i feel bad for anyone who doesnt live in LA (Los Angeles: 2013, how much)

[hipcat]

The fact that the OP said that he makes 110k a year. Makes his living situation alot different than more lower class Angelinos struggling to make it with the high cost of living and crappy job market (like me ).

But I wouldn't live outside of LA because of the diverse options to do thats not found in the rest of the coubtry.

[hipcat]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

LOL. Yeah. I thought Id love being next to the entertainment industry but as it turns out its really annoying and it turned me off to ever wanting to be in the biz. It's like finding how your favorite fast food chain makes their burgers. I think a lot of Angelenos feel that way.

Did you guys ever notice how rare it is for an LA native to want to be in the biz? I mostly meet people out of state that want to get into it. The Angelenos I've met mostly want to do music (or comedy) not movies.

As an LA native who does work in the industry part time. Im one of the few people who actually grew up in the LA area who wanted to be in the industry. Most people Ive met working on stage came from all over the US and are surprised when I tell them Im a native.

Most people I knew growing up just wanted typical jobs that pay well like nursing, construction, factory, LAX, and in restuarants.

And art is another field that many native s Ive met wanted to do.

[UB50]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

I was on the Southern State and it was bumper to bumper in both directions at 3pm on a weekday.

Isn't that "bumpa to bumpa" if you get the accent right?

Reminds me of my job serving tourists years ago: "Hey Esta! It's only a quarta fa the bumpa sticka!"

[Mr_Geek]

Originally Posted by UB50

Isn't that "bumpa to bumpa" if you get the accent right?

Reminds me of my job serving tourists years ago: "Hey Esta! It's only a quarta fa the bumpa sticka!"

Don't quit your day job.

[Indigo Cardinal]

This thread title popped up and caught my eye. I admit to amusement.

I've lived a number of places in my 44 years, including two foreign countries. I figure most people gravitate to what attracts them most. Apparently, for a *lot* of people (given the population), L.A. has a lot of appeal.

I've visited L.A. I can understand some of it. Fascinating sights, a variety of cultures all in one city, can probably find something to do literally any time of day or night, probably a number of career fields all in one city (whereas some cities might heavily focus on one particular field), sunny and warm climate most of the time. (And when Colorado gets hit by a snowstorm, I can definitely get that last!*)

But as I've said before on these boards, everything has a trade off. L.A. is also crowded (2nd largest city in the U.S., it makes sense.) If you don't like crowds, it won't appeal. Having driven around L.A. for almost a week (and having to direct workers who are based in L.A. and have to drive around the traffic and complain about it all the time), the traffic seems horrendous. Some people (myself), just aren't big into shopping. I've lived in a country where the weather was the same all year round--while it can be fun to be sunbathing on Christmas day, I did find myself missing a change of seasons. L.A. is also one of the more expensive places in the U.S. to live. (it's in the top 10 for U.S. cities, typically).

For people living there, obviously, what they value is worth any downsides to being there. For people not living there, it's likely that the trade-off simply isn't worth it to them. I could undoubtedly get a job in my field in L.A., but I've already established I like my change of seasons (and I've had the opportunity to contrast that with a place where I had sunny weather all year round, so I know this to be a truth about myself). I'm not fond of high-density traffic (some people think the city I live in is very bad about that--having lived other places, I can say it's not, just certain times it's likely to be worse than others). I like some space (again, compared to some places I've lived, where I am now offers quite a bit of that). I'm not a nightclubber anymore, so I don't care if I can find a place that's just kicking up at 3 a.m., and where I am offers quite a bit to do and see of its own (granted, a different type of sightseeing than what L.A. offers.)

It's not a case of L.A. being better or worse than any other city. Just a question of "What city offers the things you most want?", and for some, the answer is L.A. For others, the answer is someplace else.

*--the tale of my week in L.A. I had come to visit friends in the area and they picked me up at the airport on Memorial Day....and I came off my plane wearing a heavy winter coat. They expressed surprise, and I shrugged and said, "It's snowing back home (Denver.)" Their reaction was to say, "But...it's Memorial Day weekend. The beginning of summer!" And my response was, "Yes....and I live in Colorado." There was amusement all around.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by Indigo Cardinal

This thread title popped up and caught my eye. I admit to amusement.

I've lived a number of places in my 44 years, including two foreign countries. I figure most people gravitate to what attracts them most. Apparently, for a *lot* of people (given the population), L.A. has a lot of appeal.

I've visited L.A. I can understand some of it. Fascinating sights, a variety of cultures all in one city, can probably find something to do literally any time of day or night, probably a number of career fields all in one city (whereas some cities might heavily focus on one particular field), sunny and warm climate most of the time. (And when Colorado gets hit by a snowstorm, I can definitely get that last!*)

But as I've said before on these boards, everything has a trade off. L.A. is also crowded (2nd largest city in the U.S., it makes sense.) If you don't like crowds, it won't appeal. Having driven around L.A. for almost a week (and having to direct workers who are based in L.A. and have to drive around the traffic and complain about it all the time), the traffic seems horrendous. Some people (myself), just aren't big into shopping. I've lived in a country where the weather was the same all year round--while it can be fun to be sunbathing on Christmas day, I did find myself missing a change of seasons. L.A. is also one of the more expensive places in the U.S. to live. (it's in the top 10 for U.S. cities, typically).

