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is Los Angeles a fun place to live

T

tickleteasing

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Is it fun to live there? Also, are the people there nice I was there for a week and thought it was magic.
 
It really depends on where you live. Los Angeles County has different cities some are nice and others just suck. LA the city itself is pretty cool but in my opinion not the greatest place to live in terms of people.
 
It depends on a LOT of factors. Remember, first, that the Los Angeles area is HUGE. It stretches from Ventura in the north to the southern reaches of Orange County, and from Santa Monica east to Riverside. It's 75 miles across in any direction, and almost all of it is city. Cities in the LA area have no space between them - you literally cross the street and step from one city to another.

This means that there are a lot of different climates and cultures down there. You can literally go skiing and swimming in the same day during the right time of year. The Basin is bounded by beaches along the Pacific Ocean, mountains in the north, and deserts in the east. The beach areas are cool year-round, while the inland valleys are cold in winter and hot in summer.

The wind blows off the ocean, and it pushes LA's famous smog up into the valleys. This means that air quality varies a LOT depending on where you live. It's clear on the beaches, very smoggy in the valleys. This is most pronounced in summertime. In winter, the rains wash most of the smog out of the air.

Which brings us to something else that surprises a lot people when they go to LA: the weather. The song says "It never rains in Southern California." Don't you believe it. It rains, all right, but only from about September to March. During that season it might rain once or twice a week. But then it doesn't rain at all from about May through August. It almost never gets cold enough to snow, unless you're high up in the mountains.

People vary a lot in a small area. Watts and Bel-Air are only about 10 miles apart as the crow flies - 30 minutes by freeway. But they could practically be in different countries for all the similarities they share.

I lived in SoCal for 15 years before I moved up here to the Bay Area. Personally, I like it a lot better here. But some people love LA. I'd break it down like this:

PROS
  • Energy: There's always something happening, somewhere in LA. You can't possibly be bored if you don't want to be. There's a deli in the Fairfax district (that's in Hollywood) called Cantor's that has to be seen to be believed. They're open all night and the 3AM crowd is worth going just to watch.
  • Coolness: There's something inexpressible about driving by places that most people only hear about in movies. Mulholland Drive, Disneyland, Hollywood and Vine, Santa Monica Pier, Ventura Beach, etc.
  • Diversity: Any culture you want to experience is available somewhere in LA.
  • Culture and Education: Los Angeles is home to UCLA, Cal Tech, and USC, as well as dozens of small colleges. Libraries tend to be large and well-stocked. There are world famous theaters, operas, symphonies, restaurants, etc. In terms of things like bands, plays, etc., everyone who is anyone plays there at one point or another.
  • Climate: If you like sun, then LA is for you. When I say the valleys are "cold," that's relative - it seldom frosts even in the dead of winter.
  • Sophistication: being in such a melting pot makes most Angelenos very cosmopolitan and accepting.

CONS
  • Climate: Unless you live on the beaches (which are very expensive), most of LA is cold in winter, hot in summer.
  • Smog: It's as bad as you've heard. When I moved to LA I lived in a little suburb called Claremont, which is out at the end of one of those valleys I mentioned. The smog was so bad when I arrived in July that it wasn't until the rains came at the end of September that I realized there were mountains behind my house. I literally couldn't see them. True story.
  • Sprawl: LA is just huge. You can't appreciate how big it is until you go there. It's easy to get lost. In fact most gas stations and bookstores sell a map book called a Thomas Guide. If you go to LA, GET ONE OF THESE. They are absolutely indispensable when you take a wrong turn and find yourself someplace you don't recognize.
  • Traffic: Rush hour on the Santa Monica Freeway is insane. That's all I have to say.
  • Shallowness: I'm not sure what else to call this. It's a little hard to describe. To some extent LA is superficial by nature. It's the home of the entertainment industry, and that colors the culture of the whole region. But also, LA is a sort of transitory experience. Many people who live there either just arrived or are about to leave. This means that the sense of being part of a place is hard to find there.
  • Concrete: In a sense, LA is 75 miles of pavement in any direction. If you like the earth beneath your feet, that is a drawback.
 
Yup, LA's a blast. Does depend on where you live and who you know though and of course that goes for any city.

But LA is pretty damn awesome.

As far as getting a Thomas Guide goes, I'd get a GPS. Save you some time flipping pages while you're driving. And you WILL be driving. 🙂
 
^^lol

What Redmage says isn't kidding about weather it either gets blazing hot or it rains like a mofo!

And the changing climate depending on location...let me put it to you this way last year my buddy and I went driving to the store (Which is ten minutes away) RAIN STORM WITH PITCH BLACK CLOUDS! Then we get off at the next exit...Sunshine and blue skies.
 
I have lived in LA all my life. I always liked the city. Lots of places to go from the desert to the beach to the mountains. :happyhop:
 
tickleteasing said:
What about west hollywood
Click to expand...

West Hollywood in a nutshell: Beautiful place, clean, gay community, safe, great bars and restaurants up and down Santa Monica Blvd, Halloween is INSANE there, rather expensive to life, lots of gyms, sense of community, not very far away from other parts of LA like Beverly Hills, Century City, etc.

