help, I'm moving to LA

[PT Osborne]

hey everyone... Just got a job at sony pictures imageworks... and need to movie to LA in May... santa monica area... got any info on goot places to live... streets close to social scene... stuff to do etc...

any help would be greatly appretiated

thanks,

[KayCustomz]

all there is to do in cali. is look for girls and rock a bad ass car. thats all me and my crew had to do in cali. early advice make a lot of friends as fast as possible cuase it gets really boring

[otis]

if possible, the best place to live is in westwood. You will be by UCLA where there are alot of girls, and good places to live. Santa Monica is kinda run down, I don't reccomend living there. Westwood is really close too everything..and in a good location to get out of LA when you want some beautifull open areas to visit.

[otis]

btw, what are you going to be doing at sony?

[PT Osborne]

thanks man,

I'm hired on as an animator at sony pictures, one of their soon to start projects. you probably know what it may be... thanks for the info... and how's the rent out there? I'm assuming its pretty high...

I'm quite excited about the job... never expected I'd be able to land it right out of school

thanks again for the advice...
Patrick

[otis]

rent is NOT cheap...unless you want to live in the ghetto with all the gang bangers.:rambo:
Look up rents online, you can get a good idea. I'm guessing a 2 bedroom apt will be around 1300 a month. If you plan on living in Westwood, call up UCLA housing, and act like you are a student and ask about roommates. Housing is hard to come by over there so you will not have any problems finding a roommate.

[McNallyism]

check out www.westsiderentals.com Sony should have an account there, you may have to ask about it. Thats probably the easiest way to look for a place in LA. Rent is pretty bad. the price for a liveable one-bedroom apartment hovers somewhere around $1000 a month. You may want to look into getting a studio or room with somebody. Playa Del Rey is a good place to start looking...

-Sean

[KayCustomz]

I never knew sony did any kind of animation, got any samples?

[PT Osborne]

thaqnks again for the help... my website has some samples of old work on it... only a few of the pieces went onto the demo that got the job.

portfolio (http://www.rsad.edu/~posborne)

there's a link to the site

[Feng]

My LA home is in Westwood near Overland (same road that leads to Sony...about a 5 min drive). Rent is not cheap: about $1,000-1,300 for an average single...and 1,200-1,500 for an average double.

Westwood is an ideal living location for me. It's right next to the 10 and 405 freeways, so you have quick access to all the studios on both sides (santa monica west, and burbank east). And yes, tons to do at night. Everything is open around UCLA, and if you live fancy and love shopping, beverly hills is just a 2 min drive. Hollywood is about 6 miles away, a 10 min drive.

-feng

[PT Osborne]

thanks feng... It didnt even cross my mind to ask any of you blur guys where to live. thats helpful information
Pat

[Charcoal]

Congradulations on the job. Ya Westwood is nice, but pretty expensive like people said. If your thinking about Westwood, you might consider looking below Wilshire Blvd. A lot of the roudy UCLA students live above there, closer to the school. Other surrounding places like Marina Del Ray, Santa Monica, Culver City aren't as lively, but should be more affordable. Also parking is a pretty big deal around here, so when your looking at places it's something to consider.

[fletchgirl]

yeah, parking is a HUGE deal. GET A PLACE WITH A SPOT!!!! otherwise it's just annoying. You will want one for when there are protesters at the federal building. ;) but it's great there, (westwood) lots of things in walking distance... it always looks pretty nice.... lots of people, :) lots of cars. :rolleyes: lots of food. yay for food. and there's a park. which you will never go to because you will be working hard.

[tarwater]

I have an LA question. How do taxes work there? Here in Texas the taxes are handled differently. Doesn't Cali have it's own income tax along with the federal income tax. Can anyone clear this up for me?

[Muttonhead]

Tarwater-

Like many states, California has it's own income tax, which is paid separately, and IN ADDITION to federal income tax. I live in New York City, where we have Federal, State, AND city income tax.

State income tax is actually quite common, have you only ever lived in Texas?

I imagine state income tax in California is probably quite high, as it is here in New York. Being one of the most liberal places in the Union with tons of state-run social programs, you can expect it to be pretty high, but perhaps someone who lives there can confirm this.

So in conclusion, it is not so much that Texas does federal income tax any different, it is just that Texas does not have state income tax. Texas probably subsists solely on sales tax, business taxes, and various tariffs. But that is just a guess. But I think it is less common for a state NOT to have state income tax, but that would be an interesting thing to investigate. I know Tennessee and Delaware have no state income tax, maybe New Jersey too.

-Muttonhead

[PT Osborne]

thanks for all your help, I've been here now a month, and yeah cali state taxes are high, I've found that about 40% of my check goes to the government and benefits.. I ended up living in hermosa beach, (figured I might as well live near the ocean while I can) thanks for all your help

[tarwater]

Thanks for the info. Yeah I have lived in Texas my whole life.
With 40% of your check taken away and rent and everything so high, how do you even survive? In Texas they only take about 18% out of our checks, and I thought that was high. Do you get any of it back later, or do you end up paying even more when it's tax time?

[PT Osborne]

well, salaries are higher to pretty much compensate the whole rent issue... as for tax season and refunds and such... I suppose I'll find out when it comes

[Pucky]

hey Pat! goodluck at sony!