big family relocating to LA, are we nuts?? (Los Angeles, Santa Clarita: homes, catholic schools)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by jacktravern

3-Putting in a worry about earthquakes shows that you watch too many movies. On average you might feel 1 quake every 2 or 3 years and it will last maaaaybe 10 seconds.

Nope, sorry. Californians are the ones in denial on this one. Your statement is an example of a cognitive flaw humans have called recency bias:

https://www.google.com/#q=recency+bias

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

Sorry, just from the questions you ask you know little to nothing about LA, first off you don't need A/C all year round(July, Aug, Sept), second you don't seem to know the area at all.

If you were single, or a married couple with maybe one kid(and preschool age at that), I would say go for it.

And your wife wanting to work in the entertainment industry sounds nice but without connections most likely not going to happen.

When you have kids(and you have a lot of kids) you have to put their interests first, moving kids away from their friends and activities is a lot to ask.

The only opportunity I see for your kids is to be able to play outside more. Not really a reason to move.

This is my assessment, too. L.A. and coastal CA metro areas are a complete rat race unless you make a fabulous amount of money (and then you probably have an all consuming job in order to make that kind of $$). $150K with 4 kids isn't fabulous money in L.A.--far from it.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by nobunagana

As for our kids, while moving away from friends is hard, I believe that giving them new experiences and diversity growing up isn't bad. They will make new friends and have more experience than your average kids who grows up in the same suburb their entire life. I don't believe in putting only their interests first either, I believe in taking the entire families interests into account and maximizing everyone's chances of realizing their potential. Chicago tech is okay, but not as many opportunities as LA area. Same goes for the entertainment industry. How can I teach my kids to work hard to pursue their dreams if we don't do what it takes to pursue ours?

This sounds a little convoluted to me.

I think there's an important lesson to teach kids about trade-offs that's being missed. Working hard is good. But you also have to work smart. And the economics and logistics (i.e. time spent in traffic) of living in a place like L.A. work heavily against most families, especially those with 4 kids. A lot of people come to CA to pursue their dreams only to find out they spend all their time working and commuting, with little time to spend with their kids or time to spend doing all the fun things they thought they would do. Then the kids end up messed up because they don't get enough guidance and attention from their parents who are working and commuting all the time (and/or are de-compressing from all that work and commuting).

In short, you should have pursued this dream before you had 4 kids. Now that you have them, you shouldn't be engaging in a high stakes game with their stability. That is the nature of trade offs.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by jacktravern

You crack me up, you know that. I live on the Ventura side of the Valley, commute roughly 12 miles or so to the Sylmar area, and I have god awful 21 minute ride to work. THE HORROR. Im guessing you, like many others, bought a home quite a distance from work, because you just HAD to have a home, and sacrificed with a terrible commute to work.

All of the beaches have public parking so your point is ridiculous. Even if the parking is not right on the beach.

As someone noted, I think deep down you would like to be back in LA but are bitter because you cant live here under your own terms.

Exactly Jack! Actually Fran used to say(she has posts on here) stating she wanted to move back to CA.

She is like the guy who got dumped by the pretty girl 3 years ago and now badmouths the girl to anyone who will listen, of course in his version he dumped her.

[quote=Fran66;41105501]Well, you can think whatever you want. I don't care. You really don't know me at all. For example -- I never really in the city of LA. And your response(s) -- you and sean -- to what I have written is basically to try to ridicule me. That says a great deal about you and nothing about me (and you don't even realize that ).




No one is ridiculing you or getting angry(frankly you're not worth getting angry over)Fran66. Just as Jack pointed out not everyone is sitting on the freeways for two hours each way doing horrible commutes. The longest commute I ever had in LA was 45 minutes.

Nor is everyone sitting in their house unable to go anywhere on weekends.

I guess your comment "I never really in the city of LA", means you never lived in LA? Than you really have no business commenting on the subject of what it's like to live in LA.

I lived in Portland, OR for about 3 years before moving back to CA, I spoke to a young girl about 20 and she told me she hated LA, hey that's fine, turned out she had never even been to LA, just to Disneyland once when she was 12.

I told her " you can't hate a place you have never been, if you go to LA and spend time there and don't like it, that's OK, but to go through life at such a young age so close minded is going about it the wrong way

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

Too narrow lanes on the freeway? LOL...try back east. The roads there are much older and much more narrow. I went back last year and you want to gridlock.

Southern CA has an amazing freeway system. Yes, they're crowded but there are plenty of times when they're not, it also depends on where you live and where you need to go.

You have posted many times that no one goes anywhere, everyone works 70 hours a week, and is too tired to do anything and they can't anyway because you can never get anywhere.

You embellish quite a bit (polite way of saying you lie).

