LA MW People

[Vegas]

also i hate to pay for parking at the mall

while here in vegas, its too damn hot and theres nothing to go to except to the casinos and strip clubs

Edited July 26, 2008 by Vegas Valkyrie

[USCOLMRNE]

I lived in LA nearly my whole life. It has its ups and downs but overall I love LA. I recomend you find housing in West LA, Westwood, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica. These are nice areas, a little expensive but not as much as Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Hollywood. Parking is only a bitch when you go to those areas because everyone wants to see celebrities and all. I stay away from those areas unless I really need to go there or someone else is driving. Not everyone in LA cares about the nightlife and all exclusive stuff and richness (unless you are rich and dont care about spending $400 for a table at a club), thats just a bad stereotype. LA has alot of diversity. Like all cities, there are areas you want to stay away from that is Compton, Long Beach, South Central, South Gate, Inglewood. Some parts of those cities are nice but say you want to go party with friends, I woudnt go there. Traffic sucks here because of city transportation and everyone feels like they need to have atleast two cars. Make sure you can find a job close to home so you wont spend two hours stuck on the 405, 10, or 101 freeways. Like a member said, LA drivers are a little crazy and cant drive for poo during bad weather but what do you expect, everyone is in a hurry and stressed. This place can be fast paced so its not for everyone. Aside from that, LA has a lot of great places to visit, night life, work opportunity for those who have experience in their fields and degrees, and bunch of places to get Macross stuff. I live in Culver City/Mar Vista. I recomend you find a place around there. Not too far from the beach, so it doesnt get hot as hell like in the valley, and the ocean breeze moves away the smog, and its nice and safe place to live. Hope this helps a bit

[miriya]

good post.

[Wes]

If you're young and board why not be more adventurous? Go live in another state for a year or two. I've gotten comfortable with the South, though I've been here my whole life so the humidity doesn't phase me unless I'm doing tough manual labor in July. The thing with here is you get alot more bang for your buck. Traffic can be debatable, because some local governments had no clue how to set up roads. Though because the cost of living is so low there are many tech groups that thrive because of that.

[Sumdumgai]

If you live more inland and away from the coast, the smog can get pretty bad (burning eyes, irritated lungs, depending on how sensitive you are). The area by Pasadena can get pretty bad. You know it's bad when you can't see the mountains due to smog.

[miriya]

If you live more inland and away from the coast, the smog can get pretty bad (burning eyes, irritated lungs, depending on how sensitive you are). The area by Pasadena can get pretty bad. You know it's bad when you can't see the mountains due to smog.

Another reason why west LA is nice.

[Jasonc]

If you're thinking about moving to L.A., as someone who works in Law enforcement for L.A., let me give you some advice, if you are looking for places that are out of the way of "trouble spots", I'd suggest these following areas for L.A....Hollywood, West L.A., and Mar Vista. That's for L.A. city. everywhere else is kinda a crapshoot, as I see and hear the worst of the city. For places I would move to that are close to L.A. life without all the drama 24/7, I would suggest either Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Monica, or Burbank. As with all good cities or suburban/urban type areas, the less amount of trouble, the higher the rent. West L.A. is a good area, and so is Mar Vista, not to mention close to some beach life too, which is nice. That's my $0.02 from someone who's learned a lot about our wonderful city of L.A.

[Reflex Point]

My friend recommended to me like Silverlake and that sort of thing, mostly I want to be in the areas that are not super expensive not ritzy but have young artsy hipstery kids and are not way ghetto. Venice Beach was super nice but that's the kind of place I'd like to be able to drive to, not live in.

Well I grew up in the South Bay which is roughly 20-25 miles southwest of downtown LA and southeast of Santa Monica/West LA. Basically the suburbs so probably not what you're looking for. I will say that the great thing about the South Bay is that it's a good "middle" point between LA, Long Beach, and the OC.

