Experiences from those who relocated to LA

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  • #16
    Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

    Could a person survive in a small motorhome? Any place to park?

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    • #17
      Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

      Now everyone's going to move to Oz instead.
      It's the eye of the Tiger, it's the thrill of the fight

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      • #18
        Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

        Originally posted by Jules View Post
        Now everyone's going to move to Oz instead.
        By all means, please do. Our government seems to be welcoming anyone with open arms lately.
        @TerranceMulloy

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        • #19
          Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

          Originally posted by Terrance Mulloy View Post
          God, it all just sounds so...hard.

          I applaud anyone who has the guts to move to LA to chase a dream. I really do. Here in Australia our government (as sh!tty as they are) assist you with looking for somewhere to live. That's right, they actually give you money to live on so you don't have to be homeless. The only catch is you need to be actively looking for a full-time job. And it doesn't run out until you find one. In some instances, you can still work part-time and receive some form of social security. You can even get an advance loan of up to $1000 - no questions asked - in your bank account next day - which you pay off fortnightly in small increments. All medical costs are also covered here. So if you break an arm while you're broke (ha!), the government foots the bill. I guess socialism ain't that bad a thing.

          I'm so glad I don't have to live in LA.
          We're very close to that system in New Zealand, and we still got the hobbit made
          I heard the starting gun


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          • #20
            Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

            Originally posted by Southern_land View Post
            We're very close to that system in New Zealand, and we still got the hobbit made
            Yep. Thanks to Mr. Jackson, NZ now has some of the best film making facilities and crews in the world. I wish Australia had half of what NZ has.

            I still think it's weird you people like fries with Chinese food, though.
            @TerranceMulloy

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            • #21
              Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

              I still am hard pressed to describe the experience of L.A. better than John Patrick Shanley did in "Joe Versus the Volcano":

              Joe: I've never been to LA.
              Angelica: You're kidding me! Whaddaya think?
              Joe: It's nice.
              Angelica: This is a great town. It STINKS, but it's a great town.

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              • #22
                Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

                Originally posted by Terrance Mulloy View Post
                fries with Chinese food
                You just opened up a whole new world to me, sir.

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                • #23
                  Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

                  Originally posted by Terrance Mulloy View Post
                  God, it all just sounds so...hard.

                  I applaud anyone who has the guts to move to LA to chase a dream. I really do. Here in Australia our government (as sh!tty as they are) assist you with looking for somewhere to live. That's right, they actually give you money to live on so you don't have to be homeless. The only catch is you need to be actively looking for a full-time job. And it doesn't run out until you find one. In some instances, you can still work part-time and receive some form of social security. You can even get an advance loan of up to $1000 - no questions asked - in your bank account next day - which you pay off fortnightly in small increments. All medical costs are also covered here. So if you break an arm while you're broke (ha!), the government foots the bill. I guess socialism ain't that bad a thing.
                  This should be the norm, not the exception.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

                    I'm amazed people still use the word 'fortnightly'
                    www.JustinSloanAuthor.com

                    http://www.CreativeWritingCareer.com
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                    Twitter: @JustinMSloan

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                    • #25
                      Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

                      Originally posted by Terrance Mulloy View Post
                      God, it all just sounds so...hard.

                      I applaud anyone who has the guts to move to LA to chase a dream. I really do. Here in Australia our government (as sh!tty as they are) assist you with looking for somewhere to live. That's right, they actually give you money to live on so you don't have to be homeless. The only catch is you need to be actively looking for a full-time job. And it doesn't run out until you find one. In some instances, you can still work part-time and receive some form of social security. You can even get an advance loan of up to $1000 - no questions asked - in your bank account next day - which you pay off fortnightly in small increments. All medical costs are also covered here. So if you break an arm while you're broke (ha!), the government foots the bill. I guess socialism ain't that bad a thing.

                      I'm so glad I don't have to live in LA.
                      I moved down there in July with 2 grand in my name, I wouldn't recommend doing it the way I did lol.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

                        I moved to Los Angeles when I was eighteen -- literally right out of high school. I had a few scripts, one pilot, and two or three contacts that were kind enough to let me intern for free. Obviously, I was lucky to have help from my mother, who was able to cover a very cheap overhead for about three or four months while I worked hard enough to find... well... work.

                        Suffice to say, it is brutal and difficult, but if you show enough passion, the work will find you. More importantly, I had saved up nearly six-thousand working through high school, and another three from the state of California through a bicycle accident. Basically, I was set up, but be prepared. It's everything.

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                        • #27
                          Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

                          I should probably add: if I was 10 years younger and single, I would totally be living in LA. Not being there does make it a million times harder than it already is.
                          @TerranceMulloy

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                          • #28
                            Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

                            PoMoTy and Roscoegino and others have given/related good advice...

