Auditing classes at UCLA (i.e., go back to school... for FREE!)

Mike going back to school has inspired a bit of an itch in me to learn (so geeky, I know) and since I'm planning on getting my English-Chinese translation certification at some point over the next couple of years, I looked around a bit to see what's offered where.
 
UCLA Extension is the continuing learning branch of UCLA which offer a wide range of courses for part-time study; you might have seen a few of their buildings in Westwood. I found out that you can go to the first lecture of ANY of the classes they offer for FREE!!

Classes began this Monday and I've already taken three classes: acrylic painting for beginners, elements of design, and intro to art history. Here is the monochromatic "egg painting" I did in Monday night's class, it's got potential, right? :)

Most of the classes consists of 12 meetings per quarter condensed into 3-hour lectures which means the first class is not just your standard boring discussion of the syllabus but actually dives right into the subject which is neat, and a great opportunity for anyone wanting to try out a class before they commit. It's also pretty cool to meet and listen to all these different professors, their stories/backgrounds, and the way they teach. And the best thing about all this? Because it's not something you have to do, going to school is actually fun! ;p

If you're like me and prefer to read through a print catalogue (course outlines) and highlight the ones you're interested in, you can pick one up at any of their locations. Or you can look at the course descriptions on the website or download the e-catalogue online. Here's the fine print on their official policy for "Visitors":

You may attend, without charge, the first scheduled class in a course of 6 or more meetings -- unless otherwise stated and if space/enrollment limitations permit. Visitors are not permitted at single-admission, weekend, or online courses.

You're supposed to call them (310) 825-9971 to check if a course has closed (meaning full) before you visit, but I was also told that checking the status of the course online would suffice. Locations/times don't tend to change but I'd say the website would be more accurate than the print catalogue. Also, even if a course is full, I would still go and check it out because there are almost always no-show's for the first class. Sit in the back if you're feeling self-conscious (but then it might be extra awkward when you have to shout to explain that you're just visiting) or get there early and ask the prof if it would be okay if you sat in.

There were also a number of very cool classes where visitors were not allowed. We don't have the extra budget for me to take these classes out of pure interest, but if you do, I would totally recommend signing up! Here are a few that caught my eye:

• Exploring the Los Angeles Art Scene: A 6-Month Program
• Fashion Forward: Dress and Style throughout the Centuries
• Vintage I, or, An Introduction to Wine
• Sneak Preview: Contemporary Films & Filmmakers

Now, the Extension classes are smaller (plus/minus 20 people), often participatory, and take attendance, so it would be quite noticeable if an extra person (i.e., me) was there without being registered. Plus I'm not one to break the rules and it's not fair to the other students there who are actually paying to take the class.

On the other hand, the undergrad courses on the main UCLA campus, especially the lower level ones, tend to be enormous and often with many absences--I must admit I skipped out on my fair share of classes back in undergrad--so you can happily sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

Here, again, is the official policy on auditing from the Registrar:

With the consent of the instructor, registered students and interested individuals are permitted to audit classes. Arrangements are made directly with the faculty member under any rules the faculty member may establish, and those auditing ordinarily do not participate in discussions, examinations, or written papers. Audited classes are not recorded on the Study List or on transcripts for regular session courses.

The 2012-2013 academic calendar will help you figure out when terms begin and end. Then, look through the course catalogue (or download the PDF version) to see the descriptions of all the courses available. Finally, check out the Schedule of Classes to see details on time/location the course is held and go to class! (Try not to be late, it's rude and disruptive, especially for someone who's not even paying.)

Happy Back to School! :)

FREE rides to/from campus on the BruinBus

From Monday through Friday, UCLA offers three free BruinBus routes to/from/around the campus. I tried it for the first time yesterday and it was great, especially considering it's FREE. They come around every 8-10 minutes so if there's people waiting at the stop, chances are the bus is coming soon, and if there's no one, then the bus probably just left so you can either wait or start walking. You can get real-time information on when the next bus is coming (online or via text). You can also sign up for alerts. Here's how.

Check out the routes below or download the PDF map:

They also offer a bus to/from the University Village apartments, a grocery shuttle on Saturdays, a rooter bus to/from the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena for football games, and BruinCars which is a car-sharing rental service, similar to Zipcar (more on this later).

