Originally Posted by
prawn86
Thanks TWA much appreciated.
You are most welcome.
Originally Posted by
prawn86
Would i be right in saying that Woodland Hills is probably more 'suburbia' and less 'LA' than Beverly Hills/Westwood area? I'm assuming there are less bars/clubs/nightlife etc but i could be way off the mark. How safe are the subways over there? We took one there once and it didnt look too appealing during the middle of the day
Craig6z and
OskiBear addressed these questions before I had a chance to respond. Sorry, it's been a very busy day at the office.
I'll add that there are numerous clubs and restaurants in the valley and that you are within a quick drive of the west side or an easy bus and subway ride to Hollywood.
I have ridden the buses on the Orange Line and have taken the Red Line to Hollywood and downtown (I included links in my earlier post) and was never concerned for my safety. The transit system is well policed.
Originally Posted by
prawn86
Obviously i dont have a choice what office i work due to the nature of the role, but living and working in BH was appealing due to being in the middle of things.
The "middle of things" includes gridlocked traffic most hours of the day.
Originally Posted by
prawn86
haha obviously we are also going to have to get used to the scale of things. 20 miles here in Melbourne and we would be out of the city and that would be considered a decent drive
I live in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains not far from Woodland Hills. I am only a couple of miles from a gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (link is included in my earlier post). Trust me, after hiking for five minutes, you would be in wilderness area and not realize that you are in the middle of a big metropolis.
Likewise, the twelve miles road to the ocean via Topanga Canyon passes mostly through undeveloped mountain terrain. Take a look at the map which I linked earlier.
Originally Posted by
calwatch
My insurance must be unreasonably low then, because I pay $900 a year for full coverage from Mercury for a eight year old Acura TSX. I've been licensed a decent amount of time but I would think that basic full liability for a $5,000-10,000 car could be done for less than $100 a month, as well as registration for that car. The Vehicle License Fee is 0.65% of the sale price of the car, plus $30-40 in registration. I would suggest getting something basic until you are sure that you are going to stay for a while.
You are overlooking two factors.
First, you list your location as ONT, in the Inland Empire, where insurance rates are considerably lower than in Beverly Hills and the West Side which I was discussing earlier. It's the liability insurance that is expensive. A $5,000 - 10,000 car can cause just as much harm and damage as a $100,000 Mercedes Benz.
Secondly, insurance premiums for a driver with no US driving history will be substantially higher than those of a driver with a long US driving record.