HELP: Looking for Housing in California for a class at LAAFA or Watts Atelier

[zenmaster]

hey people,

I would like to take a class at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Arts or at the Watts Atelier.

I was wondering if someone could offer me housing near one of these schools.

It would be for a period of 2 months, the period of a class. Wouldn’t' it be great? Can someone give me this opportunity?? I wish it dearly.

I am asking since living in Cali is expansive and I live in Canada, so I cannot afford getting a place for myself. I would be willing to pay. We can discuss it (thru PM, plz).

THANKS

[gaboartpage]

zenmaster: Hello, did you called the
school and asked about it?????
to let them know your international
student situation ??????
i am interested in going to LAAFIGART too
but i guess i will until summer courses....

please let us know what happened ....

Good Luck ....

Saludos y Buena Suerte

Gabriel Garza

[zenmaster]

Hi there, we should go toghther ?? hehe

i don't know when i'l be able to go... i definatly want to attend a class there in the near future.

I did contact the schools. Asking a few questions... I didn't ask about the housing arragements...

On Cgtalk.com they gave me some good advise.
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1279654#post1279654

Check out these websites:
losangeles.craigslist.com
Westsiderentals.com

Peace
LÉ

[nick reynolds]

why dont the two of you just get a furnished month to month and split the rent.

Your life will be hell gettting around LA if you dont have a car. Unless you find a good safe place between the academy and a good art store like continental art supply. A place in between those two might be walkable on a daily basis. You could always load up on a mass amount of supplies all at once and just live as close to the school as possible. There are a ton of apartments on sherman way (road).

[dzu]

I live 2 blocks from Watts and split a 2 bedroom apartment with a friend. OUr rent is $1060 month to month, but this complex has a special where you stay for 6 months and get a $75/month discount. So basically we pay $985 total for 6 months. A one bedroom apartment here will run you $860/month but you can also get the 6 month discount. It's a nice location about a mile from the beach. EVerything is nearby and convenient. I walk to school and don't really use my car that much anymore.

[zenmaster]

many thx my friend

do you attend one of these schools yourself ??
If yes, can you tell me a bit about them ?


peace
LÉ

[zenmaster]

DZU: thx man, lucky dude... i hope to be there one day !!

thx for the info it's greatly apreciated

LÉ

[gaboartpage]

Hello everyone !!

So many information....
so many information ....

i will check all of this slowly
Thanks to all of you and
nick reynolds is helping me too
on good tips
:D

zenmaster: Thanks for the link i will
check it very soon and when i have more information i will let you know ,
by the way check this one too maybe
it can help you too LAAFIGART thread (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21116)

dzu: Thanks for the tip i will make numbers
about it, the deal here is that in my case
( i dont know zenmaster plan) i will go just
for 3 months ....

nick reynolds: Hey thanks man you are
helping a lot i apprreciate that ...

And i plan on going on FALL QUARTER , and
maybe a friend would go to so as time
passes we can come together with a plan
for the FORUM members who are outside
LA and wish to go ... :) .. ok??

Buena Suerte

Gabriel Garza

[zenmaster]

gaboartpage: hey buddy, i've read your thread. It's awsome that you want to go there too.

I hope that u get to go.

I won't be going before next year probably...

Just saw the classes at the Associates in Arts. Looks great.

I've studied Loomis and Vilppu for 2 years now. I would definatly want to see Vilppu in person. I would be great moment. I admire Kevin Chens work too.

This is my goal !
LÉ

[Jane Radstrom]

Gabriel, I am planning to go to Watts for one 10-week class set this fall! Did you get a response to your email? I called and left a message and also sent an email a few days later, but I have not heard back. I'm trying to get everything planned out, maybe people here on the boards can help me out. :)

I live in Florida, so I will also need to find an apartment or a room or something. $860 a month?! :eek: I would love to find some people to share with.

Do any of you know when exactly the fall sessions run?

[dzu]

Yeah $860 is actually cheap for this area. San Diego is pretty expensive and to get $600 a month for rent you would have to life about 30 mins away in a not so good neighborhood. The apartments are not furnished, but the only utilities you have to pay for is electric. That averages about $10-20 for one person. The benefit is you can walk to the school and to the grocery store so a car isn't really necessary unless you want to do tourist stuff while here in San Diego.

Fall semester usually starts early to mid October.

