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Originally Posted by peruvian-cracker
Hi there!!
We are a family from Southern California who would love to meet others in our same situation who moved here from California and would also just like to meet some new friends in general! =)
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Yay, more Californians! More things to talk about in common from the homeland as only a Californian would truly understand. We've been here just about 22 months (though I've been flying out to CA for a few weeks at a time every other month). We love it, but certainly miss some of the points you referenced in an earlier post including driving to the Pacific (though it would take us longer or shorter depending on where we lived at the time). Btw, we left the Pasadena area, but moved there previously from Newport and Monarch Beach. The Pacific is in our souls and that's what we miss the most. Truly, the most!
I also miss Hollywood and the scene in general. I have so many friends in the industry (film, music, special effects and even some theatre) as well as working in it for so many years, I miss the various opportunities that Hollywood afforded me. If I needed extra work, I could find it somewhere in some facet of Hollywood. I'm still having withdrawals, work wise since my new industry is not quite so diverse or eclectic.
Other than that, we really haven't missed anything being out here. Except for In n Out. I'm not a huge fan, but my Caligirl really needs her fix. On the other hand, we were fortunate that the triangle opened up their first Trader Joe's in Cary. That, indeed, was a lifesaver. Now they have one in Chapel Hill and I've heard one is opening up in Raleigh. I still think the TJ's on the west coast has better variety (being that they started there and, I guess I'm a bit of an authority since I worked for the TJ corporation for some time), you should still be able to order items on their inventory list in case they don't have the item on the shelf.
Driving here has been a much greater pleasure. Not a thrill either, but my stress levels while driving have decreased ten fold. Try using your blinker sometime... you'll find something rather unusual happen. The driver in the next lane behind you will slow down a bit to let you in! It's totally cool! I can't remember a time when my fellow Angelino's did that (though I understand why they 'usually' don't).
I don't miss the commute since I had to commute to Culver City, Santa Monica and El Segundo oftentimes for my full time job (I worked near Sony Studios). That was a miserable drive, day in and day out from the San Gabriel Valley. Here, the commute is really non-existent. Sure, there's rush hour traffic, but it's only rush hour traffic for about, well, an hour.
I miss the Hollywood Bowl and the Greek Theatre too. Attended quite a few events there as well as hung out in the area a lot. We did attend an event in Raleigh at the Meymandi for the Swell Season (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova). The audience and venue was very nice and we enjoyed ourselves. Parking was easy too!
I miss Rollerblading. I only really did that at the beach, but I haven't found anyone who does it here or anywhere I can safely do it without encountering a bunch of gravel (it's everywhere). It was great exercise, however.
I also miss driving up to Arrowhead and Big Bear. It wasn't more than an hour and a half away. But it was a world apart from the valley. Here, the trees and greenery is so beautiful, but unless I head far west for hours, I still can't get to the mountains like I could in L.A. Although, once you hit those mountains in the west of NC, you're in for a real treat!
My favorite places to eat a hamburger in L.A. (unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan of the apple pan... I'd walk down to the Boston Market instead), was Burger Continental. Did you ever visit? It was on Lake St. just above California Blvd. Mediterranean food, really, but the opened faced burgers were awesome!!! We'd visit Island's now and again, but I haven't found any here, yet.
I could go on and on, but I get long winded at times and I gotta get back to my project. Thanks for posting and welcome to the area. We just had a couple across the street move from Hollywood about 11 months ago, so it looks like we're finally figuring something out about the south.
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I had a little store in La Crescenta and used to go downtown all the time to get jewelry and purses... I really miss it!! Did you work at the California Mart by any chance? 
Wait... NRG... wienerschnitzel????
