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"If you are smart enough to get roomates, you can live with 3 other people, and move to gorgoues manhattan beach for 900 a month. If you dont want roomates, and are single, then you are just *****ed and need to re-evaluate or leave the city. dont be fooled by dilapidated places renting for outrageous prices. Just laugh at them and keep searching..No matter how you slice it, you can get much more for your money in other states. FAR more. I may be moving in the future, but LA is not all that bad, even for young professionals who dont make 200K/yr. I hang in Manhattan, santa monica, venice, malibu, west hollywood, beverly hills, west LA, and countless other areas. If you can afford to live and work in a very quiet neighborhood and know how to get around to all the wonderful parts of LA, it is one of the best places around if you like endless parks, festivals, cultural events, night life, beaches, unique neighorhoods, restaruants, events, and world class venues and entertainment..If you like to stay at home, go to walmart to shop and applebees to eat, and just want a safe quiet space, 70% of America will do, and will be far cheaper.. in my opinion, CA is all that and a bag of chips. I encourage every young professional to come and really sample the culture (whether it be the arts scene, the grunge scene, the indie-rock scene, the night party scene, the outdoors-beach scene, the political involvment scene, or the yuck yuck celebrity watch fashion scene). "IF" you are resourceful and know how to get around and have fun, LA, and ALOT of CA is great, at least for the first 5 years or so."
Good post jlrobe. LA is an exciting place for the young person striking out on their own who have come from other less stimulating areas of the country. If one need only care for oneself, if a half decent salary is available, and if same has a roommate (or two) in a nice location - it's not bad, lots of new, exciting experiences. Those of us who remember the LA of the past (and have grown jaded with time and experience), those of us who are not affluent, and those of us who have responsibilities (at home/college children, long commutes, worry about our families safety, etc.) - LA can lead to burnout and stresses that a life in a smaller town can lessen.
That is such an interesting story. To be honest, I think you are lucky not to be born in CA or NYC. People seem to like the places they grew up. On the contrary, a friend of mine moved to tennessee to attend vanderbilt and absolutely hated tennessee, but I am sure people who were born in tennesse love it. I have been too Texas, arkansas, lousiana, and georgia, and I must say, I dont hate them, but I didnt like them either. I have a CA syndrome. I think those places are all the same and I simply describe them as not CA. For people who grew up in those places, thats a good thing, for people who grew up in CA, that is a bad thing.
I really do wish I could live in tennesse. I could buy a house in cash, in those states, where as here, it would only be a down payment. CA is SO frustrating in this regard. Darn you CA!!! Why are you SO expensive!!!!
Yes, I think that's very true about it being largely a matter of where you grew up and what you're acclimated to. And although for me, the bad things about living in L.A. definitely outweighed the good, I did get to do some cool things and have certain cultural experiences that I would not have been exposed to in any other part of the country, and I'll always be glad for that.
Two things I'll miss about SoCal; In-n-Out and Trader Joes. Other than that this place has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. My bro in law moved to Valencia for a "better quality of life" to raise his children. he paid $450k for a brand new 2100 sqft home and honest to God the backyard is the size of 3picnic tables and you can almost touch the neighbors wall. Oh yeah, he works on the westside so he has to get up at 4am every day in order to get to work on time. His shift is 6-3 with a 3 1/2 hour commute each day. What's the point of having a decent home if you're never there to enjoy it or too tired to play with the kids?
It's dirty, crime ridden,overrun by illegals and insanely overpriced and over taxed. Good weather and good food though. That's it. Greenville, SC here I come.
CA is SO frustrating in this regard [housing prices]. Darn you CA!!! Why are you SO expensive!!!!
It's so expensive because all of you want to live here! It's supply and demand, and your demand is driving up the prices. What's worse, we Angelinos outward bound for quieter cities are driving up prices there too. It won't be long until nobody can afford to live anywhere. We can migrate to Mexico when the last illegal has moved here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonrise
Two things I'll miss about SoCal; In-n-Out and Trader Joes . . . [Sonrise's brother's] shift is 6-3 with a 3 1/2 hour commute each day. What's the point of having a decent home if you're never there to enjoy it or too tired to play with the kids?
