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Yes indeed... the majority of Los Angeles residents, are hard working class people. Many who live in modest homes and drive simple cars. The louder minority, are those ones depicted in the media. LA is much larger and diverse than the Westside, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Echo Park, Silverlake areas.
Yeah true. I grew up on the Westside and barely knew anything about the valley growing up. If I did go to the valley it was for a quick trip somewhere on Ventura Blvd.
Little did I realize how massive the SFV , how many different neighborhoods it has. How many millions of people live there.
L.A is so big that I think the majority of the residents likely haven't been to all the neighborhoods within L.A
I can see why people might not feel the need, but I always think it's interesting to see something different.
We can be tourists in our own city or especially our own region and come across hidden treasures that might be beautiful, fascinating, crazy,weird, funny , the types of things they don't put in the guidebooks or show on the news.
I don't know why one would want to limit themselves to just staying in a certain area.
Living in LA is good if youre ok with the daily grind.
Besides the high cost of living,(ie gas prices, housing, being taxed to death, tickets costing hundreds of dollars, etc) its the constant driving to one place to another. Spend a few hours at one place, then you have to drive 30 min to an hour drive, spend an hour there etc..
Not to mention, everything is between is a visual eye sore.
Nice areas with "things to do" in LA is comprised of 2 or 3 blocks then the rest is bleh. Some are just one block.
If little parts of each burb could be combined to make one city(SM pier, parts of DTLA,etc) then LA is great.
When people ask me about moving here, I tell them to stay away unless its absolutely necessary.
I think working 9-5 here makes no sense.
Living in LA is good if youre ok with the daily grind.
Besides the high cost of living,(ie gas prices, housing, being taxed to death, tickets costing hundreds of dollars, etc) its the constant driving to one place to another. Spend a few hours at one place, then you have to drive 30 min to an hour drive, spend an hour there etc..
Not to mention, everything is between is a visual eye sore.
Nice areas with "things to do" in LA is comprised of 2 or 3 blocks then the rest is bleh. Some are just one block.
If little parts of each burb could be combined to make one city(SM pier, parts of DTLA,etc) then LA is great.
When people ask me about moving here, I tell them to stay away unless its absolutely necessary.
I think working 9-5 here makes no sense.
I get what you are saying for the most part. L.A isn't a good place for someone that just wants to live somewhere affordable and have kind of an average life. This is why we are seeing a lot of 'middle class' people moving to other states where making a certain salary can get you a more comfortable lifestyle.
A decent home in a decent area with decent schools for your kids.
This has gotten quite hard to achieve in L.A and has been for quite some time.
My opinion is that things aren't ever going to become affordable at this point. Even if we saw a big drop , the nice/safe parts of like would still be unaffordable for most people/families.
My advice would be for people to seek out other parts of the country that might have some elements of what they are looking for in L.A but at a cheaper price.
Let's say you are an artist, look for a cheaper city with a good arts scene.
This is just an example.
In my own case, I only a home in L.A and the mortgage is reasonable as I bought in 2010..rent would be more now for a small apartment. I'm not in an ideal neighborhood for many reasons , but i'm also not far in the outskirts of L.A county either and I'm still within the city of L.A .
I've thought of selling, but then would likely be putting a large amount of money towards rent..it would only make sense if any money could be invested to into something create more money/income.
Right now there isn't another city I'd really want to live in more than L.A , but if I were renting now I might feel different.
Commuting is one big hassle and adds to the stress.
Of course if one has the money then they can live near work. In my case I couldn't buy a house near where i was working..they were all over $1million . I was working in Brentwood. All the areas nearby were expensive too. Before one could go over to the next area .."I can't afford Brentwood...but I can get a place in nearby Culver City"..but then that area became expensive.
Many of these areas like mar vista where homes are $1million plus, used to be owned by factory workers and people with normal jobs. Not highly paid people or wealthy folks.
If I grew up somewhere else and didn't have any roots in L.A..I probably wouldn't pick it as a place to move especially if I was younger. Of course when people are younger they can be more idealistic rather than practical..but in my opinion carrying on too long and just renting and struggling by and not building any equity isn't a good idea.
I sometimes wonder how many other cities people actually research or explore before deciding to move to L.A
The L.A "brand" is so strong that many probably think it's automatically the place for them.
