Tips for moving to california?
polycounter lvl 5
I imagine quite a few of you live in california? I'd like to make plans to move there and start saving. But I live way over in florida and know nothing about living in/moving to california.
So for anyone who has experience moving to california, any tips that could help me during the move?
Like what places are best, where I might be likely to find rooms to rent, etc. Along with any other tips, my aim is to move there to socialize with other artists and eventually find work.
So for anyone who has experience moving to california, any tips that could help me during the move?
Like what places are best, where I might be likely to find rooms to rent, etc. Along with any other tips, my aim is to move there to socialize with other artists and eventually find work.
Replies
This is not something that is going to happen.
Living in California is extremely expensive in any place aside from some spots out in the middle of nowhere. Food and gas are both expensive compared to other states, and the housing market is unbelievable. My wife and I pay $1720/month for a 900 square foot apartment (and this is scheduled to go up by another $200 soon!), and a guy I know who's working in Redwood City just moved into a one bedroom apartment and he's paying $2200.
Don't move out here unless you have a job lined up and a significant savings already.
People don't realize this about California but it is a super diverse state. You could find somewhere affordable in california to live,the problem is you are still going to be several hours from any hub with game jobs.
LA and the Bay area are the two main hubs and they are both some of the most expensive places in the country. They are also 6 hrs from one another.
Well, being honest i'm not 100% sure what goes on in florida, certainly isn't happening much in jacksonville.
EDIT: Wow you guys made that super unappealing. I did not realize it was that bad.
There are a lot of game hubs in the U.S. Check out Austin, Seattle, or North Carolina.
Also, like someone else mentioned, I'd imagine Florida has its fair share of studios.
Florida has a few game studios but they're few and far between. I'll tell you what Florida is known for though is simulations. Orlando (near UCF) is one of the primary hubs for creating military (and otherwise) simulations. I've been working in sims for almost the past 5 years now and it's been great. It's not as glamorous as AAA games, but I use the same tools as anyone else and it puts you into a team environment with deadlines. Also, the pay tends to be a little bit higher starting out. The biggest hurdle is passing the security clearance and you have to be a US citizen.
Don't get me wrong, simulations isn't always the coolest thing, but it pays really well and it is more or less in your back yard.
Thanks for the help guys!
Huh thats interesting, Well I figured I should focus on work more likely to get me a job. What kind of work would you say they're looking for with that kind of work?
You will probably explode from allergies in Austin; I seem to be immune so far.
I live in Los Angeles. I live a 10 minute walk from the beach. I pay 700 a month for my 1/3 of a 3 bedroom apartment. I manage to save a lot of money per month.
The fact is, LA is not a place where you can live by yourself unless you have a solid bit of money. You will have to live with roommates. Plus side? Helps kickstart your social life and because everyone is in the same boat, everyone is always looking for roommates.
I like this city and do not plan to leave anytime soon. Yes, it has flaws. Many many flaws. But it's not impossible to live here. Plenty of out of work aspiring actors make it by with their waitress jobs just fine. They're not begging in the streets.
To be fair though, unless you have a 12 months of living expenses saved up (1 years lease on whatever apartment you get included) that you don't mind spending, I would not recommend moving somewhere new without a job.
I moved to LA early this year from Boston (I'm from Canada.) In order for me to move, I need to have a Visa purchased by a company...so...not having a job isn't an option for me. That being said:
You "can" make it work, but you really need to be smart about it. i did a similar move when I was alot younger (from east Canada to Vancouver) and it was the best move of my life. At first, i ended up working shit jobs and lived in a crummy apartment but eventually worked my way up. Like aesir is saying, it's totally possible. I know a lot of people here that have roommates or live out of the city (the Valley is cheaper, for example) and, like others are saying, it's not exactly cheap in general. Just be smart, don't dive into a downtown condo on your own with no job, save a bunch of money now and take the plunge. Get a roommate, maybe get a cheap car, and get a job to make ends meet - then bust your ass in your off time to work on your art and make connections in the industry.