I have already stated that IMO I don't think it's good move for a family of 6 with only one person earning income. It's not enough money for that large of a family, he seems to have a decent life where he is.

I think you're real issue is while you don't mind living in NM, you would prefer to back in CA, it's out of reach for you. So you bash the place.

I'm not getting angry, I'm pointing out where you're embellishing and making everything negative.

You don't ever mention any good. That's your problem, not just on this post but all your posts.

You're not doing the good, the bad, and the ugly, when you don't say anything good Frannie.

I don't get why you and Fran are arguing so much. It seems you agree more than you disagree. So why the arguing? I think Frank was right about the earthquake situation. We all know a big one is going to happen and is, in fact, overdue, for both NorCal and SoCal.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by jacktravern

As someone noted, I think deep down you would like to be back in LA but are bitter because you cant live here under your own terms.

Well, she sort of admitted as much in a previous post.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

I don't get why you and Fran are arguing so much. It seems you agree more than you disagree. So why the arguing? I think Frank was right about the earthquake situation. We all know a big one is going to happen and is, in fact, overdue, for both NorCal and SoCal.

Maybe you should ask here that? She is the one who starts with the name calling and getting an attitude and making it personal.

I'm very familiar with her posts. She keeps saying how Southern CA has changed over the last 40 years, newsflash, the whole country has changed.

She makes LA sound like the only place people sit in traffic, try Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, etc.

On one post she said everyone in LA works 60 hours a week and doesn't do anything on the weekends because they're too tired, and besides you can't go anywhere because the freeways are so crowded....now that right there is a contradiction, if everyone is sitting at home because they're too tired from working and sitting in rush hour traffic, than how are the freeways crowded on the weekends?????

You can't have a discussion with her(look at her comments) she takes it personally if you point out where she is shall we say "stretching the truth".

[Mister 7]

Originally Posted by jamills21

to be fair you have not said one thing negative about Knoxville. I'm curious what the cons are if your willing to admit what they are lol.

Churches, Christians everywhere
Certain politics
Terrible drivers
Winters (more annoying than anything, but hardly harsh)
Slow pace (in some ways this is a pro)
Rednecks (though that's easy to avoid if you stay out of certain areas, and I'd rather have that than bums and illegals in my face)
Not a whole lot of diversity
Lack of world-class city amenities


I never said Knoxville was perfect. What place is? However, we have made a pro and con list for both and the pro list for Knoxville far outweighs the LA one. (FOR US, at least.)

[jmac1]

Originally Posted by AJT123

the pro list for Knoxville far outweighs the LA one. (FOR US, at least.)

Wow! Different strokes for sure.

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by Miami Vice Finatic

Moderator cut: orphaned I've been to Culver City a million times and I lived near there when I lived on 57th and Crenshaw which is 46 minutes away by car and 16 minutes away by bus. There are filming studios that are prevalent there, struggling and up and coming actors live in Culver City or near there because of it's proximity to filming locations. Eddie Murphy has been spotted out there. Plus some well to do or financially comfortable Blacks and Latinos live there, especially Blacks. Do your research or GO to Culver City before you open your mouth.

Yeah OK. Living in the hood 45 minutes away from Culver does not = Culver.

The wealthy areas you refer to are not in Culver City...they are places like Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, etc., outside of Culver City.

Culver City is NOT an epicenter of celebs...the two big lots in Culver do bring a lot of production jobs and people and yes, actors of course, but it's not a defining characteristic of the place.

CC has gotten gentrified and quickly. Prices are crazy, rental and purchase. The housing stock is predominantly post-war small homes on neat, small lots. Downtown is bustling. CC used to be a nice alternative to more expensive areas in SM and the westside; now the cost differential is less pronounced. Which, IMHO, makes the downside of CC (traffic, crowdedness, westside annoyances) more noticeable.

That said...it is a great place for a family if you got in 10 years ago when it was affordable. I'd be hard pressed to recommend it to the OP unless he's actually working there.

And overall, OP, I've thought some more about your plan. By way of background, my wife and I moved here 15+ years ago pre-kids, and with the understanding we were both undergoing a career change. We had savings, but fully expected to live low for as long as we needed to. We rented a modest apt and get going. It has worked out well.

I'd never tell someone not to pursue something, but in your case I'd be very very careful. It sounds like you want to 'cut-and-paste' your current life from Ill. to LA, without a break in stride, which is really a very tall task. You only cryptically mentioned your wife's interest in the entertainment biz...how much of that is prompting you all to move?

At the very least an extended visit is advisable, and not a touristy one. I'd try to get immersed in some areas you're thinking about, just drive and walk around, pick up some info on apartments and houses and leagues, etc. You learn a LOT by just driving around.