So. Cal art/music towns for early 20s?

[pacific2]

So. Cal art/music towns for early 20s? (?)

I'm 18 and am hoping to pursue my art and make connections, maybe going into writing, and I want to move into a community where I can be inspired by others with similar interests my own age to keep me going with my own pursuits

The OP is not clear about his/her age.

The bottom line is that it is up to the OP and his/her level of commitment to art. AV is not the issue and is actually irrelevant to the discussion; but ready and reasonably affordable access to Laguna Beach is if the OP wants to be in this general area AND be involved in an established arts community.

There are plenty of budding artists in their early twenties who are connected to Laguna Beach. Long Beach is no Laguna Beach.

LCAD, A Top Southern California Design & Art College.

[harhar]

If you're looking for a "hub" of like minded people, you can find pockets here and there; especially at/near art schools.

However if you want a younger "hipster" like community, there are pockets of those areas too, some in Long Beach, some in Fullerton and Orange by Chapman (very small) but you're not going to find big communities like you would in LA, who have taken over cities in droves like Silverlake, Echo Park and Highland Park.

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by harhar

If you're looking for a "hub" of like minded people, you can find pockets here and there; especially at/near art schools.

However if you want a younger "hipster" like community, there are pockets of those areas too, some in Long Beach, some in Fullerton and Orange by Chapman (very small) but you're not going to find big communities like you would in LA, who have taken over cities in droves like Silverlake, Echo Park and Highland Park.

Very true. If being in a young hipster community with maybe some fringe involvement in the arts is the top priority, then why not move to Silverlake, Echo Park or Highland Park?

However, if the top priority is to seriously develop his craft, then he should learn from the teachers / practitioners of that craft. He could still be connected to hipsters; CA freeways can be a useful thing.

[Joe Van Fossen]

Echo Park and Silverlake also have active music scenes and convenient access to public transport

[Coldjensens]

Santa Ana has an artists Villiage. One of the colleges has an arts school there. It would be the most affordable locaiton, ut it cna be a bit edgy.

[r3dbullet89]

Word of advice...DO NOT MOVE TO OC. You are much better off in Long Beach or LA (Echo Park, Silverlake, DTLA, etc) for what you are looking for in life.

[dominickcage]

My friends and I are those young, active folk. we're writers, painters, musicians, photographers, surfers, skateboarders, whatever. we like to eat and drink and get creative. we play a lot of music, too. we do a lot and we welcome anyone and everyone. we're staying in South orange county from Westminster to HB to Costa Mesa

here's my photo website [url]http://roaring2000s.tumblr.com[/url]

[Sondeera]

DON'T COME TO ORANGE COUNTY. You will be so much better off in Los Angeles as far as networking is concerned. Echo Park, Hollywood, Silverlake, Atwater Village (or if you have a car) Highland Park, Eagle Rock.

Long Beach is a great town, and I have a lot of musician friends living there as well. There's a pretty young population and lots to do. There's the light rail that can take you to L.A. (I commuted via rail to work in Korea Town while living in LB).

Honestly, you might find a few people in Fullerton, and the artist village in Santa Ana is pretty established, but I think you'll be disappointed in OC coming from Seattle. It's so incredibly spread out and it can be hard to network.

For the record, I've lived in east Hollywood, Long Beach, East L.A. (born and raised), Costa Mesa, and Santa Ana and my husband and I are both musicians (now as a hobby but at your age as a profession).