To all those asking what is Los Angeles like (San Francisco: apartment, rental)

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by Challenger76

Hey Bob, how bout hooking me up with a cheap apartment

Sent you a direct message.

Bob

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by munchitup

I agree - this weekend I watched that Ben Stiller movie Greenberg for the first time, and movies like this give a totally skewed version of Los Angeles. The main character basically lives in a house in the Hollywood Hills somewhere, everyone has to drive everywhere (hammered home because he doesn't drive and needs to bum rides everywhere). The house has a pool, huge backyard and is in a leafy neighborhood - this kind of neighborhood is the reality for maybe 1% of Angelenos. As I watched the movie I thought to myself "this seems like a movie about Los Angeles made by a New Yorker". Looked it up and Noah Baumbach was born and raised in NYC.

Anyways I think people see movies like this and think this is what living in Los Angeles is like. Reality is you are going to be living in a small stucco apartment (which may or may not include parking), surrounded by concrete for blocks and block and discover that driving anywhere is such a pain that you walk to a lot of places around your apartment.

Note to filmmakers... please replace those nice mansions with run down , small apartments. Also have characters emphasize the price they are paying for these apartments. This should reduce the number of people that come to L.A ...and reduce traffic and prices!

[rshiversjr]

When I visited LA with my wife 2 weeks ago I accepted all of the negatives because I knew what to expect. I did my research beforehand. My wife though, she didn't know what to expect when we went out. Now I want to move to LA and her, eh, not so much...

[Gurbie]

Originally Posted by rshiversjr

When I visited LA with my wife 2 weeks ago I accepted all of the negatives because I knew what to expect. I did my research beforehand. My wife though, she didn't know what to expect when we went out. Now I want to move to LA and her, eh, not so much...

What turned her off? Surely not the weather

[toomanymiles]

As someone who moved to the LA area about a year ago I don't think it's all that bad as long as you plan ahead.

Yes, rent is high... yes, traffic is bad, but you get used to it. To me the pros (especially the summer weather, moving here from AZ) outweigh the cons and I still feel like there is so much more potential here than in most of the country.

I have never heard of a landlord asking for three months rent before, so I don't think anyone should be deterred by that.

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

On the contrary my friend, I am the C.E.O. of a very successful property management company here in Los Angeles.
Failure is not in my vocabulary.
"Failed in life" is about as opposite as one could get when discussing me.
Sorry to disappoint you.
Bob.

#1 - Psst...you don't need to use periods when using the abbreviation CEO

#2 - What a silly thing to brag about. Its not like you have to go to 8 years or school to be CEO like you do to be a doctor, lawyer, etc. You just have to register your LLC with the CA state franchise board. Technically I'm the CEO of my company but I just put "Web Designer/Developer" on my business card because I'm not a douche

[DistrictDirt]

Originally Posted by munchitup

I agree - this weekend I watched that Ben Stiller movie Greenberg for the first time, and movies like this give a totally skewed version of Los Angeles. The main character basically lives in a house in the Hollywood Hills somewhere, everyone has to drive everywhere (hammered home because he doesn't drive and needs to bum rides everywhere). The house has a pool, huge backyard and is in a leafy neighborhood - this kind of neighborhood is the reality for maybe 1% of Angelenos. As I watched the movie I thought to myself "this seems like a movie about Los Angeles made by a New Yorker". Looked it up and Noah Baumbach was born and raised in NYC.

Anyways I think people see movies like this and think this is what living in Los Angeles is like. Reality is you are going to be living in a small stucco apartment (which may or may not include parking), surrounded by concrete for blocks and block and discover that driving anywhere is such a pain that you walk to a lot of places around your apartment.

I agree 100%. I'm glad they featured Runyon a few times in the movie though. Its one of my favorite places in the city but you don't get to see it much on film.

[hipcat]

Originally Posted by rzzz

The big thing that surprised me about LA was how much of a concrete jungle it is. When you see pictures it's usually of a beach,or the skyline with mountains in the background, or the Hollywood sign, or an old theatre downtown, or whatever. However, when you get there, it's cement everywhere. This is much different than other places known for sprawl, like Atlanta, Houston or DC. I don't really think anywhere in the US is quite as paved over besides Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Compared to other parts of the country where you see greenery. You just see concrete when you land in Los Angeles.

[rshiversjr]

Originally Posted by Gurbie

What turned her off? Surely not the weather

The sunshine was great, but there was a bit of smog and she didn't like it. Like I said before, I was prepared to take the good with the bad since I had been reading up about LA on this forum and on other sites so I would know what to expect. I was the designated "tour guide" even though it was also my first time. What was funny was I was explaining to my family some facts about the Hollywood sign from the Hollywood Bowl Overlook, and some people started asking me questions because they thought I was a local.

I was prepared, she wasn't. She had fun and enjoyed the trip, but won't be going back to live from all of the negatives she saw. I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

[Gurbie]

Originally Posted by rshiversjr

The sunshine was great, but there was a bit of smog and she didn't like it. Like I said before, I was prepared to take the good with the bad since I had been reading up about LA on this forum and on other sites so I would know what to expect. I was the designated "tour guide" even though it was also my first time. What was funny was I was explaining to my family some facts about the Hollywood sign from the Hollywood Bowl Overlook, and some people started asking me questions because they thought I was a local.

I was prepared, she wasn't. She had fun and enjoyed the trip, but won't be going back to live from all of the negatives she saw. I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Believe it or not, the air's a lot cleaner than it used to be . Still bad, though, by national standards.

The nice weather goes a long way towards smoothing the rough edges off living in LA, but not all of them, and not to the same degree for everyone. If you come from a place with fewr people and better air quality, I can see where your wife might not be feelin' the place.