From what you've been describing, I think Silverlake would be a good fit for you. It's definitely a more artsy, eclectic community that has been steadily growing. My cousin who works for an indie cinematography magazine has lived there for close to 10 years and loves it. Rent used to be cheap there but is now rising since they've been re-developing the area, making it less "seedy" and more hip for the art and music crowd. Like any city in the LA area, there are good spots and bad spots. Personally, (besides the South Bay) I'd rather live in Santa Monica, Mar Vista, West LA, Pasadena, or any of the beach cities since I perceive those cities to be safer. Silverlake, however, is just south of Los Feliz so if you liked that area and felt comfortable there, you might want to check it out.

Another alternative for you might be Hollywood. (Areas of North Hollywood can be shady however.) Hollywood has all the clubs and not just the glam ones either. Let's just say that Hollywood has the more exciting, fast-paced, urban scene and Silverlake has a more artsy, bohemian lifestyle IMO.

Edited July 28, 2008 by Reflex Point

[miriya]

I lived in mar vista for a while. Definitely a good location.

[Ginrai]

If you're young and board why not be more adventurous? Go live in another state for a year or two. I've gotten comfortable with the South, though I've been here my whole life so the humidity doesn't phase me unless I'm doing tough manual labor in July. The thing with here is you get alot more bang for your buck. Traffic can be debatable, because some local governments had no clue how to set up roads. Though because the cost of living is so low there are many tech groups that thrive because of that.

I'm from Michigan originally. I don't want to live anywhere it snows or is humid. Been there, done that. I really like LA's weather and the no BS attitude. And ultimately, I have do a BA in film.

[Ginrai]

If you live more inland and away from the coast, the smog can get pretty bad (burning eyes, irritated lungs, depending on how sensitive you are). The area by Pasadena can get pretty bad. You know it's bad when you can't see the mountains due to smog.

That does kind of suck, but I spent a summer in Stockton, where all of the pollution from the bay area gets blown to and settles. It was pretty gross but not intolerable.

Interestingly, my allergies are pretty bad in the bay area but a lot better in LA and the summer I spent the Nevada desert also was fine. I think plants and me don't get along. Desert places are apparently good for me, though obviously super bad pollution is not. Los Feliz seemed fine when I was there a couple weeks ago, though, but if anyone knows otherwise, let me know!

[Ginrai]

If you're thinking about moving to L.A., as someone who works in Law enforcement for L.A., let me give you some advice, if you are looking for places that are out of the way of "trouble spots", I'd suggest these following areas for L.A....Hollywood, West L.A., and Mar Vista. That's for L.A. city. everywhere else is kinda a crapshoot, as I see and hear the worst of the city. For places I would move to that are close to L.A. life without all the drama 24/7, I would suggest either Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Monica, or Burbank. As with all good cities or suburban/urban type areas, the less amount of trouble, the higher the rent. West L.A. is a good area, and so is Mar Vista, not to mention close to some beach life too, which is nice. That's my $0.02 from someone who's learned a lot about our wonderful city of L.A.

What part of Hollywood? The north? And I'm okay with a little drama, I just don't want to be living in the equivalent of Detroit (ugh do not want to go back) or east Oakland or Hunter's Point/Bayshore/The Tenderloin if you are familiar with San Francisco.

[Ginrai]

From what you've been describing, I think Silverlake would be a good fit for you. It's definitely a more artsy, eclectic community that has been steadily growing. My cousin who works for an indie cinematography magazine has lived there for close to 10 years and loves it. Rent used to be cheap there but is now rising since they've been re-developing the area, making it less "seedy" and more hip for the art and music crowd. Like any city in the LA area, there are good spots and bad spots. Personally, (besides the South Bay) I'd rather live in Santa Monica, Mar Vista, West LA, Pasadena, or any of the beach cities since I perceive those cities to be safer. Silverlake, however, is just south of Los Feliz so if you liked that area and felt comfortable there, you might want to check it out.

