I can handle the heat, not sure about the smog. By plenty to do im assuming just the usual city things?

Thanks for the maps, worked perfectly, i should of thought of street view, just been stressed trying to get the contract sorted. Nice to see an Aussie co (Westfield) representing :)

Yeh thats the plan. Probably only spend 5k on the car. As i said we just want something reliable, and i would rather be as close to work as possible so i can take public transport and/or walk and then just use the car on weekends

Slightly off topic, but what are the odds of the Wife getting a PT job? I know the market over there is extremely tough. She has heaps of experience working in customer service and jewellery stores, but no formal qualifications. Would the Aussie accent be enough to score a job in retail? ;)

I live Woodland Hills "adjacent", and worked in Warner Center for thirteen years. It is a middle to upper middle class suburb, with decent schools, a fairly low crime rate, good shopping, and moderate housing costs. Moderate is a loose term when it comes to Los Angeles, but it would be noticeably cheaper than Beverly Hills and adjacent Westside areas.

Public transit is not truly functional this far out in the suburbs. Woodland Hills has a transit hub at the Promenade Mall in Warner Center, but really just feeds a busway with a (somewhat) dedicated right of way which heads due east to Universal Studios. Only when you get to Universal Studios can you pick up the subway. There are also local bus lines that parallel the 101 Freeway going east (again toward Universal Studios), but these are not used by the typical middle class resident.

Every family has two cars. It is not impossible for you and your wife to live with one, if you live in an apartment near Warner Center (there is plenty of quality complexes within 2km), and are willing to walk to work.

In regards to your wife working, there are two large regional malls in the Warner Center area. So a retail job would not be out of the question. However, will she have a proper visa that will allow her to work? Due to the "I-9" rules, employers can't take a chance.

Lastly, about the heat and smog. Woodland Hills is the hottest place in the City of Los Angeles. If it is 92 degrees in Downtown Los Angeles on a typical summer day, it will be 104 in Woodland Hills. Humidity would be essentially non-existent though (maybe 12%). Personally I do not consider smog a problem in the South San Fernando Valley. I've lived in this neighborhood for 29 years, grew up in the Southeast Los Angeles area, and remember what serious smog was like. Maybe ten days a year a typical person will really feel the effects. There are plenty of other days that will look murky, but won't have respiratory concerns. That's often related to temperature inversions caught in the San Fernando Valley due to mountains surrounding it, mixed with light fog.

Do not hesitate to contact me via PM, for more details.

I wanted to eloborate on this: it is my understanding that almost no "part-time" employers will sponsor employment here in the states and there might even be some difficulty getting sponsored by a full-time employer without some special certifications/skill-set.

I am born and raised in the US, but the firm I used to work with occasionally brought people over for 1-2 year assignments from Australia and Europe on secondment or sponsored full-time hires who were originally from other countries but went to college here in the states. I have heard stories about it being difficult to leave the company because of the difficulty in finding someone else to sponsor them. Someone else who who more experience in the area will know a lot more than me though - so I'll defer to them.

The good news is that it will be MUCH easier for your pay to support both of you in Woodland Hills than B. Hills. Do not be put off by the fact it is outside LA. It will be a short drive into LA on weekends, but it is still very accessible and your standard of living will be much higher.

Australians have their own special class work visa. That's why we have such a influx of Aussies moving to California in the last few years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-3_visa

Woodland Hills is more affordable than the West side. And if you live around Warner Center, you can probably walk to the office. Pretty good location as far as the Valley is concerned.

For night life, it is obviously not as interesting down in the LA basin. But it is a cost of living trade off that many people in LA choose to accept.

History of smog in LA
 

LA is substantially less smoggy than it was 50+ years ago, and LA and California were and are the drivers of air pollution mitigation requirements, pollution control devises on cars, etc. throughout the country.

Here's a link to some great historical info and photos on LA smog.

Yes i beleive this is the Visa we will be on, so the Mrs can pick up PT work if possible, and as a way to meet people.

Thanks to everyone else who has contributed to this thread, extremely informative. I may PM you at some stage Craig, once they have confirmed which office i will be working out of

You are most welcome.

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.

The "middle of things" includes gridlocked traffic most hours of the day.

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.

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.

I have lived in Westwood for most of my life (I'm 50). I own an older garden apartment building in Westwood just off of Santa Monica Blvd.. I have had Australian tenants, previously (some with no American credit rating). I take a credit report all the time, these days, though. That's something most landlords require before making a decision to rent. I can turn you down just for having no credit history so that may be a problem for you. It is pretty much a landlords market right now, too.

I can't believe anyone would suggest the San Fernando Valley - especially Woodland Hills - to anyone at this time, if they are going to be working in the Beverly Hills area. The traffic on the 405 is MURDER with the construction that is going to go on for probably up to another 2 years (not to mention all the gas and wear and tear on a vehicle). This the most expensive road construction project ever in America, already. My cashier at Ralphs on Olympic & Barrington finally got a transfer to near his home in Woodland Hills. He use to spend up to 90 minutes ONE WAY in traffic.

