Moving to LA

W

weltonfilment

Active member
I will be moving to LA on Febuary 21 and would love to see if anybody who has done this has some advice. I will have a part time valet job worked out before I get down there (that's what I do up here in Seattle), and I MIGHT have a possible job at a commercial production company. My plan is to find a room that someone is renting out in an apartment or house (ala Craigslist, Roomates.com, etc). Ideally I would like to live in West LA (Culver City, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, etc). I could also do north if I need to (Burbank, Studio City). My price range per month is about $600. I've been looking on Craigslist and it seems like it's definitely feasible. And yes, I will have a car.

Any thoughts? Any tips on great places to live? What to do, what not to do?

Thanks.
 
I don't live in LA but i'm there enough to say "be ready for the traffic!"

in my experience it doesn't matter what time of day, what day of the week, whatever- there is always some sort of holdup!

The only time there isn't traffic is like 11 pm- 4 am.
then it starts up again.
 
Yeah, while traffic is nothing new in Seattle (we're 4th worst in the nation), it can't compare to LA traffic. That's one reason why I'm selling my stick shift and getting an automatic. All that stop and go with the clutch would kill my knee.
 
weltonfilment said:
That's one reason why I'm selling my stick shift and getting an automatic. All that stop and go with the clutch would kill my knee.
Click to expand...

Good idea. When I first moved out here, I had a stick. I've had an auto for the last 20 years.
 
Well, while it would be nice, it's not in my budget. I'm looking at under $10K for a car. I've been looking at Hyundai's and Kia's.
 
weltonfilment said:
Any thoughts? Any tips on great places to live? What to do, what not to do?
Click to expand...

When I first moved out, we lived in Studio City and loved it. Eventually moved
to Burbank and loved that even more. Cant go wrong in the valley.

Word to the wise. If you dont already have a car, buy it in cali... some models
STILL have specific cali emission gear.

You may have to budget for a refridgerator. For some reason, LA apartments
dont always have a fridge. For the first three months I was out there, we bought
10lb blocks of ice and used a big cooler :) (My wife and I look back on those days
fondly... man that was an adventure.)

Also, the day you get there, get invest the couple of bucks and start doing extra
work.

http://www.entertainmentpartners.com/products_and_services/services/central_casting/nonunion_registration/

Carry around a resume/reel cause you'll meet more highend film and tv production
folks in a week than you ever imagined.
 
Greggl said:
Also, the day you get there, get invest the couple of bucks and start doing extra
work.

Carry around a resume/reel cause you'll meet more highend film and tv production
folks in a week than you ever imagined.
Click to expand...


Wow, really, you think? I could be mistaken, but I've always thought that doing extra work was a great way to get yourself labeled as being the scum at the bottom of the barrel, no offense I've done extra work in the past, both union and non union, but that prevaling attitude in the industry is one reason I stopped taking the jobs.

I almost think a valet with a script might have a better shot then an extra with a script, but you may be right, thats just my experience.


So weltonfilment, what are you looking to work as?
 
welcome to smelLA traffic no problem live on the westside drive only between 9am to 3pm then after 8pm
 
Mythfit said:
Wow, really, you think? I could be mistaken, but I've always thought that doing extra work was a great way to get yourself labeled as being the scum at the bottom of the barrel, no offense I've done extra work in the past, both union and non union, but that prevaling attitude in the industry is one reason I stopped taking the jobs.
Click to expand...

Depends on the set and pretty much how you present yourself. The first extra gig I
ever did was on 'Man on the Moon' and I was able to sit around and talk to Milos Forman
for a good 20 mins when they were blocking for a shot. That was the day Jim Carrey
faked his neck injury ala Kaufman... it was pretty hysterical to watch :)

I was also able to spend a decent amount of time on the sets for Buffy, Felicity and
Grosse Pointe where I met George Diebe and Russ Alsobrook who I was able to
sort of re-connect with once I got in the camera union. I found it imensely valuable
to be able to watch DPs light, camera crews work and some pretty impressive directors
work with their actors.
 
Mythfit said:
Wow, really, you think? I could be mistaken, but I've always thought that doing extra work was a great way to get yourself labeled as being the scum at the bottom of the barrel, no offense I've done extra work in the past, both union and non union, but that prevaling attitude in the industry is one reason I stopped taking the jobs.
Click to expand...

Depends on the set and pretty much how you present yourself. The first extra gig I
ever did was on 'Man on the Moon' and I was able to sit around and talk to Milos Forman
for a good 20 mins when they were blocking for a shot. That was the day Jim Carrey
faked his neck injury ala Kaufman... it was pretty hysterical to watch :)

I was also able to spend a decent amount of time on the sets for Buffy, Felicity and
Grosse Pointe where I met George Diebe and Russ Alsobrook who I was able to
sort of re-connect with once I got in the camera union. I found it imensely valuable
to be able to watch DPs light, camera crews work and some pretty impressive directors work with their actors.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top