L.A.
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- IAmMintCondition
Dear Angels -
I've had my fill of the Midwest and am looking to relocate to LA/west coast soon. I don't know many of you but I'd like to. Any advice or direction to make my transition smoother would be appreciated. Thank you! :)Your friend,
Travis
- duhsign0
cocaine
- AWESOME! THANKS!IAmMintCondition
- just joking, I'm in SD, friendly town to the south. No cocaine. : )
duhsign - closer to the border, more cocaine!fresnobob
- Chief0
live close to your work
- <Knuckleberry
- I've heard a bit about that.IAmMintCondition
- yupmoldero
- yeah or else you'll spend any extra time you have commuting in horrid traffic.sea_sea
- A must. Don't commute, anything beyond 5 miles is a killer and 45 minutes plus.nthkl
- mightyj0
design studios: http://www.qbn.com/topics/541579…
- ifeltdave0
I echo chief, live close to work.
Also, it helps to visit and look for apartments, instead of signing up for one unseen off the internet. A lot of places around here are advertised as being in certain areas, but then you'll end up in either a sketchy part of said area, or right on the border with another part of town, and far from walking distance from the perks of that neighborhood.
If you can't visit, have a friend who lives here try to visit the apartment for you, and have them check out the neighborhood. Make sure you get a place with a parking spot if its a busy part of town, or that it's a place with plenty of street parking. The last thing you want is a place where you spend 25 min after work looking for a spot thats a mile away!!
- fooler0
... those tall hot chicks with husky voices and adams apples walking up and down sunset strip are not girls and do not hand out refunds.
- carianoff0
North East is where it's at to live, Silver Lake/Atwater/Echo Park/Glendale/Eagle Rock. Unless you make bank, surf or make porn the rest of LA is rubbish to live. Nice to visit, rubbish to live.
- Actually, the even cooler people live even more north east...fresnobob
- I live in Playa Del Rey and it's not too shabby. Though I moved here for the beaches.
mightyj - LOL surf or porn!IAmMintCondition
- Advertising is about the same as making porn these days.IAmMintCondition
- I surf and would consider making porn with a few of the girsl I have met in LA ; )duhsign
- egosmoke0
Seattle native, been here on and off for 3 years or so. If you can, live and work by the ocean. When it gets hot as fuck, ocean breeze makes everything better. Long Beach and Venice are both great places, each with their own pros and cons. Lots of work in Venice, LB not so much. Get a car, traffic is going to happen, deal with it instead of loathing it, and you'll be a happier person. Invest in a good pair of sunglasses, carry them around like you do your phone and wallet :) My two cents.
- akrok0
that breeze is really nice. i used to work in santa monica, i miss it.
but there's 10x more people there. etc.i live in alhambra, it's 15 mins east of downtown, or 15 mins south of pasadena. it's heavily asian populated area. pretty calm and not so expensive. no ocean breeze, though.
- oh, i have month to month. the close to the beach, more hey, sign this 1 year lease. :-)akrok
- so wasis!!!Hombre_Lobo
- Knuckleberry0
If you want to be snooty you can move to Orange County like me... Btw, I am not snooty but my Foothill Ranch republican neighborhood is.
- hahaakrok
- Grew up in Lake Forest, used to run/ride at Whiting Ranch. Get out while you can son!nthkl
- thats where I grew up... El Toro High class of '98, u?Knuckleberry
- egosmoke0
Ya it can get crowded by the coast, but hey its LA, seems like it's crowded everywhere. As long as there some sense of community, private owned businesses, culture etc I'm into it. Nothing worse than being stuck out in suburbia staring at an endless beige shitsea of Applebees and cobblestone streets all leading to the same HiddenDeerCreekCove apt complex. Did the Orange county thing for a year, not too stoked on it, although Costa Mesa was alright.
- I live in a sea of beige as it is, looking to escape itIAmMintCondition
- moldero0
what was that 80's movie where there was these 2 Russian punk rockers in Russia and they kept saying "We love L.A" ?