I'm seeing a trend of people being more independent contractors versus employees or doing online businesses as well , and I think that we could see more of these people the 'digital nomads' so to speak living outside of higher cost areas.
There is this couple that has a podcast,blog,etc and they were in the tech industry in SF and NYC , they decided to move to a rural part of Virginia where they could buy a house for $150,000 and they make their living selling on eBAY full time buying vintage items and reselling them for more. They also were able to buy a rental property with their earnings and they rent it out on Airbnb for over $200 a night.
Sure their lifestyle is not for everyone, but with the internet today being able to live this type of lifestyle in a lower cost area is more possible. They are not too far from Washington DC too and seem to travel often as well. Scavenger Life: Trash to Cash. A podcast about making a living on eBay.
I think it's really interesting when people are able to live this kind of lifestyle. It's not necessarily easy , but the rewards can be pretty big.
They mentioned that a lot of their friends seem interested to move out of high cost cities like NYC, but they don't actually do it.
Lower cost areas don't necessarily mean a lower quality lifestyle and sometimes it can actually mean a better lifestyle. Especially if you are able to leverage the internet to take advantage of a global marketplace.
I think there are more opportunities out there than people think, but many people may not be open minded enough.
Living in LA is good if youre ok with the daily grind.
Besides the high cost of living,(ie gas prices, housing, being taxed to death, tickets costing hundreds of dollars, etc) its the constant driving to one place to another. Spend a few hours at one place, then you have to drive 30 min to an hour drive, spend an hour there etc..
Not to mention, everything is between is a visual eye sore.
Nice areas with "things to do" in LA is comprised of 2 or 3 blocks then the rest is bleh. Some are just one block.
If little parts of each burb could be combined to make one city(SM pier, parts of DTLA,etc) then LA is great.
When people ask me about moving here, I tell them to stay away unless its absolutely necessary.
I think working 9-5 here makes no sense.
Well not only non popular but wrong.
I have lived all over the country and actually do less driving in LA than other places. Why? Because I can go to Target, Trader Joes, CVS, the local library, the bank all within less than 2 miles. I have lived other places where I had to drive in many different directions and lot a farther to do the same errands.
And nice things to do in LA only make up 2 and 3 blocks? That's absurd.
A visual eyesore? I see the San Gabriel mountains everyday, so much for an eyesore. Having lived places that were flat as a pancake and butt ugly with horrible weather, I am thankful to have the natural beauty we have here, and for the most part year round pleasant weather.
Seain, I think that perhaps you're bordering on being a booster. LA is fantastic and I dare not knock it's splendor but people might have different perspectives on the city than you. I know from growing up in another state I miss some of things I took for granted that are borderline luxury items here like a fridge if you live in an old place, washer/dryers, etc. These might seem trivial to you but to me I get peeved when someone says well this place has a pool so that's why it's xyz amount, as if that's supposed to sway me. For what Los Angeles has to offer I see the deal, for what I was used to back home I'm like ok sure buddy, whatever. I mean I don't know why that upsets you? Its one thing to get that things will be different here but it's another thing to just take it without some reservation. I mean do you think it's just being a better and more adaptive person to not see the absolute joy in paying for more?
You do get the sense that you're losing a bit in standard of living to get better quality of life. That's how I see it. That's probably how other people see it who have moved from places where the cost of living is lower. But where did you live before moving to LA, the rust belt? You keep acting as though other cities in the heartland are not developed and that LA is the only city that's worth living in.
Not even natives are that gung ho about LA. They know what makes this city great but they also know that they're getting squeezed. For some it's not worth it to stay for others it's worth it to stay but with reservations. And is that a bad thing? That basically describes any American in any city going through the same hard times, but it offends you because they complain a little about LA?
Look at the supportive comments given to the OP about how it's only been in LA a few days, and that he should give it a try, and if he doesn't like it, Texas is still there.
Anywhere else...a complaint about living in a city that soon would turn into a barrage of "just get out of here already/we're glad you're leaving, etc", and some comments possibly bordering on hate.
There's something in LA that doesn't make people this way, and it's very refreshing. You don't feel like you're in some cult, thankfully, most cities are like that.
Very true. This is exactly what I was thinking while reading the positive and constructive responses. In any other sub-forum the OP would've been charged with blasphemy, labeled a troll repeatedly, and crucified.
Its quite nice to read such mature and realistic reactions. It reminds me that there are actually people(adults) behind these usernames.
