r/MovingToLosAngeles • u/fts93 • 2d ago
Preparing for a move to LA from UK.
Hi everyone!
At the beginning of March together with my wife we will be moving to LA from UK. I will be transferring in my current company to our Downtown LA office and my wife will be looking for a job once we arrive. I would appreciate your help with questions below 😊
We will be provided with accommodation for the first 2 months and then will need to find something ourselves. We are planning to live in Culver City / Santa Monica / MDR. Planning for 1 bed apartment ideally in a complex with swimming pool/gym etc up to $3.5k.
Is anyone able to advise if the budget is realistic and is there anything we can start preparing now to make renting an apartment go smoothly? I’ve heard there might be issues with credit history when coming from abroad?
What’s the best way/ website for my wife to start looking for jobs? She is a chartered accountant currently working in a finance department of an investment fund, she has an L2 visa.
In case she can’t find a job for a while, will my $120k salary be enough for us to live on paying $3.5k in rent?
Anything else to prepare/look out for when moving from UK?
Appreciate any help, thanks!
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u/ArnoldPalmersRooster 2d ago
120K salary is roughly 75K after taxes & insurance or $6,250 / month. Your rent would be 56% of your take-home.
I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than commute from Culver/MDR/SM to DTLA every day.
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u/fts93 2d ago
I’ve read that a lot of people in LA spend around 50% of salary on rent, and in my case it will only be max few months until we have a second income so hopefully we can manage on one salary without going into savings.
I need to be in the office max 3 times per week so I think I could live with up to 1h max each way. Culver City station to my DT office is 32 mins on the expo line so doesn’t seem too bad unless I’m missing something?
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u/bellessaisons 1d ago
I wouldn't count on her being able to find a job in a "few" months.
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u/fts93 1d ago
What do you mean? How long does it take to find a job?
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u/Fabulous-Gas-5570 1d ago
The job market is really tough right now. Highly qualified people are getting rejections and ghosted for months on end
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u/ArnoldPalmersRooster 2d ago
50% of salary on rent is a terrible idea no matter where you live.
Expo line is fine only that you need to be constantly aware of your surroundings. I feel safer on NY & Tokyo Subways than I do on LA Metro. And I try to take Metro often.
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u/MinuteElegant774 1d ago
You generally need 3x income and a credit score over 700 to find a rental. Make sure you have healthy savings for first month and deposit (some may require upfront payment of rent) since you’re from the UK. Do you have a credit score. Also, some rentals will not accept folks from overseas bc there would be no way to sue for rent or damages if you move to back to the US. I lived in London for a few years on an expat package and the company paid a rental budget.
I would recommend Pasadena bc of your commute. If you really don’t care about the travel time to get to work and want to live by the beach, I recommend playa vista, Culver City, or marina del Rey.
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u/fts93 1d ago
It means I should be able to rent something up to $3.3k on my income alone, but the credit score is what I’m worried about as I’ll have no US history. We are coming with savings so hoping that will help as well..
Thanks we will have a look at playa vista as well.
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u/MinuteElegant774 1d ago
Playa Vista has so many amenities. It’s really a fabulous place to live, very walkable, private security, tons of parks, dog parks, trails, pools, gyms, soccer, basketball, tennis courts, supermarket and restaurants all in walking distance.
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u/FreshPaintSmell 2d ago
Culver City is the most practical option of those 3 as it’s closer to DTLA and also more centrally located in LA for wherever your wife ends up working. It’s safe, clean, walkable, and popular with young professionals.
Santa Monica is great too and is the most walkable area of the 3, by the ocean, and has lots of British transplants. Will be a bit longer commute on the metro to DTLA. If you get a car it’s faster, takes me about 35 min from Santa Monica to DTLA in the morning.
I wouldn’t consider MDR if you’ll be needing to go to DTLA. It’s the least walkable option of the 3 and most sequestered from the rest of LA.
3.5k should be enough to get a 1 bedroom but probably not the nicest units in a luxury building like top floor.
Definitely want the 2nd income to live comfortably in LA. 70k is poverty line for a single person here.
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u/fts93 1d ago
Once we arrive are planning to visit few areas to see how we like it, I agree that Culver would be the most practical but would love to be by the beach.
35 min drive from Santa Monica to DTLA is less than I expected and shorter than my commute in UK.. what time in the morning and how long does it take in the evening?
