Chapter I: Why (And How) All Screenwriters Should Move To LA

In the first chapter of Screenwriter Survival Guide, we're talking about the all-important move to LA. Moving to LA is vital for any screenwriter, and today we'll discuss why. We'll also discuss how to go about making the move, where to live once you get here, and how to set yourself up for success going into your first industry job. Plus a grab-bag of additional random LA tricks.

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PART I: Moving to LA

• Why you should move
• The power of your connections
• How to find an internship
• School alumni/town alumni
• College exchange program

PART II: Finding a place to live

• The beauty of Coliving
• Sharing an apartment
• Getting an apartment alone (if you have to)

Resources for finding a place:

• Upstart, designed for artists (from $715/mo)
• Eddy.co (from $695/mo)
• Coliving.com (from $850/mo)
• Common (from $900/mo)
• Facebook Groups: LA Roommates, LA ROOMMATE SEARCH

My favorite neighborhoods:

• West Hollywood (WeHo)
• Santa Monica
• Culver City
• Silverlake
• Echo Park
• Westwood
• Chinatown/Little Tokyo (DTLA)

Neighborhoods to avoid:

• Hollywood
• The Valley

PART III: Finding a car

• Buy from a used car dealership (the one I used: Raging Motors)
• Craigslist (bring your vehicle to a mechanic before you pay!!!)
• Carsharing (Zipcar -- $7/mo, then $10/hr) (BlueLA -- $5/mo, then $.20/min)

PART IV: Grab bag

• Get a library card for a free subscription to Kanopy
• Make friends and connections via Meetup.com
• Join writer FB groups: LA TV Writers, Awesome Assistants
• Join AMC Stubs A-List ($19.99/mo) or Regal Cinemas Unlimited ($18.99/mo)

PODCASTS TO LISTEN TO:

• Children of Tendu
• Scriptnotes