Traffic can suck balls. Oh wait. That's ALL of Los Angeles. Nevermind. 😀
 
Yeah, I'd agree with the Marquis. West Hollywood is sort of like New York's Greenwich Village: it's artsy, educated, kink-friendly, and has a substantial gay population. It tends to be well-policed and well-maintained. And it's centrally located - Santa Monica, West LA, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Pasadena are all easily accessible.

This is contrast to adjacent Hollywood, which is not much like people think it is. But the niceness that is West Hollywood comes at a price - it's not one the cheaper places in the Basin to live.
 
It's fun of you love living in the most highly air polluted city in the country.
 
Yeah I imagine and think yeah it is probably maybe a fun nice place to visit and yeah sure many would say a fun place to live. From what I have seen on tv and movies and heard about Los Angeles, it looks very interesting and a really awesome neat place to check out. Looks like a great place to see lots of fascinating celebrities and different variety of people. I have never been there, only have traveled to a couple states so far in my life, Indiana and Michigan, haven't traveled anywhere else, that was a brief visit these places. Yet I have to say think it would be neat and cool to check out LA someday and see what it is like. I am sure there is never really a dull moment for sure. Really be a plus if bear, me, and our friend Missy would happen to get to see or bump into Rob Pattison or Kristen Stewart or other great actors and actresses, that would be awesome, a ultimate dream come true that is for sure!! So I could see where the appeal would be -sounds like it has a lot of great awesome places and sites to see.
 
tickleteasing said:
Is it fun to live there? Also, are the people there nice I was there for a week and thought it was magic.
Click to expand...

Never been to LA, so sorry if this is off topic. I've been to Philadelphia three times and find it fascinating, or "magical" if you will. But, I would not want to live there. Nothing against the city or it's residents. Just not my cup of tea as a place to live.

I guess my point is, visiting a place and actually living there can be very different things. Good luck, whatever you decide on. 🙂
 
I lived in LA for a short period of time, now I'm in the Bay area. I still like visiting LA, but I'm not sure if I could live there again.

It's a fun city. There's always something going on. If you like movies, or want to work in show business, then LA's the place to be. But it's shallow and a bit pretentious. IMO, in LA it matters a lot on how you look, and who you know. LA's a bit more health and fitness conscious than other parts of the country. I believe LA has more gyms, plastic surgeons, health food stores than most states. So the emphasis on looks is pretty significant and that kind of gets old (no pun intended).

Are you thinking of moving there? It's hard to really figure out what neighborhood is the best fit for you until you've spent some amount of time there. I recommend either crashing with a friend for some time or signing for a short-term lease somewhere that sounds viable from the advice above, if possible. You'll most likely realize that the first place you pick is not where you'd like to stay for the long-term. Key factors to consider are: your commute to work, and distance from friends. No matter how close you are to the things you need, your car is going to be your best friend. And get used to the traffic.
 
Are you thinking of moving there?



Not exactly moving there but I am doing a lot of business with people who live there. A lot of the people I have interviewed live in LA, so I get a lot of networking done when I go to LA. I just want to know the area so that when I travel there I can move around well.
 
I believe Redmage among others has covered a lot of the L.A. allure...

I will say that, like you tickleteasing, I lived all of my life in the deep south (assuming you're still in GA.) before moving to a much different world in So. Cal twelve years ago... Some of it was a bit of a shock to the system, but for the most part, I adapted well and find the L.A. area to have anything and everything you could ask for...

A couple of things I will point out... Traffic, car expenses, parking searching and costs, etc. will become a way of life... No question... Plan to spend some of your schedule on commuting... I've been all over the country and haven't seen traffic like this... I'm glad I'm a patient driver!

Also, you mentioned having clients from here... If you can transfer your business here with no losses, thats great... The cost of living is MUCH higher than in the south and the economy is not great in L.A. right now... Perhaps that will change soon, but you're gonna want to make sure you have a solid income... Even if you do, your standard of living may go down a little here...

As far as the area, you can do and see just about anything here... Its 4-5 hours from Vegas, 2 from San Diego, 6-7 from San Francisco, Mexico/Baja are very close, Yosemite, the Redwoods, Palm Springs... the list goes on... Great food choices are endless... and of course, entertainment is too... If you're a film fan, L.A. has some of the best theaters in the world... and if you're a music man, your favorite bands will come through at some point or another...

I love it here... The only things that get on my nerves sometimes is the traffic/idiots on the road and some extra expenses... Other than that, it is a melting pot of just about everything the world has to offer...

And, yes, as Milagros said, Dodger Stadium kicks ass... Even though I'm a Braves fan!
 
There’s a very simple Go/NoGo gage you can use to assist with your decision:
Do you like Persian food (and Persian girls)? GO GO GO GO! ... If not, DON'T GO! :bow2:
 
I have heard people say that in LA the people are rude but I did not notice that at all when I was there. I have never seen a place that helped my job so much
 
tickleteasing said:
I have heard people say that in LA the people are rude but I did not notice that at all when I was there. I have never seen a place that helped my job so much
Click to expand...

I have heard the same complaints. I think for any major city that is often the complaint. I have lived here for 51 years and yes there have been some rude people along the way but I think there have a been a lot more very nice people. LA can be a bit eccentric at times too but that is also part of its charm and its magic.
 
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