Does ANYONE like living in LA? (Los Angeles, Orange: low income, lofts, mortgage)

[gypsy456]

Yep, I am happy in LA.
I like it because it's a huge city where I can discover every day something different, you will not get bored in this city, it's a melting pot of cultures.
Live in West Hollywood.

[Benm]

I LOVE it here! Santa Monica is beautiful. You should come!

[californialove24]

Where ever i go in La County i feel like im in Hollywood which makes me feel like im a light bulb bursting with energy. This is how i feel going to a Lakers game, I just love the Vibe. LA and La County feels like Nyc but all spreaded out. Not all compacted together like Nyc is.

[SurekRZA]

Can a mod change the title of this thread to: "Does anyone NOT LIKE living in L.A.?"
because it appears to be the case lol

I LOVE L.A.

[motoman]

It may seem that people are negative, but typically what they are being negative about are 1) the cost of housing, 2) traffic, 3) a generally higher cost of living. And then you have things like crappy public schools, for those with families. And they are generally trying to tell people moving here to expect those things and not to be surprised by them. A lot of people moving here just don't want to believe the cost of living and traffic and such. So you have to beat it into their head.

If you could "fix" those things, I doubt you would hear many people complaining about much at all.

Who can complain about year-round beautiful weather, more to do than you could ever have the time or money to do, and diversity you just can't find anywhere else?

[Loansstore]

The mix of cultures is certainly nice, IF the folks not originally from the US try to assimilate to American culture as well

[fatmancomics]

I lived in downtown L.A. for most of my twenties and I loved it. I liked living in the middle of all the hubbub and nobody ever messed with me but I was a young hispanic male with a big frame and, according to my peers, a "don't 'f' with me look". The food was the best part of living there since there was every type of restaurant imanigable if you knew where to look.
The best sushi restaurant in all of L.A. county was down the street in Little Tokyo, the best pastrami in the city was down the street near USC, the best Thai food was down the street on Vermont, etc. I could walk to the Grand Central Library for free entertainment, drive for 20 minutes to the zoo in one direction or the natural history museum in the other and to LACMA in a third direction. The beach (Venice and Santa Monica) were also 20 minutes away. Let's not even get started on the shopping in the alleys.
Then I got attacked twice at work and started to realize that the perks of living downtown weren't going to be worth much if I wasn't alive to enjoy them. I'm an amateur artist which meant I wasn't artsy fartsy enough to live in the artist district (and who can really afford to rent a loft there if they're making less than a thousand a week?) or Los Feliz and I was about to get engaged which meant looking for a more stable place.
This was at the peak of the real estate boom so a house was not an option in L.A. and, soon, neither was an apartment so I moved to Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County. It was great until I got married and found out, the hard way, that they didn't have much tolerance for interracial couples there so my wife and I had to move back to L.A.
We rented an apartment in Chatsworth (yes, the San Fernando Valley) and got a house not too long after that in Winnetka thanks to the real estate bubble bursting. Both of the neighborhoods we have lived in in the valley have had friendly people and the charm of that small town feel along with the perks of big city living (we lived near malls both times and there are plenty of good restaurants in the areas we chose). We still drive into the downtown area every once in a while for good sushi or for a museum but we're happy where we're at.
So, to answer your question, as someone who's grown up in L.A. and at least had a glimpse of other places (I've been to Alabama, Chicago, Tennesse and Nevada) I definitely have always liked living in L.A.

[Hungry For Cheese]

I've lived in the Valley my whole life. Never really seeing a whole lot of L.A.
Now that I am in my late 20s, in college, and still learning who I am...I want to experience new things and live life. My late teens/early 20s I spent much time and money working on my cars - fixing them up...and of course working nights a weekends.

I went to the El Rey Theatre Wednesday night and really enjoyed being out of the "Valley"....This area I was in was like a whole new world...and I've gotten that feeling before, but that night I truly appreciated it. Does anyone else know what I mean? Have you lived in the Valley, then moved to LA and fell in love?

I feel like moving to LA, not only for the nice apartments that seem a bit cheaper due to paid water, gas, trash...but for more jobs that pay a bit more. The only thing that bugs me is the fact I plan to transfer to CSUN in Spring09....what a commute that would be each night on the 405N....eeek.

[BRinSM]

My situation is similar in that I grew up in the OC and rarely, if ever trecked up to LA. LA is very stigmatized down in OC, but after moving up here for work, I found that I liked it much better than the OC. I do go back to visit friends on occassion, but overall I'm very happy here and have no plans on going anywhere else any time soon.

[Perkins Well]

Originally Posted by Hungry For Cheese

I've lived in the Valley my whole life. Never really seeing a whole lot of L.A.
Now that I am in my late 20s, in college, and still learning who I am...I want to experience new things and live life. My late teens/early 20s I spent much time and money working on my cars - fixing them up...and of course working nights a weekends.

I went to the El Rey Theatre Wednesday night and really enjoyed being out of the "Valley"....This area I was in was like a whole new world...and I've gotten that feeling before, but that night I truly appreciated it. Does anyone else know what I mean? Have you lived in the Valley, then moved to LA and fell in love?

I feel like moving to LA, not only for the nice apartments that seem a bit cheaper due to paid water, gas, trash...but for more jobs that pay a bit more. The only thing that bugs me is the fact I plan to transfer to CSUN in Spring09....what a commute that would be each night on the 405N....eeek.

I know what you're talking about. I lived in Sherman Oaks for many years, which I liked, but got a little sick of the Valley so I moved to Venice to experience the whole other world on the other side of the hill. The Valley is a great place to start, or raise a family, but not if you're looking for excitement.