Fell In Love With LA/Southern California! (Los Angeles, Santa Monica: fit in, house)

[disgruntled la native]

If LA is so terrible, why is everyone trying to move here ? By everyone I mean everyone from everywhere... I've met people living in LA from countries I've never even heard of. Why are all the super wealthy Chinese and Arabs buying here?

There's only 3 places in the world where people from all over try to flock to: LA, NYC, and London.

[radiolibre99]

Then they also move out. Why are all the transplants people complain about in OR, TX, WA and Colorado from California?

Plus those wealthy foreign investors have contributed to artificially inflating home prices in LA.

LA is a really desirable place and it's a wonderful city but you have to be prepared and contribute. I've always just been annoyed by the people that just think about moving first and then figuring out the details later. They're the ones that clog the system.

[ryanms3030]

I moved here 10 years ago from Boston. I just had my first kid and my wife and I can't get out of here fast enough. We will probably be here for two more years and then we are going to move somewhere, probably CO. Cost of living is getting out of control. We make about $100k combined and we could never even think about home ownership and our rent is now $1800/mo for 2 bed in Glendale. Traffic, taxes, car insurance etc is ridiculous. And I would never considered sending my kids to school here. If your independently wealthy than maybe move here but if you have a family, you'll be doing a diservice to your kids.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

If LA is so terrible, why is everyone trying to move here ? By everyone I mean everyone from everywhere... I've met people living in LA from countries I've never even heard of. Why are all the super wealthy Chinese and Arabs buying here?

There's only 3 places in the world where people from all over try to flock to: LA, NYC, and London.

And look what those terrorists are up to in Beverly Hills. All the more reason I want to get out of this place

[MordinSolus]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Then they also move out. Why are all the transplants people complain about in OR, TX, WA and Colorado from California?

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by don1945

All my life I dreamed of living in California..........California Dreaming, beaches, warm weather, hot rods, etc, etc. I was offered a job there and packed up my family to move to Southern California. We lived there for one year, and one day I came home and told my wife I wanted to leave and she said "How about today ?" She hated it as much as I did.

The reasons we hated it were:

1) I had a good job and my wife was an RN, also making good money, but we still had trouble making it. California was VERY expensive.

2) We were basically family oriented people and Californians were not like that. We wanted to do things with our kids and our friends wanted us to leave them with a sitter and go to clubs and do adult things. We were "odd" to our friends because we wanted our Sons to be a big part of our every day life.

3) I hated the people I worked with. Every other place I have worked, you form bonds with people and try to get along with them and help them. The people I worked with were not friendly at all, and actually loved to stab their fellow workers in the back to move themselves ahead. They were constantly running to the owner of the company,snitching on someone else and causing trouble. There was not one person in the entire company I cared for.

4) It was too fast paced for us, we are simple folk. My Sons were about 9 and were coming home telling us stories about drugs and things like that. They hated the schools there as much as we hated the rest of the things.

5) I had to commute about an hour to an hour and a half (depending on traffic) to go to work. We had to live that far away to get a nice area that was also affordable. We had a really beautiful home with a view of the San Gabriel mountains, but it was the only thing that we enjoyed the whole time we were there.

6) People in California judged you by where you lived, what you wore, and what you drove. All our friends could talk about was where they vacationed, what they spent on something, and how much they made.

On the plus side, there were a lot of cool things to do there. Lots of beaches, some very nice lakes where we could take our boat to on weekends, many attractions, and places like Las Vegas are close by. We did enjoy sight seeing, China Town, Hollywood, Disney, went to Mexico one day, etc, etc.

Don't mean to discourage you, just telling our experience. Obviously, there are also some very nice people in California, but there are enough of the others to make it unpleasant. We rented a U haul, put the Caddy on a trailer, my wife drove our Toyota, and we got the Hell out of there and never looked back. It was one eye opening, very costly experience for us, and I feel bad that I put my family through a year living there.

Don

Don't you live in FL? You want to talk about unpleasant people and putting on airs....LOL. Thanks for the laugh.

Having lived in both states I have always found people in CA much friendlier. I never saw so much road rage and rudeness in stores and restaurants as I did in FL. Mostly from northern transplants who sold their house in NY/NJ and paid cash for a house in FL in a gated community, think they have "arrived" and equate being rich with being rude....LOL.


Oh and on #3, I just had lunch a few months ago with people I stopped working with in 1995. Hadn't worked together in 20 years and see them every couple of years for lunch, it is like no time has passed.

If you had issues everyplace you worked in CA, guess what? It's you not them.

Thanks for the laugh Don!

[GoldenZephyr]

Originally Posted by OceanViewer

I visited Los Angeles for the first time a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with the city. I'm from the east coast cities here in Atlanta and New York. It was love at first site. I must admit that I only drove around west LA, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood. I haven't seen the bad parts yet, but so far, I love it. Making plans to move ASAP. I will be packing up the wife and kids and heading west. Any thoughts about this honeymoon phase I'm going through with LA/Southern California?

Don't let people discourage you. There are a lot of bitter people in this world who seek to take other peoples joy and are constantly negative, especially on this forum.

Southern California is a wonderful place to live. Compared to cost of living in places like New England, coastal Southern California is a bargain for the amenities and weather it provides.

Any place is what you make of it and your attitude sounds like one who would adapt and enjoy very quickly.

I wish you and your family all the best and hope you are able to make your transition to Southern California. There are many wonderful people here who will welcome you and your family.

Good luck!

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

I meant to counter that just as many people leave the state as move here.

[OceanViewer]

Originally Posted by theraven24

Why are you so anxious to move? You need to do research before you make a grand decision to just up and leave.

I have been researching very deeply. I'm tired of the east coast, especially where I live in Atlanta. I'm from New York, but have been living in Atlanta for many years. When I visited a few weeks ago, it was like a breath of fresh air. The feel, scenery and vibe is so different there. I love it! California dreaming everyday. LOL

[PDF]

Originally Posted by OceanViewer

I have been researching very deeply. I'm tired of the east coast, especially where I live in Atlanta. I'm from New York, but have been living in Atlanta for many years. When I visited a few weeks ago, it was like a breath of fresh air. The feel, scenery and vibe is so different there. I love it! California dreaming everyday. LOL

But, again...job comes first.