How the hell am I going to move to California?

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1

This is a long. Ish. I really need some advice so I’ve included a tl;dr summary at the bottom.

I need to leave Michigan. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but we’re not doing too well. A few months back the state shut down due to lack of funds. I’m not joking, for a couple days we CLOSED THE STATE. The auto industry isn’t doing so hot, Chrysler was recently sold off to an evil investment firm in New York (Blackheart Amagalated or somesuch), and on a purely aesthetic note, there’s not a whole lot going on here. We’re rich, there’s lots of beautiful lakes, easy access to TGI Fridays and Applebees, mansions everywhere. But it’s a dead environment. It’s…suburban.

I want to move to California. Don’t bother telling me about the cost of living, the traffic, the pollution. Don’t complain about the Mexicans either, you big fat racist you. I’ve heard it all. I’ve been there. I want to get into the movie business, I want to go to a great university for free, i want to be in a place where there are people my age and some sense of momentum and energy and–good god, anything but this banality. Just take my word for it when I say I’m dead set on leaving Michigan for California.

Here’s the rub: I need a place to stay. And it has to be decent size. When my dad died he left behind a house’s worth of furniture I’m cramming into my 850 square foot apartment, and I don’t want to lock it up in storage, sell it, or leave it in Michigan. I’m too sentimental. The problem is this relegates me to a certain size; I need at least 800, preferably 850+ square feet to accomodate everything. It also has to be close enough to LA to fall within the influence of the movie business without suffering the abominable consequences of living in the city. I’m 90% sure the area just north of the city, the suburbs, are what I’m looking for.

So what’s the big deal?, asks the forum, not in a smarmy, rhetorical fashion, but with sincere desire to help. Why not just go on craigslist, or Rent.com, or any of the millions of unnerving, shady apartment websites prowling the dark recesses of Google Ads?

It’s not just finding an apartment. It’s physically inspecting it before moving in. About three weeks ago I flew to LA to look at apartments in person. I had an appointment to view one very nice-looking place; the closest thing I had to a “sure thing”. Two hours after I arrived in LA I called them and was informed it’d be snatched up. Not a problem. I have 24 backup places.

Within two more hours, I learned they had all been filled as well.

I spent the rest of my trip fighting Comfort Inn Van Nuys’ dodgy Wifi connection so I could continue getting apartments, trying to set up appointments, failing. I left LA without looking at a single apartment.

It’s impractical and dangerous to sign a lease without physically inspecting the property first. That’s common sense. but I can’t keep flying out to LA every time I see a prospective dwelling without knowing for sure if it’ll be there when I arrive. Plane tickets ain’t cheap.

I don’t have any friends or family in LA, so I don’t have anyone to stay with until I find a place.

For a while I figured my best bet would be to call a realtor. I’d call them up, explain my situation, and see if any would be willing to go apartment hunting on my behalf. It felt silly, but my options are limited. Then I discovered, to my shock and awe, that realtors apparently only deal in real estate. A lot of them won’t even deal with houses under 300k, let alone apartments.

So now I’m totally lost. I have to leave Michigan ASAP. I’m 21 years old, unemployed, and out of school. Every day I’m not working or getting an education is a day wasted, but at the same time, I don’t want to create any commitments to this state and especially this area. I need to move so I can start my life.

Synopsis: I need to leave Michigan so I can live in California, but I need a specific apartment size (800+) in a specific area (North Hollywood, Canoga Park, tarzana, Woodland Hills, even Van Nuys god help me etc.) and, most importantly, I need to see it in person. However, I’m stuck in an awkward time frame because I need to give my current apartment a 1-month notice that I’m leaving, as well as have time to pack and prepare for a cross-country move. I have no friends or relatives in the area, and realtors won’t help me. How can I pull this off without making repeated, expensive, risky flights out to LA?

2

Well it depends on your level of committment:

Step 1: School or establish residency? Which is priority #1?
A: If school= Enroll. Although at this point you’re probably looking at Fall 08, right?

Will assume residency is priority…

Step 2: Conclude all of your dealings in MI. Lease, bills, deposit refunds, transfers (cell service, internet, etc.)

