Obviousman
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For a number of reasons, we get a bunch of questions asking what it’s like in LA, mostly in order to move here.
First of all, I'll tell you what it's NOT like: It's not like anything on TV. There aren’t running gun battles in the street. There aren’t shootouts every day. Also, you don’t see celebrities just walking down the street. We don't go surfing during lunch hour. Some parts of LA are really nice, others are “ghetto”.
LA doesn’t have an effective public transportation like New York or San Francisco. One reason is that LA is larger in area than either of those, without a central hub where everything is. Back in the 1960’s, we might have done it. But by the time local governments got their act together, it was much more difficult to make a working public transit system. Also, unlike NY, we have earthquakes, which makes it a little more difficult to built underground.
You NEED a car to live in Southern California. Deal with it.
The freeway traffic in LA is probably the worst thing about living here. The 405 is the worst. Know why they call it the 405? Because you go 4 o' 5 miles per hour, and it takes 4 o' 5 hours to get where you're going. Freeway Traffic is bad from 6-10 AM and bad from 3-7 PM. I don't know why they call it rush hour. It's more than an hour, and nobody's rushing, that's for sure.
The gangs in LA are the cause of many rumors. Keep in mind that there are gangs in any large town, in every part of the country. In LA, the gangs aren't really downtown, they are in South LA, East LA, and north Long Beach (an extension of the South LA gangs, actually). And here's the deal: Mostly, they just kill each other.
Gas is expensive in California. Currently, it's about $3.20, on average.
Yes, gas and real estate are very expensive in SoCal. However, this would be the best time to BUY a house because it's a buyer's market right now. There are a lot of foreclosures, and too many houses on the market. So if you have cash, it's a great time to buy. Unfortunately, most of us don't have a half-mil just lying around. Perhaps Paris Hilton (regular poster here)?
Yep, freeways are a drag, it's smoggy in summer, and expensive to live here. Yet, if it's so bad, why do we have thousands and thousands of people moving here?
Weather
Activities
Weather
Plenty of jobs
Weather
Beaches, mountains, deserts all within driving distance
Weather!
Here's my final point on the weather. In colder parts of the country, people keep their cars in their garages all winter. Kids get snow toys for Christmas. Here, kids get BIKES, scooters, and skateboards. 10 AM Christmas morning, the streets are FULL of kids on their new bikes, scooters, etc. We have a play set from Costco in the back yard. I installed a light in the yard and our youngest plays on it (sometimes with friends) at night during the “winter”, from the time homework and dinner are done until bed time. You can't do THAT in the snow.
The job market is good here, mainly because there are SO many people here that it creates its own job market. Then there are MANY industries, including tourism, entertainment, shipping, manufacturing, etc. It’s an incredible economy.
However, LA is not for everyone. Every time someone posts this question, you get the LA haters who post their bile and venom. A lot of them don’t know what they are talking about. Maybe they had cousin Ernie visit once, and he was plumb disappointed when he got to Hollywood and found it weren’t pretty like on TV. Of course, he told all his kinfolk, and now they’re LA experts. Some of them are people who actually visited once, and found out it wasn’t like it was on TV, and it certainly wasn’t Mayberry. And some actually lived here, and couldn’t deal with the expense, the traffic, or the rather impersonal nature of living in a large metropolis. (You know, the kind who like to drop in on their neighbors unannounced, open the (unlocked) door, and let themselves in. Well, it’s not like that here, for better or worse. To those I would say “good luck” to you wherever you are, but please don’t spew your venom in this forum.
In a nutshell, LA a HUGE metropolis. I live in one of the nicer suburbs, but the commute is no fun, often 1-2 hours each way each day. However, 340+ days of sunshine really helps. Yeah, it's expensive. Mrs. Obviousman and I both have to work to pay the mortgage. But is it worth it? You bet! |
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