Hi everyone,
I’m 18 years old and would really appreciate some honest advice.
When I was 15, I moved from China to Toronto by myself and spent two years there for high school. At 17, I moved to Los Angeles alone to finish my senior year, and I just graduated.
I have legal status in the U.S., and my original plan was to stay in California and attend Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC), then transfer to a four-year university to study International Relations.
The problem is that I won’t qualify for California resident tuition until about another month from now. If I started school this fall, I’d have to pay nonresident tuition, which is significantly more expensive. Because of that, I had already planned to take a gap year, work full-time, save money, and start college once I qualified for in-state tuition.
However, over the past year, I’ve realized that I really haven’t enjoyed living in Los Angeles.
I spent two years in Toronto before moving here, and I discovered that I strongly prefer cities with four seasons, good public transportation, and neighborhoods where you can actually walk places. I never really felt at home in LA.
My mom bought me a car, but because of licensing issues I barely drove it, and the insurance is incredibly expensive. Most of the time I just relied on friends for rides. Overall, LA just hasn’t felt like the right city for me.
Recently I’ve been thinking:
Since I was already planning to take a gap year anyway, would it make more sense to move to New York now instead?
My idea is to spend a year there working, getting familiar with the city, and then apply to a CUNY community college like BMCC. If I end up loving New York, I could continue there and later transfer to a four-year university.
I know New York isn’t cheap either, but I also wouldn’t be paying New York resident tuition during my first year regardless, so financially it doesn’t change much.
Has anyone lived in both Los Angeles and New York?
Or attended a California community college and later a CUNY community college?
I’d really appreciate any honest advice about the lifestyle, job opportunities, transportation, or whether this sounds like a reasonable plan.
Thanks!