For people living there, obviously, what they value is worth any downsides to being there. For people not living there, it's likely that the trade-off simply isn't worth it to them. I could undoubtedly get a job in my field in L.A., but I've already established I like my change of seasons (and I've had the opportunity to contrast that with a place where I had sunny weather all year round, so I know this to be a truth about myself). I'm not fond of high-density traffic (some people think the city I live in is very bad about that--having lived other places, I can say it's not, just certain times it's likely to be worse than others). I like some space (again, compared to some places I've lived, where I am now offers quite a bit of that). I'm not a nightclubber anymore, so I don't care if I can find a place that's just kicking up at 3 a.m., and where I am offers quite a bit to do and see of its own (granted, a different type of sightseeing than what L.A. offers.)

It's not a case of L.A. being better or worse than any other city. Just a question of "What city offers the things you most want?", and for some, the answer is L.A. For others, the answer is someplace else.

*--the tale of my week in L.A. I had come to visit friends in the area and they picked me up at the airport on Memorial Day....and I came off my plane wearing a heavy winter coat. They expressed surprise, and I shrugged and said, "It's snowing back home (Denver.)" Their reaction was to say, "But...it's Memorial Day weekend. The beginning of summer!" And my response was, "Yes....and I live in Colorado." There was amusement all around.

This is a great post. The only reasonable one I've read for someone who just isn't a fan of LA. There was a small city I once drove through in Colorado, Something Springs (I don't think it was Colorado Springs). And I remember it as being absolutely gorgeous. Mountains on one side and a river on the opposite. We stopped, walked around a ski lodge, ate at a Subway and I really just wanted to explore forever.

[YoungTraveler2011]

Originally Posted by bpeeps

...I really just wanted to explore forever.

About a couple of months and you'd get bored living there. Go see it for yourself, broseph!

[radiolibre99]

I know some might not get why someone would put up with the following cons:

1.) bad job market
2.) low pay for the cost of living
3.) scammers everywhere
4.) annoying wannabe Hollywood types, bad artists. I mean basically picture all the rejects from American Idol or any contest/reality show/youtube star and double that and you'll get the picture of all the people you'll want to avoid.
5.) the city wants money from you at all levels; taxes, fees, etc
6.) crowded. There could be an event advertised in the lower left hand corner of the most obscure paper, if its free, half the city will show up. Anything free, Angelenos will crowd that event. Never fails.
7.) the city can get quite lonely sometimes. People are just too busy sometimes. They'll cancel last minute or stand you up. Lasting relationships are rare.

There are more I'll think of later but I think it's the opportunities, weather and lax way of life that make go getters stay. It's why I'm still here.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

I know some might not get why someone would put up with the following cons:

1.) bad job market
2.) low pay for the cost of living
3.) scammers everywhere
4.) annoying wannabe Hollywood types, bad artists. I mean basically picture all the rejects from American Idol or any contest/reality show/youtube star and double that and you'll get the picture of all the people you'll want to avoid.
5.) the city wants money from you at all levels; taxes, fees, etc
6.) crowded. There could be an event advertised in the lower left hand corner of the most obscure paper, if its free, half the city will show up. Anything free, Angelenos will crowd that event. Never fails.
7.) the city can get quite lonely sometimes. People are just too busy sometimes. They'll cancel last minute or stand you up. Lasting relationships are rare.

There are more I'll think of later but I think it's the opportunities, weather and lax way of life that make go getters stay. It's why I'm still here.

Your #7 post reminded me one of my negatives about LA: distance. Most everyone talks about traffic in terms of a commute to work. Live near where you work is always stated, but often social groups are left out of that discussion. My commute to work is a non-issue, so I never complain about it in that regards. But my friends are spread out all over LA. I live in West Hollywood (can't get anymore central than that). I have friends in Burbank, Reseda, Venice, Silverlake, DTLA, the list goes on. My friend who lives in Venice will occasionally text me to ask if I want to come over for dinner after work.

And I have to literally sit there and debate it in my head. It is 6pm, traffic is going to suck . Santa Monica is going to be a mess, Sunset will be a mess around the 405, and I don't even want to think about the 10. And then I end up just making excuses not to hang out. This is what also usually keeps her in her little bubble around Venice as well. And another buddy of mine had a birthday party on a weeknight in DTLA I forced myself to travel to from Studio City after work. And most of our mutual friends didn't show up just because it was so far out of the way from everyone. Not sure if this is just me being lazy or a crappy friend at times or if anyone else experiences thing similar to it.

If it's the weekend or a Friday though, I'm almost always willing to do a little bit of traveling because I plan or Waze myself through traffic. That's my biggest peeve about LA. The lack of public transportation really hinders keeping all the different enclaves and neighborhoods of LA connected.

[UB50]

When I first moved to LA, most of my friends lived in Orange County: Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Irvine, Laguna, etc. It didn't take me long to learn what "geographically undesirable" meant. They just lived too far away to go visit very often. It wasn't just a quick trip after work even though the mileage said it was. A trip to Anaheim on Friday after work was a three hour drive, one way.

My best friend lived in Manhattan Beach and it took me awhile to learn how to get there avoiding the 405.