Whats so great about Los Angeles on $40,000? (Fresno, Chester: house, unemployment)

[BlinkingBlythe]

Originally Posted by fastfilm

TriciaK57, City-data says I can't exalt your reputation again numerically, so I hereby do so in print.

Please, newcomers checking out L.A. from afar, listen to US RESIDENTS here: the cons against living here so enormously outweigh the pros that is silly to contemplate living here without mega-gigantic incomes, or a maritime job, or a film/tv production job, or a desire to live outside the law with so many here who embrace those lifetstyles. It's the sixth worse educational system in the entire U.S. (verified in "Education" thread here,) its gang problems pervade all parts of the gigantic urban sprawl here except the gated mountain enclaves of the gazillionaires, its smog, extant in all parts of the city except those few miles lining the coast, is the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, and most people here now do not speak English. Paradise, eh?

I couldn't agree with you more. I saw more really bad **** in the past 8 years I have lived here vs the 22 I lived in Pennsylvania. It's a real shame, because the area has beautiful weather, and would've been an ideal place if it weren't for the gangs, the money, and the general nasty social atmosphere. As for the "weather boosters", Baghdad has great weather, but does that mean you want to live there?

L.A. (actualy the whole area) is in dire need of a true social rennesance, which all of the mega McMansion housing developments and "gentification" (to cater to money and line investors pockets) has failed to do

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by Sonrise

AngelBear,
The weather is nice but when an awful brown film is concealing the mountains 5 out of 7 days a week and the ocean is cold and the beaches are scummy what good is nice weather? Also, traffic is atrocious and I'm not exagerrating. I do work in the entertainment business and I was on a tv show last year for 8 months. I live in Burbank and we were shooting in Culver City/Marina Del Ray. About 26 miles give or take. Honest to God, on a bad day it took me 1 1/2 hours each way. What kind of quality of life is that?

LOL -you just EXACTLY described Atlanta (take away the movie studios and replace them with RAP recording studios, though). We're not called the "L.A. of the East" now for nuthin'. :-)

[CBaillo]

i would just like to repeat how much i hate living in Los Angeles.

[kotto_bass]

I've lived in LA for over 8 yrs now. What I like about LA? Diversity and the Weather. Hard to find these anywhere else. But I am planning on leaving for 2 reasons:
- Traffic
- House prices
And these 2 are only getting worse!

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by kotto_bass

I've lived in LA for over 8 yrs now...

For all the good things I mention about LA, I have to agree. I HATE traffic, and I hate being ripped off. Like I said in another thread, I will live here for 3-4 years, do and see absolutely everything there is in the area, and then leave the state without looking back.

If the state manages to correct its problems and housing goes WAY down, (i.e. instead of growing by 50-100K, housing goes down by 150K over the next 4 years). From what people tell me, that is never going to happen. If it doesnt, Im gone.

Originally Posted by Sonrise

jlRobe,
Your a good guy;or girl come to think of it, not sure...

Im a guy. At least for now . I HATE LA traffic and LA cost of living just like you do. CA is my home, like it is for you I am sure. I am very FRUSTRATED about the situation in CA and LA. CA has been forcing my hand for quite some time. I have been watching helplessly, playing a game of chicken with the housing market. Although there are great parts about CA, everyone here is right. The smog, the traffic, and the gangs and poor neighbors are one thing, but the high cost of living it the last straw. If it doesnt come down, I will definietly leave. No questions asked.

I am driving my wife crazy with all this talk. All I talk about all day is how housing is outrageous, and quality of life is going down. Even though I talk CA up, I am just as frustrated with the housing situation as everyone else.

Like I say, I will be leaving here in 3-4 years like you, who knows, maybe I will move right next door to you. I will miss the former glory of some parts of CA and LA.

Anyhow, I can easily see how you are sick of LA. Many aspects of LA and all of CA get tiresome after awhile.

Originally Posted by CBaillo

It's not always about where you grew up...

