in a more urban area. Santa Monica is very nice, it's pricey unless you can get something rent-controlled though.

Cape Blue

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/cta/
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/apa/
Craigslist for most things, cars, rental properties etc

Bob

That's pretty cheap for a beer...maybe not so for a medium coffee

Bob

Craigslist, manufacturer sites, Leyy Blue Book, Edmunds etc.

And yes, a car ain't cheap to run, you've got the car, sales tax, probably got annual excise tax to the town, registration, inspection, plates etc and insurance is pretty expensive, especially for the first year or two as you'll have no credit history or US driving history, you'll be starting from scratch as a first time driver.

S Folinsky

Flea is a former neighbor! Nice guy to chat with. His old S Mercedes with the multi-color paint scheme is still seen around although he sold it years ago!

S Folinsky

I know what you mean -- however, that tune is both a time and a place -- the time being 1967. And 1967 was followed by 1968.

S Folinsky

9021x is Beverly Hills.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is Beverly Hills adjacent and the mention of the commute between Calabasas and Cedars makes me shudder. However, 90212 will have a fair amount of decent housing within a reasonable radius. I will admit to a prejudice against living "over the hill" in the San Fernando Valley. That said, living in Studio City is considered by some to be a reasonable hop over Coldwater Canyon.

Edmunds.com does have pretty cost-to-own tools on the site. A car, or two, can be as expensive as you want it to be. And it is often dependent upon life style decisions.

Gasoline in L.A. is expensive compared to the rest of the US -- I'm now paying $3.53 per US gallon for unleaded premium. We own two sedans -- a 2004 BMW 525i and a 1998 Volvo S70. Our theory of ownership is that maintenance is cheaper than car payments. Insurance can vary a lot -- and purportedly a shorter commute lowers premiums. Younger daughter purchased a 2003 Mini Cooper last year for $8K -- and that was with aggressive shopping -- there were going for about $10k otherwise.

Also, do not assume that what is popular in the UK will be popular stateside or vice versa.

BTW, were are having warm weather now, clear skies and no smog -- the reason people move here! [I was born here, but lived away in the 70's].

GeoffM

Out of interest, why? It's one of the areas we were considering as we have relatives in Tarzana (and others in San Dimas, another possibility). Where we actually end up will depend on getting both visa and job.

S Folinsky

It is good that you mention the job -- IMHO, job location can influence the advisability where to live. Traffic patterns enter the picture -- a "reverse commute" is not a bad thing, although they often seem to becoming a thing of the past.'

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley -- also, I was a commuter student at what is now California State University Northridge [I received my BA the same month they changed the name of the school].

The LA Basin has "micro climates." The Valley is quite a bit hotter in the summer and fall. [That said, "June Gloom" and "May Gray" is less in the Valley].

San Dimas is quite a bit inland. I can't say I am intimately familiar with the area. I do like Pasadena. The Air Pollution Quality Controls have worked to the extent that things such as air and the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains are no longer removed from Pasadena in the summer.

BTW, the air quality in the basin has improved dramatically since I was a child. I have also noted this on my visits to London.

Sally Redux

Isn't San Dimas where 'Bill and Ted' live?

The SF Valley is massive and gets hotter in summer, and is like 'Bill and Ted'

N1cky

It's very common that people frown on The Valley, the amount of people I came across who looked like you were a bad smell when you say you live in the valley was ridiculous. I got the impression it was because it was built to house the masses so doesn't have a soul like area's such as Santa Monica, Pasadena, the Hollywoods have. Also the heat is too much for most people.

My daughter went to school (and camp) in Tarzana, in the summer it would often be over 110 when I would pick her up at 6pm.

aviva

Another way to look at this location business. Bear in mind that distances here in the LA area are usually measured by the time it takes to get some place at a specific time of day, not the distance in miles. So try to imagine this in your head:
Up in the morning - Get little one up - Get out the door
How long is it going to take to get to child care at 8am in traffic?
How long is it then going to take to get to job at 8:30am in traffic?
Reverse at the end of the day in traffic and maybe stop off for shopping?
I think there's a fine art to picking out the right location based on how much you want to travel every day. Commuter traffic can be brutal and wearing. How much quality time will you have at the end of the day with the little one?