It's dirty, crime ridden,overrun by illegals and insanely overpriced and over taxed. Good weather and good food though. That's it. Greenville, SC here I come.
Trader Joe's Market has locations in other states, although unfortunately not enough. (Google for their website.)
I used to commute San Fernando Valley to Valencia (opposite direction to your bro'), and those folks driving the other direction are IMO insane. Almost two hours each way in heavy traffic to get to work? It's people like your brother who are willing to drive that distance that creates all the traffic.
There are only two reasons to live in Los Angeles: (1) work, (2) best weather in the country. Maybe a (3) if you like big city cultural things like music, sports, theater, and a lot of shopping choices.
I enjoy cooking so I appreciate the huge selection and availability of fresh meat, seafood, and produce. Trader Joes too!
I hear ya. I am not moving out for the acting biz...I wish though LOL.
I am lucky 'cause I run my own business and can work at home, so that takes care of most the traffic issues. When I visited the L.A. area last fall, I realized that it's not for me, so I'm thinking of Northern California (Monterey or San Jose area) if I can't live 1-2 hours south of L.A.
My hubby is an engineer so I'm thinking it will be easy for him to find a job...Putting it out there (intention is really everything--not to sound too woo-woo or New Agey lol). I mean, if say he works in some place like Irvine and we live in one of the Lagunas...don't think the driving will be too bad--I hope not (We live in a big metro area now and it takes sometimes 1 hour or more to go 15 miles in a.m. rush hour).
We don't plan on having kids or aspiring to the big 'American dream' of a big 3000 sq. ft. home and bling-bling cars, etc. Not knocking it because some want it and that is cool...Just not for me
Congrats on the move to SC...I haven't been there, but it looks beautiful in the pics Cool
Hey Kerry,
Unfortunately there are no TJ's in Greenville. Yet, lol. However when I went to visit last month they had just opened the largest Whole Foods that I have ever seen. Way bigger than the one in Glendale.
I used to agree about the weather but now, I'm not sure anymore. As I've stated in a previous post when a haze of gray/brown film is hanging over the mountains 5 outta 7 days a week and the beaches are scummy and the water is freezing...well, I don't know. Not to mention that we wont have a drop of rain for the next 5 months. I kinda would like 4 seasons, not too cold though. That's why Greenville was great for me.
As far as the housing, it's actually not supply and demand. It's an artificial market that has been created in part by greedy developers and by consumers that "have to keep up with the Jonses" in other words people bought because they felt everyone else was so they better not miss the boat. The LA Slime wrote an article about 2 months ago that real estate in Cali was 35% over valued and Texas was 20% under valued. Now however things have changed in the last 5 months homes are being reduced and are taking as long as 3 months to sell. I also heard that Cali is losing a net 100k people a year!! That's net, after everyone has moved in. My advise, do ****.com, check out your #1 place and get out while you can. lol
Angel,
Just read your post right after I posted. Yes the commute from Laguna to Irvine is not that bad. It sounds like you guys are fairly well off financially. If thats the case go for it. Where are you from btw? Hope it goes well for you.
Last edited by Marka; 07-14-2006 at 01:27 AM..
Reason: merged
"If you are smart enough to get roomates, you can live with 3 other people, and move to gorgoues manhattan beach for 900 a month. If you dont want roomates, and are single, then you are just *****ed and need to re-evaluate or leave the city. dont be fooled by dilapidated places renting for outrageous prices...
THanks for the reply. I couldnt agree with your reply more. I even think that "I" will burn out of LA when I am 30-35. Later on in life, I would probably prefer to live elsewhere, unless I could afford the more quiet redondo beach to settle down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonrise
Two things I'll miss about SoCal; In-n-Out and Trader Joes. Other than that this place has no redeeming qualities whatsoever...
Thats too bad because In and out and trader joes are not that great . THere are lots of independent health food stores and mom and pop burger shops that put those two places to great shame .
It sucks that the cost of living is so high that your brother has to move way out there. To be honest, 2100 sq. ft. is huge in CA, so I think he got an AWESOME deal. It is overpriced and overtaxed. No one will disagree there. The government has budget leaks and defecits all over the place. Arnold came to fix this broken state but broke it even more. It has been OVERRUN by illegals, which does really suck. And I am sure the crime is alot higher here than SC.
