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I read these forums, wondering why in the heck anyone would want to move here. I've lived here my whole life (40+ years), and I just want out of here.
I get it. I finally get it. CA is beautiful. The opportunities are seemingly endless. The lifestyle is varied and fun. I get it, finally.
But, I also understand why I am so unhappy here. I remember when rush hour only lasted an hour each way. I remember when the only "violence" at the public schools was a fist fight. I remember when the majority of homes were single family, on a large-ish lot. I remember when our communities were cohesive...people smiled at each other. Neighbors knew each other, and looked out for each other. It was never perfect, but it was slower and not so congested.
So, this is kind of an apology for negative comments I've made, but at the same time, an explanation. If you come here from another state, it seems really cool because...it's California. If you've lived here all your life, and you've seen your little town become congested and traffic afflicted, and the weather is all you enjoy, it's not worth it anymore. When you avoid driving, unless you absolutely have to, it's not worth it anymore. I've become very claustrophobic in the past few years due to the sheer number of condos and cars and people. I have a great view of the mountains, though. It's no longer worth it.
I read these forums, wondering why in the heck anyone would want to move here. I've lived here my whole life (40+ years), and I just want out of here.
I get it. I finally get it. CA is beautiful. The opportunities are seemingly endless. The lifestyle is varied and fun. I get it, finally.
But, I also understand why I am so unhappy here. I remember when rush hour only lasted an hour each way. I remember when the only "violence" at the public schools was a fist fight. I remember when the majority of homes were single family, on a large-ish lot. I remember when our communities were cohesive...people smiled at each other. Neighbors knew each other, and looked out for each other. It was never perfect, but it was slower and not so congested.
So, this is kind of an apology for negative comments I've made, but at the same time, an explanation. If you come here from another state, it seems really cool because...it's California. If you've lived here all your life, and you've seen your little town become congested and traffic afflicted, and the weather is all you enjoy, it's not worth it anymore. When you avoid driving, unless you absolutely have to, it's not worth it anymore. I've become very claustrophobic in the past few years due to the sheer number of condos and cars and people. I have a great view of the mountains, though. It's no longer worth it.
Now, to convince my husband that it's time to go.
No one had to convince me to get out of California. Just after I retired we were out of the pits of California and never be back. never say never, Someday we may go back just for a good laugh
I understand perfectly. I grew up in Mayor Bradley's Los Angeles and my heart is broken to see what this beautiful, wonderful place I grew up in has become. (I'm convinced the Mayor saw the the writing and died so he didn't have to see this) This time next year, I'll be in Arkansas. I can't take it anymore.
Relocators, Los Angeles will work well for you if:
-Sunshine is everything to you. Former snowbirds are the happiest demographic here.
-You make a hefty salary. Housing is notoriously expensive here, even for a modern American megopolis, and most other costs of living as well. What positive attributes L.A. offers mainly exist for the well heeled, what with the fine restaurants, etc.
-Your hefty salary is geared towards renting. That will leave you with the disposable income towards clubbing, sports events, dining, etc. There are great clubs here.
-You aspire to the film/entertainment business. Unquestionably, the opportunities abound here. You'll find an internship immediately. Salaried jobs will depend on how long you can survive the internship, and your ability to network (which is far more important than talent.)
-You have no incipient respiratory problems, or are reasonably young. Check air stats nationally: improvement doesn't equate with lack of smog problem. Ours is still the worst in the nation, even on nominally "clear" days, wherein the particles are less visible but the gases remain.
-You are an illegal immigrant. This is a so-called sanctuary city, wherein immigration status will never be an issue, and huge networks exist aid illegals to work the system here.
-The violence that one finds compartmentalized in inner cities elsewhere doesn't bother you, since you will encounter it widespread throughout the L.A. basin.
-You are a superb, trained linguist. Multilingual (not "bi-") is everything here, as you'll encounter at least five different languages spoken in most parts of L.A. wherever you go, with many people neither speaking nor understanding any English whatsoever.
-You indeed live quite close to where you work.
-You can afford private school education for your children.
Conversely, I second the declarations made by the above posters. Los Angeles does NOT mirror the civic improvements made by most other megopoli dealing with similar problems. We have even worse density handled poorly, worse congestion, worse air (the level of pollution is voted upon annually, did you know that? Hence the "improvement"), gang violence is more widespread, and schools continue downward with a 40% dropout rate from high school.
The above are indisputable. My personal sadness lies in:
-this isn't a Los Angeles for everyone anymore, just for foreign nationals, and their exclusionary tendency. Polyglot does not lend itself to American solidarity or even basic politeness. No matter how nice I try to be to my neighbors, I don't speak five different languages, and they don't speak English.
-My ever increased tax dollars pay for services for illegals, services that we citizens never get. 300 illegals arrive daily in L.A.: that's where the density at all costs thinking comes from.
-Everything I enjoyed for five decades is being legislated away- zoning for horse riding, zoning for single-family housing in favor of density! density! density!
-extremely problematic public education. The Open Court system of punishing teachers for deviating from a one-size-fits-all script (in Los Angeles of all places! Ground zero for diverse!) is causing massive burn-out. NO teacher wants to do wrong by kids, and they are being forced to. My husband's a teacher and can vouch for this as the root problem in public elementary schools wherein 70% of the students live in homes where little English is spoken.
-Every year brings added time it takes to drive anywhere. What were once fun jaunts are now day trips.
-The high concentration of non-citizens increases the chances of traffic accidents, as they do not know nor drive by our laws.
-gang intrusion everywhere. If you're not cleaning up gang vandalism where you live (excluding the richest areas) today, you will be within five years.
-Where I live in the Valley changed from a nice middle/working class area of people from everywhere, into a gang-riddled area of illegals within a mere decade. That middle class people have no choice but slummy areas in L.A. is not mirrored in big cities/urban areas across the country. I volunteer with Neighborhood Watch and I know the stats here.
-My dogs have been shot at by foreign nationals, my neighborhood is trashed by illegals, etc. etc. (see my posts elsewhere.) Every aspect of quality of living in L.A. has decreased within the last decade.
I want to be able to walk my dogs and talk to people. I can't do that in any place I can afford a house in Los Angeles, as is presently the case. My husband and I will leave our home of over 50 years the nanosecond he retires. Los Angeles is not a city for us lower middle class American citizens any more. Every poster who's disputed what I've written has added that it's our own damn fault for being lower middle class American citizens in Los Angeles and that they will be HAPPY to see English-speaking (our studied foreign languages don't mesh with theirs), friendly, pet-owning, people like ourselves out of here forever, and that's it's now only a place for young, rich renters who speak a variety of foreign languages that coincide with theirs. Since when was that the requirement for living in a city in America?
LA is a cut throat city. To really enjoy all the benefits the city has to offer, you have to be a successful person. This goes for all major cities in the US (NYC, SF, Chicago, DC...) If you didn't cut it here, thats too bad for you, but no one is forcing you to stay. Go ahead and leave, that will be one less family on our clogged freeways.
BRinSM: I used to defend So Cal. I was born and raised here. It's not cutthroat, as you state. I don't live "in" the city of L.A. I live in a suburb of Pasadena, so this is what used to be a quiet, nice area to raise a family. Who wants to live in a place where people are only out for themselves? You can have it.
It's not about "making it." It's about having quality of life. Its' not the same thing.
I've already dispensed with the schools. I never put my kids in ps (my kids have been homeschooled for five years, private schooled before that), and I limit my driving, especially during rush hour and the weekends.
I'd be out of here if my husband were on board. However, he's not (yet). People like you are contributing to making Los Angeles a nasty place to live. And don't think that one family leaving is going to help traffic (though many families are leaving). The illegals who drive those roads with no insurance will be sure to replace us, times 20. I sure hope you can avoid them.
LA is a cut throat city. To really enjoy all the benefits the city has to offer, you have to be a successful person. This goes for all major cities in the US (NYC, SF, Chicago, DC...) If you didn't cut it here, thats too bad for you, but no one is forcing you to stay. Go ahead and leave, that will be one less family on our clogged freeways.
There are many ways to define success: for middle-lower class and even poor people, that is raising well-rounded, positively productive citizens; going to work everyday to earn an honets dollar. Success was not measured by material things. Your apparent definition of success can be measured by dollars and cents.
As for me or other Americans not being able to "cut it" in L.A., I grew up here, buddy. It's not the same place it was. Fastfilm and RobertsGirl are very right. I hope you have a job that the illegals can't push you out of and live in a place that pays such outrageous taxes that the police wouldn't dare let it become gang infested.
But, I also understand why I am so unhappy here. I remember when rush hour only lasted an hour each way. I remember when the only "violence" at the public schools was a fist fight. I remember when the majority of homes were single family, on a large-ish lot. I remember when our communities were cohesive...people smiled at each other. Neighbors knew each other, and looked out for each other. It was never perfect, but it was slower and not so congested."
LA is not like this anymore and will never be again. It's a growing diverse megacity which stretches beyond the cities borders. You are not a big city person. You want the lifestyle that LA afforded in the 50s and 60s, which will never return. If you're not happy with this, its good that you are leaving. I happen to thrive on this progress and enjoy seeing the dynamics of this city. Maybe one day I'll be jaded by all that is LA and leave, but for now, I'm happy.
L.A. has alway been a big city. It's borders haven't changed since I was a child (in the 70 'S) It's the lack of respect for the city by transplants that is driving the natives away and turning L.A. into the nightmare it has become. The number of people isn't really that much of problem it's the kind of people who are here now and insist on destroying L.A. who are the problem.
I read these forums, wondering why in the heck anyone would want to move here. I've lived here my whole life (40+ years), and I just want out of here.
I get it. I finally get it. CA is beautiful. The opportunities are seemingly endless. The lifestyle is varied and fun. I get it, finally.
But, I also understand why I am so unhappy here. I remember when rush hour only lasted an hour each way. I remember when the only "violence" at the public schools was a fist fight. I remember when the majority of homes were single family, on a large-ish lot. I remember when our communities were cohesive...people smiled at each other. Neighbors knew each other, and looked out for each other. It was never perfect, but it was slower and not so congested.
So, this is kind of an apology for negative comments I've made, but at the same time, an explanation. If you come here from another state, it seems really cool because...it's California. If you've lived here all your life, and you've seen your little town become congested and traffic afflicted, and the weather is all you enjoy, it's not worth it anymore. When you avoid driving, unless you absolutely have to, it's not worth it anymore. I've become very claustrophobic in the past few years due to the sheer number of condos and cars and people. I have a great view of the mountains, though. It's no longer worth it.
Now, to convince my husband that it's time to go.
I have also lived here all my life, unfortunately, but that is about to change very soon. I absolutely hate CA, and Los Angeles in particular... the people are fake, the area is way too left-wing for me, the air is horrible, and the traffic... OMG, don't even get me started on the traffic. Not to mention that CA has some kind of rain-proof shield around it.
I reside in Torrance, which is a beach city in the South Bay, adjacent to Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach. As far as places in LA County, I have to admit, I cannot find much to gripe about with Torrance... it is a pretty nice mid-sized city, with a dominatly upper-middle-class demographic. The schools are nice, Del Amo Mall is awesome, and the Torrance police department is great. But that is not enough to keep me here... it is very hard to find a decent-paying job, the freeways are nightmares to deal with, and as I stated in another thread, our air looks like the air on Mars on some days.
There's NO WAY I can find an affordable apartment anywhere near here, and even if I did, it'd be a piece of junk. There are NOT endless opportunities here... rather, this is where opportunity ends. People who intentionally move here are messed in the head, IMO, but hey... if they want it, they can have it... I'll gladly make room for them.
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It's no longer worth it. 
