The truth about L.A. from a long time resident (Los Angeles: low income, buying)

[AliveandWell]

Originally Posted by daisy326

I laughed out loud when I read that people would favor Portland's weather over LA. Seriously? 9 months of grey skies, rain, snow, freezing rain and ice then rain again is better than sun?

I'm one of those people who prefers Portland's weather over LA by a long shot. Far and away, Portland's weather is more comfortable especially in the summer and fall. But to get back on topic, one of the other truths about LA if I haven't already mentioned it is the dust buildup here I mean my goodness!! It gets so dusty here that we have to dust the house at least once a week. Too much of any one type of weather gets old pretty fast. Many people don't seem to mind if there was 365 days of sun a year. It is not the sun itself that's bad it is just that day after day of the same warm, dry conditions is a bit boring to me sometimes. That's one big strike against LA weather and climate. Too much sun, not enough rain and in the summer: forget about it. You won't see any in the summer which is one of the reasons why we have a drought problem here. How is that a good thing? The answer is it isn't. I'm not complaining here, I'm just stating the facts. Those that love the daily warm, dry sunny conditions can have it. This place is somewhat overrated and I have mentioned this in previous posts in other forums.

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by SoCal35

No doubt that circa the 1950's a postman would afford a house with a pool in the San Fernando Valley. Granted this would be in the flats and not a large house.

Where did you relocate to if you don't mind sharing?

Except in this particular story (which I have no reason to doubt is true since dude seemed pretty convinced of his own story) the 1950's young guy wasn't a postman but was (in his own words) "... a delivery boy for a liquor store working part-time while going to junior college..." and the neighborhood in which he bought a house with that source of income wasn't the flats of San Fernando Valley it was the northside of Santa Monica (north of Montana Ave (noma), in fact).

Relocated to Colorado. Every place has its issues and challenges, but the quality of life here on the whole is higher and more achievable than the wildest imagination of a jaded westside of LA boy. Extraordinary natural beauty; clean air (through which you can see an entire sky of stars at night); reasonably priced houses (spacious but not huge, city/mountain view for under $100 sq./ft in a neighborhood roughly equivalent to noma if you're patient and willing to paint some walls and replace some outlets); best public school district in the state; deer meandering the neighborhood like they owned it; most families with young kids have the luxury of one parent at home (several stay-at-homes are the dads); four distinct seasons, all reasonably mild; 300+ sunny days per annum; the list goes on but it would likely bore and annoy.

[R66]

Wherre in Colorado u call paradise?

[majoun]

Originally Posted by smdensbcs

Except in this particular story (which I have no reason to doubt is true since dude seemed pretty convinced of his own story) the 1950's young guy wasn't a postman but was (in his own words) "... a delivery boy for a liquor store working part-time while going to junior college..." and the neighborhood in which he bought a house with that source of income wasn't the flats of San Fernando Valley it was the northside of Santa Monica (north of Montana Ave (noma), in fact).

If you said southside of SM it would be 100% believable - and quite common back in those days - but north of Montana was movie star land back then too.

Someone who bought a house in that area in the '50s whose official job was "a delivery boy for a liquor store working part time going to junior college" would have had to have been working for Mickey Cohen, John Rosselli or Jack Dragna, if you get the picture....

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by AliveandWell

I'm one of those people who prefers Portland's weather over LA by a long shot. Far and away, Portland's weather is more comfortable especially in the summer and fall. But to get back on topic, one of the other truths about LA if I haven't already mentioned it is the dust buildup here I mean my goodness!! It gets so dusty here that we have to dust the house at least once a week. Too much of any one type of weather gets old pretty fast. Many people don't seem to mind if there was 365 days of sun a year. It is not the sun itself that's bad it is just that day after day of the same warm, dry conditions is a bit boring to me sometimes. That's one big strike against LA weather and climate. Too much sun, not enough rain and in the summer: forget about it. You won't see any in the summer which is one of the reasons why we have a drought problem here. How is that a good thing? The answer is it isn't. I'm not complaining here, I'm just stating the facts. Those that love the daily warm, dry sunny conditions can have it. This place is somewhat overrated and I have mentioned this in previous posts in other forums.

One of the reasons why we have so much house dust in LA is that we leave the windows open all year long. Even during winter, once the sun is up and the day begins to warm, most people open up their house. And during summer when it isn't too hot [like this year] we leave the windows open constantly. That could very well be the reason for the dust. I do know that during "santa ana" winds the air can get full of dust and even if you close up the house you can see fine particles of sand.

I think a lot of people in Southern California think the weather in Portland and Seattle sounds great but I have relatives who moved to Portland and it has taken them quite a while getting used to the weather. It starts getting real wet even in September and doesn't stop raining until June. Summers up there are delightful however.

[Fontucky]

I'll have to ask my Latina maid (Hortensia) if there's an inordinate amount of dust build-up in this house. I don't pay attention.

[Lovehound]

Anybody who is concerned about dust should compare Los Angeles to Phoenix. There they have an occasional dust storm that the winds blow up and the dust obscures the entire sky.

CF is right, one reason we have so much dust inside is that our weather is good enough to open our windows almost every day. It's an extremely rare day that I don't open at least a few windows because I like fresh air. I'll admit my house is pretty dusty, and I'll admit I'm not very fastidious about dusting. I probably dust every month or two whether it needs it or not!

[californio sur]

I wonder if there is a source that would be able to measure how much dust is in the air in Los Angeles. Perhaps the South Coast Air Quality Management people take measurements of dust. It could also be just plain smog. Dust from wind is usually much worse in the Inland Empire since there is more open land but I have seen the sky get hazy during strong santa ana winds and notice sand\ dust on cars during these events.

[Lovehound]

I think we're talking about stuff that blows in the window and you can see it by rubbing your finger on a horizontal surface like furniture or something. That's what I was referring to.

[S Fernando]

Originally Posted by steel7

The food in L.A. may be good but its far from being inexpensive.

wow. what places are you going to?

went to koreatown yesterday, and ate good for 11 bucks, real good.

there are tons of cheap places to eat, and the food is very good, especially in the run down areas.

if you don't cook good food in LA, you are out of business in one month.