LA, by a 30 something Brit... (Orange, Corona: apartment, to rent, insurance)

[TJCULLEN7]

So, I’m back from two weeks of exploring Southern California and thought I’d share my thoughts, as a thirty something Brit.

First off, I have to say that my wife and I (31 & 33) absolutely loved it.
We stayed in the Hollywood Roosevelt for a couple of nights first off. While the hotel was awesome, we didn’t’ really love Hollywood. It was full of tourists and souvenir shops. It’s comparable with Leicester Square in London. The further west we went, the more we liked it though.

We then headed east to Corona to visit some friends. Corona was nice enough and was good to get a feel of a real neighbourhood. Not much else to say about it really.

From there we headed down to Laguna Beach and stayed there for three nights. We explored and took in San Clemente and Seal Beach. Orange County is beautiful. We loved San Clemente and could definitely see ourselves living there. Laguna Beach was really nice also, lots of beautiful people.

We then headed over to Santa Monica for 5 nights. We hit the Beach in Malibu and explored Venice, went back into LA and shopped on Melrose and drank on the Sunset Strip.

Again, we loved it.

Although we didn’t really hit any rush hour traffic, I can imagine getting to and from work could be a nightmare, wherever you live. Saying that, the freeways are great and you can pretty much get to where you want to be quite directly.
Everyone is super confident yet friendly.

As a successful freelance designer over here in the UK, what is the freelance trend/market like over here. Is freelancing a big thing? Or would it better to ‘take a job’?

Again, as a freelancer, working all over OC for the action sports brands and in LA for the big corporates as well as from home, where would be the best place to be based? I would be with my wife and hopefully in the future, a couple of children.

Desperate to go back already!

Cheers

[PureHapa]

Ah, bitten by the bug are we? LOL.

Freelance in the arts is feast or famine, unless you can get in tight with a company that uses you a lot but doesn't put you on payroll for your mutual reasons. If you come and try it, better live frugally and have a savings cushion.

[TJCULLEN7]

Yep, no different from over in the UK really. I just wondered if it was as common as it is over here.

Yes, we really loved it over there. The UK is horrible, miserable, cold and dominated by horrible teens with no respect for anything.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

Yep, no different from over in the UK really. I just wondered if it was as common as it is over here.

Yes, we really loved it over there. The UK is horrible, miserable, cold and dominated by horrible teens with no respect for anything.

Well, the weather in L.A. is better, but there are plenty of comments on these boards (in L.A. and the U.S. in general) about "horrible teens with no respect for anything". I believe the crime rate is higher in L.A. than in London.

One of the biggest complaints about raising kids in the coastal metro areas in California is that it takes an arm and a leg to buy a modest house in a half decent school district. Many people of average or even somewhat above average means leave the coastal metro areas of California for other states if they want to raise children because of the poor schools and the high cost of living.

As I'm sure you know, visiting a place and living there are two different things.

[TJCULLEN7]

Absolutely, I know living day to day, with work and commuting and having financial responsibilities is a lot different than staying in nice hotels in Santa Monica and eating out everynight

The weather in the UK is so, so depressing.

On the whole from what I saw the teens are a lot better behaved than the UK horrors. The US kids seemed to have more respect for people and the police and are more well rounded from an early age.

Other observations:
Most places were spotlessly clean... i know there are dumps around, but on the whole really nice.

No drinking in public and strict rules on where you can smoke, which people actually pay attention to.
In the UK just this very week, 2 pregnant women were smoking in the doorway of a maternity unit of the hospital and just laughed when I asked them to stop. I don't this would happen or be tolerated in the States.

Americans are loud and super confident and don't really care about what anyone thinks.

Everyone, everyone... has amazing teeth.

Nobody really queues for anything, apart from on the freeway.

Service in restaurants, gas stations and generally everywhere is so much better than over here. Everyone is super pleasant.

Why do Americans like British accents? 'OMG, are you guys from England?'

I guess it's the little things that make it different and appealing to a curios someone like me.

I hope I get the chance to come out and give it a go one day.

[TJCULLEN7]

What do you guys who have been, think of the UK?

Would you move over here if you got the chance?

What do you think of Brits in general?

