Chisau,
I would wait until you have a few hours under your belt and got used to flying on your tod and then next year when you have a full holiday quota go out to the US and take the FAA IR course instead of the IMC. Its a 40hour course for not much more than the IMC and you will come away with TWO licences - the FAA IR and on your return you are entitled to add the IMC to your UK for FREE!!! (Except the £64 fee which you would have to pay anyway!). I took (and passed) the IR with 60hours entry, I passed in a further 60hours which was mainly due to the fact we took the instructor touring for 2 weeks rather than just flying round in circles as you would if you did a bitty flying hours course.
Its a hard course but well worth the satisfaction of passing at the end of it. The other plus side is if you did find yourself in IMC unexpectedly you would have more of an idea of how to deal with the situation than a 15 hr IMC.
As for weather in California its not all blazing Baywatch sunshine! Sorry to dissappoint you Aerbabe
A good example of this is the 'marine layer' of low fog which is present most mornings and burns off by lunchtime, good for practicing in with a safety pilot. If you venture just outside of LGB you will find proper IMC as well as other environments to practice in, including desert, high density altitudes and ski resorts!
Anyway I am off out there again in a week for 3 weeks flying over the US
Have fun what ever you decide.
Julian.