Couldn't wait to get out of LA- and now... (Los Angeles: transplants, apartment)

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by alexanderaf

My bad for liking beaches...

I've lived here too long. My mommy took me to the beach when I was a child. I drove myself there when I was a teenager and a 20-ager. I've been there so many times that I now take the beaches for granted. Maybe I'll have to move away from California before I appreciate the beaches again.

I'd like to see a beach without people. I'd like to see a beach where I won't be arrested or fined if I take my dog along.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

I've lived here too long. My mommy took me to the beach when I was a child. I drove myself there when I was a teenager and a 20-ager. I've been there so many times that I now take the beaches for granted. Maybe I'll have to move away from California before I appreciate the beaches again.

I'd like to see a beach without people. I'd like to see a beach where I won't be arrested or fined if I take my dog along.

You can find that in California - just not in Southern California.

Go to the far northern counties and you'll find empty beaches galore

[fatmancomics]

There's empty patches of beach along Malibu between the private beaches. They're not long patches but they're very secluded as most people don't know about them.
I'd say take the time to explore a little more of California. If you want beaches without people, anything between Santa Barbara and San Francisco is great like Pismo Beach.

[NewportBorn]

Its not going to be the same trust me...

Me and my family did the same thing with a San Clemente > St.Louis > back to San Clemente move
things changed, and the overall vibe didn't feel the same.

Think about this...

You could be very well posting a "Couldn't wait to get out of Denver and now..." thread

things change, and nothing will be the same as when you used to live there

[CESpeed]

I left LA and moved to Lompoc and lived there for several years. I moved back to LA and I can't wait to leave again. Why anyone would want to live here is beyond me. The only people LA is suited for are extremely rich or those in or trying to get in the entertainment industry. Or illegals.

[chacho_keva]

Originally Posted by Lovetheoutdoors

I'm a big enough person to admit when I am wrong. I was one of those who couldn't wait to get out of L.A. Now that I've been gone for a few years, I can't wait to get back! Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder and you never appreciate what you have until you don't have it anymore. L.A. has its problems, we all know that,but it also has many,many, many great attributes - which I miss. I'm coming home! (I was born and raised in SoCal).
Now, if the state can only fix its budget problem so I can try and find some decent work.

Has anybody who left felt the same way and returned?

Gees! Where did you move to, Nebraska? Undoubtedly, there's much to do and see out here. Unfortunately, the local culture does leave much to be desired.

Like you once were, I cannot wait for the day when I can leave this place. I've lived here almost 30 years. To this day, I have not adjusted to SoCal's superficial culture. Like many other "east coasters" I consider most people out here as phoneys. I've been labled as rude for being honest with people when an opinion has been asked of me.

I've got several more years before being in a position where I can leave unscathed. But, I can hardly wait to leave.

[sardone]

That's an interesting post you have there chacho, it's strange that I have a totally opposite perspective of it. Here’s my take on it.

Last year, in August I moved from Los Angeles to Savannah, Georgia. A the time before my move, I was pretty excited of a change because I’ve never lived anywhere else, and the thought of adapting to a new place and culture would be a great experience. Initially, during the first few months, I couldn't say how much I liked it and that, how I'd even want to find a job and live here after college. For the very few months after moving, I found it very warm at first in that everyone was so nice and that I'd be treated politely in a scale that far differed from what I've seen back in Los Angeles. The culture here appealed to me until the whole move started to become old - in that I've assimilated and was no longer finding the difference interesting. It was around when I noticed the things I was truly missing and letting go of where I started to become a bit homesick. For example, the weather; I seriously did realize how much for granted I took the climate I had back in LA. To further make my experience worse, I started to miss the culture back in LA too, the people in general, and my friends. I wasn't feeling too overworked about it at the time because I knew that in a month that I'd be visiting LA again for winter break.

When I came back for two weeks during Christmas time, I was able to be with my family, lifelong friends, and go skiing even; it felt completely like my only home. The first day I was back, I have this memory stuck in my mind, I went to a supermarket in Santa Monica and at the checkout line, after I had loaded the groceries from my shopping cart on to the conveyer, I left the cart in a position where it partially blocked a lady behind me in line. The lady, (mind that it hasn’t even been 10 seconds after I loaded the groceries on), said to me in a very dismal tone, “Are you going to move this kart out”. At first, I was appalled because that sort of comment wouldn’t happen back in Savannah, but then I quickly learned to realize that I liked the bluntness, and how upfront people are in LA compared to Savannah – they are generally more open-minded, they tend not to hesitate in saying what they think, and they also generally tend to be themselves and act independently until there’s a reason for them to interact with other people. When I came back to Savannah, I truly knew how out of place I really was.

Why I found chaco’s post interesting is because I find his attitude towards Californians as I do to people from Savannah, superficial. The people here seem to be gracious to everyone, even if they most probably do not really care about the person, they seem to take constructive criticism as rudeness, and they seem to sugarcoat a lot of things to not be looked upon as rude. For example, if someone were to open a door for me in LA, I’d take that more sincerely than I do over here, because here it seems to be common practice in that you’d be judged to be a rude person if you don’t - in LA, if a person would really want to open the door for someone he would, but not generally be seen as rude if he doesn't hold open the door. I say again, not all people here are like this, and this can apply to any locations, but I’m making a general statement from what I’ve seen so far in the past six months. But to make things shorter, it was only after I’ve been back to LA where I truly knew my place. All in all, the fantastic weather, the blunt and upfront people, diversity, my family, and my friends contribute to my desire to go back. I can’t wait to graduate and find a job back in SoCal.

[SurekRZA]

Welcome to the forum sardone!

Really enjoyed your post, thanks for the input. I share the same views as you do regarding ppl in Los Angeles.

I find ppl in L.A. to be very friendly..you just have to be open.

Good luck with your move Chacho_keva

[AnUnidentifiedMale]

Originally Posted by sardone

I quickly learned to realize that I liked the bluntness, and how upfront people are in LA compared to Savannah – they are generally more open-minded, they tend not to hesitate in saying what they think, and they also generally tend to be themselves and act independently until there’s a reason for them to interact with other people.

Yep, that's the main thing I like about L.A. and about Southern California in general. People just are what they are. You can be whatever you want to be and act however you want, and you'll fit into the local culture just fine. That's not the case in many parts of this country.

This blog captures that sentiment quite well:

No matter what you do in L.A., your behavior is appropriate for the city. Los Angeles has no assumed correct mode of use. You can have fake breasts and drive a Ford Mustang – or you can grow a beard, weigh 300 pounds, and read Christian science fiction novels. Either way, you're fine: that's just how it works. You can watch Cops all day or you can be a porn star or you can be a Caltech physicist. You can listen to Carcass – or you can listen to Pat Robertson. Or both.

That's how we dooz it.

L.A. is the apocalypse: it's you and a bunch of parking lots. No one's going to save you; no one's looking out for you. It's the only city I know where that's the explicit premise of living there – that's the deal you make when you move to L.A.

The city, ironically, is emotionally authentic. It says: no one loves you; you're the least important person in the room; get over it. What matters is what you do there.

More: BLDGBLOG: Greater Los Angeles

[ironjello]

1. surfing
2. weather
3. In-N-Out
4. Food
5. just like the Big Apple, answering someone, "oh I live in Cali" just has an AWESOME ring tone.

bad stuff
A. everything is so far. beach is 30 minutes. this is 25 minutes. etc.
B. traffic can suck. majorly.
C. taxes
D. housing.