Thinking about moving to LA... (Los Angeles, San Diego: buy, camping, living in)

[ddiscount10]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 27 year old single male from Boston that is thinking about moving to LA for a job in the entertainment/sports marketing business, but I'm not sure if LA is a place I want to live in. I've been to Orange County and San Diego before and love it, but I have never been to LA. I have heard many awful things from friends I have here about living there such as the smog, traffic, and people being superficial. Before I heard this I was really excited about possibly getting this job and living out there but not as much now. I've always dreamed about living in SoCal but now I'm a little hesitant. I would love to hear some positives about living there. Thanks.

[jc76]

Originally Posted by ddiscount10

Hi everyone,

I'm a 27 year old single male from Boston that is thinking about moving to LA for a job in the entertainment/sports marketing business, but I'm not sure if LA is a place I want to live in. I've been to Orange County and San Diego before and love it, but I have never been to LA. I have heard many awful things from friends I have here about living there such as the smog, traffic, and people being superficial. Before I heard this I was really excited about possibly getting this job and living out there but not as much now. I've always dreamed about living in SoCal but now I'm a little hesitant. I would love to hear some positives about living there. Thanks.

People are going to talk bad about ANY area, no matter how good or bad it actually is.
Positives:
- You will never have to wake up early to de-ice your car and shovel through feet of snow just to get on your way to work. You will have traffic worse than Boston so it will probably even itself out
- Your plans will most likely never be ruined by snow or an unexpected rain shower. Sure, SoCal gets rain but usually everyone's talking about it for hours before it comes...then it's done raining in 10 minutes.

There's many many more...but now you will probably get flooded by the SoCal natives who hate it and are dying to get out, the same way I am dying to get out of the midwest. They will tell you to stay put, they will warn you of how horrible life is out there, they will tell you all the bad. Hopefully though some others will respond with a more optimistic approach.
Good luck to you.

[Charles]

The positives are the smog and superficiality (and more and more the housing prices) are in the noise compared with the traffic.

[ddiscount10]

Originally Posted by jc76

People are going to talk bad about ANY area, no matter how good or bad it actually is.
Positives:
- You will never have to wake up early to de-ice your car and shovel through feet of snow just to get on your way to work. You will have traffic worse than Boston so it will probably even itself out
- Your plans will most likely never be ruined by snow or an unexpected rain shower. Sure, SoCal gets rain but usually everyone's talking about it for hours before it comes...then it's done raining in 10 minutes.

There's many many more...but now you will probably get flooded by the SoCal natives who hate it and are dying to get out, the same way I am dying to get out of the midwest. They will tell you to stay put, they will warn you of how horrible life is out there, they will tell you all the bad. Hopefully though some others will respond with a more optimistic approach.
Good luck to you.

Thanks for the response!

I agree that many people are going to talk bad about any area, but it seems as though there's been more negative feedback about LA than say San diego for example. I'm looking for more positives than just the weather. As superficial as it sounds, I'm pretty excited about the women there. Women in LA obviously have a pretty good reputation as for as looks. I also think that people from Boston probably just have a bad attitude about LA since it's almost the exact opposite of a city (besides both cities being mostly liberal).

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by jc76

Sure, SoCal gets rain but usually everyone's talking about it for hours before it comes...then it's done raining in 10 minutes.

Bwahahahahahaha. I guess you haven't been in Southern CA for an entire winter. It doesn't always (not even most of the time) stop raining in 10 minutes. Rainstorms can be quite intense there, and flash floods aren't too terribly uncommon. As soon as it starts raining, the local news goes on STORM WATCH like it's the news of the century, and many people immediately start driving like idiots. I could only imagine how many lives would be lost if an inch of snow was to ever fall.

Some winter days can be lost to weather (rain), but not very many.

[jc76]

Originally Posted by ddiscount10

Thanks for the response!

I agree that many people are going to talk bad about any area, but it seems as though there's been more negative feedback about LA than say San diego for example. I'm looking for more positives than just the weather. As superficial as it sounds, I'm pretty excited about the women there. Women in LA obviously have a pretty good reputation as for as looks. I also think that people from Boston probably just have a bad attitude about LA since it's almost the exact opposite of a city (besides both cities being mostly liberal).