I agree. The fast life is fantastic when your young, and I dont plan to stay here with a family unless the housing market corrects itself and I can live in redondo beach or torrance, where things are quite a bit different from the rest of LA. I would never live in burbank, glendale or simi valley (long commute), palms, west LA, west hollywood, beverly hills (attitude). I may want to live in venice, mar vista, or santa monica, but only if their 1 million dollar home price tag goes down to 750K, which is not likely to happen.

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by TriciaK57

San Diego/Honolulu boasts the best weather in the country. It is not a "guess". It is a "fact".

I dont agree. I know that if you add in East LA, San gabriel and San Fernando Valley, then obviously San Diego is better, but I am in the beach cities in La county, and the weather really is remarkable down here.

Originally Posted by TriciaK57

Your personal preference not withstanding.

"best" weather is subjective, both your prefence and mine come into play.

Originally Posted by TriciaK57

Wow! Surely you are joking when you insinuate that California is the only State with cities that have minimal proximity to mountains, bodies of water, restaurants, entertainment, amusement and shopping!

Who said minimal? CA has tons of things, but lets just look at SoCal by itself. It has like 4 moutain ranges, and 30 miles of prime and usable cost line. That isnt minimal. It probably has some 100-500 world class chefs scattered about, and tons and tons of new and inventive cuisines and restaraunts not found else where. LA's shopping, entertainmnet and restaraunt scene is the oppsite of minimal, its maximal, and it is rare to find all of the things Socal at the same scale.

Originally Posted by TriciaK57

The State of New York alone accesses some of the most fantastically beautiful scenic vistas in the world (Catskills, Adirondacks, Niagra Falls), Pennsylvania (can you spell P-O-C-O-N-O-S)? Washington State with its amazing Casacade Mountains is breathtaking. Colorado = Rocky Mountains and Lake Granby.

I said Socal has everything. It has the mild weather, the mountains to ski, hike and bike, the coast line, the shopping, the jobs, the nightlife, world class venues, i.e. everything in same 2 hour radius. I dont doubt that there is a better beach somewhere or a bigger mountain somewhere, or similar wine country somewhere else. My point was that Socal/CA had all the things that I mentioned in one place.

Originally Posted by TriciaK57

All Americans are not dining at MickeyDs. There are wine growing regions in Oregon and Washington.

Like I said, Socal is like chicago in that it has more of everything in the same region. Far more than Oregon. If you dont need size, then so be it.

Originally Posted by TriciaK57

Florida's beaches rival California's any day.

Florida has nice beaches and mild weather but lacks jobs, has its own problems with immigration and crime, and has hurricanes. Florida is a pretty nice place, but Socal still has more offerings in my opinion. Florida on the other hand has fewer negatives than Socal and a lower cost of living, so its kind of a toss up.

Originally Posted by TriciaK57

The really terrific thing about living less expensively in a less expensive place that is not Los Angeles ... in a gorgeous home... with friendly, normal neighbors... where you can raise a family... in a nice environment... and feel somewhat safe... is... you can afford to fly, drive, take the train wherever you want on mini or major vacations. Heck, you can probably take 2-5 vacations a year! Why... a couple can even afford to live off one person's income - imagine that?

Everyone knows CA is over priced, ESPECIALLY SoCal. You never heard me say it was WORTH it.

Originally Posted by TriciaK57

So "to summarize", Hundreds of other cities have a multitude of terrific amenities to offer:

like i said before, to get ALL of the good things of Socal at the scale that Socal offers them you have to combine like 10 regions.

I get that you like other areas in the US and HATE Socal. I get that MOST people on this forum think Socal is a baron waste land and should be burned to the ground. Im sorry that I dont share your opinions. Is it a crime to talk pridefully about the good things in Socal/CA that would be left behind? I am sorry that I have been to Socal and enjoyed it immensly. I am sorry that I love CA so much. Maybe I should have just been miserable like everyone else on this board so I can HATE Socal too.

