Hi!

If liberal arts courses are very important to you then I wouldn’t recommend a small school such as SCI-ARC.  It seems to me that you would benefit much more from a bigger university that could offer you more resources. Generally SCI-ARC doesn’t offer much outside of architecture courses. This is school (like most architecture schools) is really big on the studio culture, so even if there are courses offered outside of architecture we concentrate all of our time working on studio projects. This type of school attracts students that have completed general education courses at a community college/university. People tend to go to grad school after working at firms for a few years. Generally they stay in LA and find jobs but a lot of people do go to other countries/states as well. Our faculty have great connections with other architects around the world especially Europe so I don’t see why it would be difficult to find a job in these places. In terms of finding a place, it depends what your budget is. Rent in downtown is not cheap if you’re living by yourself. If you are willing to commute/drive a car, the neighboring Silver Lake, Echo Park area is not a bad place to live. I know plenty who live in these areas.