Step 3: Pack your shit in a Uhaul and go.

Step 4: Arrive in CA. Rent a storage unit (for your stuff) and return Uhaul. Live in a hotel for a week or so until you find a suitable apartment / roommates for a house etc.

If you really want to move, just fuckin’ do it.

3

Why not win a UFC title and get some steroid endorsements so you can buy a mansion?

4

I already enrolled for the February term because I was so certain I’d be able to leave by the end of January, which makes this situation all the more bitter.

That said, Priority 1 is school. I intend to go to community college until I attain residency, then transfer out. I can’t stand any more waiting.

Step 2: Conclude all of your dealings in MI. Lease, bills, deposit refunds, transfers (cell service, internet, etc.)

Step 3: Pack your shit in a Uhaul and go.

Step 4: Arrive in CA. Rent a storage unit (for your stuff) and return Uhaul. Live in a hotel for a week or so until you find a suitable apartment / roommates for a house etc.

If you really want to move, just fuckin’ do it.

See, that’s what I was thinking, but the thing killing me is the danger of blowing a lot of money very quickly if I can’t find an apartment right away. Say I book a cheap hotel at $80/night and can’t find a place for a month. That’s $2400, assuming the hotel would let me stay there for one month straight. My rent in MI is $600, and that’s assuming I don’t eat out every single night, as I’d have to staying in a hotel, unless I booked a nicer one with a microwave and minifridge. In rent alone we’d be looking at an $1800 loss for what doesn’t amount to a sure thing.

Still, I haven’t ruled it out. I’m just wary about wasting more money after blowing a grand on my last trip. I’ll consider this a desperation powerplay.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention: No matter what I’m staying in Michigan until the end of January. My birthday is the 22nd and I want to use it as a chance to say goodbye to all my friends.

shit n/m cullion’s idea is better

5

There are weekly/monthly rent hotels that cater to travelling business type peoples that will solve your kitchen problem and probably come in a little under standard hotel prices. You do want to be a bit careful because some of them can be kinda sketchy, but you are young and need adventure.

6

Well, when I moved to florida I actually lived out of my car for 2 weeks while getting my apartment situation squared away. Find a methodist church and explain your situation and they will probably feed you and let you shower there. Living in a car for a few days, or even a couple of weeks isn’t that harsh. Especially a big one. I was living in a 2 door honda civic…
It’s absolutely feasible to move without arranging for living space as long as you can pay the storage up for at least a couple of months so your shit doesn’t get sold off to pay the bill. Also, make sure you provide your OWN FREAKIN LOCK for the storage unit.

7

Oh, another dramatic, completely-unseen wrench thrown into my plans:

I recently received a phone call from my long-lost Aunt Tammy. She was in a room with my long-lost Uncle Larry and my long-lost Grandpa Ray. I knew I had relatives in the Deep South, but my dad severed all relations with them when he moved to Michigan because he was afraid they’d disown him if they discovered he was gay. When my dad died, all contact with them was lost. He didn’t even leave their phone numbers.

Yet somehow they tracked me down, called to explain the situation and wanted to know how I was (they’d never spoken to me before) and how my dad was (dead, sorry). Everyone cried. I felt awful. They begged me to not be like my dad, told me that Southern Baptists aren’t monsters and that they’d never disown a family member over sexual orientation (something about Christianity being about love not judgement wtf?). They said they wanted to see me, and I told them that I’d soon be moving across the country and would go out of my way to see them all in Tennesse.

So! Now I have to factor in about an additional week to add to my cross-country trip, meaning either I’ll have to have movers put all my stuff in a Uhaul/storage facility without me being present, or convince a family member to take a week off work to drive a Uhaul to California according to my schedule.

8

I can’t give you advise on living in LA but I will tell you a true story about how my brother moved out there and got into the film business right away.

He bought a copy of variety called up production companies and asked to work for free.

One cheapo schlocky sci-fi show that was just starting out took him up on his offer.

When I heard the name of the show I laughed and figured well at least it was a job and experience.