Everything you said is true though. I wish I could trade the cosmopolitan nature of CA for a better quality of life elsewhere. I am working on myself everyday, and 5 years from now when I have kids, I hope I will have adjusted enough to move. I just have to keep an open mind about places like greenville.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kerry Noyes
It's so expensive because all of you want to live here! It's supply and demand, and your demand is driving up the prices. What's worse, we Angelinos outward bound for quieter cities are driving up prices there too. It won't be long until nobody can afford to live anywhere. We can migrate to Mexico when the last illegal has moved here.
Trader Joe's Market has locations in other states, although unfortunately not enough. (Google for their website.)
I used to commute San Fernando Valley to Valencia (opposite direction to your bro'), and those folks driving the other direction are IMO insane. Almost two hours each way in heavy traffic to get to work? It's people like your brother who are willing to drive that distance that creates all the traffic.
There are only two reasons to live in Los Angeles: (1) work, (2) best weather in the country. Maybe a (3) if you like big city cultural things like music, sports, theater, and a lot of shopping choices.
I enjoy cooking so I appreciate the huge selection and availability of fresh meat, seafood, and produce. Trader Joes too!
THe supply is very low and the demand is high becasue there are people like me. But with crime going up, interest rates going up, taxes possibly going up to cover huge state defecits, overcrowdiness going up, services going down or being stretched thin, the demand will have to drop. If the demand continues to rise and push housing costs up despite all of those factors, then I will move.
Also, I am confused. You list the third reason for living in LA as optional. My number one reason for living in LA is the size of the city. Anyhow, the 3 reasons you listed pretty much some it up. It is like a chicago (sorta), but much warmer.
Last edited by Marka; 07-14-2006 at 01:29 AM..
Reason: merged
Trader Joes isn't a health food store it's an independant grocery chain. 100x's better than Ralphs and a lot cheaper also. Honest to God, you're the 1st person that I've ever met that didn't like the place. Have you been there? As for not liking In-n-Out, thems is fightin' words. lol No freezers, no microwaves and no heatlamps. Everything is made to order and the fries are fresh and cut there on the spot. Far and away the best fast food burger that I've ever had and I'm a connisuer. They were the only fast food chain to pass in the book Fast Food nation.
On housing, I made a typo it was 550k, not 450k, my bad. Either way if you go to other staes it will change your perspective. In Greenville we found a gorgeous,brand new, still being built 3000sqft, 5 bedroom, 3 bath home with a quarter acre backyard for 209k. No joke!
My advise, do ****.com, check out your #1 place and get out while you can. lol
I just tried ****.com and it is useless. I put that I like to be outdoors year round, hate rain and snow, and like great weather. I also listed that I like the big city with lots of cultural venues. It listed el paso texas?!??!?!? and 50% of the cities it least had 45 inches of rain a year?!?!?! How does that work?!?! Man, I was so excited that all those cities popped up just to find that they were nothing like I wanted. Darn!!
That's funny, over the 4th of July my bro in law had a party and everyone did the quiz. I think 3 or 4 of them got El Paso. I think 'cause it has nice weather year round and like all of Texas except Austin it's cheap. I'll tell you though Greenville was my #1 so for 6 months, being the internet geek that I am, I researched it. My wife and I finally decided to visit last month and absolutely fell in love with it and God willing will move there by April. Check out all your cities and then cross reference them with this site and urbanplanet.org. There are some really cool places in America that are affordable and hip.
Btw, how can they be nothing like you wanted? They were your answers. lol
It doesn't randomly choose the cities for you it compiles your answers and then gives you the best matches. El Paso actually is a "big" city, thing is we live in LA . Take the quiz again if you want just be sure to answer them as honestly as possibly and be open minded.
Last edited by Marka; 07-14-2006 at 01:31 AM..
Reason: merged
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It's supply and demand, and your demand is driving up the prices. What's worse, we Angelinos outward bound for quieter cities are driving up prices there too. It won't be long until nobody can afford to live anywhere. We can migrate to Mexico when the last illegal has moved here. 
I hear ya