I see, is their something here in Cali that people or at least more people earn a good living in? For example back in Houston, TX most of it was oil & gas industry
I don't have any idea how long you have lived in California but you do have to give it time. The market is good right now, you should be able to get something or talk to a temp agency. They can help you find a job that might make it easier to meet people that may be able to help you.
As for col, yes, it is so much higher in CA, compared to Texas, and salaries, though higher, it takes a lot larger salary to live the same style as in most of Texas.
I am a lover of Texas for a lot of reasons, weather being the exception. I do think now that you made the move you need to give it plenty of time before heading back home. Everything takes time and most of us are way to impatient.
This thread should've been dead the minute the OP said they were here 5 days.
I really laugh at these post that state
" I moved from________, to LA, and I'm not happy/ dissapointed that LA is not as cheap as where I came from. This place is not worth it".
WTH, go back home then. Those other states cities are cheaper for a reason. There's usually not much going on,(Arkansas), or they are decent sized cities that lack beaches or have horrific weather most of the year (The entire Northeast)
In LA, generally you have good weather all year round, access to concerts/ them parks, beaches, professional ball parks, tons of restaurants ect... You pay a premium for a that
This thread should've been dead the minute the OP said they were here 5 days.
I really laugh at these post that state
" I moved from________, to LA, and I'm not happy/ dissapointed that LA is not as cheap as where I came from. This place is not worth it".
WTH, go back home then. Those other states cities are cheaper for a reason. There's usually not much going on,(Arkansas), or they are decent sized cities that lack beaches or have horrific weather most of the year (The entire Northeast)
In LA, generally you have good weather all year round, access to concerts/ them parks, beaches, professional ball parks, tons of restaurants ect... You pay a premium for a that
Get off the high horse and quit with the boosting. This thread was actually pretty positive and level headed without all the trash talk about how LA rocks, heartland sucks talk. It's 100 degrees everywhere in LA right now except the coastal towns and it's been surprisingly a bit humid so our weather isn't the most perfect but it's as close to it as you can get in the U.S.
Secondly, where in the US did you come from because most of the heartland is developing into a point where the gap between LA and a large city in middle or southern America is a bit smaller in terms of amenities these days. People are finding their happy medium in places like Seattle, Denver, Austin, and Atlanta. No these places aren't LA and I wouldn't try to sell them off as such but they aren't crap holes either. And all the stuff you mentioned as premiums are laughable, so other cities don't have ballparks, concerts, restaurants or theme parks? How glib can you get?
I'm all for making it a point that you do pay a little more for how great this city is but I also balance it out by understanding why someone would have reservations. You can get a better deal elsewhere and live a comparable life.
CA is like In and Out with a line wrapped out the door. The reason why it's popular is because people like it and are willing to always flood the place to get a burger. There are some ppl that will look at that line and say why is everyone clamoring for In n Out and willing to wait a half hour in that line like sheep, I'm just gonna go to the Fatburger near my house where there's no line and get my fill. Not knocking In n Out, they have the best burgers but I can get my fill at Fatburger and be fine.
That's how other ppl see LA, ok. Deal with it. They don't look at the mountains and the beaches and the ball parks and say holy crap yeah it does make sense to pay 120000 for a studio in the valley. They think this might be a bit much but there's always some other sucker that comes here to flood the market. I'm here cus the cities great but I know in order to get that im being sold a crappy apt, living how I was in college to enjoy this desired city. I dropped in standard of living to enjoy the quality of life and we make peace with this. I know I gotta adjust my way of thinking when some big city sales guy sells me on crap I could get a fraction of the price back home. I just adjust and say that for what it is here it's a deal.
Some can't adjust and that's ok because some of us came from cities that were more practical and your money went further and you were spoiled with things like having a washer and dryer and a fridge in your apartment without having to be a pedigreed professional. And these weren't crappy cities just less desired ones.
Sorry for the long rant but I get sick of the talk by people who don't know what they're talking about when they bash the headland cities and just stick with the tired canard that we are paying a premium because we have a ballpark and a beach. LA is desired because there are people who want to live in a highly advertised world class city and flood here thinking its going to be a paradise. It's not but some stay saying at least it's better than xyz city and some say it's not worth it. And that's ok. Don't flip out and start boosting to justify your decision for staying.
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That's absurd.
