What's life like in L.A.? (San Diego, Santa Monica: apartment, rent, houses)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Every day, I dream about relocating from the DC metro area to L.A. I travel a lot to the area, for work purposes, but I haven't been able to get a transfer (yet).
Just curious, for all of you folks who have managed to relocate to L.A., please share your relocation experiences. How is your new life in L.A.?
Stars everywhere inviting you to the poshest clubs and then taking care of the bill.
Living right on the ocean and jogging to work at my high tech job in a beachfront skyrise.
Driving my mercedez s500 only when i need to get groceries at the local farmer's market which sells organic juices squeezed by hot actresses and models.
Stars everywhere inviting you to the poshest clubs and then taking care of the bill.
Living right on the ocean and jogging to work at my high tech job in a beachfront skyrise.
Driving my mercedez s500 only when i need to get groceries at the local farmer's market which sells organic juices squeezed by hot actresses and models.
right?
You are so insufferable sometimes. There's always an idiot moving to California thread to post comments like this in and they can certainly be funny when done right. In this one, you come off as annoying, especially considering the OP hasn't done/said anything stupid yet.
------
OP, LA is great. I moved here 5.5 years ago and couldn't be happier. Great weather all year long, only having to see snow if I choose to is amazing. Despite its reputation for snobby, stuck up people, I find the majority of those I've come into contact with to be pretty chill, open, and laidback.
It's great having so many entertainment options at your fingers. A beach trip to the OC, or Venice, or Malibu one weekend, Universal/Six Flags/Disneyland another weekend, seeing a concert at a venue, the bi-annual bear walk or monthly food truck nights in Venice. Where I come from, you'd have to drive at least an hour plus to do anything remotely different than catching a movie on the weekends.
Celebrities are interesting to run into every now and then, I spot them at the gym or out and about from time to time. But they're just people too, living their life. Nothing has compelled me to go back to my hometown in 5 years. It was difficult making friends at first. After a couple of college friends moved out and I started getting involved in sports and filming projects, I've met a lot of really great people.
Finding an apartment can be a PITA. My place in West Hollywood now had two other people scrambling to fill out the application as I was viewing the apartment. Moving here without a job and looking for an apartment is even harder. It took me and my bud from college about a week and a half to find a place after moving out here. Luckily we had a friend we stayed with in the OC and drove up to LA every morning with all of our stuff in our cars.
What are your reasons for wanting to relocate to LA? What don't you like about DC? I've been to DC a couple of times and I've been fascinated with the history, culture, and architecture there. At any rate, you'd have a head start on traffic in LA, DC traffic can be pretty gruesome sometimes.
You are so insufferable sometimes. There's always an idiot moving to California thread to post comments like this in and they can certainly be funny when done right. In this one, you come off as annoying, especially considering the OP hasn't done/said anything stupid yet.
------
OP, LA is great. I moved here 5.5 years ago and couldn't be happier. Great weather all year long, only having to see snow if I choose to is amazing. Despite its reputation for snobby, stuck up people, I find the majority of those I've come into contact with to be pretty chill, open, and laidback.
It's great having so many entertainment options at your fingers. A beach trip to the OC, or Venice, or Malibu one weekend, Universal/Six Flags/Disneyland another weekend, seeing a concert at a venue, the bi-annual bear walk or monthly food truck nights in Venice. Where I come from, you'd have to drive at least an hour plus to do anything remotely different than catching a movie on the weekends.
Celebrities are interesting to run into every now and then, I spot them at the gym or out and about from time to time. But they're just people too, living their life. Nothing has compelled me to go back to my hometown in 5 years. It was difficult making friends at first. After a couple of college friends moved out and I started getting involved in sports and filming projects, I've met a lot of really great people.
Finding an apartment can be a PITA. My place in West Hollywood now had two other people scrambling to fill out the application as I was viewing the apartment. Moving here without a job and looking for an apartment is even harder. It took me and my bud from college about a week and a half to find a place after moving out here. Luckily we had a friend we stayed with in the OC and drove up to LA every morning with all of our stuff in our cars.
What are your reasons for wanting to relocate to LA? What don't you like about DC? I've been to DC a couple of times and I've been fascinated with the history, culture, and architecture there. At any rate, you'd have a head start on traffic in LA, DC traffic can be pretty gruesome sometimes.
----
Thanks for responding. I enjoy traveling to L.A. I love the great weather and West Coast vibe.
I relocated 6 years ago from CT to DC. I'm relatively happy with my career (the professional jobs in DC are easy to come by and the pay is very good), but I'm a bit tired of the DC metro area and I absolutely hate the winters here. Last winter was freezing cold, but the summer weather is very lovely. I really like DC around this time of year, but if I received a transfer to L.A. or San Diego, I'd move in a heartbeat.
----
Thanks for responding. I enjoy traveling to L.A. I love the great weather and West Coast vibe.
I relocated 6 years ago from CT to DC. I'm relatively happy with my career (the professional jobs in DC are easy to come by and the pay is very good), but I'm a bit tired of the DC metro area and I absolutely hate the winters here. Last winter was freezing cold, but the summer weather is very lovely. I really like DC around this time of year, but if I received a transfer to L.A. or San Diego, I'd move in a heartbeat.