- shellie0
Don't commute at all. Work at home and live by the beach. :P That's what I do and I'm so much happier for it.
But here's my commute advice:
There are a crapload of major advertising agencies and smaller boutique shops on the west side (Century City, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, West LA, venice, and on south toward El Segundo (South of LAX). They all tend to straddle the coast and a close hop from to LAX or long beach airport. Only a few times in my 10 year career have I ever commuted east of west hollywood for an agency gig, with the exception of a few years when I worked in Silverlake and commuted to Santa Monica. That commute is not nearly as bad as going the opposite direction at the same time of day (probably 30-40% faster). On average, I've done far less commuting living in Santa Monica/Venice across my entire career than many of my workmates that live in Hollywood or east of downtown (Silverlake, etc).But so many people I know freelance so being able to be most central to the most jobs is key. If you have a fulltime gig and you're trying to make a commitment, then moving really close to that job makes sense. But in a freelancer's cast that might not be the most practical move.
But, if you end up wanting to do more effects, post production, fabrication or anything that relates TV, Film & Entertainment based print stuff, living on the east side can great. Most movie studios and a lot of their vendors are eastern and inland, in the valley, burbank or glendale.
Deciding weather or not you're going to target "Hollywood" type work or Advertising will greatly influence where you decide to live I'd imagine.
- sorry for the typos in advance. -__-shellie
- I'd like to avoid both Hollywood and advertising, if possible. Freelancing by the beach sounds pretty amazing
IAmMintCondition - @IAmMintCondition You cant avoid advertising or Hwood, that's main industry here.shellie
- Tech go north. Automotive go northern midwest. Luxury goods go east. There are exceptions but ive worked all 3 territories and thats what i gotshellie
- Seanbot0
L.A. is cool, but unless you are moving for personal reasons and have a heap of cash stored, I would stay clear. It's a beautiful place but the work is so-so unless you have something already lined up. I have had a few friends move out recently only to return back to the Midwest and New York respectively.
- akrok0
let us know when you're here so we can have a QBN L.A Drinks.
- Will do!IAmMintCondition
- been a long time. i keep missing LA drinks or the drinks in the city im in by a day or two. arg.shellie
- YAH!akrok
- nthkl0
Agree with living close to your work. I live 6 miles from my gig, and don't have a car. Just cycle/run/cab/fly. If you can go without a car, I suggest doing it.
- Good to know that it's not impossible as I don't own a car currently (Minneapolis is pretty bike friendly). Thanks!IAmMintCondition
- Yup. If you make it out, send me an email and we'll go for a ride. There are a lot of good routes to get across town quick.nthkl
- ... and a $1000 bike is a hell of a lot cheaper than the debt most people get into around here with their fancy cars. Money pits.nthkl
- threadpost0
I live in downtown Long Beach and dig it. It's within walking distance of 50+ cool bars, good restaurants, record stores, coffee shops, galleries, live music etc. And 2 blocks from the beach. I much prefer LB to westside LA such as Santa Monica/Venice or the south bay. Downtown LA has its benefits, but anywhere worth living Downtown is super $$. And tho Echo Park/Silverlake are the hipster spots, they're quite gentrified now and most of the locals are way too cool for school.
Skip the car and get a motorcycle, I have 2 now. Not only is it perfect riding weather 330+ days/yr here, lane splitting is also legal and you can take the car pool lanes. Any commute that might otherwise take you 1.5 hrs in a car can be done in a half hour on a motorcycle.- LB downtown changed a lot, also.
i use d to live in belmont shore. nice but a bit far from Santa Monica, etc. and had a car.akrok - Monica. and i like 4 wheels in l.a. they can't see me in the car, how the hell can they see you on the moto.akrok
- but yeah, i driven motorcycle and cross, it's great.akrok
- i'm in carson near you. long beach zip code actuallyscarabin
- scarabin is staying in IKEA. lol.akrok
- it's true, i'm typing on a prop computer as we speakscarabin
- LB is the shit. I love living there. City vibe, ocean goodness.egosmoke
- hah... :-Dakrok
- LB downtown changed a lot, also.