It's Almost Like A Billy Joel Song!

Billy Joel has a famous song called "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (which has much less rage and angst than "Say Goodbye Hollywood" by Eminem) that first came out in 1976. Forty years after that song was released, our family is staying in Hollywood and officially saying goodbye to Missouri.

I can hear you asking, "Haven't you been away from Missouri for four years already? Why are you just getting around to saying goodbye?"

The answer is....We finally sold our home in St. Louis.

I've mentioned before that Zach and I moved to Los Angeles in January 2012. We put our house on the market but we were in no great hurry to sell it because the two of us would go back to Missouri if he didn't like trying to be an actor. It quickly became apparent that Zach had a future out here so we decided to seriously try and sell the house. While the "serious selling" was just starting to kick into gear, Dana landed a job with the American Cancer Society and had to be in California in two weeks. This left us no time to handle the necessary landscaping, painting and repairs that normally need to be done to any home to make it "seller friendly". Instead, we decided to use the home as a rental property so we could get the monthly mortgage covered and not have to pay both California rent and a Missouri house payment.

We were pretty lucky with our renters most of the time. We had one family rent it while they were repairing storm damage to their home that turned into eight months worth of rent as their repairs went on longer than expected. We also had a series of families that were temporary Missouri residents while their husbands were doing their medical residencies at Washington University. All of the families took care of the property and seemed to care about keeping it in good shape.

However, there were a few bumps along the way.

Here's a fun fact for you: If your home in the state of Missouri sustains water damage while the house is being used as a rental property, your homeowners insurance will not cover any of the damage. Let me repeat that for you: NONE OF THE DAMAGE!!!! After our last rental family failed to check the sump pump in the basement (to the tune of $6000 worth of out of pocket water damage repair expenses), we decided it was time to finally sell the house.

The ease of owning a rental property is often related to how easy it is to reach the property in times of need. When we first moved to St. Louis, we still owned a home in Memphis. In the 4-5 months it took us to sell that home, I would go check on it and take care of the yard and any small repairs. I also worked at a country radio station so my trips to Memphis would often go like this:

• Get off the air at Midnight in St. Louis
• Drive 4 hours to Memphis
• Take a sleeping bag and crash on the floor of the empty house for 3-4 hours
• Get up at 8am and take care of any pressing issues
• Leave by 1pm to drive back to St. Louis to be on the air at 7pm

Does that sound like a pain to you? Yes, it was a pain but at least I was close enough to drive there and take care of any issues that needed to be handled at the house. Using the water damage example again, I couldn't exactly jump in the truck and go take care of it because it would have taken me two days to get to Missouri. We were lucky enough to have a great rental property company watching after our home. Greg Rybacki, and the entire team at Rybo Properties, found the people to get the water out of the basement and fix the entire mess for the lowest price possible. Greg also watched over the whole project and made sure it was taken care of correctly and on time. I can't praise the guy enough for taking care of us over the past four years. 

When we made the final decision to sell the house, we turned to an old friend who would have our best interests at heart. Joanne Balis put up with way too many questions from me as well as a couple that flaked out on the first contract we had on the house this year. After that disappointment, she found the perfect couple to buy the property from us.  

When we made the decision to sell the house, I emailed some friends in St. Louis asking their advice and recommendations about painting and landscaping. I sent the email asking this question at 1am California time. At 8am California time, I woke up to a message from Mark Seibel asking me to call him. Mark runs a stone, paving and concrete company and instantly went over to my house when he got the email. He had already taken photos of the property and had a plan of what to do around the house. Zach and his son have remained friends over the years and I am glad to say that Mark and I are still friends. He went far beyond what my simple advice email asked and I can't thank him enough. Plus, I love the fact that he made his son mow our yard for free the entire time it was on the market.