You shouldn't have to pay for water. Most buildings pay for it. I agree that gas is cheap. Gas heating and gas hot water heating is a big plus. I pay about $12 a month in the summer. The most I've ever paid is $75 for one month in the winter. LADWP (Los Angeles City) power is cheaper than any other city. Lowest bill you can have is $72.15 every 2 months (LADWP bills every 2 months). That includes a nearly $50 Sanitation (Trash) fee. My normal bill is about $150 every two months.

I have a 2005 Acura TL. I pay about $2500 per year car insurance. I have much more than the normal minimums but no tickets.

If you can learn how to play the restaurant coupon game, eating out in Los Angeles is actually VERY cheap. There is an incredible amount of competition here.

Your best bet is the Westside, period. It never gets hot so you'll save on a/c bills and all the fill-ups for driving further away not to mention the time. Plus there is plenty to do all the time on the Westside. Nobody here has mentioned Craigslist for apartment hunting http://la.craigslist.org/apa/ . Yes, you have to watch out for some bogus Craigslist listings but I advertise on there. It will give you, at least, an idea of what rentals are near your work.

You can get an older but cute 2 bedroom, 1 bath place on the Westwood for around $2K (slightly cheaper in some Westside areas). I should know, that's what I rent my apartments for. Hardwood floors and all...

Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Los Angeles are the only cities with rent control in Southern California. If a tenant voluntarily moves, though, and under some other circumstances such as a major rehab, apartments can be rented at market value. This isn't New York City style rent control or what Santa Monica once had which was struck down by the California Supreme Court.

In the city of Los Angeles, the cap on yearly rent increases is (basically) 3% IF the apartment was built by October 1, 1987 or prior. There is NO cap on rent increases at any time if the building was built after that. http://lahd.lacity.org/lahdinternet/...language=en-US

I don't see any problem with the Palms area west of Overland. Some areas of Culver City are nice. Mar Vista most areas are just fine. West Los Angeles west of the 405 below Santa Monica Blvd. can be a little lower priced, too. These might not be as nice as Westwood or Brentwood but they are fine areas with lots of apartments.

Thanks for your advice. My co is a US one, so would payslips from them be sufficient as credit?


Ourt other office is in Woodland Hills, so i am not sure which office i will be stationed at, hence why we have been talking about it, no way i want to commute for more than an hr a day if possible

Did you miss this?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say "probably not, but you never know". I rent out a room in my house for a ridiculously low about and I run a credit check - just because someone has the income now to pay the bills does not mean they are responsible enough to remember to OR that they will actually put the money they make toward paying rent.

Do you have any rental references in Aus? If so, I would imagine those would help - I know I would give them some weight.

If this is not a permanent "for the rest of your life move" and you intend to go back to Aus at some point: Has your company possibly considered making your rent payment for you in lieu of compensating you extra? That is what my company is doing with my housing here in NYC - they are paying for the housing through AP. The contract was very quick that way -all they needed was the company's EIN (Tax ID) number and a signed contract.

I am not a tax expert, but I believe this might be a deductible business expense for them - meaning they would not have to pay you more so you can pay for the apartment net of tax.

I was going to suggest this, too. And either way, the OP should consider "executive apartments" which come fully furnished. The rent is nominally higher, but without the expense of buying furniture, kitchen appliances, etc. and then having to decide what to do with it all at the end of the assignment to the U.S.

It depends on the landlord. Certainly showing income helps. Mom & pops, like myself, are normally more flexible/likely to rent to you. Corporate owned/managed can be more rigid in their rules and requirements.

I get a combined credit report that includes evictions. For some landlords, the eviction part of the report weighs heavily in their decision. Since you really won't have either, a credit history or (no) eviction (report), it may shy away some landlords from renting to you. Again, they can legally turn you down just for those reasons. Get a Social Security or TIN (tax identification number) as soon as you can when you get here.

MOST places ask for a 1 year lease and you haven't mentioned how long you will be here (if it is a year or more, don't worry about it). The reason for asking for a lease is it does cost me plenty to prep an apartment and I don't want to be doing it that often.

BTW, I ask for first month's rent and security deposit equal to the first month's rent. I don't see too many landlords that ask for first, last and security anymore. The MOST a landlord can ask for by law in California is double the amount of monthly rent for security deposit (with few exceptions such as you have pets or a waterbed, for example) for an unfurnished apartment, triple for a furnished apartment. I am open to negotiate payment of the deposit over a couple of months.

LADWP asks for a $200 deposit plus a new fee to turn on the electricty (or change the account into your name) for new customers. They refund the deposit after 1 year of service (as a credit towards your bill). My last tenant to move in was asked to pay a $100 Southern California Gas Co. deposit but I don't know what their rules are. Time Warner has most of the cable tv/internet in the region and only asks for pre-payment of 1st month's service. Installation can be had for free. They have plenty of promotions and bundling.
We have Verizon wired phone service/internet in my part of West Los Angeles (west of Beverly Glen). Although most of L.A. is AT&T, the coastal areas of the Westside are Verizon. No Verizon Fios in my area.