Another alternative for you might be Hollywood. (Areas of North Hollywood can be shady however.) Hollywood has all the clubs and not just the glam ones either. Let's just say that Hollywood has the more exciting, fast-paced, urban scene and Silverlake has a more artsy, bohemian lifestyle IMO.

That does sound pretty nice. Being in the artsy place that's in the process of gentrification and being near to the clubs and stuff sounds pretty good. Yeah, I for sure don't want to be in a suburban area. So what parts of north Hollywood are good? Or should I just wander around and figure it out? Haha.

[Ginrai]

Oh by the way, I've got about 5 years experience doing QA (both software and hardware), worked in video games (QA, as well as some game design, creative writing, et cetera) but for the last 6 months or so I've been doing tech support stuff. Still only level 1, but I'm moving up fast and if I stuck it out I am confident I could get l2 by the end of the year, but we'll see. I'm not married to tech at all, but it's been a reliable source of income and I'm good at it even if I am way more into writing.

[eugimon]

Oh by the way, I've got about 5 years experience doing QA (both software and hardware), worked in video games (QA, as well as some game design, creative writing, et cetera) but for the last 6 months or so I've been doing tech support stuff. Still only level 1, but I'm moving up fast and if I stuck it out I am confident I could get l2 by the end of the year, but we'll see. I'm not married to tech at all, but it's been a reliable source of income and I'm good at it even if I am way more into writing.

well, if you're interested in working at broadcom, contact gdrgroup.com, they handle the tech staffing for broadcom. I hated it there but your mileage may very. Broadcom has campuses all over the place, so if you like it there, it's a good oppertunity.

[Ginrai]

There's actually a Broadcom building literally right next door to where I work now! I will check it out. Thanks!

(Hopefully it's not bad like working at Electronic Arts was. Yuck.)

[EXO]

There's actually a Broadcom building literally right next door to where I work now! I will check it out. Thanks!

(Hopefully it's not bad like working at Electronic Arts was. Yuck.)

Come down Ginrai! Join the darkside!!!

[Roy Focker]

Related question for those from LA & greater California, who have moved away.

Have you ever encounter California hate from people?

[miriya]

Related question for those from LA & greater California, who have moved away.

Have you ever encounter California hate from people?

I lived in Philadelphia from 2000 - 2001 and I remember when the Sixers were playing the Lakers there was a Riot on the street I lived on (South Street - I know crazy place). Everyone was drunk as hell and chanting, "Kill LA! Kill LA!!!" and people were breaking windows, setting fires, jumping on cars. It was a bit terrifying for me b'cause I was raised in LA and moved there from LA. A few days prior my buddy came to visit and wore his LA Lakers hat and I told him that if he did not take it off he was going to get severely injured.

[eugimon]

I lived in Philadelphia from 2000 - 2001 and I remember when the Sixers were playing the Lakers there was a Riot on the street I lived on (South Street - I know crazy place). Everyone was drunk as hell and chanting, "Kill LA! Kill LA!!!" and people were breaking windows, setting fires, jumping on cars. It was a bit terrifying for me b'cause I was raised in LA and moved there from LA. A few days prior my buddy came to visit and wore his LA Lakers hat and I told him that if he did not take it off he was going to get severely injured.

yeah... but come on, honestly... you could get severly injured in Philadelphia for just about any reason... not just for wearing LA sports gear.

[Jasonc]

Thee is a North Hollywood area, but that's not necessarily Hollywood. North Hollywood is more of a valley city, and thee's not much as far as points of inteest there. Now, as for Hollywood itself, parts of Hollywood north of Hollywood Blvd. and west of La Brea are pretty good. I personally like Pasadena, as it has a nightlife, is extremely close to Hollywood, and is quite a safe aea to live in. Anyways, just make sure you do some research before making your decision. each area varies, some much more than others. You just need to find the area that fits your character. I think that's the only way to really feel comfortable with where you are going to live.

