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USA
Los Angeles
Relocating to Los Angeles? The Expat Info Desk Los Angeles expatriate guide covers everything you need to know before, during and after you move.
- Edition: 1st
- Last updated: 11th August 2009
- Author: Ginger Liu
Why Los Angeles?
There are more than 140 languages spoken in Los Angeles making this busy American city a potential expat’s dream. Expatriates from across the globe, and other US cities, flock to this Western city in their droves. Many come looking for glory in the entertainment capital of the world; most don’t find their pot of gold or fifteen minutes of fame and head on back to their homes. Others are seduced by LA’s Mediterranean climate and famous beaches. For expatriates living in LA, like any cosmopolitan city, a little bit of home comes with you and perhaps nowhere else in the world is this more apparent than the city’s influx of ethnic enclaves, such as Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Koreatown, Thaitown, West Hollywood’s Russian population, and Santa Monica’s British and Australasian population. Los Angeles' Latin American influence is omnipresent. The city has the largest population of Latin American outside of Latin America. LA also has one of the largest LGBT populations in the country.
The EID guide to Los Angeles covers the following topics-
1) Living legally in Los Angeles
America is well known for its bureaucracy and expatriates looking to relocate to Los Angeles will face complicated rules and regulations. The Expat Info Desk guide to Los Angeles contains everything you need to know in order to ensure that you complete your application for visas and residency accurately and send them to the right people at the right time. We also provide information pertaining to social security and taxes so that you can be sure that your stay in the USA meets the requirements of the complicated laws here.
2) Setting up home in Los Angeles
The sheer size of Los Angeles is enough to make any foreigner’s head spin. Doing research before you go is essential. The Los Angeles Expat Info Desk Guide provides practical information on finding a home in this city and presents a comprehensive view of all the popular residential areas.
3) Navigating the infrastructure
Once you have found somewhere to live there will be a wide range of tasks that you will need to complete in order to settle in and start to feel at home. The EID guide to Los Angeles provides comprehensive advice and information pertaining to the nitty gritty elements you will need to take into consideration including: selecting and arranging utility and phone providers, finding places to worship, transportation, looking after pets, health and beauty, shopping and banking.
4) Having fun in Los Angeles
Expats living in Los Angeles all agree that this city is one of the best entertainment venues in the world. Our guide to Los Angeles contains full listings of hotels, restaurants, tours and attractions, music, nightlife and culture. We provide reviews of the best places to go as well as highlighting those that should be avoided. In addition we point you in the right direction for meeting friends and like-minded people.
5) Staying safe and healthy in Los Angeles
Like every large city, some parts of LA are safer than others. The EID guide to Los Angeles contains an insider’s view of which areas should be avoided as well as information about some of the common scams you may encounter. The guide also provides information about how you can assess health and medical services, which type of insurance you will need and how much you can expect to pay for all types of treatment.
6) Blending in
Adjusting to a new culture and assimilating with the local people can be very challenging for anyone who lives and works abroad. Even in the USA, a country with which everyone is very familiar as a result of popular media, expatriates can feel bewildered by what is going on around them. The EID guide to Los Angeles contains everything you need to know to assimilate quickly and begin to feel at home.
7) Reality bites
Written by an author who has experienced first hand the trials, tribulations and joys of relocating to Los Angeles, our writer offers readers the information and advice that she wish she had been given when she first relocated here. This is not a travel guide; it is a realistic insight into life in Los Angeles that will become invaluable throughout your relocation process and beyond.
Your only expat guide to Los Angeles; Feel at home abroad – Fast!
About the guide author
Ginger Liu Ginger Liu is a British expat who has lived in Los Angeles for more than two years. Her family, on her father’s side, comes from a long line of expatriates. Her Chinese grandfather was an expatriate in the UK and later in the USA at the turn of the 20th century. Her grandmother was a British expat living in the USA and later in China. Ginger Liu’s father and aunt left China after 1946 and they too became expatriates living in the UK and USA respectively. In the 1960's Ginger's family became expatriates after moving to the USA for a few years. Encouraged by her father’s internationalism and her mother’s tenacity, she studied media at University in London, backpacking across the USA in her summer holidays. After her father passed away, she traveled the world and decided to relocate to the USA. Ginger is a freelance writer in LA. Her articles on film, TV, music, art, travel, lifestyle, and food have appeared in numerous LA based web magazines. She is an entertainment columnist for Regent Media and a blogger for Pocket Change LA. Ginger Liu is also a LA event photographer and occasionally covers Hollywood red carpet events. Her blog, LA From The Apartment the Size of My Ass, is packed with entertainment news and interviews.
Features
Sample guide
If you'd like to read 4 sample chapters from this guide please enter your email address in the form below. You'll then be emailed a link to view the sample guide.
Useful links
- http://losangeles.craigslist.org
Craiglist for the Los Angeles area. - http://www.latimes.com
Website of the L.A. Times Newspaper. Packed with international and LA news. - http://www.lamag.com
L.A. magazine website. Features the latest trends and trendsetters in LA art, design, film, music, and dining.
Interesting fact
The city of Los Angeles is ranked the fourth largest economy in the United States compared to other states.
Currently we only accept payments in Pounds Sterling (£).