I know there is smog, traffic, illegals and gangs. I NEVER EVER said there werent. I just mentioned all the reasons I have been able to Love Socal, and all of Cal. The Cost of living does disgust me though. I am renting so it doesnt effect me as much right now.
[/quote]

[jlrobe]

Anytime someone mentions anything nice about Socal, people seem to be "offended" and respond angrily and frustrated. It's not just me either, but many times when I see someone refute blanket negativity they get blasted. Whenever I see someone who is usually negative mention "anything" good they follow it with like 5 things that are bad. I dont mind that so many people think LA is hell on earth, but it just seems that people come off as hostile and frustrated when they try and prove it to others? If LA so frustrating that the frustration comes out like that, then maybe it is a good time for many people to leave and start anew.

Just an observation.

Best wishes to all.

[Sonrise]

I agree with your last post despite my frequent rants. I think what stinks is that most of us that live here know how good it was and could still be. Sadly we realize that it will only get worse. Hey just for giggles checkout Greenville,SC. I should work for their chamber of commerce. lol

[jlrobe]

Originally Posted by Sonrise

I agree with your last post despite my frequent rants. I think what stinks is that most of us that live here know how good it was and could still be. Sadly we realize that it will only get worse. Hey just for giggles checkout Greenville,SC. I should work for their chamber of commerce. lol

Greenville seems like a nice place, just like san antonio.

LA is getting worse so far, and I just wish i or someone else can stop the well-oilded machine, but alas, I cant. My plan for LA was to go to the fun areas at my leisure and work and raise 'future' kids in the quiet slow-paced beach cities/torrance. Great weather, great schools, removed community. The problem is that 3-4 years from now, it may be all but impossible to hide away from LA's problems while being close enough to visit. Unfortunately, I fully expect it to either be too ex*****ve to live there, or slowly overrun by undesirable people like the rest of LA. Who knows, but I would love to be proven wrong.

Anyhow, when I get ready to have kids, if things havent been improved, I will bolt. I have hung out in LA a lot, and I do love it, but I am certain that when I get serious about starting a family, LA will be less desirable if it isnt more affordable, amongst other things

[TriciaK57]

"Hate" is a strong word. I hardly hate California. In fact, my lifestyle here is one to be envied. But only because I have been here since birth and come from a family of shrewd real estate investors. I still live here nearly six months out of every year due to my work. I easily enjoy the "great things" offered here. Miserable is not in my vocabulary. But, I can quite understand how someone like Fastfilm, who purchased a home years ago in a nice neighborhood and has watched the area "go to hell" feels "stuck" and "angry". She will have the last laugh when she sells and pockets $$$$. And I can truly declare that for the average newcomer ~ Los Angeles is not "all that", and it is not desirably affordable on a $1,000 a week salary. No one aspires to be a lifelong "renter"... sharing a bathroom with roomates. You get your fill of that crap in college.
When I say "minimal proximity", it means "fairly/reasonably close by". And yes, there are many cities where one can access "good things" on a large scale. You're probably forgetting how, in some regions, it is possible to visit three States within a five hour period. You can drive in California for five hours and still be in California since we are the 3rd largest State. The average Florida metro city's crime rate, unemployment index is lower than Los Angeles. The average income is comparable to L.A. The housing market is by far less. There is no such thing as "new cuisine". There are only new twists on old recipes. L.A. has some nice restaurants, yes. But, quantity certainly does not translate to quality. Don't forget, a lot of people think Rd Lbstr has the best "seafood". I am happy to hear you have plans to broaden once your carefree, youthfulness yields to a more "mature life". I have been there, done that and can promise you, you will see things through a different pair of glasses.
The last word on the weather: it isn't my "opinion" that San Deigo/Honolulu are tops. As I said, it is "factual" ~ based on meteorology, almanac and geography data. Ciao'