Moving to LA: yay or nay?

[NicolettaRose]

I grew up in Marin County, California, a small, snobby, upity community north of SF and am totally ready for a change. The area that I live in, there is absolutely nothing to do if you are young. I would go to SF but I have fibromyalgia, and the cold weather really makes it act up. So a couple of people have told me to go down to LA and that I would like it down there because the weather is warmer. Those of you who live there, what do you think? Is there a good vintage scene there and thirft/vintage shops and are the people pretty laid back? I have one friend down there and the guy I am stuck on lives down there as well, but beside them, I don't know very many people, but then again, most of my friends have moved from the area I grew up in since it so insanely expensive to live here.What do you think? Can you recommend any areas in LA that is good for someone young and into vintage?

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

My comments probably won't be all that helpful since I live on the east coast. But, I have family in both LA and SF, and I'd choose SF any day. (Sorry LA'ers, I adore you all, I just don't like LA all that much). The people I know from LA are all very sweet, but the traffic is miserable. I know, I come from a city made world famous due to it's traffic problems, but I've never experienced anything like the traffic in LA! It's just not on the top of my list as favorite cities. But, I adore San Francisco. If I had to move to the west coast, I'd hope it would be there. The city is fantastic, the people, shopping, restaurants, so many things make it a wonderful city.

As for your fibromyalgia, I actually have a few friends with it. They live here in Boston, where the winters can get more than twice as cold as SF, and they are coping just fine. I would think that the cold might have something to do with how they feel if they felt better during the warmer seasons. But they don't. I was unaware that this illness was affected by the climate. I have Crohn's disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis. The Crohn's is not affected by weather but the RA really is. But, as long as I stay on my meds and keep active, the climate doesn't really affect how I feel. So I'm proof that someone who has a lifelong illness can survive in below freezing temps. Honestly, I do have more pain and stiffness in the winter, but like I said, meds and activity solve this completely.

Before you make any decision to move somewhere, I would talk to your doctor and find out what he/she thinks. If something like climate is causing a flare up, it might just be that your not on the right meds. I know if I were to move, the first thing I would worry about is making sure that there was a doctor in the area that I really like. If you are planning a big move like this, I would suggest that before you move you interview a few doctors in your new area to make sure that you will be getting the care that you need. IMO, that's the most important thing for someone with an illness to do if they are going to make a big move. You can adjust to any climate. As I said, I have quite a few friends with this problem and they are all doing great.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

I suspect my first question will come across as rude, but it really to me plays a factor in any relocation decision.

What do you do? And is there a job in LA that isn's somewhere else? Deciding based on vintage lifestyle issues etc. when compared with 'Can I earn a living and also live in the style I want to, in this city?' is way more important.

 

[NicolettaRose]

Not a rude question at all

My day job ( which I do about 5 hours a week) is working as a liason between very high end antique dealers and EBay. I appraise their items and give them an estimate on how much they might sell on Ebay for, list them, and then take a comission on the sales. I just need to live in ( or near) a city which there is a market for high end antiques, IE in which there is a cocentration of wealth.

The rest of my time, I am a fiction writer, LA (NY) has, I am guessing a substational amount of agents that I would be close by to, so that is another plus.

The rest of my time, I collect vintage, and doing a lot of voleentering, mostly in animal shelters.

 

[Paisley]

Nicoletta, is it just the cold or the cold combined with dampness that makes your illness act up? If you can tolerate dry cold, I invite you to move to Denver. I know Denver has a reputation for being an ice box in the mountains, but that's a myth. Denver is on the plains and has a high altitude, semi-arid, sunny climate: we enjoy over 300 sunny days per year. That and the low humidity make the cold pretty tolerable.

We have a good lindy scene (the national champs live here); you can swing dance Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and probably more nights if you want to go to Boulder or Colorado Springs (an hour's drive from Denver).

Denver has an area on Broadway called Antique Row. It's several blocks of antique stores, as you probably surmised. We're not a publishing mecca, but there are some book publishers here, as one might expect in a city of 2 million people. Oh, and you can keep more of what you make: Colorado has one of the lowest tax rates in the U.S. Housing costs compare favorably with LA and SF, too. A two-bedroom bungalow that might cost $700,000 in LA would cost more like $180,000 here.

