What is happening in L A (Los Angeles: apartment, how much, movies)

[hemi42]

Hi.

I leave in west Europe.

Since a long time, I want to come to USA and particullary, in LA.

Like every kids of my generation (I was born in the end of the 70’s), American movies and tv show have influence our way of life.

LA represents America on television.
This city is a sort of dream since a long time for someone like me :
Sports, rock music group, V8 and Muscle cars everywhere.

A city where it is easy to work, make money, and have a great life.

My opinion is changing when I come on forums like this one and read messages of people who live in LA.

Los Angeles, infested by violence, hard to make money and to survive, expensive taxes...

Wow, is that real...

Just to compare, how much is the gallon gazoline price in LA ?

I read that lots of people would like to leave this city if they will have the money...
I can’t believe, where is the American dream I see everytime on tv ?

Please, if you answer this message, use simple words.

Bye

[fastfilm]

Hemi42, your English is good: it is easy to understand what you are trying to ask.

This is a huge city, without city transportation like Metro or subways that go everywhere at all hours. Your question about gasoline prices for a car shows me that you already know a lot about L.A. You will need a car, and you will need to drive far distances. Gasoline prices this week are about $2.50 per gallon of regular grade gas. It varies between $2.50 and $3.00 throughout the year, presently.

Europeans often have an easier time adjusting to L.A. than people from other parts of the USA because the expensive lifestyle here is something they already are used to in their own cities. I would give an American in America very different advice than I would give you.

Your question is one that I often answer with another question: what do you want in your life? I really would suggest you come visit here for at least two or three weeks.

Here's a discussion buried in these ten pages of comments that addresses such a visit by another European.
What is it like to live in California????
Many people had good suggestions on where this European should visit in California, not just L.A.

Whether or not a place seems to be like its image is a good question. Sometimes we can laugh about how untrue images are. My husband laughed that he expected to see people on Welsh ponies in Wales, U.K., and instead saw a more urban area. You may expect to see a lot of beautiful women who look like actresses (something I've heard from a lot of Europeans!), and instead see a lot of poor people from South America and Mexico.

Movies and television shows are filmed in Los Angeles because we have a lot of sunshine for outdoor filming, and not a lot of rain. If you are interested in working in the entertainment business, that would be a good reason to move here. But think about how advertising works in your country. TV and magazines show you advertisements of beautiful people in lovely places, so that you'll think whatever they are selling is just what you need to join those people. It's the same here.

I still suggest you visit to make up your own mind. Anyone reading these posts can see that if someone is rich they enjoy life here, and if they are not, that Los Angeles presents very different problems for working people than most American cities.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by hemi42

Hi.

Los Angeles, infested by violence, hard to make money and to survive, expensive taxes...

Don't take the word of a couple disgruntled people on an anonymous message board. LA is like any big city. There are wealthy people and there are poor people and there are people in the middle.

Across the entire US, people in the Middle Class are struggling, especially those who are in the large cities. Your experience in LA will be shaped by your particular situation.

Just because some of the people on this board are not making it in LA doesn't mean noone makes it. I have a friend in LA who makes six figures, has a great apartment in a nice area, and enjoys all the amenities available and loves living in Los Angeles.

[hemi42]

Thanks a lot for your answers.

I would like to do a travel next year.
Visiting California and LA is an old dream.
I don’t want to take a tourist bus and visit only Hollywood bd and beverly hills, I want to see the real city.

This city is probably a great city to spend good time.
If I fall in love with this city, why not coming every years for vacations.
But living in L A... I’m not sure it is what I need.

Fastfilm :

“Your question about gasoline prices for a car shows me that you already know a lot about L.A. You will need a car, and you will need to drive far distances.”

When a European think to L A, he think to Hollywood, and there is a sentence Europeans often says about L A : in L A, you are what you drive.

Fastfilm :

“Gasoline prices this week are about $2.50 per gallon of regular grade gas. It varies between $2.50 and $3.00 throughout the year, presently”
“Europeans often have an easier time adjusting to L.A. than people from other parts of the USA because the expensive lifestyle here is something they already are used to in their own cities.”

I see that you know a lot about Europe to.
Today, the gallon is 4,025 $ in my country...

Fastfilm :
“I still suggest you visit to make up your own mind.”

Sasseberto :
“Your experience in LA will be shaped by your particular situation.”

That’s what I will do very soon.

Bye