The show was called…

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

And within a year he was the transportation coordinator making over 60k a year

true story.

9

I think I should stress here, amid all the convoluted details, that there will be a Uhaul truck, and that I have a lot of very large, very expensive, very fragile furniture that will probably necessitate professional movers. I MAY be able to convince a relative to drive all the way, but it’s not certain.

10

Is it just sentimental reasons you are holding on to all that furniture for? Because the first thing I thought was, “Garage Sale!” And then when I realized it was expensive stuff, I though, “Consignment!” Seriously, sell that stuff. It’s only stuff. And right now it is encumbering you and holding you back.

11

Just by chance. Which CC are you enrolling in?

Try to call someone at the CC (admissions / student life) that can hook you up with roommate services. Usually, decent size CC will have a department dedicated to helping new students relocate. Financially, you are either prepared and budgeted accordingly or you’re not competent to move to a place like LA on your own and should reconsider pronto.

Basically, all the rest of your post is personal baggage which only you can decide to carry around forever or drop. Sorry to sound harsh. Old furniture =/= your dad. Keep the few items you treasure the most and sell the rest. He probably would have wanted it that way and, in a way, his departure opens up a new opportunity that you may not have reached out for otherwise.

12

Just what LA needs, another dreamer. That being said, there are roommate services at UCLA, where I went as well- you don’t, or at least didn’t, have to go there to post. Good luck, you may have to go through two or three sets of roommates before you find a match.

13

He’s talking about stuff he remembers his father by.

If it’s going to affect the whole course of your life though Boyd, think about keeping a few choice pieces and selling the rest. If your dad knew his son’s whole set of dreams about the future were being jinxed by some furniture he left you, he’d probably have stipulated the stuff be burned in his will.

14

That’s funny, but true. Your dad would only care that you are happy, not that you had some couch or something to remember him by. If it were me, (of course I’m a terrible dad whose raising a pussy-in your words Boyd) I’d want to have you sell every last thing and keep just some photos of better times. You are going to need every cent in LA. And if you don’t have a nice car, forget about getting a lot of pussy until you do.

15

Speaking of pussy, all the hot alternachicks are in Silver Lake. Also, most of what passes for tattooed, indie rockin’ youth culture. You may want to consider that neighborhood if you’re into that sort of thing.

As for the rest, I can’t help you with the problem as you’ve stated it. This albatross of expensive furniture is going to make the whole process suck, and might lead you into a series of decisions that will obliterate your bank account before you can accomplish anything out there. Sell it now and move in with some flatmates while maintaining a decent little currency cushion, or sell it later (for less) in desperation, then move into a shittier place with junkie roommates while thinking wistful thoughts about the money you spent maintaining an extra 450 sq ft of air conditioned storage for some inanimate objects.

No matter what happens, good luck. I’ll buy you a sandwich the next time I’m out that way.

16

Have you considered taking up heavy drinking instead of moving?

17

Three days into the bender he’ll be in LA anyways, only he’ll be broke, naked, and trying to remember why he’s driving a taxi…

18

Do not move to California with a bunch of physical baggage Boyd. There is only pain and suffering down that path. Besides everyone else leaves all their stuff behind. Instead they bring along all their mental baggage. If you want a clean break from Michigan, you need to leave 90% of your material possessions behind.

If you can’t bear to sell the furniture, can’t you foist that stuff off on your mom until you have enough space and money to bring it out, or better yet, take it to Tennessee and tell your relatives there it’s all you have left to remember your dad by. Then guilt trip them into storing it for you. Tell them how you used to come across your dad crying over his family photos or something.

19

Tom,
Heavy drinking is a side effect of living in Michigan. If you lived in a state with miserable weather and the worst unemployment rate in the country you’d be a heavy drinker too. I moved out of Michigan, got a job and low and behold I stopped drinking so much. It’s weird really, now if only I didn’t end up in Georgia.

20

Dempsey, your problem is you went TOO FAR south. Augusta is too close to Florida, it gets all shitted up by association. Get back up around Athens and the ATL and Georgia becomes more awesome.