From Los Angeles to Atlanta? Worth doing? (home, pros and cons) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

nighthouse66 · 08-25-2010, 02:17 AM

Hi everyone, i am a native Georgian who has lived in California for about 5 years now, and i am a bit tired of the grind here in los angeles. Didn't they just vote LA as the second most stressful US city?
its easy enough to do, i have the money, and a sister in decatur whom i love dearly- lots of friends and people back home who would help me get on my feet there. not worried about that end....
however, the one thing i am mightily worried about is the culture shock. i really love california in that i don't feel like a freak here. i grew up in a very, very tiny town in North GA and even tho i spent lots of time in atlanta and i know its very diverse, i just don't know if i am going to wind up crying to "california dreaming" some night in atlanta wondering what the %!8& i'm doing there.....
first off, i am a filmmaker, and i know that the industry is based here. that can be a good and bad thing. i have no interest in doing things the hollywood way. i laugh at big budgets and A-listers and award parties. but it IS sort of cool to run into famous people pretty often. i'm kinda a hick like that : )
i have heard that atlanta has an up-and-coming film industry, but is that just nonsense dreamed up by the tourist board or whoever decides these things?

i like hiphop, but not so much that i would move to atlanta based on that. i know there is alot going on there.....but i just remember a city where i encountered racism because i was a white chick, and how there wasn't nearly the diversity you find in Los Angeles- i mean, we have a little ethiopa for godssakes. it was mostly black and white, and all the old tensions. not everywhere and all the time but it came up.
anyway, i am interested in anyone's stories or opinions, whether you moved from LA to atlanta isn't neccesarily the entire point, but moving from los angeles to any other smaller city and culture shock in general. hope i am making sense? thanks guys.

lastminutemom · 08-25-2010, 04:20 AM

My few friends in the film industry who are supporting themselves fully with their profession are not able to work here full time. They travel, some tremendously. They are all "crew" type folks rather than the head honcho, so they have less control than you might, but it is worth researching how successful you can be if this is your base.

Jmadison2 · 08-25-2010, 05:37 AM

Sounds to me like you should stay in LA. Just the way it sounds, only you know for sure.

I'd guess the film biz in Ga. probably models itself after LA anyway, so no gain there.

Much as I hate west coast cost of living. Would rather be there than in Ga any day.

movingsoon2020 · 08-26-2010, 12:52 AM

I'm making the same move as you in the next couple of months. Moving from Pasadena to Atlanta for film (my BF is in the industry) and really really nervous about it. I too have heard from my bf's friends that there's a film scene in Atlanta. Are you union?

WilliamM · 08-26-2010, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmadison2

Much as I hate west coast cost of living. Would rather be there than in Ga any day.

But you see, that's just it. Atlanta really ISN't Georgia. Or at least, it's not "Georgia" the way that say Los Angeles is "California" (and even there, LA is pretty distinct from the state in its own way too).

Anyway, concerning the question of Atlanta as a place to work in the film industry, I would recommend finding someone who's in the biz in ATL and asking them what they find are the pros and cons, then go from there.

I wonder what people who know the two places would say: what is the comparison in size between the film industries in the two places? Is Atlanta's, say, 1/10th the size of LA's? 1/20th? 1/50th? I have no idea, but I know I'd sure want to know if my move were contingent on finding work in such a specialized field.

Another way of looking at it is that since film strikes me as a business where one works on a project-by-project basis, why not consider moving an a trial basis, work on some projects and see how things turn out?

BobKovacs · 08-26-2010, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WilliamM

I wonder what people who know the two places would say: what is the comparison in size between the film industries in the two places? Is Atlanta's, say, 1/10th the size of LA's? 1/20th? 1/50th? I have no idea, but I know I'd sure want to know if my move were contingent on finding work in such a specialized field.

Let's put it this way- check out LA411.com or NY411.com and see how many listings there are for the various service providers that support the film industry, and then do a similar search in the Atlanta area- I think you'll find that there's a HUGE difference in the size of the industries- like comparing a 20' fishing boat to the QE II.

movingsoon2020 · 08-26-2010, 10:59 AM

There's definitely a difference in size but that's because there are more studios in LA. Places like Atlanta, New Orleans, and Detroit typically have a production move in for 4-6 months and when they pack up, they take everything with them. But there might be a large volume of work constantly going through the area to keep you busy (that's what I'm hoping in my case). I've looked at the GA Film Commission website and it says there are approximately 25,000 industry jobs in GA. I've heard from some folks that for some positions there are only a handful of union people qualified to do a job - whereas in LA those people are a dime a dozen. Having never lived in GA though, I can't say how accurate that is. It seems like the best situation is just to move for a year and see how things pan out... not the most fun scenario but it seems like in this business, moving wherever productions are is a way of life.

seain dublin · 08-26-2010, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by movingsoon2020

I'm making the same move as you in the next couple of months. Moving from Pasadena to Atlanta for film (my BF is in the industry) and really really nervous about it. I too have heard from my bf's friends that there's a film scene in Atlanta. Are you union?

The weather change should be enough to make you nervous. After you have lived in LA and go to the south the humidity is a killer.

You might want to sit in your bathroom with the shower on for about an hour to prepare yourself.

WilliamM · 08-26-2010, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seain dublin

The weather change should be enough to make you nervous. After you have lived in LA and go to the south the humidity is a killer.

I hate blanket statements about how someone will perceive these things, but I have to admit there's real truth to this. Or at least so it seemed to me.

But I guess this is the case if you're leaving LA to go anywhere "back East".

The whole myth of LA as the end of the line, where the surface difficulties of life back in the old land (the East) are left behind for life on a movie set. And the fact that the movie set can also be seen, if you choose to see it this way, as a hell on earth, too, is what accounts for the strange paradox of life in LA - a heaven-hell on earth if there ever was one - that we're familiar with.

(You'll have to forgive me this little meandering. I just watched David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" again last week, so this image is fresh in my mind.)

movingsoon2020 · 08-26-2010, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seain dublin

The weather change should be enough to make you nervous. After you have lived in LA and go to the south the humidity is a killer.

You might want to sit in your bathroom with the shower on for about an hour to prepare yourself.

I honestly don't mind humidity at all (spent 4 summers in southern VA and some pretty bad days in NYC). I'm only concerned about the winter. I've even bought the dog a jacket.