I haven't set foot in the house since 2012. I drove past it a few times when I was in town but that was just to check on the outside of the home and to make sure the property was being cared for by the renters. It long ago stopped being a home to me and was just a piece of property that I owned. It's only been in the last week that I've actually started to feel some nostalgia for the place. The sale closed yesterday so I'd like to say goodbye to:

• Ken - The neighbor we never saw and only knew was alive when the pizza delivery guy would show up at his door.
• Miss Norma - The widowed neighbor who was always nice to Zach and snippy with me.
• The homeowner next door - Thanks for showing me the kind of people I would never let rent my house.
• The neighbor on the other side of the house - I don't remember her name but I do remember her dislike for everyone else in the neighborhood. I think I sealed her hatred for me when I was playing with my dog and she came out to complain that the dog was barking too much. I replied with "Would you like me to teach her how to moo or meow? It would be a great trick and might not hurt your delicate ears so much." She had no use for me after that moment.
• The neighbors with the live chickens in their backyard - I'm pretty sure they were running drugs out of their home but they were low key about it.

Unlike Billy Joel, we will keep saying "Hello to Hollywood". I may not live in a big house in Los Angeles but at least I don't have a home in St. Louis anymore to give me constant worries about flooding and tornadoes and whether or not the renters are taking care of the place.

Having said all of that, I certainly wouldn't mind an order of toasted ravioli from St. Louis!

This actor is in Hollywood for the long run.

What Should You Know Before Moving To Los Angeles?

I'm often asked how people should prepare for moving to Los Angeles. It's a big city and can be overwhelming if you don't have a plan of attack when you get to town. I've discussed acting classes and how to find an agent and manager in the past. Even though those are important parts of the process of being an actor in Los Angeles, there are other bits of information you need to know when you relocate to Los Angeles.

The first thing you need to do before you relocate is decide if you really want to be an actor. Los Angeles is filled with good-looking people and you (more than likely) look like many of the other actors you'll see at an audition. Do you really want to spend your time auditioning for the same parts as hundreds of other actors? Can you accept the fact that you (more than likely) won't walk right into a steady role on a TV show or a leading part in a movie? If you can't see yourself doing anything else with your life then you are (more than likely) mentally ready to join the ranks of struggling actors in Los Angeles.

The next step in the process is making sure you have enough money to survive when you first get to Los Angeles. It should come as no surprise that L.A. is an expensive city. You should have anywhere from $5000-$10,000 in the bank when you make the move. Why? You have to find a place to live and also provide the first and last months rent as well as a security deposit when you get a place. You probably won't have a job when you first get here so you need money to survive. You'll need food and furniture for your new place. Plus, moving here doesn't mean your other bills such as student loans and car notes disappear. It's not that hard to go through all of your money just getting set-up to live in Los Angeles much less continue to live here on a daily basis.

Do you want to move to L.A. to study with a certain acting coach? That's a great idea but you don't really need to be here to study with the coach. Acting coaches often do lessons via Skype so you can do scene studies from the comfort of your own home. Do you feel like your acting skills are at the level to compete in Los Angeles? If you can't answer that question with a definitive "YES", you're better off studying via Skype and saving your money.

How attached are you to the city where you currently live? Is it where your entire family and your best friends live? Relocating and leaving your support system behind is not an easy thing to do. Phone calls and social media are great but they don't always make you feel better when you car breaks down or you have a bad audition. Be ready for some lonely days and decide if you can handle being away from the people you love the most on a daily basis.

Finally, do you enjoy sitting in traffic? I'm talking about daily mind-numbing traffic that stretches on as far as the eye can see on a 24/7 basis. There is never really a time that traffic is light in L.A. The drive that took you an hour one day can be a two-and-a-half-hour epic event the next day. Your 4PM audition might require you to leave home anywhere from 90-minutes to two hours early depending on the part of town you have to drive to for the audition. If you hate being stuck in a car, this is not the town for you. If you can't handle the stress of never knowing how long your daily drive is going to last, this is not the town for you. If you can go with the flow and listen to podcasts, practice your lines, warm up your singing voice, get into character or get a friend to ride with you so you can use the carpool lane, you will be able to deal with the 405 on a daily basis.

In the end, the final choice about whether or not to move to Los Angeles has to be your decision. The advantage of being in the center of the movie making business has to be worth all of the sacrifices you'll need to make to move here. Think long and hard and make the decision that is best for your life. If you do move to Los Angeles, I hope you love it here and find much success!

This actor made the decision to move to Los Angeles in 2012.