How old do you have to be to work in california kitchen?

Moving to california?

• me and my friend sean live in minnesota we have no plan to stay here after we graduate highschool. our dream is to live in california and live life to its full extent. im a sophomore and he is a junior, now dont play our age against us were here for advice. we want to move to the L.A. area any area near either fullerton or a good proximity to venice. our desire is that sean will take a year after graduating to wokr and build up starting money. during that time i will be finishing my last year of highschool. when i graduate we want to move asap. so what im asking is how can we economically make this work so that we live in a moderately sized rental apartment (two rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and maybe a living room. very minimal just enough for two guys to live comfortably. sean wants to work at a local head shop while he goes to a technical school for glass blowing, he also wants to obtain a liberal arts degree in ceramics. i want to obtain a degree in technologies and IT support, as well as a teaching degree in either science or U.S. History. so how can we affordably complete this over a period of time, we understand this isnt a quick thing to get to. so focus your answer on affordable housing (including property tax) inexpensive colleges (community colleges are fine), and wed like to be away from the bad areas, and close enough to the fun leisure areas of california. thank you, sincerely a 16 year old with a dream.

• Answer:

  Most people who ask this question are unprepared, unrealistic, with no money, no experience, no skills, and no plan. Not only are you 6 for 6, you're even more unrealistic than the majority who ask this. If you are outside the United States, you will need a visa (even if you're Canadian). The nice folks in the immigration forum can help you with that. However, getting a work visa is extremely difficult unless you are highly skilled and sought after (such as a doctor, scientist, or A-List celebrity). You need to have a sponsor. You could also try for the visa lottery, but that’s obviously a longshot. You need a plan: First item on the agenda is rent. A decent 1BR apartment in LA currently goes for $1200, give or take. Nicer areas and areas closer to the beach are much higher. Don't expect to move to Santa Monica and get an apartment on the beach for that much. Or Toluca Lake, or Beverly Hills. A 2BR will run you at least $1500 Next, you will need a car. Los Angeles is VERY spread out, and train service is extremely limited. If you don't have a car, you will have to take a bus, which takes 3 times longer to get anywhere than a car. All told, it generally takes about $3,000 per month to live here. If you don't have a job that pays that much or skills that can get you that kind of job, stay where you are. If you are unskilled and work for minimum wage (or for tips like bartending or waiting tables), you'll only make about $1200 per month. And speaking of jobs, they are rather hard to come by now. College grads seeking employment are having a very tough time of it right now, since the job market is flooded with experienced people who were laid off. Unemployment is over 12% right now. Not exactly the kind of job market you want to move into. Finally, you will need money. Landlords want first month's rent and a security deposit up front. You'll need money for food, transportation, utilities, etc. The consensus in this forum is that you need about $10,000 to start out. For most people, especially those just graduating HS, the math just doesn’t work. So there's your plan. And please don't tell us that you have dreams of being an actor or singer. That sets off another alarm. We already have a million (literally) wannabe actors in this town. Don’t even get me started. If you are looking for safer areas, go look at www.lalife.com and read the maps. For neighborhood info, see http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/n%E2%80%A6 or check out http://www.neighborhoodscout.com.