Asian moving to LA - asking about social life

[JTC15]

Originally Posted by drshang

I really don't think LA has much of a drinking culture. It depends on the circle you hang out with, but in general I am not of the opinion that drinking represents a significant portion of the social life here.

The Asians that I know who have a singles type social life...there are lots of places to do karaoke, they have badminton groups, they go hiking, play tennis, stuff like that. Some are into gourmet food, ethnic food that kind of scene. I know some that have learned to surf, others like to go to concerts/

I think LA has a pretty large variety of social activities. I really can't see people being bored here. I think a more relevant question is, socially, what isn't there to do here? In all honesty, the variety is tremendous.

EDIT: I think you will eventually want a car. Typical experience I have seen with people from Asia is they go without a car for like 6 months, maybe up to 18 months, but pretty much universally end up buying a car at some point. But you don't need one, not right away, but you will most likely eventually want one. Driving here is a freaking piece of cake compared to anywhere in Asia.

Thanks. I may consider getting a car at the end. It's just I wonder how life would be in LA. I could visit it in next couple months but short visit will never tell you how life will be there!

[JTC15]

Originally Posted by jyh0710

Asian encompasses a lot of subcultures, and each subculture is quite different from another. I am Chinese, and I assume you are Chinese (being that you travel/work between HK and Singapore) as well. If you are not Chinese, this post is not likely to be very helpful.

I am not familiar with west side of LA, but there are two places that are densely populated by Chinese in east part of LA. The San Gabriel Valley area (Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, Temple City, and Arcadia) has more Cantonese-speaking Chinese population, and Rowland Heights area (Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Walnut, and Diamond Bar) has more Mandarin-speaking Chinese. If you work in downtown LA, you NEED a car to commute to these two areas. There's no train stops in these areas. Metro 76 (bus) can take you between downtown and San Gabriel Valley area, but the ride will take over an hour - one way, minus the waiting time for bus. Even with car, from downtown LA, you will need to drive 20+ min. to reach SGV and 40+ min. to reach Rowland Heights. Don't bother going to Chinatown, newer generation of Chinese don't go there (I haven't been there for 10+ years). It's essentially an old-folks'(age 60+) town or Vietnamese town.

LA will never match HK in term of population density and number of shops, but you can do some typical Chinese shopping at San Gabriel Square (a rather popular/famous Chinese shopping destination). Or if you live near Rowland Heights, you can find lots of Chinese shop on Colima Rd. If you need more westerner shops, then Westfield Santa Anita or Brea Mall will work for you.

As to social scene, can't help you much there. Between work, commute, and other obligations and chores, I think most people just don't have the energy and/or will to talk to strangers often. To the other poster who said his/her friends said US has slower pace, I found that totally opposites to what I experience. Can't compare to HK since I never really lived there(only visited), but compare to Canton, I found time in US really flies. I think a possible way to make new friends is to join a language school or adult school, you may find people with similar background as you and fellow students are more likely to socialize.

To be honest, if you are accustomed to HK and has a stable job there, then just stay there and be happy with lives there. LA, while not as bad as the island you described, is not the same as HK(not bad, just different). Also, consider San Francisco, it's better suited for you if you don't like to drive, like more people to interact, and more shop to do window shopping.

Actually I am not a big big fan of chinese food and culture. I just want to have friends and may even find a date at some points. The island I stayed is claustrophobic. I'm on a break in between jobs so I have some times to consider if I should go to LA.

Having chinese food or not or shopping chinese stuff is not my concern. I'm afriad it's difficult to make friends if I'm not a big drinkers. Could I have a nightlife not related to drinking party? Could I still have a night watching films in cinema then grab some food with friends in town? I stayed in Chicago for a month, is LA similar to Chicago?

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by JTC15

Actually I am not a big big fan of chinese food and culture. I just want to have friends and may even find a date at some points. The island I stayed is claustrophobic. I'm on a break in between jobs so I have some times to consider if I should go to LA.

Having chinese food or not or shopping chinese stuff is not my concern. I'm afriad it's difficult to make friends if I'm not a big drinkers. Could I have a nightlife not related to drinking party? Could I still have a night watching films in cinema then grab some food with friends in town? I stayed in Chicago for a month, is LA similar to Chicago?

I wouldn't worry about the drinking part... as other people have said here, LA as a whole has less of a drinking culture in the sense of a bar/pub scene versus cities like San Francisco, Chicago, NYC, Boston, etc. if nothing else just because it's so spread out and even though there actually are public transit options, they aren't as well-known or ingrained in the culture as they are in other places.