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

Absolutely, I know living day to day, with work and commuting and having financial responsibilities is a lot different than staying in nice hotels in Santa Monica and eating out every night

OK, just making sure.

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

The weather in the UK is so, so depressing.

I'm sure of that. It's hard to beat the weather in L.A., although the areas more than 10 miles inland can get hot in summer (but usually not super hot unless you're far inland).

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

On the whole from what I saw the teens are a lot better behaved than the UK horrors. The US kids seemed to have more respect for people and the police and are more well rounded from an early age.

The crime rate in the U.S, (including L.A.) has dropped significantly over the last 20 years, but we still have our issues. Since I've never been to the U.K., you may be right about what you're saying. Just be aware I think the picture is probably not quite as rosy as you might think.

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

Other observations:
Most places were spotlessly clean... i know there are dumps around, but on the whole really nice.

I never think of L.A. as a particularly clean city, but I've only visited, and it's relative to where you're comparing it to.

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

No drinking in public and strict rules on where you can smoke, which people actually pay attention to.

Yes, these are both pretty standard in most parts of the U.S. California is stricter about indoor smoking than the rest of the U.S. with no smoking in bars, etc. Even apartment managers can refuse to rent to someone who smokes.

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

In the UK just this very week, 2 pregnant women were smoking in the doorway of a maternity unit of the hospital and just laughed when I asked them to stop. I don't this would happen or be tolerated in the States.

Yes, I agree with you on that one.

Our biggest health issue is that 2/3 of Americans are overweight and 1/3 are obese . Those stats are probably not quite as bad for California, but still pretty high.

And as you may know, our health care is a mess (public or private) and is horribly expensive. America typically ranks among the lowest in terms of life expectancy compared to other developed countries, yet we spend a lot more than everyone else on health care, and health care coverage is not automatic like it is in the UK.

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

Americans are loud and super confident and don't really care about what anyone thinks.

Eh, yeah, that's true. But it can be quite annoying. Problem is we're overconfident and we often don't know what the heck we're talking about.

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

Nobody really queues for anything, apart from on the freeway.

Hmmm, I hadn't noticed people not queuing for anything.

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

Service in restaurants, gas stations and generally everywhere is so much better than over here. Everyone is super pleasant.

In my travels, I've heard the same thing from other Brits, so it must be true

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

Why do Americans like British accents? 'OMG, are you guys from England?'

Because they sound great (at least to most Americans, myself included).

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

I guess it's the little things that make it different and appealing to a curious someone like me.

I hope I get the chance to come out and give it a go one day.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. It was nice to hear some good things about L.A. / America. But like I said, we have our issues, trust me on that one.

I would love to visit the UK some day. I've always enjoyed the Brits I've met in my travels

[TJCULLEN7]

Yes, I can see your healthcare system is a bit of a mess. We had to go to Laguna Beach hospital for my wife to have an ultrasound and some blood taken, as we don't have medical insurance, this cost us $1500.00. Luckily we have travel insurance to cover this. It's very scary as in England that would be free, to anyone, employed or not. However, the service that we received was second to none, we didn't have to wait for hours like at home, the hospital was immaculate, the staff and doctors painfully helpful and we didn't even have to pay to park. I was very impressed, so don't be too hard on your healthcare system. In the UK, as our healthcare is free, people massively take advantage of it.

Oh and the English drink like the Americans eat.

[nslander]

Originally Posted by TJCULLEN7

Yes, I can see your healthcare system is a bit of a mess. We had to go to Laguna Beach hospital for my wife to have an ultrasound and some blood taken, as we don't have medical insurance, this cost us $1500.00. Luckily we have travel insurance to cover this. It's very scary as in England that would be free, to anyone, employed or not. However, the service that we received was second to none, we didn't have to wait for hours like at home, the hospital was immaculate, the staff and doctors painfully helpful and we didn't even have to pay to park. I was very impressed, so don't be too hard on your healthcare system. In the UK, as our healthcare is free, people massively take advantage of it.

Oh and the English drink like the Americans eat.

That's just disturbing for all concerned.

[yamota]

rest assured that all the teenagers in LA re respectful, well-mannered and pious