Has anyone on the New York board lived in California? Your experiences? (Huntington: apartment, renting)
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would love to hear a little bit about your experience living on the left coast.
i am born and raised in the NYC region and have always "dreamed" of living out west, but the price, distance from family and other reasons have made it somewhat unrealistic.
that said, i am 28 and in the next few years could see it being a possibility. it's not like this area is much cheaper, if at all.
Not personally, but know a few born and raised NYers who tried Cali for a few years in their 20s and all came back to the east coast. Also know one Californian who spent 10 years on the east coast for college/work and then returned to the west coast. Proximity to family and the "culture" were the primary reasons for each return.
I lived in the SF Bay Area for just under 2 years several years ago. I didn't like the fact that SF never got really hot in the summer time. But SF does have good public transportation within the city although outside of the city limits one really needs a car. Also SF is just as expensive as Manhattan to live in.
I spent some time in Los Angeles. The public transportation out there isn't great. But the biggest problem with that is that there isn't a central business district. So you might have to go far for work (when the reality is you want to be close as possible to work). Going to the other side of the county can take hours, even by car.
Los Angeles and other California cities are about to lose a lot of their greenery as severe water shortage ends LAWNS.
I'm a native New Yorker (30+ years) now living in a suburb of LA. Our situation out here is pretty ideal: lots of family nearby, bought a house near the beach in a great school district, and I have an 8-minute commute. I love it here, but change any of those three variables and I would probably be singing a different tune.
I lived out in Orange County (Huntington Beach) for most of 2010.
It was alright, but I'm really a city guy and came back to New York.
The weather out there is awesome, of course. You can go to the beach in January.
But say goodbye to public transportation and say hello to strip malls and traffic jams.
see, i am not sure if i am just wearing rose-tinted glasses but i have always thought i'd love OC.
i know exactly why too: the weather, the waves, the palm trees, the relative proximity to good skiing, etc.
i just don't know if that is reason enough to try and attempt a move. esp. with the economic situation CA always seems to be in.
could be a real grass isn't greener situation, especially when you remember that the water is fairly cold almost all the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Zero
I'm a native New Yorker (30+ years) now living in a suburb of LA. Our situation out here is pretty ideal: lots of family nearby, bought a house near the beach in a great school district, and I have an 8-minute commute. I love it here, but change any of those three variables and I would probably be singing a different tune.
I'm in L.A. now, grew up in South Ozone Park. I'm an Actor, so why I'm here is obvious.
Public trans here is some bull****. You need a car/motorcycle. alternatively, you need to be able to afford ubering a lot. they do have lots of coverage here. QOL can be good depending on(of course) your income and profession. what would you do out here?
If you have a problem with "illegal immigrants", don't come. If you generally have a problem with hispanics, hispanic culture, or don't like mariachi music..don't come.(I'm being a bit facetious there). but seriously, L.A. can be culture shock for New Yorkers. Hispanics run this town from top to bottom. Period.
the weather is fantastic. absolutely ****ing fantastic. you get sun or rain. some overcast days. mostly sun. If you want snow, you can have it, but you gotta go looking for it. If you like the desert, they got it for days. you really can surf/ski/etc in the same day.
the women are hot, but shallow. and kinda not smart. A lot of californians have never been further than mexico and vegas, travel-wise. cali is sorta like it's own little bubble.
Whatever job/career you have in NY is probably here too..but be prepared to be paid roughly 1/3 less for it. I don't know why. I just noticed when I first moved out that everyone was making less money for the same jobs I saw in NY for much more $$$
that all said, cali has been really good to me. Still..I'm thinking about moving back. thinking hard.
I would like to visit San Diego, LA, or San Francisco one day. But I would never want to move to California.
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