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u/FreshPaintSmell 1d ago
7-7:15 or so. About 35-40 min leaving work between 4-5pm. Living in Santa Monica and commuting to DTLA is the reverse of the traffic flow.
Living in Culver City probably won’t save you much commute time because all the congestion is surface streets in DTLA and the freeway entrances.
Once I’m on the 10 freeway, the time between Culver City and Santa Monica is like 5-10 minutes max.
Basically in the morning I get to the DTLA freeway exits in about 20 minutes, and then it’s just a crawl the next 15 minutes going 2 miles through DTLA.
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u/Jazzy0082 2d ago
Ha, remarkably similar situation here (although looking more like a May move). I'll be dividing my working time between DTLA and Glendale and likely to be looking around Pasadena. I'm actually going over for a couple of weeks in March but staying with a friend in Venice, thankfully no need to visit Glendale while I'm there.
Does the local team in LA have anyone who can support with the logistics of your move? I've been liaising with a great woman in HR who's been really supportive on that front.
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u/fts93 2d ago
Nice, good luck with your move! We want to experience a bit of beach life so looking at areas close to it with okayish link to DTLA.
The HR team is not based in LA so not that helpful, however I have been in touch with few people of the team I’m joining and they provided some advice on where to live. Looking for someone who might have moved from abroad and if they came across any issues which we might be able to sort out before we move 😊for example we’ve been advised to open UK HSBC account which can be transferred to US with the UK credit history.
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u/Jazzy0082 2d ago
I'd love to be close to the beach too, but a day a week in Glendale would make for a repulsive commute apparently! Hope all goes well.
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u/littlebickie 2d ago
Public trans in LA is horrible (as I sit stuck on the Metrolink now!) compared to most any major metro areas. DTLA from West LA may be do-able but recommend a car if you plan to do anything not along one of the few train lines. Or expect to Uber to cover the many gaps.
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u/frame-gray 2d ago
Color me bias, but I'm scratching my head wondering why you would give up national health care.
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u/Purple-Display-5233 1d ago
If you work downtown and live in the westside, you will be going against traffic! No worries there.
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u/No_Ebb1052 1d ago
Get a car bro! Would you want to live in NYC in a wheelchair? That’s the equivalent. You’re not living in LA until you’re behind the wheel with the windows down.
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u/THCrunkadelic 2d ago
First off, you want to live as close to possible to where you work. Will you have a car? Culver City is great, and has the option of the Expo line light rail train if you live/work close enough to the stops. The expo line is mostly clean and safe, and I recommend it. The expo line also goes to Santa Monica, but it's a bit longer commute (almost an hour vs 30 something minutes). But Santa Monica is doable, even if you have to drive. Marina Del Rey will be pushing it though. Not much in the way of public transit (there is something called the Commuter Express Bus which goes from MDR to DTLA on the freeways, but it will be very slow) and driving that far is not recommended. The traffic is horrendous.
$3,500 is plenty for a nice one bedroom in those areas, with a gym, pool, etc. You might be able to find something you like for less than $3k, or even $2,500 if you put in the effort to find a good deal and look around at a lot of apartments. If you plan on taking the Expo Line, I highly recommend being as close as possible to the train stops, 5-10 minute walk is ideal, unless you plan on biking.
As for jobs, I always recommend people look for temp jobs with big companies. It's a great way to get your foot in the door and meet people. You can network on a site like Linkedin, or go through traditional job search sites like Indeed. There are even some companies that specialize in temp job placement, but it depends on what field she is in.
Below are some apartments I found that match your criteria in good areas near the expo line:
Santa Monica (Lincoln and Colorado) -- $3,397 with rooftop lounge, pool, gym, etc.
Santa Monica (Ocean Park) -- $2,995 small 1 bedrooms, but one block from the beach, includes pool, gym, and balconies with ocean views
Culver City (Culver Junction) -- $3,495 this building is called The Ivy and it's a luxury new construction literally right next to the train stop, this building has all the amenities, and has a plaza area below it with live events, food trucks, a brewery, etc.
Culver City (Downtown Culver) -- $2,778 this is another new construction with rooftop pool and all the amenities, great location surrounded by bars and restaurants, short walk to the Expo line station
Lmk if you have any other questions! Good luck!