Internet

Setting up Internet at our new apartment couldn't have been easier. Based on what we'd heard from other people, Time Warner Cable pretty much has a monopoly in the area when it comes to providing Internet service, so that was easy, no research required.

I literally called up the 24hr toll-free number (1-888-892-2253) the day before we were supposed to move in, gave them our address, phone number, credit card, and they booked the installation for our move-in day. You get to pick from a few 4-hour windows, they call a half hour before they arrive to make sure you are there, they show up, it takes about an hour and a half, and ta-da, you are online. Easy as pie.

Here's the pricing breakdown:

• $50 deposit (because we don't have social security numbers/credit history in the US) which will be returned to us when we leave TWC;
• $50 installation fee (which if you just tell them you want to check their competitor, they will waive pretty happily);
• $39.99/month for their "Standard" service (up to 10Mbps) which is the most popular package they offer and basically all we need (if you do a lot of movie streaming or downloading and whatnot, you might need to upgrade). Also if you sign up for 12 months or more it goes down to $29.99/month;
• $2.50/month to rent the modem.

Anything above the "Standard" service also gives you free access all over L.A. to TWC WiFi hotspots. There's a hotspot finder app and then you just put in your TWC email address and password through your browser and you're good to go.

The Househunt

Househunting the L.A. Way

Back when we visited the school in April during Admit Weekend, we were given the down-low on how one goes about househunting in this area. Basically we were told that there was so much student housing around and such a high turnover that there's really no need to worry too much about it. Most people drove/walked around for a few days, called the phone numbers posted on the "For Rent" signs and were usually able to view those apartments either right then and there or on the following day. Most places were move-in ready and the landlords wouldn't really care to talk to you if you are looking at moving in several months down the road because they couldn't be sure of the vacancies that would come up between now and then anyway.

So we followed their advice and went on with our summer holidays and left figuring out where we were gonna live come September for later. When people raised their eyebrows at us for being so carefree about this, we just shrugged our shoulders and said, "Apparently that's how they do things over there!" and it pretty much did go exactly as they said, at least in our case.

Where to Stay While Househunting

We were especially lucky to have met these awesome people back in April who offered to let us crash at their place for a few days while looking for a place to move in to. If you're like us and have thick skin, just ask around and see if anyone will be kind enough to take you in which is definitely the cheapest form of accommodation since it is free.

If you don't know anyone in the area or are too shy to ask, consider staying at someone's house or vacation rental which will be the second cheapest option and infinitely nicer than motels. Both AirBnB and Holiday Lettings are websites that connect private home owners and people looking to rent vacation homes (the latter of which is the British version of HomeAway but better because I used to work there and know so). I've not ever tried home swapping but that could be an option as well.

The most expensive temporary stay option would obviously be a hotel, but even then you could sometimes get a pretty great deal. I've used Priceline a number of times and had good results (basically how it works is hotels will sell them their empty rooms for way below rack rate on the condition that they don't reveal the name of the hotel until the very end, so you tell the website you wanna be in a particular neighbourhood and pay x amount per night for a 4-star hotel and find out where you're staying on the last page. The mystery bit is kind of fun. Here's more on how it works.)

Neighbourhoods & Rent Prices

We learned that UCLA students generally live in three major neighbourhoods:

1. Westwood is the area immediately surrounding the campus & Westwood Village where you can find restaurants/bars/movies/groceries/pharmacies/clothing stores/etc. Apartments north of Wilshire Blvd tend to house more undergrads (read: noisier) whereas the areas south of Wilshire have more professionals/grad students.
2. Brentwood is two miles west of campus, on the other side of the 405 freeway. There are loads of apartments in this area (mostly professionals/grad students). Lots of people bike in to campus from here as crossing under the 405 during rush hour can turn a 5-minute drive into a 40-minute one. Apparently a good number of the rich and famous live in this neighbourhood and the farmers' market on Sundays is supposed to be excellent.
3. Santa Monica is six miles west of the 405 freeway and has a gorgeous beachfront, a pedestrian-only promenade with great shopping/restaurants/bars. And it's Santa Monica. It sounds like most Anderson kids move out there in their second year to have that whole live-by-the-beach lifestyle but it is more expensive and has fewer vacancies.

