Get out if you can!!!! (Los Angeles, San Francisco: wages, tax, to live)

[JackSparrow]

Originally Posted by fastfilm

JackSparrow in nice, safe West Los Angeles, do you remember the line in "Sea of Love" (sorry, I'm a sucker for Al Pacino movies) wherein he, a policeman, erupts, "Nobody likes cops until something goes wrong. Then I'm everybody's Daddy!" Madmj, majoun and camaroguy have got it right for the rest of us.

More police would probably make a dent in my unfortunate neighborhood being engulfed in gangs like kudzu since the '94 quake and riots. More police would have been beneficial during the aftermath of the earthquake and its attendant emergencies. More police could nab the vandalizers, instead of the graffiti taggers knowing they can get away with shooting dead any neighborhhood mother who criticizes their destruction of other people's property.

Sweet. So get more cops in Van Nuys.

Yes, in my happy little west-side-story, I don't need any more cops. I got a frucking ticket for jaywalk two weeks ago. ON A DESERTED STREET CORNER!!! All they do on the west side is take money. Jack booted thuggery.

Sure, I'm for more cops. In the right areas. But it doesn't work that way. Oh well.


PS- If you live in such a dump, move.

[SandyCo]

Keep it civil, everyone... We can all agree to disagree.

I would love to have more cops in L.A., because it would be nice if one showed up less than an hour after I report loud noise from the apartment next door! It's ironic that tagging goes on here in the San Fernando Valley almost without consequence, and yet Jack Sparrow gets a jaywalking ticket!

And staying on topic... I think the title of this thread is accurate. It's not easy to save up and move from L.A. If you're trying to raise a family, it's just about impossible to save first, last and security on a place, even if it's out of L.A. altogether. Add in moving costs, and it's no wonder a lot of people are stuck here.

[ConfederateGhost]

Originally Posted by JackSparrow

1. I have never seen a gang member except when I've driven through rough areas; let alone been harassed by one.

2. The film industry is bigger here than ever before. If you understand the tax laws then you'll know that there is incentive to stay here. But since you don't know the business, I'll not waste my breath to explain why FILMING (not production) is happening elsewhere.

3. If it sucks, why not leave? Why waste forum bandwidth complaining. I am sure where you move will be a better place, right?

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You being the expert on the film industry here I wonder why the LA Times does not agree with any of what you are saying.

[JackSparrow]

Originally Posted by PacificKamikaze

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You being the expert on the film industry here I wonder why the LA Times does not agree with any of what you are saying.

1. The LA Times is a news-media outlet. They print things that are sensational. On purpose. Would you buy a newspaper that read "Things are status quo." No! Granted that's a little oversimplified, but again, news tends to be sensationalized IMO.

2. Did you read the article? It's about FILMING, not production. Go back, and re-read my post. Filming HAS to happen elsewhere. Why? Because everyone has seen every part of LA in every kind of film imaginable. Outside of sets that are meant to be rebuilt and destroyed- it's pretty hard to make Malibu NOT look like Malibu. I see ACH in like 50% of the car commercials out there...

3. Film is changing. Via the internet. Smaller directors. B-productions that "hit." I guess if they consider basement webcammers as film...

4. Major film production will never leave LA. Lucas tried it in the 70's/80's and now look at that guy. :laughing Let's see, who else packed up shop and left...? (Queue jeopardy theme)

5. I also read a slew of entertainment based publications. Everything from Variety to Rotten Tomatoes. Every day. Tell me, what do YOU know about film? Sift through here and tell me how worried these people are about tv/film leaving LA:
http://www.variety.com/

But then, hey, what would they know right? If you want to know whats going on in film and tv, read something other than the Times... Also, maybe ask some influential people about production/Los Angeles. I talked to the president of the directors guild today at lunch, you think he might have had some thoughts on the strike? [Did you know a strike was eminent?] I mean, no offense, but you should really research more than one news outlet before formulating an opinion.

[JerZ]

Originally Posted by JackSparrow

I got a frucking ticket for jaywalk two weeks ago. ON A DESERTED STREET CORNER!!!

OMG!!!!!!!!! That is so Harold & Kumar!

[Glitch]

If you think you have it bad, just remember that someone always has it worse. -40°F is a common occurance here. Every winter Fairbanks gets that cold and colder. At -60°F the water vapor in the atmosphere freezes and becomes an ice fog, vehicles that weren't left running overnight won't start, Bic lighters stop functioning, and cigarettes will go out by themselves. At -80°F any exposed flesh will freeze in under a minute, including eyeballs.

So you can understand why Alaskans are big Global Warming advocates.

[monti]

Glitch - I read somewhere that Northern Minnesota is actually colder on average than alaska when the windchill is factored in. Where in Alaska do you live?

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by monti

Glitch - I read somewhere that Northern Minnesota is actually colder on average than alaska when the windchill is factored in. Where in Alaska do you live?

I live just outside of Wasilla, Alaska. Which is located north of Anchorage in south central Alaska. Alaska is such a big state the temperatures vary widely. If you live along the coast, the winter and summer temperatures are mild. Anchorage doesn't get much colder than Omaha, Nebraska, in the winter. +15°F to +25°F is the norm for Anchorage, but it does drop below 0°F and will even reach -20°F for a few days each winter. And those are ambient temperatures.

The Alaskan panhandle is even warmer. Warmed by the Japanese current, it is only a few degrees colder than Seattle, Washington.

I lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, for a few years while I was attending the university, and I would rather spend a winter in Anchorage than St. Paul. Fairbanks, however, drops to -40°F every winter, and it is not uncommon for them to see -60°F for a few days each winter.

The further inland you go from the coast, the more extreme temperatures you will find. Prospect Creek Camp recorded the state's record low temperature of -80° in 1971, and Fort Yukon recorded the state's record high of +100°F in 1915.

United States Extreme Temperatures & Ranges

[CamaroGuy]

Getting back to Los Angeles, the 80s was the last glorious period for the city.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by CamaroGuy

Getting back to Los Angeles, the 80s was the last glorious period for the city.

People in LA in the 80s wouldn't have said that. They would have said that the Manson murders ended LA's last glorious period. (The 70s and early 80s seem great in retrospect but people at the time probably would not have thought that. The city's subsequent problems were already very much a reality by the mid 80s with AIDS, crack, and much more violent gangs. However, at least LA was a cheap city then...)