Melissa Lavallie: Are you really sure you want to do this? You don't say where you are from so there is no way to compare living costs but LA is very expensive compared to Kansas and the traffic is the worst the USA has to offer. An hour commute is called a short drive. Two hours on the parking lot they call a freeway is not odd. Log on to traffic.com at 7:30 am or 5:00 pm and see how bad it is.
Joaquin Dronko: I do realize the distances between the areas. I said somewhere between VV and LA becasue at some point in the FUTURE I may get transferred there. If that be the case I would relocate to somewhwere closer to VV but would not be able to do so immediately becasue I would have to ride out my lease. I know my money issue is not great. Worst case scenario would be rent a 1 bdrm for 6 months and just couch surf and let my kids have the room until I get my 90 day pay increase....Show more
Russ Kiernan: My current position is odd and I would have to visit each ! of those areas, just not on a daily or even weekly basis. I need to be able to travel to each of them on different days and my hours are also flexible.
Long Woltjer: To Max: Cincy = Cincinnatti ... that's where she's from :DTo the writer: Yikes is right.See, here's the thing about LA. Greater Los Angeles is over 4,000 square miles. Huge is an understatement, but the problem is that we have an abysmally bad public transportation system. It is getting better, but it's still pretty bad, which means that, as you already know, we are chained to our cars and traffic is the worst. If you're going to have a territory that covers Bel Air, Long Beach and Malibu, but your office is located in Victorville, my advice to you is this: Determine how often actual presence is required in the Victorville office. If you have to actually BE in VV all the time, and only go to Bel Air, Long Beach and Malibu sometimes, then definitely find something out towards VV to live and then do the dri! ves to the city when needed. Another key piece of advice I can! offer is to GET A HYBRID. The amount of money you'll spend on gas getting to and from these places is considerable. Even though I'm sure you'll be given some kind of travel allowance for gas, it's still an option you should consider. There is no "quick way" between VV and Long Beach, or between VV and Bel Air, or Malibu. You are utterly dependent on the freeways all the way. I'm a driver - I drive for a big fat movie studio, but lucky for me that I walk to work and get to drive a company car. If I lived in VV, no WAY would I commute. blech ... that idea just gave me an all over shiver.Now, as an LA native, I can also offer some insights that I hope will be helpful. You sound like you have a lot riding on this move, and what I'm about to say might sound a little harsh ... but I just want to make sure that you a) know what you're doing, and b) REALLY want this and/or have no other option. Please consider the following:The unemployment figures here are the worst they have bee! n in decades. What I tell everyone to do before they take any job here is to save up at least 6 months of living expenses first (usually that ends up being around $10,000) to sustain themselves in case something terrible happens *knock on wood*. I get the feeling that you're not in that position right now ... and given the fact that you'll be living on a very tight budget contingent upon a 90 day pay increase that may not happen (again, not to put a damper on your plans, but things happen! Unknown factors might affect your job performance, agreements made between you and your employer may not be met, the company might fold ... you MUST consider everything !!!), and given the fact that you have children who are going to be adjusting to a completely utterly new kind of environment away from all that is familiar and might give you problems because of it ... and given the fact that LA is the kind of place that chews you up and spits you out unless you have a solid plan and a so! lid back up plan ... are you SURE you want to do this?Are your kids old! enough that they won't have a problem if you're stuck in traffic and can't get home in time for dinner? Best of luck to you, and please let me know if I can be of help.*big hug*...Show more
Gennie Shauer: The problem is that you don't realize the distances involved, the sheer volume of traffic, or the price of real estate in LA. For one thing, Victorville is 100 miles from LA, and is a 3 hour commute at best. Once you get down the hill to the 210 freeway, traffic slows to a crawl around Glendora, and takes 90-120 minutes from there, especially if you are trying to get to the west side (Ble Air or Malibu), or South Bay (Long Beach). Is your company going to give you a driving allowance? I live in Brea, and I wouldn't even think of trying to commute to Bel Air or Malibu. That's where the worst traffic is. As for finding a nice area "within an hour's drive", that's a tough call too. An hour in LA traffic doesn't get you very far. And the going rate for a 1 BR apartment ! in LA is about $1200 per month. A 2 BR runs about $1500. You might be able to find a place for less, but you're going to be giving up something, such as safety or locatin. In addition to the other places, you might want to check out western Riverside County. Corona's pretty full now, but Menifee is up and coming. But the commutes here are a killer....Show more
Tatiana Evanosky: Yikes, this is tough. Forget Victorville, but even getting a place close to the others is going to be hard. I'd suggest you get an apartment in Long Beach, it's the cheapest of the places you listed and within an hour or so of the others.
Shandi Wedge: There might be a suitable apartment in Long Beach or Culver City/Palms (West LA area), but anywhere you're likely going to have to do a lot of legwork to find something at the right price. Some landlords won't want so many tenants in a one bedroom, but you might find some who will be OK with it. The problem with a 1 hour commute, is with ! bad traffic or an accident, it can easily be double that, and it can ha! ppen often. Then perhaps then there will be problems with childcare, or just being away from your kids so long. FYI; the boat to Catalina is about an hour each way. If you're going to work in Victorville at some point, you'll probably want to live out there at that time. It's less expensive than in LA and the commute there from anywhere around LA would be a major hassle.You can get an idea of safety stats here: http://www.lalife.com/School info: http://www.greatschools.net/Good luck!...Show more
Tommy Durrenberger: note if you are going to catalina you can NOT drive thereyou will have to take a ferry to catalinaLA is very expensive really everyplace you lookif you end up in victorville your commute time will over 2 hours each way
Dexter Gold: If you want a commute no more than an hour or so to these places, you'll need to live within the LA metro area, nowhere near Victorville.Since you say your kids will share a room I'm assuming you're looking for a 2-bedrm ! for 1200 a month, safe and near good schools. You might want to try the west San Fernando Valley, it tends to be quieter. It's still the city of LA so the schools aren't great but there are relatively safer areas, Northridge, Chatsworth.Good luck!...Show more
Caterina Yeargan: You will have to live in the LA area unless you want to commute for hours daily.
Debora Rinderer: I would try to find something around Westchester/Marina Del Ray.. that seems like it would be centrally located and they sometimes have a boat out of Marina Del Ray going to Cat. Island. Get a short term lease with a buy out clause, because if you get transfered you are going to have to move...VV is a LONG way from any of those places and is in San Bernardino County--way east from there.
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