Mike wanted to be as close to campus as possible in first year because he was going to be spending a LOT of time at school (especially during the first quarter) so he didn't want to add on any commute on top of that. Following the advice of those before us, we steered clear of the Westwood Village hub and the streets that hugged either side of the campus which were full of undergrads and the fraternities that housed them.

Based on the "Estimated Student Budget" (more on this later), you should expect to pay about $1,400/month on rent. You will quickly realize that this is on the very low end of the scale, and most likely based on someone who is single and living in university housing. For the most part, a 1-bedroom in Westwood ranges between $1,995-$2,300 and 2-bedrooms $2,500+. Parking is almost always included (everyone drives in L.A.), some utilities can be, and most buildings have a laundry room on every floor but in-suite laundry is rare.

Here are a few of the buildings we went to look at during our househunt:

• The Palazzo is a gorgeous complex with newly finished units in the heart of Westwood Village with state-of-the-art amenities including in-suite laundry and way out of our price range ($2500 for a 1-bedroom).
• 10982 Roebling Ave is also super close to campus and Westwood Village and the 200+ units are privately owned. This means you're not dealing with a property management company but with private owners and there are pros & cons to this. Right outside the building there is a bulletin board above the intercom which has all the vacancies. The building was built in the 70's but was refurbished in 2006 so all the units have new appliances/countertops/bathroom fixtures/etc. The amenities include a beautiful pool/BBQ area, a nice gym, a rec lounge with pool table, and a half indoor basketball court. A 1-bedroom rents for around $1850/month but because they are privately owned and there's competition, there's some room for negotiation, especially if you offer to pay 6 months upfront (but I would be wary of doing so). For such a massive building the hallways were very quiet, but I don't know if that is the case once school started and students moved in.
• Kelton Towers (515 Kelton Ave) had absolutely the cheapest units that we saw in Westwood (west of campus) and a high turnover. The units were old and dingy but I was confident they could be given a makeover and personal touches. We very nearly went for it as you can't beat $1400 for a 1-bedroom (the one we were interested in was a 1-bedroom that was partitioned like a 2-bedroom for $1500) and $2150 for a 2-bedroom. I'm kind of glad we didn't end up there as there are some scary reviews, but as one tenant put it, "you get what you pay for", and this may be the right place--and more importantly, price--for some.
• Along Hilgard/Tiverton on the east side of the village there were lots of good options too but they were on the pricier side because of the location. There was a 1-bedroom at 972 Hilgard for $1,995 and a beautiful newly renovated large 2-bedroom unit with in-suite laundry in 964 Hilgard from $2,995.
• The four blocks south of Wilshire (see map below) are filled with nothing but low-rise apartments and you can easily spend a day in this area alone. We saw a huge bright 1-bedroom loft for $2,195 in 10969 Wellworth, a 2-bedroom for $2200 in 1350 Kelton, a 1-bedroom for $1,995 in Park Rochester, and quite a few others. This area is about a 15-minute walk into the village and another 15 minutes to campus.

This is the map of the area south of Wilshire with nothing but low-rise apartment buildings.
The red stars represent the free BruinBuses that take you to/from campus.

I would also recommend calling up a couple of big management companies in the area (Silton, Roberts, and Moss, to name a few) and ask their head office which of their buildings have vacancies. That way you save having to look at buildings you know are occupied. Except then you do miss out on the off chance that a building's property manager just got a vacate notice from a tenant and hasn't had time to report it to the main office yet because that does seem to happen.

If you are single and happy to live with housemates, you can rent a massive condo or even a house for cheap by sharing it with a bunch of people, but things can turn sour pretty quick and we, for one, are definitely past that stage in our lives.

University Housing

You could also look at student housing offered by the school which tends to be significantly cheaper. A two-bedroom out in University Village at $1,300 sounds pretty tempting but we decided that it was too far removed from campus for us. We've heard from a few people that they feel stranded without a car and wish they were closer to campus, but we also know people who are very happy out there: those with families say there's a nice community feel and you have on-site amenities (laundry/gym/pool/playground), two grocery stores within walking distance, and frequent 50 cent bus rides to/from campus.

