Moving to LA

[Tomlettegregg]

I've been offered a job in LA which would mean relocating from Sydney with my husband and 1 year old. Anyone have tips on what sites to look for a 2 bed apartment or general areas that are suitable for the office (Alsace / Playa Vista)?

Any other advice to bear in mind for a US relocation very welcome. I moved from London to Australia 5 years ago but that was pre baby and apart from being told the traffic in LA is dreadful and that I need to sort health insurance via work the advice to date has been patchy!

Also any insight on working life in America.. I know 5 days is the norm and minimal holidays which I'm a bit nervous about.. we're treating it as a 2 year experiment so won't be for the long term!

Working hours are definitely longer. Expect to start earlier and finish early evening...my DH is often on calls at 7am and rarely finishes before 5.30pm..

Annual leave can vary. Dh gets 4 weeks plus all the public holidays so is pretty good by US standards. He also gets sick leave now!! Used to be that you had to take it out of your annual leave entitlement.. so I would check the policy on that.

But higher salaries mean people can afford cleaners, eat out regularly, and join leisure clubs etc... go away for weekends.. tons of stuff to do in California.

Housing on the west coast is hugely expensive. As are most other things...Will you be on one salary? Hopefully your DH will be able to work... most people afford the lifestyle as both parents work full time... it can be tough on one salary even if on paper it appears high.

I would recommend a Health Savings Account along with your health insurance.. unless you have very generous coverage from your employer.

Thanks very much. Yes expecting long hours which isn't unusual in my industry. We'd be eligible for the E3 visa so my husband could work but expecting him to look after our daughter at least in the short term till we're settled in because I have no idea of the childcare situation (nanny vs nursery and how long wait lists are) or where we'll base ourselves.

The single salary would be the same as our joint so should be manageable for a while but yes I'm anticipating high rents. We're currently in a 3 bed house but sure we could make it work in a 2 bed apartment if necessary.

Brit in la here, with a toddler (via way of nyc). Things to know: credit history does not transfer, so getting apartments can be tricky. You’ll want a car from day 1. Daycares have pretty giant wait lists assuming you’re doing one, if you have a young one, it’s really hard to find a spot. Also It’s less that work days are long/no holidays and more that when you do take time there’s an expectation a laptop comes with you or you reply to a few emails a day. In the last 10 years I’m not sure I ever turned off completely. La is beautiful, sunny and the hikes and children’s activities are great. I really do love living here with a little one! Any questions just shout.

Just saw your last response. Mar vista is close by Culver City, a very family friendly area with great school districts, walkability and shops/restaurants. We’re looking to move there in 6 months. A 3 bed 2 bath goes for $4500+ a month, usually a bit more. Daycare for our 2 year old starts at $1600, infants range up to $2250. Nanny at home usually ask around $25 an hour but that enters a grey zone of paying benefits vs cash in hand. On top of that we usually run $150 a week in groceries, then incidentals, petrol ($100 a tank right now), any medical bills, dental etc. just as an idea. There are cheaper places to live. I like culver though as it’s so central in la so if one of you gets a job in Santa Monica, century city or downtown, it’s possible to not have to move. There are a lot of remote work opportunities here too as a lot of la bosses see how bad the commutes are so are being flexible.

Thanks so much, all that info is really helpful. Daycare sounds similar but housing definitely seems more expensive. It took 16 months to get my daughter into nursery here so I'm not holding out much hope for getting that sorted easily hence why I'm quite keen for my husband to be at home initially. I know he'll want to contribute though. No issues on answering emails / being on call, that is typical of my industry.

What's the equivalent rightmost/primelocation?

Take a look on Zillow for housing.

Why would you want to? Have you ever been there? It is a shithole.

Zillow is pretty good, apartments.com also decent and I’d say a fair amount actually does go on Craigslist. The la market moves very fast, we really struggled to find somewhere more than 3 weeks in advance which kills my ocd self

Usually the under 1 daycare age is the hardest to source. By 1 it is better, by 2 the ratios of workers:babies improves a lot and it’s much easier to get a spot. The nanny situation can get a bit odd. I think there’s rules re. Tax and providing healthcare if a certain number of hours are worked. Some prefer cash in hand to avoid tax, but the government now monitors bank app transfers, venmo (online payments used in the us) etc so it’s a risk. There is a $5k a year childcare tax credit I think and some employers allow a pre tax deduction for this. Aside from that, as someone else recommended, use a HSA account for health costs (pre tax) very useful. A FSA is also useful but if not used in a year is almost always lost, and that’s painful.

Agree with PP - have you visited?
I went for 4 days on holiday and couldn't wait to leave. It's the only place I've travelled that I really did not like and won't be going back to!

In order to get an HSA, you need a qualifying high deductible health plan (minimum deductible of $2,800 for a family) and the employer must offer an HSA. Generally speaking if your employer offers the HSA it is worth taking.

If you don't have an HSA the FSA (flex spending) is still worth it, just be careful how much you save the first year as it won't roll over. Our deductible is too low to qualify us for an HSA, but the FSA gets used all the time; it pays for medications, the kids eyeglasses, etc. With 3 kids I usually wish we could save more!

With just 1 baby I would prioritise convenience over space. Does the company have anyone to help?

OP do bear in mind most of the respondents on here haven't lived in Sydney.
I've lived in Sydney (Bondi) for 10 years and considered LA and travelled there for work. My god LA has nothing on Sydney. The cost of LA is too much, inability to find healthy brunch, infuriating tipping culture in LA (I am asked for tips even at subway, or when ordering a gelato... or a takeaway coffee), beaches are filthy in LA compared to Sydney!
Awful public transport in LA too. So many Homeless people in LA too, crime is way way worse than Sydney.

