Thinking of moving here? You may want to reconsider (San Francisco: for sale, power lines)

[Sorcerer68]

Wow, 8 whole years. I'm impressed. The OP sounds like someone who would be much happier in the boonies.

Bitter, party of one, your table is ready...

[Skippersf]

Originally Posted by enlightenme

Thank you! I love it. I am in NC. We have a great house with a large yard near everything, but at the same time about 10 minutes in the country. My first week driving around I kicked myself for not letting go of CA sooner! A few years ago, I was one of those people who thought nothing could compare to CA. I still have friends like that and I can't wait for them to visit and see what I have for under $200, 000. Also, I was in a bit of shock hardly seeing any traffic, trash, graffit, crowds, etc. Another nice plus is the weather and bugs aren't as bad as everyone tried to make it seem. We are very happy. I hope this can help others reading this who are also getting frustrated and fed up with CA to know there are other wonderful places out there! It may seem scary to get up and move, but it is SOOOO worth it to get out of over priced CA!!!

I'll take CA anytime over any place back east...but to each his own.

[wallstreet1986]

Wow doesn't anyone have anything positive to say. They are plenty of nice areas, complexes, and buildings. For my ticket to the arts, beach, entertainment, restaurant scene, and the most beautiful city scenery in the world, I would gladly pay 1200-1500/month for a one bedroom or studio in a decent complex.

To be honest of course you are going to complain if you are in a ghetto area like in any city or moderate no fun one like Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys.

You would probably have a totally different outlook on the city living in a nicer place like Westwood, Venice, Brentwood, Beverly Hills/West LA, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, one of the many places where you can find apartments if not houses for the 1000-1500/month range. Duh it's not going to be nice in some places.

Life in LA can be good as a single person in the 60k+/year range. Two people need maybe 80-90k/year. I don't see why anyone would want it otherwise. Yeah its expensive but the real estate bubble has already happened and its not going to double anytime soon again.

[EL9Z]

Wow! I am so so sorry that the previous writer is so angry about living in LA. Perhaps Blinky needs to move on. I moved to LA from Chicago nine years ago soon to be ten in February 2008. l left behind a very successful life to come pursue the creative aspect of self. It has not been a bowl of sweet cherries but a bowl for cherries just the same. Some sweet some bitter, all have pits and well that's just life. But I have a good life and I love th elife I'm living.

People here are like people everywhere at the end of the day they want peace and good will for their families and themselves. If you want to move to LA then do so and know that your experience will be what you make it.

Prepare yourself first:
1. safe money

2. contact all those you know here
-tell them that you are planning to move & ask for suggestions on a great community and have them assist you in looking for a place to live

3. Seek out employment or projects to have in place when you arrive

4. Once you move join a social organization( church, gym, community club or cycle club, bookclub etc) to meet people.
You may even seek out alumnae from your school or contact your frat or sorority organization. THE POINT IS TO PLUG INTO PEOPLE. People are the connection to all things: Job, extra curricula activities, fun, opportunities and so on.

5. And be open to the city. EMBRACE IT & let it EMBRACE YOU. You can't come from wherever and expect LA to be like the city you are leaving. It's not. It is LA. Good Luck and enjoy!

[NDA]

The cost to live in Ca is so high because so many people want, desire and choose to live here. Demand exceeds supply therefore prices are up.

All of us who live in CA could save up two months and buy a house back east or south. The land is cheap because the demand is low.

I do wish more people would leave because it eases the traffic.

[StriderMatic]

Hello everyone,

I've been reading the posts made on this thread from the beginning.
I am from all around the Midwest (and have lived abroad) and may be moving to LA soon. I appreciate this kind of candor and honesty.

I've taken a lot of this to heart; that being said, I want to know if, keeping with the spirit of this thread, anyone has advice for someone moving into LA for the first time? Most of all, any advice about where to live, where to avoid going to or through, how to adjust to people in different regions of LA, and how to adjust to life in LA overall.
(one particular question I have is how difficult it is driving to and from stadiums like Dodger Stadium, the Staples Center, and the Rose Bowl, and if it's a task to avoid problem areas when going to and from those places)

I already know all the basic things about LA; it's the details and specific things that I am interested in learning about.

For the record, I am 28 and coming to start/build my career, and want to be in LA for a while before I decide I want to make my permanent home there or do so back here in the Midwest.

Thanks for your time.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by StriderMatic

I want to know if, keeping with the spirit of this thread, anyone has advice for someone moving into LA for the first time? Most of all, any advice about where to live, where to avoid going to or through, how to adjust to people in different regions of LA, and how to adjust to life in LA overall.
(one particular question I have is how difficult it is driving to and from stadiums like Dodger Stadium, the Staples Center, and the Rose Bowl, and if it's a task to avoid problem areas when going to and from those places)

Your inquiry is too broad and doesn't give anyone a decent place to start answering your questions. Also, I'd bet 98% of the information you seek has already been posted or can be retrieved easily from google maps, sigalert.com and other general web tools. For example, you ask if it is a "task" to go to and from these places? That is a subjective question however everyone knows traffic in LA is atrocious.

What is your expected monthly housing expenditure?
Would you be willing to live with roommates?
What line of work are you in?
Where might you expect to get a job?
Might you expect to have flexible working hours? Work at home?
What is your comfort zone in minutes of driving for daily commuting to work?
Do you have a spouse and/or kids? Are schools important?
Would it bother you if you were living in a community wherein 70% of the people were of other ethnicities and/or cultural backgrounds?
Driving to those stadiums from where? On a regular basis (couple times a month?) or just to check them out?

