Would I like living in L.A. ?

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John Smith

I'm 22. I'm from a small city in Western New York (between Buffalo and Rochester). I've never lived in a large city but I have visited L.A., Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale. I love the idea of California sunshine, beaches, art, culture, people, environment etc. I know L.A. is really expensive and the economy is bad right now. I'm almost positive I would make less money and have higher expenses than I do now, but I know paradise has its price.
I'm just weary about moving all the way across the country and not being able to survive off of my income. I do have a good friend who lives in Venice, which I know is expensive, and he makes less money than I do. So I think if he can survive, I should be able to as well. I have only student loan debt which is current, no car payment, credit cards, or medical bills.
I'm single, with no children. I have about $28,000 saved up from my job, and no, I don't want to go to L.A. and live off of it, but it may help me get my feet planted.
I have an associates degree in general studies, which I know is just worthless, especially in L.A. I'm afraid that the job market is too competitive for me to land a decent paying job. Also, I know that L.A.'s crime has improved a lot but it's still high compared to smaller places like Buffalo, obviously because of its enormous population. I like the idea of L.A. being spread out and not so clustered like NYC. I don't mind only seeing family once or twice a year because I hardly see any of them now anyways. I like the idea of no winter, here in NY we get a lot of snow and ice. and usually it stays below 60 from October to April/May.

Will I be successfull in L.A. ? Or will I go there, spend all my money then move back here in a year?

Any advice would be helpful and appreciated.
Update: to maliboo- Well, my salary is about 40k-50k per year depending on incentives. And my good friend who lives in Venice has a two bedroom place and him and his roomate pay 900 each. He probably makes 30k a year or so but he's very good with money. And I've debated NYC but the main reason I love Cali is the weather, i know, NYC is about 10 degrees warmer then northern NY but it still has cold slushy winters with humid summers. I just couldn't pay the highest costs in the country to live in such a poor climate area, I just don't find it worth it, I love being outiside and I hate that it is limited to 4 months per year because of the winters. And as far as Europe goes, I'm not really interested in going anywhere in Europe, besides maybe Germany. I don't like France in general so I think I would hate Paris. I think I can be perfectly happy here in the U.S. L.A. just happens to be the most appealing to me. thank you for your comment and advice, it's definit

Answer
Well you are right about the job market being too competitive. In fact it is so bad that when I went to a job fair there was 1,000+ people try to find a job. (Note I was there in the morning and I left with no job offers...) Overall if you had a 4 year degree you would have a chance, two years doesn't get you anything.

Also in L.A you may need a car to get to places since the transportation system sucks, or a Mountain Bike to ride against L.A horrible roads/sidewalks.

I think you can last 4-6 months without a job. If you can't find one just leave before you lose it all. If you need a job there is a airport training program at LAX just let me know if you need it.

One last thing NEVER SAY CALI! Why? Google it.

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