Anyone else think LA is going down the toilet? (Los Angeles: insurance, motel)

[ness]

I think you've hit the nail on the head with that one. We're actually in an area of LA that we really love, but with housing costs and expenses the way they are we will always be "just surviving" the way the rest of our SoCal friends are. Some of our friends have moved out of state and it is kinda shocking how well they live. Seems sticking it out in Cali. sort of silly. Why live here when you can live someplace perfectly nice and have a better life? I'd like to hear the weigh-in. What price do we pay to live in LA? And is it worth it?

[junkman18]

Originally Posted by monti

Let's just ignore your inexcusable use of sentence structure and grammar, and instead focus on this little gem:

"If you want to get home alive"

You couldn't possibly be talking about a city that houses nearly 5 million, and a county that houses twice that, could you? Those must be some brave souls!

Either that or you're writing a logline to a new action movie?

Tell us, which is it? Oh, and this time try to capitalize, use periods and punctuate. Thanks!

I guess you must be one of them Could that be true, Champ.
The name of the movie is escape form los angeles

[blondandfun]

I'm not from LA and never have been but I'm in the development industry and I know for a fact that people in America are sick and tired of subdivisions - We aren't building them any more - or won't be really soon. What's going to happen is redevelopments will create higher property values in the city, and eventually LA will become all white collar, and the blue collar workers will live out in the surrounding areas and take the buses into the city to clean all of our spacious homes

[RedNC]

My wife was reading a NASCAR article in a sports trade magazine that was talking about attracting more Mexicans to the Ontario CA track. They cited that over 80% of teenagers in SoCal are Mexicans.

[TrojanDLA]

LA is moving in the right direction. Seen how much redevelopment and new development taking place? Everywhere you turn, lofts, more lofts, and more lofts, and 5-star hotels under construction. Add to that LA Live and Grand Ave. project, and you have a city that is changing in front of our eyes. Sadly, this is no place for the middle class family, as even a new studio loft in South Park starts at $500,000, and without adequate schools/daycare, children are not welcomed in downtown. However, for young white collar couples (attorneys, accountants, bankers, etc.), it's a great place to start off without having to deal with traffic while you're working 60 hour weeks at your new job and trying to make an impression on all the partners and upper level executives.

The mayor and city council seems to finally see the light and are in fact approving of full scale development in and revitalization of Downtown. What about the homeless? If Guiliani can make them disappear in NYC, LA can too.

[lagirly30]

So I think it's unanimous. We all think LA is going to the toilet. I think that too for all of the same reasons why so many people think LA is going to the toilet. I tried moving out of state so many times but after a year I always come back and then complain about the traffic, smog, people a few months later. It seems like LA has tripled in numbers of people, illegal or not since 1998. The equestion I ask myself and this is the question everyone should ask themselves, despite of the ridiculous housing market, illegals, traffic, smog, earthquakes, economic problems, taxes, gangs, crime, crack whores, prom night babies, drunk drivers, too many baby mamas but baby daddy isn't around, drugs, violence, meth labs, transgender whores..... sorry if I forgot some other ones, WHY DO WE STAY???

[davidt1]

Originally Posted by lagirly30

So I think it's unanimous. We all think LA is going to the toilet. I think that too for all of the same reasons why so many people think LA is going to the toilet. I tried moving out of state so many times but after a year I always come back and then complain about the traffic, smog, people a few months later. It seems like LA has tripled in numbers of people, illegal or not since 1998. The equestion I ask myself and this is the question everyone should ask themselves, despite of the ridiculous housing market, illegals, traffic, smog, earthquakes, economic problems, taxes, gangs, crime, crack whores, prom night babies, drunk drivers, too many baby mamas but baby daddy isn't around, drugs, violence, meth labs, transgender whores..... sorry if I forgot some other ones, WHY DO WE STAY???

LA is like narcotics. You can't leave once you're hooked.

[TrojanDLA]

Originally Posted by lagirly30

So I think it's unanimous. We all think LA is going to the toilet. I think that too for all of the same reasons why so many people think LA is going to the toilet.

Disagree, LA today is much better than LA 15 years ago when I was at SC. Bringing residents to Downtown will help improve LA. I don't like seeing LA turn into a ghost town the minute the clock strikes 6pm. The direction LA is going now, it will be a lively place after hours, and a safer place. More activity, more police presence, less crime, less homeless. LA Live and Grande Ave. projects are good.

[davidt1]

Originally Posted by TrojanDLA

Disagree, LA today is much better than LA 15 years ago when I was at SC. Bringing residents to Downtown will help improve LA. I don't like seeing LA turn into a ghost town the minute the clock strikes 6pm. The direction LA is going now, it will be a lively place after hours, and a safer place. More activity, more police presence, less crime, less homeless. LA Live and Grande Ave. projects are good.

I am curious: where did the homeless go? They didn't, like, buy houses, did they?

[TrojanDLA]

Originally Posted by StPete2Charlotte

lol, this thread makes me feel alot better about myself...I live in the suburbs, a middle class area in Charlotte NC.
My house (2 storys, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, garage) set us back 130K, its in a gated community, and is near every amenity I could ever wan
I am so happy I live here and not there, no offense.

Charlotte, NC is definitely not for everybody. Sorry no offense, but I dislike the annual hurricane/tornado season and need a community with more diversity in terms of culture/food/events. Charlotte would be fine if I wanted to be surrounded by either White or Black people who didn't like to hang out together. I used to live in Atlanta when I worked in the South for 8 years. Yes housing there is affordable, but housing doesn't appreciate much in the South does it? You buy a house for $130K in 2003, guess how much it's worth in 2007? $170K? That same house if bought in Burbank for 130K in 2003 would be $450K today, after the bubble popped. A home in Charlotte is not an investment, it's just a home. A home in LA can pay for your kid's college education after 10 years.

And the diversity in the South is simply ironic. With all those Black people there, you'd think there would be tolerance wouldn't you? Nope. If you're Black, you hang out with Black people in Black clubs around Black neighborhoods. If you're White, you hang out with Whities in their neighborhoods. The diversity is in the numbers, but not in the attitudes. As for Hispanics and Asians? Well, they're unwanted by either Blacks or Whites.

I probably would've enjoyed living in the South more if I had not grown up in SoCal, where Blacks, Whites, Hispanics and Asians can all be seen hanging out together having a good time. Yes, the price of housing is unusually high, but that's the price I pay if I want to live in a neighborhood where the color of my skin is irrelevant.

The South is still a bastion of intolerance, and that for me is not worth a house and picket fence for $130K.