I am a drinker, but honestly, most of my socializing with friends doesn't involve that much drinking... I usually save that for having people over or going over to someone's house. We'll all go out for karaoke, or to a show, or to a movie, etc. and if anyone has a drink, it's usually one early on so that it's worn off by the end. No one is getting stupid drunk or being obnoxious or anything like that. IMHO it's pretty easy to maintain a social circle like this, especially once you get to your late 20's/early 30's and beyond, as people burn out on and drop out of the club scene (or just move out of LA altogether because it's not sustainable).

Like most other cities, there are plenty of professional or activity-related groups that can easily help you meet new people whom you'll have something in common with. Meetup.com is a popular spot for that, and you can have some luck on Craigslist as well. One of my friends who's Taiwanese-American is a member of a Taiwanese-American young professional group; they do bi-monthly gatherings and have huge quarterly parties. She's made a number of friends and even had a couple dates from that group.

As others mentioned, if you're spiritual, there are churches, temples, etc. to represent basically every religion in the world in LA and these almost uniformly have various activities for people to meet up. There are plenty of athletic clubs that center around yoga, dance, pilates, cycling, running, etc. all over the city that are popular for people to meet up with. Art appreciation groups at LACMA and MOCA. National sports team supporters meetups. I joined a Bostonian meetup group a few years ago when I was in LA and met some cool people from back home I still talk with from time to time. There's also always volunteering.

I've generally found people in LA to be agreeable, approachable, and easy to get along with. It's also an extremely international city with millions of Asians; it's not at all uncommon to see Asian people, whether they were born here or overseas, socializing in a group with white, black, and hispanic people, and I've found that amongst professionals, peoples' race or ethnicity is rarely a concern.

[madrone2k]

Despite the kind efforts of many posters, I feel as if we've given the OP lots of information that isn't very relevant to her interests. Perhaps that would not be the case if we knew more about her actual interests (rather than non-interests).

The only thing I've come up with comes from combining 2 thoughts mentioned earlier. A visit -- even a short one -- would be much more effective if she scoped out interesting groups and events on the internet before visiting. With that preparation, she could check them out and hopefully see how easy (or not) it is to "break the ice" with people who have similar interests.

[JTC15]

Originally Posted by madrone2k

Despite the kind efforts of many posters, I feel as if we've given the OP lots of information that isn't very relevant to her interests. Perhaps that would not be the case if we knew more about her actual interests (rather than non-interests).

The only thing I've come up with comes from combining 2 thoughts mentioned earlier. A visit -- even a short one -- would be much more effective if she scoped out interesting groups and events on the internet before visiting. With that preparation, she could check them out and hopefully see how easy (or not) it is to "break the ice" with people who have similar interests.

Thanks. I plant to visit LA in May. I made a big mistake that I didn't visit the island before making my decision. I guess I should just fly to LA and see how I feel. Hopefully I will feel good and take the job offer.

hmmm... I'm not really interested in sports but I do go to gym a few times a week. Not sure if this is will be a big problem in making friends in LA.

[kasuga888]

Originally Posted by JTC15

Thanks. I plant to visit LA in May. I made a big mistake that I didn't visit the island before making my decision. I guess I should just fly to LA and see how I feel. Hopefully I will feel good and take the job offer.

hmmm... I'm not really interested in sports but I do go to gym a few times a week. Not sure if this is will be a big problem in making friends in LA.

Checkout these meetups which are very active with events, they are asian specific.. but there are tons more out there for other intrests/culture/etc. You are bound to meet some friends thru these groups. These folks are all in similar situation as you, wanting to meet new friends.

http://www.laasians.com/
Asian Groupting (Los Angeles, CA) - Meetup
Los Angeles Asian Professionals and Graduate Students Meetup (Los Angeles, CA) - Meetup
Orange County Asian Professionals OCAP (Irvine, CA) - Meetup
http://www.mandarinfriends.org/

[BarcelonaFan]

Meeting people isn't hard in LA, people are generally friendly, not outright rude. Even in the much maligned stereotyped Westside people aren't that rude (unless they're insufferable transplants who think they're acting LA).

The problem is actually making a lot of friends beyond that one or two time hangout. But since the OP is visiting I don't even know why she is worried. A young woman on vacation in LA and willing to scope out meetup groups before her arrival will not have trouble. LA can actually be a great place to chill, go to a museum, a cafe, a show and then a drink at the bar and call it a night. That aspect of nightlife is far common and easier to find than the rowdy Vegas/New Orleans, Sixth Street Austin type of nightlife. So if the latter is not your thing than you will have an abundance of the former.

Relax and come to LA. You will have fun.

[Missmoraira]

Hey, my name is Sara, 21 from Norway and just moved to Hollywood, LA. I feel very lonely here and willing to find ppl to socialize with. Send me a message. Gay and feemale only, as Im in a relationship I only want to make friends where there is no intention of anything else.