I don't see many people who wear vintage, but you probably won't get many strange looks if you dress as such. People in the interior west tend to be pretty down to earth. You won't see much snootiness here.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

It is a fact (I've read it somewhere) that Los Angeles is the greatest city in all the world. Pretty much anyone who will visit LA will disagree, but anyone who lives in LA for a few years can believe it. You can't judge LA the first couple years you live there. It isn't like San Francisco where anybody can find an apartment and jump right into the life. Building community in Los Angeles takes time. (And every city has terrible traffic and every city has ways to avoid such traffic. It all has to do with knowing your way around.)

A little too defensive? Maybe.

 

[Lady Day]

It isn't like San Francisco where anybody can find an apartment and jump right into the life.

Wow, I wanna live in THIS San Francisco lol

SF is a great place, but Ive found my nitche here, it will take you time in any citay to find that. If your insides are calling you to move, Id listen to them. If you dont know what citay, flip a coin, see where it take you.

Good luck and I hope I wasnt being flippant.

LD

 

[Matt Deckard]

I believe the vintage scene in the LA area is one of the largest in the US.

As for weather... how can you give up the seasonal changes? I just don't understand.

 

[Fletch]

I believe the vintage scene in the LA area is one of the largest in the US.

Certainly seems as tho the SoCal Loungers have access to the best duds, and the most events to wear 'em to...

 

[Elle]

By reading the subject, I thought you meant Louisiana, which I am considering myself.
But I do live in a Los Angeles suburb. LA has a great vintage scene, with some pretty ridiculously expensive thrift stores and the cutest little boutiques, no place is the same. There is always an occasion to get gussied up for, from concerts to the theatre or even ritzy award shows. But everyone dresses up even if they're just browsing the malls.
The weather is mostly sunny (but not lately; with this wacky weather, we've been rained on all weekend), but this usually doesn't last long. The colder seasons have overcast mornings and warm afternoons/evenings.
Plus, nothing beats SoCal! You can watch the gorgeous desert sunrise, go hiking and skiing, and finish up by watch the sun set on the warm beach all in one day!

 

[redavis001]

Plains

Might I suggest Oklahoma? There is no rational reason to move here unless you like:

1. Wind

2. Cowboys

3. Wheat

4. So pretty good rockabilly

5. Some pretty good nouveau architecture

6. Republicans

7. Wind + Sand

8. Dustbowls

9. Toll roads

10. Beef

 

[DeeDub]

Might I suggest Oklahoma?

The smashburgers alone are almost reason enough to move to Oklahoma.

I did say almost.

I've considered myself a naturalized citizen of the Bay Area since I moved here when I was twenty-something. However, I am a native of San Diego and, for the most part, grew up in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Okay, so it was the suburbs of Orange County. Whatever.

I should point out that when you talk about moving to "LA", that encompasses I wide range of places, from rural to urban, mild to extreme climate, gridlocked to fairly light traffic. Well, maybe there's no place in Southern California that has light traffic these days. My point is, whatever surroundings you prefer, you'll probably find it within a hundred-mile radius of downtown Los Angeles.

Before you commit to a move, or even after you get there, do some research and spend some time all over the Southland. Look at the San Fernando Valley, the coastal cities, downtown, Orange County, Santa Barbara, the Inland Empire, the foothills. You might find a home for yourself in unexpected places.

That's my two cents, for what it's worth. (Worth two cents?)

 

[NicolettaRose]

North Hollywood was recommended to me a good place to live, as was Glendale and Pasadena, andBurbank anyone have any thoughts on these? The only thing I want is an art deco/vintage style apartment at a fairly resonable price.

 

[reetpleat]

While LA has a great vintage scene, SF is an equal. The art dedco society is unequaled, as well as a stong music and dance scene.

As for weatehr, everyone I know who lived in the city had to move to Oakland anyway to afford a place. I would stay in the bay area and live out in Berkley or Oakland or somewhere warmer than the city.

I wish I had not left sometimes. Seattle is a wasteland compared.

I think SF LA and NY are the only cities with thriving vintge scenese, although I could be wrong.

All three are expensive though.

A bid difference is if you like suburban lifestyle with a house and yard and a lot of driving (but being able to park) then choose LA. The weather is fantastic.

But if you like an urban lifestyle, not owning a car maybe or not driving much, and old buildings, walking around a city etc, then SF is the only viable choice on the west coast.

But think about Oakland or Berkley. Better weather but still bay area.

