Would I be OK living in LA? (Los Angeles, Compton: 2015, hotel)

[John_marts]

Originally Posted by jm1982

What makes it easier to live in versus NJ, is a lot of it weather related? ...just curious

Well considering I have only been to california on vacations VS living in NJ I base it on these principles.

NJ and CA are nearly the same in poor economies in the USA
Both have high housing prices (CA slightly more)
Both have high taxes (CA slightly more but has freeways VS toll highways)

NJ has nasty snow for what seems to becoming a longer amount of time little by little. Its april and we have only seen 2 days in the 60's but alot of colder rainier days. PIcture it this way... You have problems finding parking in LA? HA! try finding parking in NYC after a brutal snow storm when there is snow plowed up on the side of every single street. Even in NJ suburbs it can be a pain.

NJ has horrible roads due to the bad weather.

NJ summers are often humid with rain more often than we want.

NJ has no scenery. OK we have some scenery but it doent even compare to california.

If you want to live in a city area (hoboken, NYC) your either paying just as much or alot more than LA for an apartment.

All for what? crappy winters and mediocre weather the rest of the year with nothing good to look at other than the view of NYC from NJ?

I'll take the ever so slightly price hike for a much better view with better weather. If I'm going to have to pay alot to live in garbage, then I'll gladly move to CA for a similar price.

[MItoBH]

Originally Posted by John_marts

Well considering I have only been to california on vacations VS living in NJ I base it on these principles.

NJ and CA are nearly the same in poor economies in the USA
Both have high housing prices (CA slightly more)
Both have high taxes (CA slightly more but has freeways VS toll highways)

NJ has nasty snow for what seems to becoming a longer amount of time little by little. Its april and we have only seen 2 days in the 60's but alot of colder rainier days. PIcture it this way... You have problems finding parking in LA? HA! try finding parking in NYC after a brutal snow storm when there is snow plowed up on the side of every single street. Even in NJ suburbs it can be a pain.

NJ has horrible roads due to the bad weather.

NJ summers are often humid with rain more often than we want.

NJ has no scenery. OK we have some scenery but it doent even compare to california.

If you want to live in a city area (hoboken, NYC) your either paying just as much or alot more than LA for an apartment.

All for what? crappy winters and mediocre weather the rest of the year with nothing good to look at other than the view of NYC from NJ?

I'll take the ever so slightly price hike for a much better view with better weather. If I'm going to have to pay alot to live in garbage, then I'll gladly move to CA for a similar price.

John, your enthusiasm to move to California is similar to mine. I lived in NJ (Bayonne) back in 2000-2001, so I'm familiar with Jersey and NYC. Currently I'm in my home state of Michigan and each passing day I can't wait to escape this blue-collar hole for California. My move is planned for October/Nov 2016, but it could happen sooner if the universe allows. I just want to say Good luck on your plans and hopefully you can secure an apartment or temp living space during your vacation to make your move go a smooth as possible!

Keep us posted!

[GeorgeSpell]

when you visit check everything out that means anything to you in your life
if you have time check it all out....los angeles is like anywhere else..the good
and the bad ...it helps if you speak spainish

[YoungTraveler2011]

Originally Posted by John_marts

Hey, new here and this is my first post. I've been frequenting the LA forums for awhile now.

Anyway, I am completely dead set on moving out here. I'm from NJ. Basically I'm tired of the winters, humid summers, rude attitudes, and simply the whole "jersey" vibe. I absolutely love summer weather and beaches. I admire scenery, which I feel is vastly underrated as a reason to move. I also have a sense that their are much healthier places to eat in LA compared to NJ. (Vegan although I am not) it seems to just suit me.

I recently acquired a job that could potentially allow me ~$50k a year and ~30k a year on a smaller position. I know it's not a lot but I'm asking, if I were to move out here on a job transfer making around $30k a year in a studio, would I be ok?

I have radpad, and have been looking up apartments and crunching numbers left and right and I think I'd be ok living here on that income with a studio from $800-10000/month. For the local natives, is that sufficient?

I plan on coming here this winter on vacation to scope out some areas. Noho, west Hollywood, westlake, echo park, Downey, etc. Are these places you'd recommend? And are there any places you'd recommend with that rent ballpark?