I think if you provide a little more detail people can fine tune their answers to provide you with valuable information.

[StriderMatic]

Originally Posted by Charles

Your inquiry is too broad and doesn't give anyone a decent place to start answering your questions. Also, I'd bet 98% of the information you seek has already been posted or can be retrieved easily from google maps, sigalert.com and other general web tools. For example, you ask if it is a "task" to go to and from these places? That is a subjective question however everyone knows traffic in LA is atrocious.

What is your expected monthly housing expenditure?
Would you be willing to live with roommates?
What line of work are you in?
Where might you expect to get a job?
Might you expect to have flexible working hours? Work at home?
What is your comfort zone in minutes of driving for daily commuting to work?
Do you have a spouse and/or kids? Are schools important?
Would it bother you if you were living in a community wherein 70% of the people were of other ethnicities and/or cultural backgrounds?
Driving to those stadiums from where? On a regular basis (couple times a month?) or just to check them out?

I think if you provide a little more detail people can fine tune their answers to provide you with valuable information.

I would be working in Encino, and trying to live in the Valley, specifically Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, or Sherman Oaks. I would be trying to live alone in a 1 bedroom apartment at an affordable price - I would probably be able to afford most places but looking for $1400 or less (preferably less).
I prefer to live in any of these places because they are close to where I would work (which is important due to the traffic issue), and I refuse to live in a place where crime or gangs is a significant problem.
Also, I am a single man with no kids - also I am Black but prefer to live in an integrated neighborhood.

In regard to driving to and from stadiums, my primary concern is: are any of the stadiums surrounded/bordered by bad neighborhoods?
I want to know if getting lost while trying to find a stadium could result in ending up in a bad area, so I can mentally prepare before trying to go to games for the first time.
(for the record, I love sports and would hope to see a lot of games)

Thanks in advance for your feedback

[Charles]

Crime rates/Gang activity and Rental prices are inversely proportional. The places you mentioned will be pretty expensive relative to the rest of the valley. Also expensive but nice too are places further west: Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake, Thousand Oaks. I think you have the right idea though. Not sure if $1400 will cut it....???

Try this:

tarzana apartment rentals - Google Search

Regardless of which venue you attend, I would recommend going on a weekend, preferable a Sunday. Least Traffic. But day games could be hot.

Rose Bowl: Great Area, nothing to fear.
Staples: Not a dangerous area. Expensive parking. Confusing intersections. Lots of traffic.
Dodger Stadium: Not a horribly bad neighborhood. I think parking went up to 15 bucks??? From the 5 south consider exiting at Fletcher to avoid Stadium Way traffic. We did this in the 80s and it worked well. Not sure about today.
Forum: Bad nearby within five blocks but not everywhere bad and not the worst neighborhood. You have to take the 405 to get there. Does anyone play there anymore?
Anaheim: Clean, comfortable, easy navigation but far from the valley. Consider weekend games only. Least amount of non-family atmosphere type people.
Ducks ice hockey pond stadium?? Expensive. Took my girls there for a Disney Princess Ice thing. Man, Beers where like $8.50 or something.

Also try Santa Anita: great place to hang out and people watch. Only place I've ever seen millionaires taking racing tips from guys with holes their shoes...Not a bad place for a first date either. You can go to the front and watch the trainers exercise the horses.

Maybe you could go to these places with a friend who has been there before and could drive you instead of you fiddling with maps??? That's what I would try to do.

[StriderMatic]

Originally Posted by Charles

Crime rates/Gang activity and Rental prices are inversely proportional. The places you mentioned will be pretty expensive relative to the rest of the valley. Also expensive but nice too are places further west: Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake, Thousand Oaks. I think you have the right idea though. Not sure if $1400 will cut it....???

Try this:

tarzana apartment rentals - Google Search

Regardless of which venue you attend, I would recommend going on a weekend, preferable a Sunday. Least Traffic. But day games could be hot.

Rose Bowl: Great Area, nothing to fear.
Staples: Not a dangerous area. Expensive parking. Confusing intersections. Lots of traffic.
Dodger Stadium: Not a horribly bad neighborhood. I think parking went up to 15 bucks??? From the 5 south consider exiting at Fletcher to avoid Stadium Way traffic. We did this in the 80s and it worked well. Not sure about today.
Forum: Bad nearby within five blocks but not everywhere bad and not the worst neighborhood. You have to take the 405 to get there. Does anyone play there anymore?
Anaheim: Clean, comfortable, easy navigation but far from the valley. Consider weekend games only. Least amount of non-family atmosphere type people.
Ducks ice hockey pond stadium?? Expensive. Took my girls there for a Disney Princess Ice thing. Man, Beers where like $8.50 or something.

Also try Santa Anita: great place to hang out and people watch. Only place I've ever seen millionaires taking racing tips from guys with holes their shoes...Not a bad place for a first date either. You can go to the front and watch the trainers exercise the horses.

Maybe you could go to these places with a friend who has been there before and could drive you instead of you fiddling with maps??? That's what I would try to do.

Hey thanks a lot for the information!

First of all, the info you gave about the stadiums is a relief.


I looked at all the neighborhoods you mentioned, the farthest being Thousand Oaks; I noticed it's about 23 miles away from Encino, but how long would it probably take to drive from Thousand Oaks to Encino in the morning and evening (with traffic, and assuming you take the 101)?