On the other hand, Weyburn Terrace apartments are within a quick 10-minute walk to both campus and Westwood Village, and can come furnished or unfurnished, but they are reserved for single students only (though I think if you are married but both studying full-time at UCLA then you can request to be roommates). They weren't particularly cheap either at around $1,200/person.

There are other complexes but I am not familiar with them so here's the link to UCLA Housing Services which covers everything.

Our Househunt

We flew in to L.A. on Saturday, August 25th and spent two full days looking for an apartment. We now know that Sundays & Mondays are the worst days to do this as many management offices are closed on these two days. Still, we were able to view 20 units in two days by starting at around 10am each morning and finishing at around 6pm and by following people's advice: drive/walk around, call the numbers on the "For Rent" signs, viewing the apartments, and repeat.

I thought it was going to be fun, this whole looking-for-a-place-to-call-home with your husband thing. It wasn't. It was exhausting. We went to bed by 9pm both nights like old people.

We ended up signing for the very last apartment we saw on Day 2 which we nearly didn't bother seeing it because it was 6pm but we figured might as well just check it out. It had been freshly painted and cleaned, the carpet was nice and both the bathroom and kitchen had fairly new fixtures/appliances. Out of all the places we saw, it was also the only one that had "character" and really spoke to us. And it was a steal at $1,650 a month including gas/water/internet. (I know it seems crazy that $1,650 is considered "cheap" here, but it is what it is.).

So it was as quick as they'd said it would be: we looked around on Sunday and Monday, applied on Tuesday, went shopping for furniture on Wednesday, and moved into our new home on Thursday:

Application Process & Payment Requirements

Most of the property management companies will accept a refundable $250 holding deposit (cash or cheque) to hold the apartment you liked for three days while you look around at others. This is a good idea if you see something you really like on the first day but want to see what other options there might be.

The whole application process took only a day for us and was pretty straight-forward. Along with a pretty standard application form, they took copies of our photo ID's, our last bank statement/pay stubs, our passports/driver's licences, Mike's admission letter from UCLA (or student card if you already have yours), and our I-20 student visa.

You pay for the first month's rent plus the security deposit was the standard one month's rent plus a $50 key deposit. (Some places ask for an additional month's rent for the security deposit for international students who do not have a credit history in the US.) This first payment they like in a cashier's cheque or money order from the bank (what we call a certified cheque in Canada which basically means it's pre-paid to the bank and won't bounce). After that they will accept your personal cheques for the regular rent payments.

Listings Websites

Though the majority of the places were move-in ready, some weren't ready for a month or so. So if you're the type that need to have it all planned out, then you could always start the househunting process earlier by keeping an eye out on listings online and either having someone you know go check out the places for you or making a bunch of appointments over 2-3 days and making a trip down just to get your housing sorted out for peace of mind.

We didn't really use the listings websites much because we did the walk/drive thing instead, but here are the three big ones everyone uses:

• West Side Rentals requires a $60 membership fee but supposedly has the largest selection in the neighbourhood, and you can book your Time Warner cable/internet through them and get the $60 back. Or find a few others and pitch in to use one login to look at the listings (WSR most likely will not be happy that I've suggested this). They do have an app but it kind of sucked.
• Padmapper shows places on a map which is very useful visually.
• Craigslist has a big housing section and also great for finding furniture at bargain prices (more on this later).   

Renting vs. Buying

Finally, a 2nd year MBA student/former CSA said that she'd worked out the numbers for renting vs. buying and said you should plan to live in L.A. for at least 8 years before buying would become a worthwhile venture. I know nothing about buying as we probably won't be buying for a long while, but something to think about if you are definitely putting your roots down then maybe your money is better spent towards monthly payments instead of rent.

Pack up your life and go

Luckily we have done this before a couple of times so we have learned the art of not having too much stuff. It's not easy. My family certainly did our own share of hoarding -- that's just what happens when you live in a 4-bedroom house with a basement in the suburbs for 12 years and your uncles move away and give you all of their stuff too. When we moved to England in 2007 we literally spent the entire summer getting rid of stuff. I think at one--I say one because there were numerous--of our garage sales, we made over $5,000. That's a huge amount of money for a bunch of random crap that had been collecting dust for who-knows-how-long.