Ok other than the weather I would say great food! Waaaaay better burger joints than you have in the east, guaranteed. But be ready for a decline in Pizza quality, West Coast seems to be big on thin crust-whats the point? That's not pizza. I'm sure L.A. may have some good true genuine Italian Pizzeria's, but I have not found them on all my trips out there. The east coast and the midwest, we have real pizza!
The Vinyards north of LA for a day trip is always nice, seeing the country side. You can go mountain biking year round or hiking and camping all within a short distance of LA. Griffith Park.
The woman??? I wouldn't know. I mean I love them and yes they are super hot, but so far out of my league that I don't even try to mingle with them. I'm too busy with my craft to be side tracked by the hotties.
And yes, many of them are "superficial"... I hate that word, it's over-used on this forum. Just say fake.
Don't buy ALL the negatives, not everyone in LA is fake. I have met some really good people. You have to look for the good in them though, it don't seem to spill out like those friendly southerners.
That's about it really. I don't know what your into, but whatever it is LA will have it...unless it's Nascar, I don't see much of that out there compared to the rest of the country. Not that I care. I don't like drunken hillbilly circle chase sports.

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by jc76

but whatever it is LA will have it...unless it's Nascar, I don't see much of that out there compared to the rest of the country. Not that I care. I don't like drunken hillbilly circle chase sports.

Auto Club Speedway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A mere 45 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. You seem to be hating on NASCAR a lot lately.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by ddiscount10

Hi everyone,

I'm a 27 year old single male from Boston that is thinking about moving to LA for a job in the entertainment/sports marketing business, but I'm not sure if LA is a place I want to live in. I've been to Orange County and San Diego before and love it, but I have never been to LA. I have heard many awful things from friends I have here about living there such as the smog, traffic, and people being superficial. Before I heard this I was really excited about possibly getting this job and living out there but not as much now. I've always dreamed about living in SoCal but now I'm a little hesitant. I would love to hear some positives about living there. Thanks.

It's an entertainment center, yes, many people are superficial, but that doesn't mean everyone. As for smog and traffic, the traffic can not be denied, where would this job actually be or do you know, downtown, west, where? The smog is an issue as it is in many large cities, but not like it was n the 70s and 80s. Even in the 50s it was much worse.

If you like sunshine, you certainly will get all you want in So California, as well as the beaches, the mountains and lots of things to do.

For me, it isn't a place I would ever live again, but when I was 27 I loved it...

Nita

ps the biggest issue is housing..no matter where you live in the area, it is pricey even compared to most of the east coast.

[uptown_urbanist]

The stereotypes about LA are way overblown. I suppose the entertainment industry by its nature is going to be more superficial than many industries, but the city as a whole is no more or less superficial than any other place I've lived. Yes, the traffic is bad. Really, really bad. You can either learn to live with it, try to live somewhere near where you work, try to take public transportation, or some combination.

I spent four years on the east coast, followed by four years in California (LA and then SF) and I think part of the stereotypes relating to LA come from a lack of understanding. I admit that I was guilt of some of this before moving to California - I never thought people were superficial, but did buy into the idea that LA was one big suburb with all the negatives that come along with that. The truth is far more complex, and in my eyes, interesting. It is not at all like an east coast city, but it is definitely (in most parts) not a suburb. It is a vibrant, fascinating, diverse, ever-changing place with a real energy about it that's hard to fully explain. The misunderstandings are further helped along by the fact that everyone seems to think they "know" LA because they see it on TV, or because they visited once and went to a handful of the main tourist destinations. I've seen people on this forum argue that it's tougher to get to really know LA than it is many other cities, and I think they're right. It's just a very different kind of city from most other places in the USA, and combined with the fact that so many people think they know it (but who have spent little or sometimes even no) time visiting or living in the city makes it a target for negative stereotypes. On the flip side, some people have far too many unrealistic expectations - i.e. life is going to be straight out of the Hills - and they seem to be the ones who end up hating the place the most. I came thinking it would be interesting but not my cup of tea (my dream city was, and still is, NYC, although LA is up there at the top now, too) and surprised myself by falling in love with the city.

You might love it, you might hate it, but if you have a job opportunity and want an adventure then by all means give it a shot.