 

[pigeon toe]

I grew up in Marin myself and now live in LA. I love it here, but then again, I didn't hate Marin all that much. The life I live in LA is very different from the Marin one though, mostly because my boyfriend lives in the "ghetto" and that's where I spend half my time. I don't take really any part in the glitzy or cool side of LA that everyone's into, and I'm really happy about that. There's so much culture and history in LA that's outside of all that.

I think I'd be lost in LA if I didn't come here already having friends and a boyfriend who has lived here all his life. It's the sort of city that isn't really tourist-friendly and has a lot to it that if you don't know yourself, or don't know someone who knows, it's kind of hard to get involved. I think that's why so many people believe the stereotypes about LA, because it's the kind of place that you have to spend time in to understand the "real" LA.

I love it though, but I still miss the nights spent driving around San Rafael at 11 pm looking for something to do. Ahh, Marin! What part are you from?

PS. Sorry if that was kind of jumbled, I'm really tired and midterms have taken over my brain.

 

[NicolettaRose]

I live in San Rafael!! Right near the downtown, in the Dominican Area. I really like San Rafael, but there is not much to do. I grew up out a little past Fairfax in West Marin, out by the San Geronimo Golf Coarse. Nice area. What about you, where did you grow up? I really do like Marin, but it just seems like a better place if you are 40 and married with 2.5 kids and a big Lexus SUV.

 

[The Wingnut]

I used to live in the south bay, Santa Clara, then San Jose, then right on the border of Morgan Hill. I miss it at times. Lots of people and urban sprawl, but centrally located in the Bay Area, plenty to do / see, and if you're dilligent, you can find a decent place to live. There are still places where time has stood still architecturally for the last 60 years, mostly Santa Clara and sections of San Jose closer to the city center. The key is to dig in areas where most wouldn't think to. There's a halfway decent antique row on San Carlos Ave and downtown San Jose has more history than most realize.

Pretty much anywhere within 20 miles of the coast is going to be rainy, cold and damp for a large part of the year. Figure out what you can put up with and find out where those conditions exist. I lived less than 10 miles from Jenner for a year and a half. Summers were amazing. Fall, spring, and winter were nigh unbearable with constant rain, cold and damp. Add the annual flooding and I had to move. I'm about 25 miles inland now and it's much better.

Depending where on the Peninsula you try, you might find agreeable weather south of S.F. and not too far away. Much of those communities have not seen significant development, and the Stanford area caters to student budgets.

I know a guy that moved out here from Philadephia not just to get married but because he felt it was so much better than what Philly had to offer in vintage lifestyle!


...I'm contemplating a career change that would require moving close to LA, and I just can't come up with enough reasons to do it, lucrative pay increase included.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I moved from Boston to Los Angeles to go to school undergrad. I'm back on the East Coast now, but I can't adequately express my love for LA. It's the greatest city. It's a major cosmopolitan city that is within minutes of hiking, surfing, hills, and within hours of wine country, deserts, and hey...Mexico! Love the weather, and have some great friends there.

Aside from all that the daily living is great as soon as you get your bearings and figure out where everything is. To live, North Hollywood is a fun place, also Century City on the West Side has a lot of Art Deco buildings (not sure about apartments tho). I lived in West Hollywood and loved it. Supposedly Silverlake is becoming a popular place to live, and places like Mar Vista, within 2 miles of the ocean, are affordable. When I lived in LA I got all my apartments at www.westsiderentals.com . There's a one time $60 fee but you'll find a place the first day you look.

 

[Fletch]

There is always an occasion to get gussied up for, from concerts to the theatre or even ritzy award shows. But everyone dresses up even if they're just browsing the malls.

Gee, that's different from LA in the 80s, where PJ O'Rourke wrote that no one above the rank of pool cleaner wore a suit!

 

[pigeon toe]

I live in San Rafael!! Right near the downtown, in the Dominican Area. I really like San Rafael, but there is not much to do. I grew up out a little past Fairfax in West Marin, out by the San Geronimo Golf Coarse. Nice area. What about you, where did you grow up? I really do like Marin, but it just seems like a better place if you are 40 and married with 2.5 kids and a big Lexus SUV.

When we first moved to California, when I was 8, we lived in Ross for 2 years. That was quite an experience! Then we moved to Kentfield. I went to Marin Academy for high school so I spent a lot of time on 4th street! My roommate grew up in Pt. Reyes. Both of you guys got lucky, West Marin is beautiful!