This city isn't as bad as people say. I fucking love Los Angeles. But, like any city, you can slip and mess up pretty bad...like..living alone with no job will probably kill you. But thats not LA, the same would happen in Boston, or Vancouver (using my experience)
I think, no matter where you are, being social in some small way will keep your spirits sharpened. Not necessarily happy, but if it's positive, it'll be iron sharpening iron. Emphasis on positive.
Right now, to be honest about my situation, Reality LA has been keeping me grounded during my current period of waiting for my first real intimate game development project (hopefully in LA, it still feels like home). Without people from my RLA Community Group, I would suspect that I would be introspective in a very bad way. But being able to, say, serve sandwhiches on near Skid Row with some RLA people, etc., I think has been a blessing from the Man/Woman/It from upstairs that was unexpected.
I know for us we typically look for the ability of hard edge modeling. Not to toot my own horn but these are some of the projects I've done in the past year. If you are able to create hard edge modelling mainly with props, weapons, and vehicles then you are pretty much set (at least for what we do.) We use VBS3 as a game engine which is the military license of ARMA3. We also are starting to use Unity and I know some other houses use UE4 and CryEngine 3 as well.
For some places it is really not so different than game studios.
I will say though, that we tend to push the envelope a bit (military wise at least) as a number of places still stick to diffuse texturing low poly models. It really can depend on where you apply.
and here i was thinking that £500 p/m mortgage for my 3 bedroom house with massive garden was too high =[
i feel so bad for some people.
But if you can afford to live in the good parts, it's awesome, so there's that...
I don't really have any aversion to roommates as I've done it before for a short time. And my standards of living are pretty low already, I don't need much to be satisfied (lived out of my car a few times which i definitely wouldn't do in LA).
As for work I currently do sales for marketing companies and I have a good track record so I figured I'd see if I could transfer there for that or find something similar. So it's not like I'd have no work just not high paying work (here it's $14 an hour which is good here but maybe not there?).
Again, I havent lived there, so I might be wrong, but I have lived in areas cheaper than SF/LA and even there, 14$/h wouldnt cut it.
http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/
With all my heart, don't come to Cali just to find a job, come to Cali when you HAVE a job. It's expensive and can be quite annoying without a car (as florida).
Just my 2 cents.
Ya it's expensive, but it's expensive for a reason. Cause it rules. Plus if you move to Southern California we got the most precious treasure.
Tacos.
get money, lots of it
I'll definitely work around my options before making that leap though. I can wait a bit longer and see what works out here.
Thanks for sharing all your experiences guys.
side note, I lived in Florida for 18 years and moved to Cali for college for 4, then to Boston for a job. I loved California. Only place I know were you can go to the beach, then dessert, then the snow, all in one day. It comes with a big price tag but its fun. I defiantly agree that community is important and I got that right away from the people at church I fell in love with.
A car is a must. No getting around that. Gass is expensive. Food is amazing. Infrastructure is very good. No hurricanes. No humidity. No mosquitos. No red ants. Its like the best of florida without the florida part.
If you want to move somewhere with more studios but reasonable cost of living, think about Texas.
My last place was £700 p/m plus council tax on top of that; and that was for a 2 bedroom flat. With a flatmate, but still
I'd say moving anywhere without work lined up is risky, but having never done it myself I'd feel weird about trying to sway you either way. If Cali is that expensive then there are plenty of other game hubs out there in the states, Austin jumps to mind.
He mentioned allergy problems, this isn't smoke it's pollen
[ame]
I'm browsing the companies in florida and there's a few surprises in there (wha? developers of dungeon defender are here in florida?), along with some other good/ok ones. None of which seem to be hiring but I'm not in any hurry yet.
Alternative places is rhode island and pittsburgh since I have family there. I'd need to check out what's out there too.
*Also for people mentioning cars I do have a car I would drive wherever location with*
Yeah I noticed
Another thing, it's really hard to get friends in LA unless you go to events and stuff. It can feel really isolated sometimes, especially if you're used to having a group of people you enjoy being around, and you suddenly find yourself alone, with a few acquaintances you aren't crazy about, in a new city.
Cities like Azusa and Covina can be quite a bit cheaper and is only 30 minutes via train to Union Station granted you could also drive though the traffic would be extremely stressful and probably take at least an hour most days.