BTW: the area I live in currently is pretty identical in terms of apartment rent and other overall expenses. NJ ain't cheap, so I might as well go somewhere beautiful for a similar price while I'm still young.

Don't move here unless you're making AT LEAST 60k/yr base.

And this is coming from someone making 120k/yr base.

[ryanms3030]

If you are making $30k, you are better off finding a roommate situation. Even a studio in your price range will probably be in an undesirable neighborhood. Your realistic budget for housing would be 30% of your gross which would be about $750/mo.

[John_marts]

So I'm here in LA right now. 2nd day of 9. Right now I'm at a hostel in Venice until my friends fly over and then we'll be in hollywood. Since no one is actually staying in my hostel room, ive been completely on my own and have just been exploring the area. I think Venice is really nice, still gotta check out the canals, but it is a tad shady although nowhere near as bad as the tenderloin in SF.

Last night I was kind of shocked at how dead things become at around 10 pm so bored as I was, I drove to DTLA. I only saw like 2 bars with people drinking there. Am I missing obvious areas? There was nothing in DTLA that even remotely felt like NYC, not that I expected it to.

I drove down the PCH into malibu, amazing. The tunnel on the PCH near santa monica that leads into those cliffs and pedestrian bridges are freaking beautiful. I checked some apartments in venice and quickly realized I cant afford anything in venice.

So then I drove up the 405 and then 101 (I think) into NoHo. I actually really liked it. I love how the valley is surrounded by mountains. I also like how its calmer and less crowded. Van nuys was a tad shady.

I still have a ton to explore and cant wait to check out hollywood, echo park, silverlake, los feliz, griffith park, runyon, etc.

Anyway time to skate venice and then go to santa monica.

edit: Oh, and so far I find the LA traffic to be severely over rated in terms of how bad it is. I did see bumper to bumper on the 405 south at around 10 am but going up north it was a breeze. The only traffic jam I have been in so far is getting back to LA down the PCH into santa monica. That wasnt even that bad though. All I can say about the traffic so far is that there asre simply alot of cars on the road at all times, even later at night, but the traffic still MOVES and at a good rate.

[StreetLegal]

Yeah, John, you are not going to find anything like NYC activity in LA. When I was younger (20's) I did a stint in NYC/Jersey. I hear you loud and clear...the weather in So.Calif. does make living easier. No snow or humidity to contend with. But forget about NYC level street activity...we don't have that here.

The most active spots for pedestrian street activity are Third Street Promenade (weekends), Venice Boardwalk (warm weekends), Hermosa Beach pier area (warm weekends), Hollywood Blvd, Old Town Pasadena (weekend nights), Pine Street in downtown Long Beach (weekends) and parts of Downtown LA.

[ellebelle801]

Hi John, I'm planning to move from Chicago to LA first thing 2017 (I know that sounds like forever away! lol) but I completely relate to your excitement! The few people in my life I have told about the move so far have been mostly negative or neutral about it, so its nice to hear from someone who gets it :-) And its super great to hear how your trip is going! I'm going for a visit this fall and I can't wait! Would love to hear how the rest of your trip goes and other initial impressions.

[theraven24]

This is for all Northeasterners, not just the OP. If you move to Los Angeles, don't expect it to be like your home state/city you grew up in, especially New York City. Also, try not to do too much comparing. You'll find little to nothing in common.

[jm1982]

Cool to hear about your experience so far .
That's nice you made it out to the valley . NoHo arts is a pretty cool little area. Pretty hip with lots of actors / dancers around .
I agree Venice be shady even though it's one of the most expensive parts of LA .

I grew up on the Westside , but I'm not sure if I would want to move back.

I agree that you won't really find NYC style street life in LA . The city is too spread out and many parts aren't that dense compared to NYC . I think we will see more density for sure , especially near the subway lines .

Hope you have a good time checking out the other areas . Runyon canyon is really nice , and it's pretty amazing it's right there near hollywood blvd .i used to live nearby but haven't been back since .

Lots of places to check out in LA, you could spend a lifetime probably and still not see them all .