New(ish) to LA and Miserable.... (unemployment rate, schools, wages)

[genjy]

Originally Posted by Safa7

When I was dating a Black man (I'm White), and we walked down Hollywood Blvd., I was very surprised at the looks we got. Now, we were both 6'2, but the 6'2 'glance' is a lot different than the 'race' glare. Or maybe I was being paranoid. I must say, though, it did surprise me a lot, for a city like L.A.
Yes, I think getting involved is your best bet. Once you have friends with volunteering, serving, church or some kind of activity in common, your atmosphere will soon close in in a pleasant and homey way.

Maybe that's because Hollywood Blvd is full of people who don't live in LA or even SoCal (i.e., tourists).

[EclecticEars]

I'm speaking about OC in my case, not LA, but it's in the same general region of the state.

I just moved to Orange County (Irvine)--for the sake of convenience. I should have listened to my gut instinct and moved to Long Beach, Cerritos, or some town straddling the LA/OC County line still fairly easily commutable to Irvine.

I read a Yelp review once that said that OC is a failed experiment, like putting white trash in Greenwich, CT, but that the bubble needs to be sealed and removed from California. I already am beginning to see what that guy meant.

In short, I don't like OC so far. No one looks happy to be alive here. The only place in L.A. County that I've visited that really seems to have that issue is the west side.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by EclecticEars

I just moved to Orange County (Irvine)--for the sake of convenience. I should have listened to my gut instinct and moved to Long Beach, Cerritos, or some town straddling the LA/OC County line...

You couldn't have picked a more homogeneous city than Irvine. It has its advantages, but tolerance of differences is not one of them.

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by Safa7

When I was dating a Black man (I'm White), and we walked down Hollywood Blvd., I was very surprised at the looks we got. Now, we were both 6'2, but the 6'2 'glance' is a lot different than the 'race' glare. Or maybe I was being paranoid. I must say, though, it did surprise me a lot, for a city like L.A.
Yes, I think getting involved is your best bet. Once you have friends with volunteering, serving, church or some kind of activity in common, your atmosphere will soon close in in a pleasant and homey way.

Maybe people just thought you were a striking couple. It's very unusual to see two 6'2" tall people (man/woman) together. Heck, it's rare to see a 6'2" woman, period.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by genjy

Maybe that's because Hollywood Blvd is full of people who don't live in LA or even SoCal (i.e., tourists).

Haha I was going to say that too.. You're probably more likely to run into a Midwesterner than a native of L.A or someone that has lived here a while.

I actually like Hollywood Blvd ...but I know a lot of people hate it.

Being able to take the Redline to Highland or Vine is also nice.

[radiolibre99]

Spoiler

Sometimes I hear from people back in Texas, "I could never live in LA, it's such a huge city. I don't know how you deal with it." But the truth is that I don't live in all of LA and my bubble here is much smaller than it was in Houston. I don't use all of the city, just my little parts of life, work, and friends (Long Beach, South Bay, Santa Monica). My bubbles here are much smaller and I don't need to access the entire greater LA but it's nice to have it there when I feel like exploring.

This is very true. LA dwarfs Houston but I feel way more at home here. Houston was more of disheveled mess and less laid back, more professional and stuffy in terms of appearances. The valley especially around Noho, burbank, studio city and Sherman oaks it feels very homely and community oriented.

[timtemtym]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

This is very true. LA dwarfs Houston but I feel way more at home here. Houston was more of disheveled mess and less laid back, more professional and stuffy in terms of appearances. The valley especially around Noho, burbank, studio city and Sherman oaks it feels very homely and community oriented.

Absolutely! In some ways, LA is much less image conscious (car, clothes, house) than Houston is. People here seem a lot less rushed but at the same time there is a lot more going on here.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by timtemtym

Absolutely! In some ways, LA is much less image conscious (car, clothes, house) than Houston is. People here seem a lot less rushed but at the same time there is a lot more going on here.

Its cus southern cities are way more keeping up with the joneses. In LA that race is utterly pointless. There people here who are just way too wealthy out in the open that it would just look silly to try that hard. Los Angeles is very humbling.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by midwestgal2013

Hey, I've grown up in the Midwest. January winters don't scare me like folks who've never been there. And I'm at the point where I'll take freezing cold, snuggling under covers rather than paying $400 electric bills because half the year is 100 degrees.

Well, the only area of southern California where it is 100 degrees half of the year would be the low desert (Palm Springs, Needles, Blythe, Death Valley).

[midwestgal2013]

Just wanted to come back, two years later, and report that my husband and I (along with new baby) will be moving back to the midwest in 30 days. We certainly enjoyed our time here, but overall we would like to be able to afford a house (with a yard) and miss our families. Plus, we could use all of the free babysitting we can get!

But on a serious note, we both realized that we want more than what the west coast can give us.