Once you get over that deep-rooted compulsion to hold on to everything, you will feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. And come on, who really needs all of their school projects and report cards all the way from kindergarten to university, or the Guess denim overalls circa 1990 (that your brother had a matching pair to), or that exercise bike without a seat (how did that even happen?), or dollar store knick knacks, or Christmas cards from the bank lady, or that never-opened extra Magic Bullet set?! Seriously, de-clutter your home and de-clutter your life!

Make a pile to donate (there's always a charity happy to come around and do a free pick-up), a pile to sell at the garage sale (try to do it when your whole street has one of those neighbourhood sales, they get the best crowds), a pile of must-keeps to go into storage (at your parents' if possible, or rent a storage locker if not), and throw out the rest. Trust me, you will feel like a brand new person, ready to take on the world and whatever new adventures lie ahead.

[Having said this, it doesn't make sense to just go out and buy new everything, especially if you are about to go into a huge amount of debt for your (or your husband's) MBA degree. So don't go crazy with the purging, keep the stuff you need for everyday living.]

Back not too long ago when airlines used to let you check two suitcases each person free of charge, we made that our limit when relocating to a new city. Nowadays it seems every single checked bag costs money. We flew in with Air Canada and it was $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second bag (and a whopping $100 for any additional bags) and the weight limit was 50lbs which really is not very much at all. Here are some tips to help you through this:

• This is one scenario where those as-seen-on-TV vacuum bags really have come in handy for us. Go to your local Home Sense/Winners (Marshalls/TJ Mexx/Ross in the States) or Costco and you can usually get a box of these bags for $20. They'll somehow condense a huge pile of clothes and even your down duvet and pillows into one suitcase (just mind the weight limit). 
• If you are visiting the school ahead of time (e.g., for admit weekend), or if you are traveling somewhere that included a stopover in your new city (most flights from the east coast to Australasia stops over in LAX), bring a few suitcases with you and put them in storage either at the airport (which tends to be pricey and/or non-existent like at LAX), or near the airport for as little as $20/month. We used Airport Mini Storage which is within a 5-minute free bus ride to/from LAX.
• If you don't have enough suitcases, it doesn't make sense to buy them just for the move, and most airlines will actually allow you to check cardboard boxes or big tupperware containers, as long as you follow their rules on the dimensions (when they say "maximum linear dimension", they mean add up the L+W+H of the box). Just tape them up real well and remember to identify them with your contact details at both your departure point and destination.
• If you know you're going to have visitors in the near future, leave a box of stuff behind and ask them nicely to bring it for you. It will be like Christmas in July!
• Make sure to always carry on important documents (marriage certificate, VISAs, bank statements, school paperwork, etc.), all valuables, computers, chargers, cameras, basically anything you wouldn't want to lose, and a set of clothes for in case your luggage gets delayed/lost.

Depending on how much stuff you have, you could also look at shipping your luggage so you don't have to lug them all to/from the airport. Here is an article about a company called "Lugless" which you might find useful.

If you just can't bear to part with your stuff, there are lots of options for moving companies too, and they can take everything for as little as $1,000 across the country (or so I have heard) and have them shipped within a week. You just have to do some looking around online.

New beginnings

Tomorrow we will have lived in L.A. for four weeks. It's hard to believe that we are here. I still remember when Mike first started thinking about getting his MBA: we were living in Oxford then and he was working as a structural engineer but feeling like he was missing out on the "big picture". That was the first time that he was uncertain about the future and what he wanted to do with himself. He was having a quarter-life crisis.

When we moved back to Toronto in the fall of 2009, Mike landed a really great job in the corporate real estate department at a major bank. Over the next two years, he learned a lot about how the real estate industry worked and the part that he would like to play (which, he later decided, would involve a business degree).

So he began studying for the GMAT exam while still working full-time (looking back, I guess that was the first glimpse I had of my new life of not seeing my husband very much). Fast forward through the application process (and the waiting and waiting that came along with that), the huge excitement when he finally heard that he'd been accepted, our first trip out to L.A. in April to meet some of the faculty and the rest of the admitted students in his year, the summer months that we spent with our families in Taiwan and in Canada, and voilà, here we are, living in sunny California. Crazy.

Now that we are pretty well settled down, I thought I'd start this blog to share some of our experiences to help newcomers ease into the transition, both from relocating from one place to another and from "normal life" to life as the wife/husband/significant other of an MBA.