I put my money on you coming back to Syd within 6 months.

I don't think anybody sane who has been to Sydney and LA - let alone lived in either - would say LA is preferable. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

@TheGirlOnTheDragon dunno, I do have some Sydney friends who moved to LA. There are a lot of Aussies there.

Main reason my friends have moved is because of the housing costs - they got a nice house in West Hollywood just behind chateau marmont for $3mn (few years ago) and they're from Vaucluse in Sydney where a similar house would set them back $15+mn
To own a nice house in Sydney is so out of reach for most people.

I don't know what other reasons Aussies move there for.

Thanks guys, fair point but yes we've both visited LA and would like to live there. I'm not comparing it to Sydney because as I say it would definitely be temporary. It's a great opportunity workwise so that's the main reason we're open to it.

We own in Sydney so would be renting our place out while we're gone and have no plans to try and buy in LA.

There are some nice parts in LA. The OP is asking for help and doesn’t want to scream from the rooftops that they are upwardly mobile people who have an income that enables them to afford the livable parts of LA.

Take a look at Zillow for housing. For childcare, when new to an area, Bright Horizons is my go to. It’s pricey but it’s consistently good childcare. Don’t consider public schools and start looking now at private PreK. If it’s less than $30k ask how they fund the program because you can’t deliver a good program for less. Lots do it because they have huge endowments or the church funding the school. Religion in the US is next level and I have one of my children at a school backed by the Catholic Church because I have no other choice.

I don’t know much about childcare as my kids are older but I think Culver City or Mar Vista would be great. I love living in LA, came here by way of NYC and quality of life in LA is so much better. All the things people hate about it really don’t impact your daily life and the weather, and the outdoor activities more than make up for it. Sure traffic is bad but people tend to stick to their local areas for most things (aside from commute but that has changed a lot since Covid with people still wfh). People tend to go in to work earlier and leave earlier compared to other cities to give them opportunities to do stuff after work. I life near the beach and there are a lot of Australians around who don’t seem to hate it!

Why are you telling her not to consider PS already? Her baby is 1; that's years off anyway.

Also LA has tons of non-religious private options assuming you want to spend the money. (worth noting that on the west side of LA, there is a large Jewish population and some of their daycare/preschool options are excellent quality and really minimal religious content.)

I fucking hate people who tried to get to universal studios to Disneyland during rush hour and spent 4 days here saying LA is a shit hole - your opinion is not being sought on this thread so get back under your rock.

OP I’ve lived here for 10years, I actually live in Mar Vista that @madeleine85 mentioned (good luck with your move too!) and it is a lovely area and also well located for getting to other places. You’ll want to be as close as poss to Playa Vista cos commuting on normal hours is a ballache. Also look at Marina Del Ray, loads of apartments blocks overlooking the water with pools etc and you’re right on the beach and the bike path for work.

Culver City is also a great option - Playa itself I find a little soulless but I think up in the hill (Manchester Avenue) towards Westchester there’s more going on

all other advice from people who actually know what they’re talking about is spot on - what is your industry though? If tech don’t assume the usual terrible American holiday allowance, a lot of companies adhere to unlimited PTO these days

my DD went to a lovely preschool in Venice that has sadly shut now but there are a huge wealth of options - we managed to get a place for her to start aged 2 when she was 20months old and we paid $800/month for 3 full days a week, you just have to find those gems!

I actually have friends in Mar Vista moving home to Minnesota looking for rentals for their family home (has a pool and a pool house on top of the 3bedroom house on a lovely street that has a block party every Halloween) PM me if you want the details!!

I fucking hate people who tried to get to universal studios to Disneyland during rush hour and spent 4 days here saying LA is a shit hole - your opinion is not being sought on this thread so get back under your rock.

Never been or intend to go to to Universal Studios and don't have a rock. So, no.

There are some nice parts in LA. The OP is asking for help and doesn’t want to scream from the rooftops that they are upwardly mobile people who have an income that enables them to afford the livable parts of LA

Yeah some parts are ok. Not like Sydney though. I get what the OP said though about just doing it for work for a couple of years. It makes sense if they are not considering it as a permanent move, otherwise it would be nuts! In so many ways. But yeah, fine for a bit if they pick the area carefully,

"Upwardly mobile", Jesus. New money, perchance?

I didn’t know what other phrase to use! Upward as in moving for a promotion and mobile as in they have moved from London to Sydney and are now moving to LA. To someone sitting in Skegness it sounds wonderfully exciting but as someone who moved abroad for a promotion and married someone who has also made moves for their career, it’s a bit scary moving to a new place and having to figure out housing, childcare etc.

In a lot of places you get into the private school at PreK3. Admissions is when the child is 2-2.5 depending on their birthday. In LA there is no way I’d touch public school. California has some wacky ideas when it comes to education and my kids are not an experiment. Everyone in our LA office, even the assistants, use private schools. The Catholic schools are very affordable but have larger classes. The Catholic schools start at about $10-12k a year for fees and they have schools which cost more but they generally keep the fees as low as possible. The elite schools are $50-60k a year.

OP - Renting a place, it won’t come furnished and check with movers to confirm estimated shipping times. My kids can’t cope with the chaos of moving day so I’ve had things arranged ahead of time. For our last move I set up the basics before they arrived. That meant they had their beds made, cutlery I knew they would like, proper plates, serving bowels etc. Nothing fancy, but definitely made it a lot easier for them. I donated their old their beds and we now have loads of plates, bowels and cutlery! Highly recommend Costco. Get the credit card!