I haven't relocated to SoCal yet, but I hope to next summer after I graduate from grad school (I live in DC). I've visited friends several times and it's convinced me I definitely want to move out there.
After living in DC for 10 years, LA seems dirt cheap in comparison to me. Food and rent is definitely cheaper. I don't know how you could think summer time in DC is lovely. I'd say it's disgusting. People seem much friendlier. Traffic is horrendous but it's not like traffic in DC is a breeze either. If you can avoid the downtown LA-Hollywood-Santa Monica area, traffic seems pretty bareable. Public transportation is pathetic in comparison to DC but they're spending billions to improve it, so hopefully that will get better.
You are so insufferable sometimes. There's always an idiot moving to California thread to post comments like this in and they can certainly be funny when done right. In this one, you come off as annoying, especially considering the OP hasn't done/said anything stupid yet.
------
OP, LA is great. I moved here 5.5 years ago and couldn't be happier. Great weather all year long, only having to see snow if I choose to is amazing. Despite its reputation for snobby, stuck up people, I find the majority of those I've come into contact with to be pretty chill, open, and laidback.
It's great having so many entertainment options at your fingers. A beach trip to the OC, or Venice, or Malibu one weekend, Universal/Six Flags/Disneyland another weekend, seeing a concert at a venue, the bi-annual bear walk or monthly food truck nights in Venice. Where I come from, you'd have to drive at least an hour plus to do anything remotely different than catching a movie on the weekends.
Celebrities are interesting to run into every now and then, I spot them at the gym or out and about from time to time. But they're just people too, living their life. Nothing has compelled me to go back to my hometown in 5 years. It was difficult making friends at first. After a couple of college friends moved out and I started getting involved in sports and filming projects, I've met a lot of really great people.
Finding an apartment can be a PITA. My place in West Hollywood now had two other people scrambling to fill out the application as I was viewing the apartment. Moving here without a job and looking for an apartment is even harder. It took me and my bud from college about a week and a half to find a place after moving out here. Luckily we had a friend we stayed with in the OC and drove up to LA every morning with all of our stuff in our cars.
What are your reasons for wanting to relocate to LA? What don't you like about DC? I've been to DC a couple of times and I've been fascinated with the history, culture, and architecture there. At any rate, you'd have a head start on traffic in LA, DC traffic can be pretty gruesome sometimes.
A week and a half doesn't seem long at all.....
I hope I am as successful when I finally move out there. Finding an apartment here in NYC can be a real challenge too....they practically want blood samples. And for holes in the wall! LOL
most of LA is old, run down, and congested..there are really nice parts but you can't afford them, most people end up compromising a ton to live here. dealing with traffic which zaps your free time, living in an old apartment because housing is super expensive and the houses you can buy are not even worth owning, not a lot of new buildings are built here so you have to often live in an older one, finding a job is very difficult and could be extremely hard depending on your field and education--don't come here thinking ur going to land a job because you have a Bachelor's in business admin from some midwest school...dime a dozen, rubbing shoulders with a lot of poor or immigrant people (not saying that's bad, but it's ..different) because LA is so mixed in terms of areas that it all blends into one unless you live on the west side
lots of stuff to do if you have money and time which you probably won't due to the above
if you love LA which people do then you can always visit...most of the time you will just be going to and from work to your place
I haven't relocated to SoCal yet, but I hope to next summer after I graduate from grad school (I live in DC). I've visited friends several times and it's convinced me I definitely want to move out there.
After living in DC for 10 years, LA seems dirt cheap in comparison to me. Food and rent is definitely cheaper. I don't know how you could think summer time in DC is lovely. I'd say it's disgusting. People seem much friendlier. Traffic is horrendous but it's not like traffic in DC is a breeze either. If you can avoid the downtown LA-Hollywood-Santa Monica area, traffic seems pretty bareable.
Always funny to me when people visit a few times and think they know it all here only to be hit in the face by reality once they live here and have to go crawling back to their home state LA is in no way, shape or form "dirt cheap" and if you think traffic outside of those areas are bearable, you are in for a rude awakening.
most of LA is old, run down, and congested..there are really nice parts but you can't afford them, most people end up compromising a ton to live here. dealing with traffic which zaps your free time, living in an old apartment because housing is super expensive and the houses you can buy are not even worth owning, not a lot of new buildings are built here so you have to often live in an older one, finding a job is very difficult and could be extremely hard depending on your field and education--don't come here thinking ur going to land a job because you have a Bachelor's in business admin from some midwest school...dime a dozen, rubbing shoulders with a lot of poor or immigrant people (not saying that's bad, but it's ..different) because LA is so mixed in terms of areas that it all blends into one unless you live on the west side
lots of stuff to do if you have money and time which you probably won't due to the above
if you love LA which people do then you can always visit...most of the time you will just be going to and from work to your place
Thats why the smart people move to OC rather than LA. Much newer homes in much nicer neighborhoods, better beaches, lowest unemployment rate in the state and great schools
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
LA is in no way, shape or form "dirt cheap" and if you think traffic outside of those areas are bearable, you are in for a rude awakening.
