Moving to a new city can be for a variety of reasons. It could be for that exciting new job, for schooling, it could be because of family, etc. This process of moving usually comes with some level of stress and anxiety. It could be for different reasons the fear of the unknown, leaving friends and family, and moving to a new city can be quite daunting, but often quite necessary. Before moving to Los Angeles, there are some things you need to know. These include:

The traffic

Los Angeles is the most populous city in California, the second-most populous city in the United States, after New York City. This has associated challenges, one of which is traffic. Navigating Los Angeles will often require a car, as the city is car-centric. There is a public transportation system, including buses, light rail, subway, and shuttle. However, if you don’t have a car, you can still get around Los Angeles using public transportation. The Metro Trip Planner is a great tool to use when planning your way around Los Angeles. Detailed instructions are generated on how to get to and from your destination. You can also download the Go Metro Los Angeles mobile app which is also a great tool to help you get around the city while you’re on the go.

You can reduce the amount of time spent in traffic by avoiding driving during gridlock hours between 7 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 7 pm. This can be done by planning your schedule to avoid driving during that period or by going to a gym, an eatery, a library, etc. after work. Your time will be more productive in doing these things than if you are stuck in traffic for hours. Also, you should learn a shortcut route along your commute. Learn the gridlock zones around you and avoid them as much as possible.

Getting an apartment

Moving to Los Angeles will require having a place to stay. This will often require searching for an apartment. This will be very important as it will determine the distance to the place of work and ease of navigating the city. Buying a house in Los Angeles is usually very expensive; the median cost of a house is about $714,000. Quite many couples who buy houses within Los Angeles make six figures income. The alternative is to buy a house in the suburbs and commute to the city. Since you are just moving to Los Angeles, you will likely be looking to rent an apartment. To do this, you will need to set a budget to work with. According to apartmentlist.com the average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in Los Angeles is $1,369, while the average rent for a 2 bedroom apartment is $1,759, so you can plan appropriately. Then the next step is to choose a neighborhood that is close to where you will work or school, this will reduce the amount you spend on transportation and also save you time spent in traffic. Then you can look for an apartment under the set budget in the desired neighborhood. This can be done physically or through the internet. In Los Angeles Apartment List, Apartments.com, Westside Rentals, Zillow, HotPads, Rent.com, Trulia, and Zumper are the most reliable listing sites for rentals.

Moving to Los Angeles

Before moving to Los Angeles, you need to know and do some important things to make the process easier. You need to decide if you want to move yourself or hire a professional moving company. You need to weigh the pros and cons of both options and decide based on your peculiarity. Then you need to decide on a moving date. Rent moving plastic containers instead of cardboard boxes which can fall apart and damage your property. An economical way to get moving containers is to rent plastic moving boxes from Royal Moving. Downsize before your move, in which you sell belongings that you don’t use or need, or you can donate to charity. This will save time and energy that would have otherwise been spent on moving them. You need to plan appropriately, have a moving inventory, a moving calendar, and a moving budget.

Cost of living

According to payscale.com “The cost of living in Los Angeles is 43% higher than the national average. Los Angeles’s housing expenses are 127% higher than the national average, and the utility prices are 8% higher than the national average. Transportation expenses like bus fares and gas prices are 31% higher than the national average. Los Angeles has grocery prices, that are 12% higher than the national average. Healthcare in Los Angeles is 10% higher than the national average”. Los Angeles is an expensive city to live in. According to apartmentlist.com, the average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in Los Angeles is $1,369, while the average rent for a 2 bedroom apartment is $1,759. The average utility bill is about $127 while you may need to plan about $500 for food monthly.
In Los Angeles, you need to know that there is an income tax rate of 9.3% and a sales tax rate of 9.5%.

Education

While considering moving, don’t worry too much about education. Los Angeles is a vibrant city that offers an array of experiences for you, one of which is assessed to quality education. Los Angeles has some of the best higher education institutions in the world such as California Institute of Technology, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Loyola University, and Occidental College. These institutions are world leaders in research and training world leaders.
Tourist attractions
Los Angeles is a beautiful city with many tourist attractions. Moving to Los Angeles, there are sites you should visit. These include:

Universal Studios Hollywood offers tours through classic films, with the selection of rides available from simulators to the roller coaster, with an immersive experience of movies like Harry Potter, the walking dead, Jurassic park, etc.
Hollywood’s walk of fame is a famous Los Angeles site for tourism. It attracts about 10million tourists in a year. There are over 2,600 stars on the Hollywood walk of fame, and more are added each year.
Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory is the largest state park in California. It’s home to the Los Angeles Zoo, the Griffith Observatory which offers free to use a telescope, a planetarium, a Greek theater, a riding center created for the 1984 Olympic Games, golf courses, tennis courts, hiking trails, and other attractions. It is free to the public.

