Hopefully I can still contribute my 2 cents. Did my grad school
there MSc and PhD. For the most part I did reside in grad school
housing.
Some of the UCLA grad school housing are on campus, around
campus and others are a bit futher away. Those around campus will
have free shuttle. One of the housing units that is further away
will have free shuttle and the other, called University Village,
has direct public buses to UCLA (25cents a trip with student
ID).
My advice though is stay AWAY from campus. The traffic may suck
but least you get the feeling of leaving campus for "home".
UCLA grad housing is priced under the market. So take advantage
of that. They offer free TV cable and internet cable. You have to
cover electricity. Trash/water all paid for. Apartments are decent
and over the years, they upgraded the units regardless if you're a
Democrat, Republican, Liberal, or just plain ol' Joe.
West LA's public transport is not the best but you can get
around. There's even one bus from UCLA to/from LAX. There are
plenty of supermarkets, cinemas, eateries around as well. If you
want to explore a bit further, you can always rent a car for the
weekend. There's Thai Town in Hollywood, Koreatown in Mid Wilshire,
Little Tokyo in Downtown LA.
Whatever you heard about LA is probably true and then some. Yes
Britney Spears checked into UCLA medical for depression and Lohan
was there, also MJ was pronouced dead there. Just the other day, I
flipped off Ben Affleck for cutting me while driving. Not everyone
is an arse. We are more friendly than New Yorkers. And yes, the
porn industry is still striving in the valley.
It's city that you love to hate and hate to love. That's right.
It's not fog, it's really smog. When you see choppers in the skies,
it can be two things: car chase or celebrities. Pple in Norcal
don't really get us then again we don't get the Northerners. LA is
one of the most racially diversed city you will ever visit. You can
enjoy cuisines literally from all over the world, ie Ethiopian to
Greek, Lebanese to Burmese and Russian to Brazillian. To the point
that, you might not even care much about SG food anymore.
I have one advice though: work hard. But do yourself a favor
when you're here. Find some time, save up some money, rent a
covertible and drive up on Pacific Coast Highway. Pop in your IPod.
Let the breeze comb through your hair. Stop for lunch at Malibu
Seafood. Then you will know why Angelenos like it here so much.