                            But here's one thing I will write in caps because it's so very very important:

                            HAVE A SOLID SUPPORT SYSTEM

                            Unless you come here and straight out of the gate get repped and or get a great paying industry-related job, you need FRIEND(S).

                            The folks here at DDP can be a decent support outlet, but you need to have FRIEND(S) real people, not just contacts, that you can relate to, bitch to, whine to, commiserate with, and hopefully celebrate with. Writing is a LONELY ROAD. And LA is filled with crowded, but lonely roads and wonderful vistas that dead end, and winding vistas that lead nowhere. If you have the fortitude to walk those roads alone, God bless. You most likely will need someone to kick along the stones on the road.

                            For guys you'll need a drinking buddy(ies) coffee or alcohol, wing men. The kind of friend that you'd send a text "hey I just saw Eddie Murphy and his new girlfriend at a Starbucks", but even better, a friend to confess: "I'm getting nowhere with this story." And VICE VERSA it's a two-way street. That wing man and career-issue whining to person might be wrapped up in one individual, that's rare. They might be your buddy for one set of issues, or your girlfriend or wife (then you don't need a wing man, you can be the wing man) for another subset of the rejection and whatnot. But you need real friends, people. A support system who support you and whom you support.

                            For women, it's not much different, you'll need other women whom you trust, with whom you can share a glass of wine, and discuss the other BS you encounter over dinner. A support system who support you and whom you support in good and bad times.

                            Either way it's give and take.

                            Also, wives, husbands, girlfriends and boyfriends should not be your sole support system. That's not healthy for any relationship. And for girlfriends and boyfriends, it may shorten the life of your relationship sooner than expected.

                            For any city it's tough to develop a support system, but for LA it's impossibly quintessential.

                            Realize that a greater majority of people in LA in the industry see you for what you can do for them, and you may have the same attitude, so barter, negotiate with your contacts. Talent helps. Competition placements help, but personality is key. People want talented, bright people, and positivity. Those initial contacts that may help you or who you might help won't want to hear the bitching/whining. Managers, agents want to meet/rep the best you. The best most positive you is what you need to project. Not selling, but mirroring, be "real." It may seem like I'm digressing, but it leads back to having people around you with whom you can be a little down, have a bad week, bad day, let down the barriers, and not worry about editing one's words.

                            Managers and agents: not friends. They're not enemies, they can be part of a support system, but they do not constitute a real support system.

                            If you have friends there, or other friends moving there, that's the best way to start.

                            But if not, LA is a lonely place, so networking and circulating is a good way to start. It can come from working on short film projects, or taking classes, writing or acting classes etc. Find folks with whom you identify, share the same sensibilities, and aesthetics i.e., genre, favorite movies, directors, etc. It's like finding a romantic partner except harder.

                            Finding a support system, developing one is so key to surviving LA that I cannot stress it enough.


                            Good luck.
                            #writinginaStarbucks #re-thinkingmyexistence #notanotherweaklogline #thinkingwhatwouldWilldo

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                            • #29
                              Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

                              eh, i've been here going on seven years and haven't made a circle of friends. i've met people through work, and i have a great writers group of three. mostly, if i'm not working, i'm writing (which is what i came here to do). i've met people through my jobs and at events like AFF who know people in the industry that i can potentially call on when my stuff is ready. but until it's ready, no sense burning those bridges with half-baked work.

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                              • #30
                                Re: Experiences from those who relocated to LA

                                Originally posted by JoeBanks View Post
                                eh, i've been here going on seven years and haven't made a circle of friends. i've met people through work, and i have a great writers group of three. mostly, if i'm not working, i'm writing (which is what i came here to do). i've met people through my jobs and at events like AFF who know people in the industry that i can potentially call on when my stuff is ready. but until it's ready, no sense burning those bridges with half-baked work.
                                I agree with you. ETA: I've been here about six years.

                                My husband and I don't have a huge support system either (in fact for a long time we were our only support, really), and while sometimes it's been lonely, it hasn't really hindered us, mainly because we weren't ready to actually be represented until now. We probably moved to L.A. a little too soon. I don't really regret it though. There's a lot we learned simply from attending industry networking events and talks geared toward new writers that are all over the place, and while I did occasionally collect business cards and I stay active with many industry people on Facebook and Twitter, I didn't seriously network (taking working writers to coffee or lunch, for example) until the past year or so.

                                It's better to wait on serious networking until you're really ready, because Hollywood is so small it's scary, and from my own personal experiences, I now know exactly how small it is. And let me tell you, you do NOT want to be the writer that everyone knows isn't ready. I know some of those writers. It's sad because instead of actually writing and improving, they think the key is ONLY networking, and they end up with no writing samples to back up what they say they can do.
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