Is it me or is LA easier to make it than NYC? (Whittier: community college, minimum wage)

[taydigga]

Originally Posted by marilyn220

Yes, it is. You can still rent a Bachelor apartment in some parts of LA for $500 or $600. I doubt very seriously you can find an apartment for under $1,000 here in any of the boroughs no matter how far out you go. You might be able to roommate for that amount with one or two other people.



Not just people in their 20s. People of all ages in LA are a couple of paychecks away from this. I find LA's jobs to be mostly service oriented. There is a REASON why unions seem to dominate every part of California the way it does. We don't have unions for supermarket or pharmacy workers in NYC. I never heard of such a thing until I moved out west. To us, those jobs are strictly "extra money" work only. No one wants to work there forever like on the west coast.

Yeah, you are right. It's just Cali in general. The gold rush of 49 had it's effects, this place is like a promised land for people from elsewhere. I mean up until about the summer of 98, I never wanted to do live in LA but then I ended up here in October of 98 and the rest is history. All I know is I've never been to a place like this and the weather is a big plus for me. I'm from a small city between Milwaukee and Chicago so although, to some people, that isn't a big deal--it is for me. The lack of humidity, the cool nights, the way I can turn off a busy street and be in a neighborhood that's peaceful and unmolested by the craziness that is LA, then turn the corner again and I'm somewhere totally popping and hip, different from all other parts of LA.

I like the ritz, not because it's ritz but it's a part of LA's character. I like how you have to grind it out a little here before "making" it. I'm not talking entertainment industry, although I'm in that line of work (as a passion not as a 9 to 5 right now). But I always considered this city as a hot girl you always hear about, good and bad but it takes a while to get to know her. She is fine but there's some ugly to her, she can be superfiscial, shallow and etc., but if you stay with her long enough and take her out enough, you'll see that she's more complex than those flat projections that the media (she herself employs) puts out...there's way more to her than that...LA is deep, you just have to want to get through to that deepness. Not saying anyone has to. I see how appealing NYC is because you know right away what it is and isn't. There's so threshold you have to deal with first...at least not in this same since. Man, I just ranted...sorry. I'm done.

[BarcelonaFan]

Major difference I saw between the East Coast and LA is that in the East there are a lot of qualified people in line in front of you. The number of people for higher end jobs with great resumes is super high so if you miss out on a job there are a bunch more behind you ready to snag it.

In LA I've noticed there are a ton of people without qualifications applying for not only higher but lower end jobs too. And employers don't help by putting out ads that read, "at least 5 years experience sign spinning". They seem to too lazy or cheap to retrain people and just want someone who can hit the ground running. A recruiter my brother saw out in Century City said that his resume was great and that companies would start calling him right away but of course he was looking for part time stuff not full time high responsibility career building jobs. The staffer told him that he has a lot of jobs he needs to fill but that he hardly meets someone really qualified for them. And then there is the thing about people holding onto their jobs as though it were the last one on earth! My god I've never seen so many old people working retail service sector jobs.

So both towns are crazy tough they're just different monsters.

[ElysianEagle]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

Major difference I saw between the East Coast and LA is that in the East there are a lot of qualified people in line in front of you.

This depends on the industry. I'm sure in LA the competition in Hollywood is insane. In other industries, probably it's more on the East Coast.

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

They seem to too lazy or cheap to retrain people and just want someone who can hit the ground running.

This is actually a general trend and has nothing to do with LA per se.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by taydigga

I think you guys are overdoing it with this stereotype of transplants. I'm one of them and know plenty of them, in fact most of them, that aren't here for "the industry" and they don't "act" pretentious and etc., Also, check this out. There's a huge crowd of natives that are some of the most pretentious and rude people in LA. You see them all the time, they drive crazy, are entitled and they have a warped view of class and etc., That's not a small segment. Don't get me wrong, there are transplants that overdo it and there are a lot of natives that are cool but this city is so huge I've met soo many different types of people from everywhere that I've decided to quit labeling these people and quit throwing out "these people do this in LA" and "these people do that" it's too big and too diverse. I think some of you have had a few run ins with some transplants and etc., and have let it go sour. A lot of people come here just for the weather. I will admit though, Tex, us transplant do come off cooler to people back home. Not that we act that way but I notice people back home either think I'm cooler or think that I think I'm cooler and treat me that way. When I was younger, I thought I was...and maybe I was? LOL.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm a transplant too, that has nothing to do with the entertainment industry.

You are right though, we should stop categorizing people.

[BarcelonaFan]

Originally Posted by ElysianEagle

This depends on the industry. I'm sure in LA the competition in Hollywood is insane. In other industries, probably it's more on the East Coast.



This is actually a general trend and has nothing to do with LA per se.

I'm sure it is but I've never been to a town that requires so much from people when applying for a low wage job.

[taydigga]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

I'm sure it is but I've never been to a town that requires so much from people when applying for a low wage job.

I was going to say the same to you Barcelona, it's all dependent upon the industry. I don't think you can label LA the way you are in every category. I'm sure you can do that to the east coast too, in certain categories. I think we look to much for absolute comparisons as far as cities go especially when we only have a few examples of it. I'm a manager and I look to higher the qualified all the time. I have plenty of friends in the tech industry and they say the competition is fierce. It's an us vs them world and I think we let that go to our heads and compare everything to everything when we really don't know if these things are truly any different or we've just had our experiences and are projecting them.

[BarcelonaFan]

Very true. I am humble enough to admit I am probably wrong on this. Most likely, actually. I still have so much more to experience and see, but of all the cities I've ever lived in, LA probably has the most visible reminder of what could happen to you if you mess up big time.

[moonsparkle]

The only other big city I can use as comparison is Chicago, and it's very easy to find a minimum wage job there. I'd also guess more of the population is easily employable there (English, legal status, probably some comm. college credits at least) compared to LA, which should make it more competitive if anything. Houston has a large percentage of illegals similar to LA and it's probably easy to get a minimum wage job there.

I still can't see it being super hard for someone with a 4 year degree from any real university to find something minimum wage if they try hard enough in LA. It could also be a matter of being overqualified, I think employers know when someone really doesn't want to stay long.

There is something confusing about that. I thought in LA if they think you look cool enough they'd hire you on the spot.

[jm1982]

Regarding competition for min wage jobs . With the immigrant population in la I could see competition being strong for these jobs because they are more likely to live together with many people in one house . They can afford to get paid min wage because they pool resources together ,etc. Another thing there are a lot of people on la trying to do something " on the side " acting ,etc things that don't really pay much . Also Im guessing many of these people coming to la are possibly getting help from their family . Family pays for their rent while they peruse their love of acting or for car payment ,etc. they apply for the minimum wage job to cover all the other expenses .

Also I could see a situation where someone that wants to pursue something else actually prefers a min wage job for different reasons . They are often more likely to be part time which is a big thing , possibly lower responsibility as well.

As a result they don't care about going up in the company because their focus is on acting ,etc so they stay in that position meaning there isn't a position for another new comer ..of course unless they hit it big which is rare .

[BarcelonaFan]

That's exactly what's going on.