[pandawhipped]

dzu...985 a month?! Thats awesome! If you stay there longer than 6 months, do you not get the discount? I just might go check that place out. I'd love to be able to walk to school. Just gotta convince my roomates that the farther commute is worth the lower rent :)

[Jane Radstrom]

Walking distance to the school is really important. The current classes are April - June 20th, is there a break all the way between June and October or another set of classes? Also, how many classes could I reasonably fit into one 10-week set, considering I'd have nothing to do out there but draw and paint? I hope you guys don't mind the questions. :)

[dzu]

THere's usually a 3 week break between classes. The school is year round so there is a 10 week summer session as well, probably starting in mid July and ending late September.

As to schedule, it depends upon how much you can handle before burn out creeps in. A full full load is about 10 classes. A more reasonable load is about 6-7 classes with time to study at home or just relax. There are usually 2-3 classes offered during the day, 7 days a week. I take about 8-10 classes and am usually ok. This semester I have 3 days off, which is nice. Two semesters ago I had only 1 day off and that was pretty brutal, but then I was driving 2 hours round trip each day for classes. That's why I moved closer :D

[dzu]

panda - after 6 months, the price goes back up to $1060 a month, which is still pretty good. You could easily fit 3 people in the 2 bedroom apartment if you're all willing to share 1 bathroom :D The 2 bdrm is about 880 sq feet.

[Skank]

just curious (im moving down there next year to attend watts) what kind of jobs do you guys work? or do you?
cuz im trying to figure out how to find a job that will pay rent, AND let me goto class...it doesnt sound cheap

[pandawhipped]

Velo: I always try to sign up for 4 classes, that way I get the Friday night drawing workshop for free (its a 3 hour figure drawin session, uninstructed). Thats about $1,350 for 10 weeks, so about $6,000 a year (or $500 a month) including supplies , which is REALLY cheap (as art schools go). If I could afford it I would take more classes, but I usually have plenty of time to study at home, so it makes up for the lack of school time. My school schedule is usually set up to where I have one class Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sat so I don't have huge gaps of time between class.

Skank: Finding a job out here that will pay rent and school tuition can be tough, but people do it. Your best option is find a two bedroom with 3 other people and split the rent 4 ways. You could easily end up paying only 200-300 bucks, or even less depending on where you live. Most jobs like starbucks and things like that pay about 7.50 an hour, so after taxes you could make about $950 bucks a month at that rate. There are higher paying jobs like telemarketing (Newgen Results is a good company for that) where you could pretty easily make 10-15 an hour depending on how fast you are.

I do work, as a 3d animator, and am fortunate enough to make enough to pay for the 4 classes a semester, but I'm usually really good at not spending a bunch of money on going out to eat and all that. Just figure out a budget for yourself and stick to it. The cool thing about not being able to take out loans for this school, is that you'll never have any huge loans to pay off when you're done :)

[pandawhipped]

dzu....one bathroom? aiya

[zenmaster]

WUUhuu this iiiss great !

this is helpful info. It's going to make my life easier. :)

ALRIGHT

LÉ

[Jane Radstrom]

Dzu, what's the name of these apartments you've mentioned?

[dzu]

Velo: The apartments are called Essex heights Apartments. Address is 404 Encinitas Blvd Encintias CA 92024. Phone number is 760-944-0780.

Panda: Yeah 1 bathroom..not so bad with only 1 roomate, but I wouldn't want to share it with more than that.

[Jane Radstrom]

Thanks! Have you heard of Encinitas apartments? They are a little further down the road near the intersection of Coastal Highway and Encinitas Blvd. I found them online at Apartments.com, they have a studio for $475! I'm not sure if they do month-to-month, though. is that too far a walk?

[dzu]

I haven't heard about that place, but my guess is it's just over by the old pacific coast highway. I think that is a good 1-2 miles from the school. You could probably walk, but evening classes get out at 1030pm, so it might be rather far that late at night. Something that cheap would probably be a 12 month lease. A lot of places around here require a 12 month lease. The place I rent from is only month to month, but if you don't stay for at least 6 months, you don't get the $75 discount.

[Jane Radstrom]

Thanks so much for all your helpful info, dzu! I had a feeling those apartments might be a bit far, I looked on yahoo maps and they seemed to be twice as far to walk as the ones you live in. I'll just have to figure something out for room & board... but I guess that making sure I will have the money for classes out there at all comes first. :) I have some more questions, but I'll wait until things are more definite.

Thanks again for being so helpful you guys! I hope to see you out there in October. :chug: