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Same. I basically don't have a commute so I lucked out in that aspect. Maybe that's why I love LA so much. I love going outside, and taking in the beauty.
As I said in my previous post, when done right, LA can be a great place to live. Having no commute is a huge bonus.
The people who usually suffer and complain the most are those in mediocre neighborhoods, long commutes, and struggling to pay the bills every month.
Why do people that were born here think this way? And why do they think people have no right to move here that weren't born here? I came here because I got tired of shoveling snow, dealing with oppressive heat and humidity. LA is not the only overly expensive city in America. I came here from DC and Seattle. They too are quite expensive but why live in those cities and their weather issues when I can live here and look at beautiful flowers and be outdoors year around. I've been a homeowner but have no desire to buy here. And why do people choose to work in far off places and commute long distances? And then complain about traffic. I have a 2 mile commute to work which takes about 15 minutes each way, morning and evening. My commute is the key to my happiness here. I'm able to do things after work like eating out, my photography, going to the park etc. Los Angeles is a great city. I love this city and find it quite interesting. I'm not interested in living in Austin, Indianapolis, Wichita, Atlanta or anywhere else. Yes, they're cheaper but you get what you pay for.
The poster never said people can't move here he/she asked why do it??? You may not have a commute but the girl that works at the Starbucks in Santa Monica does because she goes to school there and can't afford 3000.00 a month rent. How much is your rent?? I'm not sure what you think native think but maybe we have lots of experience living here and find it frustrating and sad that LA keeps spiraling down with no bottom in sight. And be careful walking in that park they're not safe anymore.
I don't think anyone here said that people from California don't want people moving here. But if they were to say that, it wouldn't be any different than the mountain of people from Oregon or Nevada or any other nearby state complaining about Californians moving there as well.
What people in those states fail to understand is that California has been dealing with people coming here for years and years from other areas. We don't ***** and complain about it nearly as much as they do, we are used to it. They start screaming bloody murder when all those people in CA can't make it anymore because it's so populated/competitive and they start looking to other areas i.e. THEIR state.
Another interesting part would be the fact that a lot of people that move to NV/OR/WA/AZ etc..probably aren't even real Californians. California was simply a small stop on their way to a new place so CA was the most 'recent' place they'd been.
At the end of the day, it isn't California's fault that places like Portland and Vegas and Reno, etc.. have their home prices spike and become less affordable. It's a natural occurrence as the population in the country rises everywhere and the people with the biggest pockets decide to pick and move to California, squeezing native and non-native Californians alike out and into other nearby states.
Read on as far as his second post and you'll have a better idea.
Sounds like he had a lot of time to make decisions before his parents became elderly. So I don't think it's a valid excuse. He could have left before the parents became elderly. Granted it's noble they're willing to take care of them now, but that's just a part of life.
He's a troller. He posted the exact same type of post 2 1/2 years ago. Look at his old posts. Most about bashing L.A. He didn't take any action then about moving...
Prices are what they are because people are willing to pay for it .
How is a $1 million house here worth $50k tops ?
Have you seen prices in other parts of the country these days .
A $1 million home in L.A these days at least you’re likely to be in a decent area .
I’ve been looking in the Midwest and you aren’t even going to find a decent home there for $50k .
Not sure how much traveling you’ve done to other states but I’d recommend it . Maybe you’ll gain a new appreciation for la or find a place you want to live .
On paper, it does make little sense why anyone would want to live in LA... legendary traffic problems, high pollution levels, crowds everywhere, intense competition everywhere you go (parking, housing, jobs, etc.), stratospheric housing costs, and an out of control homeless problem.
So yeah, there is merit to what you are saying OP.
For whatever reason though, the weather, the vibe, and the eclectic architecture of LA are compelling enough attributes for people to tolerate all of the downsides of LA.
Personally, I don't think LA is worth it unless you are wealthy enough to afford a home in the nicer areas. That is the only scenario where I would want to live in LA. There is no way I would live in an average and/or working class LA neighborhood, struggling to make ends meet every day. The value just isn't there, IMO... I would move someplace else, where my dollar went further.
You bring about good points. LA can be a great place to live, provided you make a 6 figure income. Sadly, the vast majority of people calling Los Angeles home don't make remotely close to that, and for those life is a daily struggle. Despite its glamorous image, LA is a poor man's city. Low-end jobs cannot even afford the smallest rentals, as even rooms go for $1000+ these days. Without a skilled job, you'll be stuck in a not-so-good part of town. Chances are you will be sharing an apartment complex building with insane weirdos transplants who moved to LA to "live the dream", in certain areas. In nearly all areas you'll be dealing with Hispanics for neighbors, playing obnoxiously loud Mexican music, hoards of kids screaming, loud get-together at any time of the day or night, weed smell, and essentially not giving 2 jacks about the idea all these things could bother somebody else. Which brings another point, LA is the northern-most Latin America city, and not only looks like one, but is ran like one. Neighborhoods are often not that different than Mexican slums, metal bars on every windows to protect them against the rampant crime, toys laying around everlong on front yards, ugly murals painted by "artists" deprived of any good taste, and good sense. My advice: only consider moving to LA if the idea of moving to Mexico doesn't phase you.
Again, if you can afford to live in a place away for all the rif raf, and have great A/C, LA can be a good place to live.
You bring about good points. LA can be a great place to live, provided you make a 6 figure income. Sadly, the vast majority of people calling Los Angeles home don't make remotely close to that, and for those life is a daily struggle. Despite its glamorous image, LA is a poor man's city. Low-end jobs cannot even afford the smallest rentals, as even rooms go for $1000+ these days. Without a skilled job, you'll be stuck in a not-so-good part of town. Chances are you will be sharing an apartment complex building with insane weirdos transplants who moved to LA to "live the dream", in certain areas. In nearly all areas you'll be dealing with Hispanics for neighbors, playing obnoxiously loud Mexican music, hoards of kids screaming, loud get-together at any time of the day or night, weed smell, and essentially not giving 2 jacks about the idea all these things could bother somebody else. Which brings another point, LA is the northern-most Latin America city, and not only looks like one, but is ran like one. Neighborhoods are often not that different than Mexican slums, metal bars on every windows to protect them against the rampant crime, toys laying around everlong on front yards, ugly murals painted by "artists" deprived of any good taste, and good sense. My advice: only consider moving to LA if the idea of moving to Mexico doesn't phase you.
Again, if you can afford to live in a place away for all the rif raf, and have great A/C, LA can be a good place to live.
I lived in a Hispanic neighborhood for years and both neighborhors were Hispanic and one side didn’t have parties at all . Other side only had an occasional party . It wasn’t an every weekend thing . Maybe a few times a year or less ..
I’m in a mostly Hispanic area now too and there aren’t that many parties .
I guess if just depends on who your neighbor is . All cultures have the potential to be loud or annoying neighborhors .
Why do people choose to uproot their lives to live in an overpopulated, overpriced city?
"I love the weather." It's boring... you have summer, and summer light.
"It's liberal". What's liberal about paying several thousand dollars in rent for a modest apartment?! Or millions to buy a house that's worth maybe 50k tops?!
"I'm here to make it! This is where dreams come true in the entertainment industry!" Grow up! You aren't 12!
"I want to pay a ridiculous sum of money to have the privilege of traveling 20 miles in an hour and a half." Wouldn't you prefer to park your car in your drive way rather than the 405?!
Why do so many buy into it?
I can only tell you what the appeal is for my household.
-For one, we were coming from a place where it was gray 280 days a year, and you could literally go up to 3 months at a time without seeing the sun even once. Also, I'm at that age where the arthritis is starting to creep up, and the humidity was starting to get to me. So yes, the weather appeal is legitimate.
-We like fine dining and performing arts - this city has that in spades.
-We were actually concerned about the whole "we're just escaping a crazy SJW liberal area and moving to another one", but it turns out that when you cram 20 million people into a city, you can find sane communities, and the SJW's here are way less frothy and intrusive than where we came from.
-Cost of living was actually a slight DECREASE over Seattle. Though we're not sure how that's going to look going forward because of the SALT tax change. It might even out.
-We're a lot healthier here than we were in Seattle. This ties back into weather, but we aren't holed up in our home looking out at the gloom 6 days a week. I can't even begin to describe how great it's been knowing we can leave the house and take a stroll or go explore some area pretty much any time, both from a physical benefits perspective as well as from an improved mental health one.
Are we going to stay here forever? Nobody knows. We also bought a property in Colorado with our ill-gotten Seattle housing gains, and like what we've seen of Denver as well. Maybe one day. But for now we're really enjoying LA. Are there downsides for us? Sure. The traffic is slightly worse than where we came from. There have been some crime situations, as LA is an edgier town in that regard. I lose cycles in my day because I have to take a bit more care in my appearance here than I did previously (where jeans and a T-shirt was guaranteed to have you in the top 50% of a room), and I had to re-think my wardrobe and how I present myself. There's no such thing as quiet here - even at 3 am, there's always a slight buzz of activity going on. The income tax is BS. Way too many illegal aliens. And while we find a lot less crazy SJW aggro-activist types, we come across more social climbers and people putting on a show in an effort to appear more than they are, which is a minor annoyance. And I imagine for most people, this city is way too pay-to-play. If you can't afford that, I'd imagine this town probably isn't all that good.
The things most people here ***** about (housing costs, homeless population, etc.) were all worse where I came from, so they didn't even faze us.
But on balance? To answer your question, we've found a lot of appeal.
I can only tell you what the appeal is for my household.
-For one, we were coming from a place where it was gray 280 days a year, and you could literally go up to 3 months at a time without seeing the sun even once. Also, I'm at that age where the arthritis is starting to creep up, and the humidity was starting to get to me. So yes, the weather appeal is legitimate.
-We like fine dining and performing arts - this city has that in spades.
-We were actually concerned about the whole "we're just escaping a crazy SJW liberal area and moving to another one", but it turns out that when you cram 20 million people into a city, you can find sane communities, and the SJW's here are way less frothy and intrusive than where we came from.
-Cost of living was actually a slight DECREASE over Seattle. Though we're not sure how that's going to look going forward because of the SALT tax change. It might even out.
-We're a lot healthier here than we were in Seattle. This ties back into weather, but we aren't holed up in our home looking out at the gloom 6 days a week. I can't even begin to describe how great it's been knowing we can leave the house and take a stroll or go explore some area pretty much any time, both from a physical benefits perspective as well as from an improved mental health one.
Are we going to stay here forever? Nobody knows. We also bought a property in Colorado with our ill-gotten Seattle housing gains, and like what we've seen of Denver as well. Maybe one day. But for now we're really enjoying LA. Are there downsides for us? Sure. The traffic is slightly worse than where we came from. There have been some crime situations, as LA is an edgier town in that regard. I lose cycles in my day because I have to take a bit more care in my appearance here than I did previously (where jeans and a T-shirt was guaranteed to have you in the top 50% of a room), and I had to re-think my wardrobe and how I present myself. There's no such thing as quiet here - even at 3 am, there's always a slight buzz of activity going on. The income tax is BS. Way too many illegal aliens. And while we find a lot less crazy SJW aggro-activist types, we come across more social climbers and people putting on a show in an effort to appear more than they are, which is a minor annoyance. And I imagine for most people, this city is way too pay-to-play. If you can't afford that, I'd imagine this town probably isn't all that good.
The things most people here ***** about (housing costs, homeless population, etc.) were all worse where I came from, so they didn't even faze us.
But on balance? To answer your question, we've found a lot of appeal.
Just curious on your point about slight decrease for COL. Where abouts in Seattle did you live and where did you move? What about salary if you're still working (appears to be lower in LA by a decent amount)?
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