Other sites to visit include the Getty Center, Museum of Jurassic Technology, Disneyland resort, Venice boardwalk, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Pier, the broad, Petersen Automotive Museum, the original farmer’s market, etc.

Lifestyle

Before you move to Los Angeles, you need to know the lifestyle of Angelenos. Los Angeles is a diverse city with people from different countries and cultures, living and working together. So Los Angeles will allow you to meet a diverse group of people. U.S. Census Bureau – 2013 American Community Survey:47.9% Hispanic or Latino, 27.5% White, non-Hispanic, 13.7% Asian/Pacific Islander, 8.1% African-American, and 2.8% American Indian/Others.
Los Angeles has one of the best foods in the world. It is a city that encourages healthy eating. You can easily assess a wide variety of food from different cultures and countries. For example, Thai food, Korean food, Chinese food, etc. are easily accessible.
And also you should know that dressing is more casual in Los Angeles. People do go to work in jeans. Also, keep in mind that people don’t tend to keep to time. One thing you may notice on getting to Los Angeles is the number of people you see in cafes during working hours. This is because many people do not work in 9-5 jobs.

Colorful Food Scenery

Considering moving to Los Angeles but worrying about food? Just like every major city, Los Angeles is not an exception, it has her wonderful myriads of expensive restaurants you can go for your special occasions. Be it your wedding, valedictory service or what have you. Getting a place to throw around your money is not going to be difficult. You just have to have that money, and you would be satisfied. Even with this, Los Angeles is still filled with the everyday restaurant where you can visit and have lunch with your friends or coworkers or relax with families. These probably maybe the best measure of the city’s food-loving scenery. Together with regions of various ethnic diversities and their different varieties of meals, you can be sure to have a mixed taste of different cultures.
Other things set Los Angeles apart in terms of its food culture. Many people usually complain of the scarcity of good pizzas in Los Angeles, especially the New Yorkers. But Los Angeles people wouldn’t mind their grievances, especially if they keep missing the amazing sushi, Korean Barbecue, or Thai food. The sushi in Los Angeles is just wonderful. There is even the saying that no other sushi is as good as Los Angeles in producing the best quality sushi. Traveling to Los Angeles is just synonymous to living in the sushi Land.
Then you should also know about the fate of Burgers in Los Angeles. After the indisputable wonder that Los Angeles has in sushi, the next best thing Los Angeles does is the burger. It is just something you shouldn’t miss when you travel to Los Angeles. You will never be disappointed.

Entertainment

Now I know you wouldn’t forgive me if I discuss what you need to know before moving to Los Angeles, and I don’t discuss the entertainment world of Los Angeles. Sometimes, some people even feel Los Angeles is not more than its own value in the entertainment industry. This is to tell you how important entertainment is synonymous with Los Angeles. Many people that live in Los Angeles happen to work in “the industry”. This is because the industry involves a myriad of occupations aside from the popular onscreen entertainers. Just like every other big industry or company, they usually have the human resources department, the accounting department, the facility management department and many more departments that I won’t be able to mention in this article. They are usually called the behind the scenes jobs which form the backbone of the entertainment industry. When you settle down quite well in Los Angeles, you will tend to realize how everyone you know is just one way or the other connected to the entertainment industry. Los Angeles has several times been called by varieties of people as the entertainment capital of the world. A visit will convince you.

The Technology Industry in Los Angeles

Yes!, just like I said earlier, Los Angeles is not only about the entertainment industry. There are also some key industries and companies that also help contribute in a large proportion to the economy of Los Angeles. An example of this is the technology industry. This is arguably the second largest industry in Los Angeles. It definitely deserves a better outlook than a supporting role in the entertain industry in terms of the Los Angeles economy and its contribution. This city is home to thousands of technology startup. Just Biotech and aerospace companies require the service of thousands of scientists and technologists. And there is this new technology company just having its prongs spread out in Los Angeles, it is called SpaceX and it is estimated to employ more than four thousand people. So it wasn’t surprising when statistics showed technology as one of the top three industries that are the highest employer of labor in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Weather

How can you move to Los Angeles without knowing the weather condition?
Hardly would you go a day without discussing the weather as a citizen of the United States. This discussion now becomes more beautiful when you get to Los Angeles. Because all over the world, the Los Angeles weather is usually known for its warmth and sunny outlook. The weather is definitely part of the ingredients that makes up the whole package of Los Angeles beauty. Different shades of flowers sprouting in wonderful places may be the first sign you see that tells you, you are in Los Angeles, thanks to the beautiful weather. Bird of Paradise, Hibiscus and other species like the Bougainvillea. But let me tell you a secret most people don’t know about Los Angeles. It is that Los Angeles is built on a desert basin; it hardly rains in Los Angeles. So a lot of efforts are being put daily to pump lots of water to the area to avoid excessive dryness and thereby make the city habitable for people.

Get A Quote