I have arrived in Los Angeles and living in Santa Monica! I am in an apartment complex with my three roommates. It’s in a real nice area being 30 minutes from the Santa Monica pier and beach and vibrant with places to eat. Our apartment is on the first floor of the complex so it is really easy access for us. There are amenities as nice as a pool as well and study spaces for us to use. Everyone here seems to be on the younger side which is also a nice plus.

My roommates are all from Pitt and are all centered on learning more about the entertainment industry. This is certainly helpful because we can bounce ideas off of each other and work together to complete our assignments. We have had to adjust to living with each other and understanding our own habits. I have to get up at 6:30AM everyday because of my internship at HBO and need to make sure I don’t wake others. There are responsibilities that we all hold and make sure to have the best living experience.

We found this apartment through our Program Director. It is perfect for this program because every day we visit Lionsgate’s Global Headquarters which is only a 15 minute walk. Some of the challenges are that we need to supply groceries. Although the place is fully furnished with a couch, beds, linens, televisions, we still need to go out and buy groceries. The biggest issue with that is that we don’t have a car to transport the groceries so it is frustrating having to Uber instead. There is lots of traffic which makes traveling anywhere difficult.

As for the apartment itself, there is a beautiful rainforest-like area just outside our balcony. What is so nice about the West Coast is that every area can be both indoor and outdoor because of the climate. It is engrained in the architecture here and feels much different than any place on the East Coast. It was also difficult to adjust to the jet-lag because we are three hours behind from my family on the East Coast but it is better now. See you all soon! I am off to another week of class!