[Reflex Point]

That does sound pretty nice. Being in the artsy place that's in the process of gentrification and being near to the clubs and stuff sounds pretty good. Yeah, I for sure don't want to be in a suburban area. So what parts of north Hollywood are good? Or should I just wander around and figure it out? Haha.

Actually, my post was a little deceiving. Like Jasonc said in the above post, North Hollywood is a completely different area from Hollywood itself. The two cities are separated by Griffith Park, the 101 and 134 freeways. Let's just say North Hollywood was the site of the infamous shootout between two bank robbers and the LAPD back in 1997. Cheaper rent, but in general not exactly the safest place to live.

As for Silverlake, I'm mainly basing it off what my cousin had told me about the area. I'd only visited there once back in 2003 to see a band play at the Echo. (http://www.attheecho.com/) Did I feel safe walking around the area back then? Not exactly... but then again, you're talking to a girl from the suburbs. Silverlake is also home to another popular club, Spaceland. (http://clubspaceland.com/). Supposedly it's the first LA club to book the Killers, the Shins, Snow Patrol, Keane, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys.... Silverlake is relatively close to both Los Feliz and Hollywood.

Like people have posted previously, Los Angeles is huge and spread out among many, many cities. There is not one central area that people hang out in like Manhattan or downtown SF. In general, the LA stomping grounds varies from Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Hollywood Highland / Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, City Walk in Universal City, old town Pasadena, clubs at Hermosa Beach.... you can be driving 40+ miles from point A to B... but that's LA for you!

[Hiriyu]

My $.02:

Silverlake/Atwood/Los Feliz area is Ok, I have lots of family members that live there, and they all like it. It is a funky/artsy area, and rent is not that bad on the LA scale. Lots of markets and little chi chi eateries. Traffic is fairly bad IMO, and everything is really jam-packed together - lots of small streets, lack of parking, tiny houses with minimal yards, etc. Due to the crowded nature of the area, short trips are best done on foot, or via bus or scooter. While it's livable, and I can see why some people like it there, it's not my cup of tea.

I myself prefer the San Gabriel Valley. There's less clutter and concrete sprawl than other parts of LA, and life's a little bit more laid back than the more urban areas. Navigation is easy, and the cities here (Pasadena, Altadena, Arcadia, South Pasadena, San Marino, Monrovia, Alhambra, San Gabriel) are relatively upscale and tidy. You'll typically get a lot more square-footage/living space for your dollar than in the trendy areas - this is really important to me, and why I've lived here for the past 25 years or so. It is also a more old-fashioned and conservative place to live, though there is no shortage of nightlife and things to see and do. It can get hot in the summer, but you can always retreat to the mountains (right in your backyard) or the beach to escape the worst of it. If I couldn't live here for whatever reason, then the only other choice in LA for me would be Santa Monica or one of the beach communities in the south bay (Redondo, Manhattan, Hermosa, etc).

On no account should you consider the SFV (San Fernando Valley) unless you're under some kind of duress (no offense intended to anyone who lives there ). It's REALLY HOT, smoggy, and uncomfortable there the better part of the year, but at least it's cheap, I guess.

OT - Since we're talking SoCal here, did everybody's collections come through OK during our little tremor earlier today? I was kind of worried about what I'd find when I came home today, but not one piece moved or toppled from a shelf. I had nightmare visions of my big diecast-ladden SOC Gunbuster falling off of it's display stand and crushing some hapless Takatoku standing innocently in its shadow, but fortunately everything was A-OK

[Necron_99]

Related question for those from LA & greater California, who have moved away.

Have you ever encounter California hate from people?

YES.

I grew up in SF, and somehow I ended up in South Texas

I get the usual comments about the "gay" area, surfing and sushi.

