Think about moving cross country to Los Angeles? (apartments, car insurance)

[philly10]

Hello L.A.,

I'm a 19 college student from Philadelphia and have an interest to head to the city of angels, but it would be a big move from the east coast and would have to leave my family and friends. I have numerous questions for all L.A. natives and don't have to answer them all. Is L.A. plastic (is it just hollywood culture and the plastic surgery that is prevelent? Is their any intellect in L.A.? Is it hard to make friends in L.A. (I would know nobody and will be alone) Another problem is that I like the Northeast culture with the museums, nightlife, and the proximity to NYC and its international hub. But I also like the fact that California is very casual and laid back and would love the weather (I hate the northeast weather-i hate the cold winters) Being the fact that people go to L.A. to make it big on film, i really have no desire to be an actor and will be looking for a law job. Is there a good legal market in L.A.? My last question is l.a. go to live in the long term or is L.A. good for twenty-something people?
Sorry for all the questions (I might have more questions if I think of anything else lol) Is it worth moving to Los Angeles?

Thanks,
ADAM

[SandyCo]

Is LA plastic? Absolutely; no natural material here whatsoever. All 5 million of us are vapid, shallow snobs.

Intellect? Huh?

It's a good thing you don't want to be an actor; those are a dime a dozen around here. The job market in general is pretty bad right now, as the unemployment rate is over 10% now. L.A. is fine as long as:

1. You don't mind either living in a very small single or sharing a larger place with roommates

2. You get used to how spread out it is and the repercussions from that (bumper-to-bumper traffic on a daily basis, for example)

3. You don't expect life here to be like an episode of "Baywatch" (or whatever shows people are watching these days that completely misrepresent real life here!)

4. You can save up a lot of money to live on while you're "trying it out", so you can stay out of the porn industry.

Welcome to City-Data.

[buckeyenative01]

Is it sad or hilarious that failure is determined by whether or not you end up in the porn industry?

[philly10]

another question: is L.A. like you see on tv. (the hills and all of the mtv shows) or is it just tv and in reality lots of poverty and crime?

Intellect-are there a lot of smart people or are there a lot of beautiful but not so smart people to put it as kindly as possible. i do like to hold an intellectual conversation like literature, art, politics, law, history, and science-not what brad pitt and angelina are doing.

is it hard to find an apartment for a 1000 (or less)? ill prob find a roommate to share the expenses.

although i plan on staying single for a long time (maybe forever) is l.a. good on relationships or is it a city of one-night stands and full of cheaters/people who can't commit?

[uptown_urbanist]

Keep in mind that LA is a major international city. Do you REALLY think it's filled only with plastic bimbos who have one night stands? It's a city just like any other, with people of all interests and backgrounds. It is a city with extremes, though: extreme poverty and wealth, extreme beauty and some really ugly parts.

LA is a major internatonal hub. People living here come from everywhere. And while the "industry" is a major source of employment, there are many (millions, in fact) of people who work in other fields (including law). It's not a good time to be looking for a job, of course, but unfortunately that's true many places right now.

LA is great for young people. It's also great for older people. I think the essential thing initially is to pick the right neighborhood - LA offers EVERYTHING, and you can have as urban/suburban/even semi-rural experience as you want. Traffic is bad (although there is public transportation, including a subway: somehow many people from elsewhere often don't know this), and the city is a different type than are the east coast cities, so you have to approach it differently.

I thought at first that this post was a joke, a satire on the fact that so many people really DO hold these sorts of stereotypes about LA. Philly10, I'll take you at your word and say that you'll probably be in a better position because you don't expect to become a big star and/or live like the Hills girls.

LA offers some of the best cultural institutions in the world. Check out the Huntington (Library, Art Collections, and Gardens), LACMA, the Getty, and any number of other perhaps lesser-known but fascinating places (museum of jurassic technology, etc.).

I'm not an LA native, but fell in love with the city on my first visit. For me it was the diversity - of the people, of the architecture, of everything. You're young; if you don't like it or change your mind you can always move back east. Leave all your stereotypes behind, though, because the reality of life in LA is very different for most people than what you see on TV.

[nmnita]

the first question I have for you: if you are 19 and planning on entering the law business, what are you planning on doing and have you saved up enough money to live on for 3 to 6 months before you get established?

Now, is L.A. plastic? Sure, to some degree but many people are just people like you get everywhere.

Are there many smart people as you termed it, I think a better word, might be intellectual, probably not like you have on the east coast, but of course they are. Not everyone hangs out at the beach, surfing and getting high every day. It is also very cultural diverse.

Yes, there are mountains and palm trees and the big Hollywood sign, depending on where you live the smog may block all this 1/2 of the year.

How are you going to find this room mate you mention? No, you can not find a place to live for $1000 a month, or not many anyway if you want to be in the city itself..Not even a 1 bedroom. actually you might want to look at apartments near a college campus.

Do you have a car, you will need one and should be prepared to pay very high car insurance because of your age.

Now, if you still think you have the means and want to give it a try go for it, but I get the feeling you have been watching a little too much T.V.

Nita

[ZenMaster2008]

We's aint dat smart here inn LA but we cant help it.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by ZenMaster2008

We's aint dat smart here inn LA but we cant help it.

good one!!!!

[ironjello]

19 moving to LA? No college degree? Get outta here!! Wanna live well? You need the following in this order: education, discipline, persistence, money, health, and finally looks/charisma. Of course, feel free to take a "road trip" or what have you to discover yourself, etc. that type of nonsense. =P

[fatmancomics]

To be honest, it doesn't sound to me like you're quite ready to live here from your original post, Philly10. You might want to visit for a few weeks on your next summer vacation and see if you like it at all.
As of right now, it seems like you have too many preconcieved notions of an all encompansing culture in this "city". L.A. is not just one city though, it's a county with a bunch of little cities all spread out and each with a slew of different cultures within them.
There is downtown, there are the inner cities, there are the beach cities and villages, there are the valleys and all of them have so many differing races, cultures, economical classes and intellectual levels amongst their people that a simple "are you guys plastic?" just doesn't do us justice.
The thing with people who are either from NY or used to going there for a sampling of metropolitan life is that they've grown lazy when it comes to meeting different types of people and having different places to see and different things to do. The areas in the east coast are much more condensed so you're used to seeing all the different people, smart or dumb, rich or poor, white or otherwise, all come together in one city or one park.
In L.A. you'll see much smaller samplings of such diversity in certain areas of each city but you almost always have to look for what you're interested in. The great thing about it is that one day you can be interested in an art gallery opening and the other in a book signing and you'll always be able to find such an event. You can choose to have friends who are vacuous and still have friends who are intellectual. You can find casual sex or "meaningful" relationships. It's really up to you. I mean it though, IT'S UP TO YOU, don't expect to have all the things that you want waiting for you at the airport. You have to work for what you want here more than in most places.