GuideLines for a post-doc arriving at UCLA

 

This text was initially written for a new post-doc coming from Beijing to our Lab. I publish it hoping that it might help any other fresh post-doc arriving from outside the USA into UCLA. This page is under construction and should be regularly updated. Send me question or new info to fabfab (at) ucla (dot) edu.

Take time to visit the UCLA Society for Postdoctoral Scholars webpage. You will also find useful information on the UCLA official postdoc website.

Before you leave

  • obtain an international driver licence (see DMV website )
  • if you are on a specific medication, obtain several months supply (bring your prescription for the custom officer)
  • if you use contact lenses, bring your prescription
  • bring the following documents: certificate of birth, diploma, resume.
  • I suggest that you send an enveloppe with a copy of all your documents (including passport, I94 and visa) to somebody you know in LA.
  • take a real vacation before you leave. Believe me.
  • if you have contacts in Los Angeles (i.e. : people from the lab, any religious or philosophical community, networks of people from your country, cousins of cousins and friends of friends), get in touch with them. They will be happy to help you and you will need that help. Don't be affraid to disturb, expatriated people show a great solidarity (they know how it feels).

Money

You will spend a lot of money at the beginning. It will take time before you will get paid, and you will need to pay for a lot of things just to get installed. Get cash, travellers checks and a a credit card if you have one. My estimation is that you will need between 2000 and 4000 $ for the first month (yes, I know...).

Packing

Unless you plan to stay for a long time, it's not worth bringing a lot of stuff. On most planes, you are allowed to have two luggages of 32 kilos each (check with your company). Bring clothes, swimsuit, confortable shoes, you won't need any superwarm clothes (hey, this is California !). Add a pair of sheets, a light blanket, a couple of towels. You will feel home if you bring your favorite teapot, some books and CD (it helps fighting homesickness). It's not worth taking your complete collection of scientific papers, since you can obtain everything here (the library is huge). If you plan to have your family and friends visiting you, you can prepare some stuff that you want them to bring to you.

Arriving at LA international Airport (LAX)

Here you are. You will have to wait in line for a long time before you can access a security officer. He/she will check your passport, check your official documents ( I94, visa and passport) and ask why you are coming to the USA. If you are on a J1 visa, which is also the visa for students and au pair, you might want to precise that you are a research fellow and say the magic words : "Ph.D." and "UCLA". Some people here are puzzled by strong foreign accent (I often have to repeat my coffee order), be patient, and repeat slowly everything. The magic words are an excellent antidote to the embarrasment caused by a strong accent. After the National Security officer is ok to let you in, he/she will take a picture of your face and get your fingerprints. After that, you can get your luggage, then go see the custom officer (yes, there is a line here too), and you can at last go out. Welcome to California :-)

First things first

  • the very first thing you will do is to contact the Office of International Students and Scholars (see OISS website ).
  • Immediately afetr, what you need is a social security number (enter zipcode 90024 to see the map to the nearest social security office). It took us six weeks to get one. You are not allowed to do anything without it. That means that you cannot rent an appartment, you cannot work, you cannot get paid, you cannot have health insurance, you cannot open a bank account, ...
  • although you are not allowed to do anything without a social security number, it some cases the magic words (PhD, UCLA) and a bunch of cash are really helpful.
  • then you will have to fill out paperwork for you contract with UCLA, and determine your status (this is called "appointment"). (follow carefully the appointment guidelines )
  • if your status allows you to get a health insurance from your employer, do the health insurance paperwork.
  • if your status does not provide you any health insurance, then you need to get your own health insurance (you have to get one, it's the law). Sadly, private health insurance for foreigners are very expensive and do not cover anything. You'd better not be sick at all.
  • if you are a UCLA employee and that you qualify for tax exemption (a special gift for post-docs), you have to declare it and do the paperwork, otherwise you will get withheld up to 30% of your payroll.
  • you will need to open a bank account. You can chose university credit union (see ucu website / located on campus) or any national bank.
  • when you are official, go get your UCLA identification card, aka the Bruin Card (see website) and open a e-mail account toto@ucla.edu and get an internet access (Bruin On Line)

Locomotion

Public transportation in Los Angeles can be good. I suggest that you try to live not far from a Big Blue Bus stop or a Culver City Bus stop. They are great (as long as you avoid transfert) and cost only 25 cents a ride if you show your bruin card (otherwise, it's 75 cents a ride). Although I know a french post-doc who has just a bike, most people here consider that you cannot survive in LA without a car. If you want to buy a car, the most easy way is to find a couple of thousand $ and browse the Recycler or the LA Craigslist) for a decent wreck. The other way is to get the Credit Union to lend you some money (aka a car loan) and buy a recent car that you will sell after two years. Having a car here is involves a big budget. The law requires that you have car insurance. If you are a experienced driver with no history of car accident, bring proof from your previous insurance. That will help to negociate the price. Parking at UCLA costs either 7 $ a day or 50$ a month. And, LA is one of the most expensive place to buy gasoline (2.15 $ per gallon).

Finding a place to live

There is no cheap hotel in Los Angeles. For the first days, I suggest that you get people to lodge you. Ideally, other post-docs from the lab should be ok to offer you hospitality ;-). Then, you have the choice between living in your own appartment (which means : paying two months rent in advance) or share an appartment with other people (mainly students). A shared appartment is about 700 $/month, a single bedroom appartment is about 1000$/month. I suggest that you chose a "one month lease" rather than a "one year lease". You will find ads for shared appartment in the Daily Bruin. There are also a lot of appartments advertised on west side rentals. You can easily locate the address using the LA-Yahoo map.

After you have been appointed, I strongly suggest that you apply for a UCLA appartment at UCLA housing. These are great appartments, cheap and convenient, with direct buses to UCLA. Waiting list can be from several weeks to several months.

Most shared appartment are furnished (including plates and pans). If you take your own appartment, unless you chose a furnished appartment, you will have to buy stuff to put in. In my opinion, a good choice is to shop in garage sales (every saturday and sunday, people sell their old stuff in front of their house) and in thrift shops (I personnaly love Out of the closet for their funky stuff, and there is also Goodwill). You can buy absolutely everything, from mugs to furniture, at very low price in thrift stores. For the bedding, you can find a futon mattress starting at 100$ for a queen size (three sizes of bed : twin, queen and king).

People and the city of angels

  • People here are very friendly and very courteous. Maybe this the "california cool". I'm coming from Paris, France, and it was a real schock to see car-driver letting me cross the street with a smile!
  • Even in administrations, people are often willing to help you.
  • In restaurants, taxi and haircut salons, don't forget to give a tip (15%), which is not included in the price but due to the waitress/taxidriver/haircutter.
  • in my humble opinion, some vital stuff do not exist here (e.g. a decent aspirin brand). On the other hand, you might become addict to local stuff (e.g. delicious strawberries in winter). Be prepared for a little change in your everyday life.
  • LA is like a big suburb, the exact opposite of New York. You can travel from a community to another, visiting various neighborhoods with great names (little Tokyo, Koreatown, little Ethiopia, etc). The beach is wonderful. Hollywood is very fun. The landscape surrounding LA is just amazing.
  • You can get upper quality food if you shop at Whole Food or Wild Oat . You can get good food at very reasonable price if you shop at Trader Joe's. Unless you have a good health insurance, avoid junk food.
  • You can call home for cheap if you open a onesuite account.

Reading

If you want to get some extra information on the USA and Los Angeles, I suggest the following readings (my very own choice, however, reflecting my very own personal preferences):

~Books~

~Magazines~
my homepage
my lab
my resume
myself