Thanks again everyone,

I must admit that credit is not somehting i had really considered before, as the checks here in Aus are not as strenuous (payslips usually suffice). We do have an AMEX card so might have to get a US version of that

I will talk to work about an executive apartment or about them paying the rent. The move is indefinite from works end, from a personal perspective we are going to give it a yr and see how i am going in the role and if we like LA, USA etc etc, so in short, it will be minimum of one year, probably longer

OK another question for you fine people;

Between the both of us we will need 6 return flights from LA to Aus throughout our first year over there. What FF program would you think we would be best off joining?

We dont have one at the moment and have no real preference of airline. I'm thinking one that might get us a few free/cheap internal flights within the US while we are over there

I'm not up on all the details, but I know that Virgin now has reciprocity between their programs. So if you fly Virgin Australia on those long flights, you can use the points for Virgin America flights (which tend to be inexpensive to begin with). If nothing else, the Virgin airlines products tend to be nicer than the competition (especially in economy).

Ok so i am doing a little contingency planning here. Hopefully i will be working out of our BH office and then we will live close by in an area that seems very suited to us.

I am however planning for Woodland Hills office and trying to figure out the best way that we can get back over the hills when we do want to go out. We are both young and obviously would want to go out clubbing etc in a new city, so living in Woodland Hills itself doesnt seem as though it offers much of that.

Questions:
The busses that run along Ventura Blvd from Studio City/Sherman Oaks etc, how long would that take in peak hour?

Is the Orange Metro line on the schedule it says or is it also delayed by traffic? I know it has a semi dedicated route.

What would a taxi from say Sherman Oaks to West Hollywood cost on a Saturday night?

Any other suggestions as to where to live so I can be within a 45min door to door public transport ride, and still be able to failry easliy get over the hills into Hollywood on weekends?

Public transit is just not going to work for your lifestyle. Being blunt, any bus line other than the Orange is the fallback method of transit for the less economically fortunate. You have to be willing to drive in Los Angeles, in order to have anything close to a social life. Do not delude yourself about this move to Los Angeles. You will need a car at almost all times.

I would imagine they're more concerned about DUI's, drunk drivers on the road, etc. for weekends than not owning a car.

OP: The subway in LA is pretty on schedule. I commute to LA on it when I am home for work. I can't even recall a single time where it caused me to miss a connection. It is also safe at night - although the late night crowds on LA subways tend to be pretty talkative to strangers. It alarmed me at first when the night riders would always try talking to me, then I put it in perspective and realized they were just a bit tipsy and feeling social.

My friend lives in West Hollywood and we used Uber to take a private car from WeHo to Studio City not that long ago. I can't remember the exact cost but it was pretty affordable. Cabs are not easy to come by - in most of LA (especially in the Valley) you will need to call for one. An app like Uber or Taxi Magic will make this much easier.

I have family that lives in Sherman Oaks and friends that live in Studio City - both are great areas (just make sure you understand how you will handle parking). I actually prefer the strip in Studio City with bars and good restaurants over the Hollywood clubs.

A taxi from Sherman Oaks to West Hollywood via Laurel Canyon or Coldwater Canyon on a Saturday night takes about 20-30 minutes, and definitely not the 50-80 minutes you stated.

The busses that run along Ventura Blvd from Studio City/Sherman Oaks etc, how long would that take in peak hour? Where would you want to go? Busses on Ventura are not a reliable transit method, and definitely would not fit the lifestyle you are attempting. For argument sake, to West Hollywood from Sherman Oaks probably 50-80 minutes,


PTravel,

You will note I was not answering a question about taxi drive time.

Craig

Agree with you. This could be a good lifestyle location for prawn, but apartments will be noticeably more expensive than in the West Valley.

Thanks Craig. We will be buying a car, but would prefer to have just one between the 2 of us. As such i want to be able to catch public transport to work and let the Mrs have the car during the day to do errands. Then on weekends we will use it to get out of the city, visit friends etc etc. If we are going out clubbing we wont want to be driving there however hence the taxi question.

For the Valley we like the look of Studio City and Sherman Oaks, but they are still a couple miles from the Orange Metro line, so not really walking distance. Is there anywhere along the Orange Line that is similar to these districts? North Hollywood perhaps?

Staying near North Hollywood would give you access to both the Orange Line and the Red Line subway. You can take the red line to Hollywood and Downtown. There is a great area around there called "Toluca Lake" where some of my coworkers live (married couples in their early 30s with no children). The NoHo arts district will give you stuff to do within walking distance and easy access to both the Orange Line and Metro Red Line (subway through Hollywood toward Downtown) for your wife if you have to take the car during the day.

Thanks very much, i'll check it out and see what rents are like within walking distance of NoHO Station which would give me access to the Orange Metro to get out to Woodland Hills if i do end up being stationed in that office

I see people have continued to offer great advice while I was busy for work the last few days.

Regarding Orange Line - it is a BRT that runs mostly on dedicated right or way (it was an abandoned railroad track). It definitely makes working in Woodland Hills and living in North Hollywood possible. In fact, you'd be crazy to not use the Orange line for commute to work if those are the locations you end up in.

Regarding frequent flyer miles, I think the only real feasible one for you is AA. The reason being that Qantas is the only one that offers daily flights to MEL from LAX... I'd imagine you are not that fond of changing planes at SYD. I know from experience that it involves a long bus ride from the international to domestic terminal. Sign up for the AA program and any flights you can earn miles and status on the Qantas (and other OneWorld carrier) flights.

Regarding credit checks - this is a real obstacle. Most expats I know have their employer set them up with temporary housing, usually for the first 6 months or so. Use the 6 month period to build up your credit... get the utility going under your name and sign up for credit cards (you may need to get secured credit card - you put a deposit at a bank, say $5000 and they give a card with credit limit of $5000). There are long term stay apartments that are fairly close to either Beverly Hills of Woodland Hills so you will want to talk with your HR department about relocation benefits. And if your company is large enough, they will probably be willing to co-sign a lease or help you put a large deposit down when you are ready to move out of the temporary housing.

Thanks again bzcat.

I am still waiting for work to show me what is on offer contract and money wise, so still unsure what office i will be based out of. Is NoHo a nice area to live?

With regards to rent i have found out that work pays for other members who are over there and that is taken out of our salary or whatever, so credit shouldnt be too much of an issue. I also have a Citi account here in Aus so hopefully that can translate across.

NoHo is ok. Kind of a transitional neighborhood. Used to be a bit blue collar but with relatively low rent and easy commute to Downtown LA via subway, lots of young people are moving there. It's also very close to Burbank (Disney and Warner) so there is a fairly high concentration of people employed in the creative industries.

The main street (Lankershim Blvd) used to be a deserted wasteland but with the subway and Orange line opening, and concerted effort to revitalize the area, the area around the subway station has become one of the more interesting part of the Valley.

See this story from the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/la-ca-lankers...7863.htmlstory