[chowyunskinny]

OT - Since we're talking SoCal here, did everybody's collections come through OK during our little tremor earlier today? I was kind of worried about what I'd find when I came home today, but not one piece moved or toppled from a shelf. I had nightmare visions of my big diecast-ladden SOC Gunbuster falling off of it's display stand and crushing some hapless Takatoku standing innocently in its shadow, but fortunately everything was A-OK

I've got all my Transformers Animated figs in Robot mode on my coffee table. Out of 15 figs the only that fell over was Prowl

Edited July 30, 2008 by chowyunskinny

[J A Dare]

Related question for those from LA & greater California, who have moved away.

Have you ever encounter California hate from people?

Most people I know from out-of-state (including Europeans) only like LA to visit, never to live there. Although, that could be said for any major city/metropolitan area.

I tell you, the day I hate California is the day it's overworked me to death...could be possible. Other than that, I love it!

[windcloud]

i guess the earthquake today turns even more people away from LA. I work in Rowland Heights which is quite close to Chino Hill/Diamond Bar area and my whole office was shaking, scary stuff!!! Luckily nobody got hurt.

Aside from the traffic/heat/people/earthquake/high gas price/foreclosure/massive layoff/ i think LA is a great place to live in.

windcloud

[eugimon]

i guess the earthquake today turns even more people away from LA. I work in Rowland Heights which is quite close to Chino Hill/Diamond Bar area and my whole office was shaking, scary stuff!!! Luckily nobody got hurt.

Aside from the traffic/heat/people/earthquake/high gas price/foreclosure/massive layoff/ i think LA is a great place to live in.

windcloud

don't forget pollution and ethnic tensions!

[J A Dare]

the perfect dystopia?

[Mog]

Speaking of the earthquake, my 1/48 Stealth 1J and my 1/48 GBP Hikky both took massive stage dives. Pieces of the armors popped off, but surprisingly nothing broke.

Of course, the Roy (who shares the same bookshelf space) was still standing proudly up on the shelf, almost like nothing happened. It just goes to show you, other than a pineapple salad, nothing, not even an earthquake, can knock ol' Roy down.

Oh yeah, chunks of my SW collection toppled, and two of my MPC's crumpled down on themselves. But shockingly, my main GI Joe display held up like a champ! None of the figures fell or tipped over (I only use a display stand for one figure, but that fig' is an Air Trooper that looks like he's flying).

But back on topic though, don't forget how wildly spread out everything in LA is too!

Edited July 30, 2008 by Mog

[Roy Focker]

Oh man I loved the Earth Quakes!

Only if they're high enough do people care. Around here if there's a 2.0 rumble 500 miles away people panic.

[Ginrai]

Well, I mean, I'm in SF already. I'm used to earthquakes. As for the Los Feliz/Atwater thing... that actually sounds like my bag. I really like being around other people and like I said, when I hung out there I didn't have a problem with it. Low rent and such also sounds good. I'm sure the rent scale is not far from San Francisco's. I mean, they are both expensive as hell. Most of the bad stuff I am already used to I think.

[Skullsixx]

Check out Ventura County. Cities like Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo. NICE areas that are withing driving distance of all the LA amenities but without the LA bull$hit. Ya better make bank though. I moved outta there in '95 for work reasons and I wish I could afford to move back. I'm in Oregon now and considering moving to Vegas in the next 4 years. Yes... I'm sick of the rain here.

[EXO]

yeah, Silver Lake/Los Feliz is kinda friscoish... hippies, hipsters, and yuppies.

[NSJ23]

Check out Ventura County. Cities like Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo. NICE areas that are withing driving distance of all the LA amenities but without the LA bull$hit. Ya better make bank though. I moved outta there in '95 for work reasons and I wish I could afford to move back. I'm in Oregon now and considering moving to Vegas in the next 4 years. Yes... I'm sick of the rain here.

LOL while i still love LA and HATE simi valley i agree with all the rest I'm in Camarillo now and really like it here.