If you don't mind an hour or 2 on the train you could even find housing as far out as San Bernardino county/Inland Empire which is still developing and can be a bit less expensive. It's much less cramped but you probably won't get the LA networking with people that you would living in LA.
Also, So.Cal. in my opinion is yes more expensive that most areas, but its definitely manageable if you do not mind the commute as said above. Its really only stupid expensive due to the convenience of not dealing with 1+ hrs of traffic. if you do not mind the commute on a train or in traffic (traffic will slowly destroy your soul, trust me, especially if you drive manual), then you can prob find a decent living situation for 800-900/mo in just rent with a decent amount of space.
Like I said though, do not move out here with hopes that with a slightly bigger job market that you will magically get work. I am not trying to be a dick, I just want what is best for a fellow game dev. Don't make it harder on yourself with a fresh move, more expenses, etc, when you can achieve the same kind of preparation for a job in the industry right where you are.
That being said, I love So.Cal. and would be hard pressed to settle down anywhere else.
Also have you guys been seeing some of the new laws that are hitting us in 2015? More taxes! In fact, theres another gas tax to make it even worse. I really cannot comprehend the thought process of those people creating policy in this state. Every year that goes by, the 6 State proposal seems far more enticing.
1. get job offers.
2. take one of them.
3. move to where it is.
Oh no i meant that purely as places to apply where it's easy for me to move.
I can't speak for all of California but very recently I had to make the difficult decision to turn down a position because the cost of living (after doing some serious number crunching) was just too damned high moving from Texas to LA. (at least for my family). In the end it may have worked out, but most people I spoke with at the time mentioned they commuted 45min-2hrs to avoid paying astronomical amounts for rent. I've done the long commutes before and just couldn't surrender to a nearly 30-45% Cost of Living increase + the insane commutes.
The situation is definitely tricky. I would recommend Austin but the game industry has been so unstable here for the last year or so. Still, I love this city and it's a nice middle ground between some of the more expensive cities like LA and Seattle. You get a nice mix of music/art/entertainment here while still being able to afford a house if you ever want one.
Yummy yummy cedar fever!
Speaking of Austin...
If weather is a consideration. Austin feels like the Sun is somehow much closer to the earth and setting my shoulders on fire with heat.
Seems like the same temperature in San Diego and LA is still a beautiful day.
I do like the full effect of four seasons that u get in the northeast ( very literary ).
But as I get older it is easier to acknowledge that the enjoyment in large part is relief after suffering. And I really start missing how the Pacific ocean can make every day a beautiful day.
Traveling...
In general is adventure. Particularly if u r young and right out of college. Something very romantic about saying fuc it and leaving security and comfort for some reckless abandon! Got friends around the world and a couple books worth of adventures to carry me to a regret-less grave. ( on the downside I have dug some pretty terrifying holes and hit rock bottom couple of times as well... ) Fear never seems as bad in hindsight tho.
Though I must say I was single the entire time. The only expenses I had were mine and mine alone save the occasional spout of dating. I didn't care for the $18 per can of PBR scene and I rarely ate out at hyper expensive trendy places.
Gas was the big expensive ticket, but due to a stroke of luck the company I was working for moved to a new building just a few miles from where I was living so I could walk/bike to work. We also had a lot of people who lived farther away to save on rent but failed to see the expense that a long commute added. Gas + wear and tear on your car ended up costing more than they were saving on living costs. Plus the emotional wear and tear of bumper to bumper freeway traffic twice daily.
Now that I am married and have a family, there is no way we could afford to live in that area.
My take on it is this. Go for it (once you have a job secured). Even if you move there and end up moving back a year or two later, you have the experience. Don't ever be that guy sitting in your local bar 20 years from now going, "I coulda moved to California (or wherever)". While Cali was expensive and full of nuts and fruits, I loved every second of it and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
Hopefully my current job will let me transfer :O
I guess what I'm saying is don't get too comfortable, stay hungry. If you're just chilling in Florida, hoping to "eventually" get a job, time to shake it up. Whether that means moving or making other changes is up to you.