LA Life

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  • mikotondria3

    So, in probably a little over a year the wife, kid and I will be upping sticks and moving to LA from the midwest, as the wife is going to work in production design for TV and possibly some movies, hooray.
    I've only been to LA a couple of times about 10 years ago and the parts I saw were awful - I liked Venice, but the rest of the places I saw were crowded, run-down and entirely uninspiring.
    Of course there's this great legend about the place, being genuinely cool and interesting and varied and diverse and laid back, only I've seen none of that. I know there are LA folks on here who love the place - what should I be looking forward to, considering I'm actually moving there from a conservative, cultural desert, but am actually a lefty, technohead vegan eurotrash type guy ?

  • instrmntl0

    Move to Santa Monica, Venice, or Pales Verdes (sp?/I think is just north?) for a nice experience away from all the crap.

  • Miguex0

    Move REALLY CLOSE TO WORK.
    you don't get to choose in LA, the most important thing is commuting time. How much you going to hate driving to and from work.

    LA is fine, there's good and bad things about every city.

  • scarabin0

    it's great if you don't believe all the crap you've seen on TV. when i first moved here i imagined hollywood would be this glamorous ritzy place filled with beautiful people but it's kind of just this trashy kinda ghetto filled with bums, asians with cameras and pigeons. there's plenty of glamour and ritz, you're just not gonna find it on the street.

    there are lots of museums and every kind of art scene you can imagine, from underground shit like i go to where people hang themselves from hooks in their backs and flog each other as performance art to uppity MOCA folks who hang out and drink wine and talk about how hard it is to find decent help these days. there's plenty of nature if you want that, trendy shops if you want that, want a trashy dive bar or a rooftop bar with an infinity pool overlooking the city? you can have those too.

    i don't personally know where the lefty, technohead eurotrash guys hang out at the moment but i'm sure there are a lot of 'em around. i would plug into a few sites that specialize in listing LA events and start going to ones that interest you. (http://www.thrillist.com/los-an... comes to mind) before long you'll be familiar with a lot of the different spots and faces and will be giving other people advice...

    • haha...exactly my impression of Hollywoodukit2
  • mikotondria30

    That's great, thanks, Scara, just what I needed to hear.
    Although my factory settings are eurotechnovegan, that's certainly not the only thing I enjoy - if I remember, and I get there, can we hook up and go to one of your underground shows ? I'll shout you the beers :)

    • hellz yes :)scarabin
    • Awesome, thanks :)
      Honestly, I'm pretty much into anything. Jazz, raves, graf, museums, food, beer, talking...
      mikotondria3
    • yeah, i go to pretty random shit... last weekend was a bug fair at the natural history museum and a renaissance festivalscarabin
    • Nice one. After 8 years in Missouri - bless it, I love it, but like someone loves their alcoholic uncle, I need arties :)mikotondria3
  • cbass990
  • scarabin0

    i'm gonna check out the hemp con before a show on saturday if anybody's around and wants to get riiipped...

  • shellie0

    If you're going to move close to where your wife's work, that's probably a good move on your part. The commute that way can be a piece of work so that'll probably save you a little tension. It gets really hot out that way and a lot of buildings dont have central air conditioning. So keep that in mind when you're looking for a place if that matter for your litter one.

    Pasadena and Altadena are fairly close to Burbank and if I had a job based on the east side, I'd consider living there myself especially if I had a kid. Neighborhoods there have with sick parks, nice trees and gorgeous craftsman houses, spacious apartments and bungalow style houses that are great for renters. Toluca Lake and South Pasadena probably have the best schools but those cities are also much more expensive. Anywhere around there will be a short drive to whatever it is you end up liking to do with a fairly low impact drive to down the 110 fwy to anywhere else in LA during late night, grown up going out hours.

    There's a lot of other cities directly east and northeast of Downtown LA that have a lot of flavor, decent cost of living, and a more authentic LA experience. Just do your research before you sign the lease so you know exactly where you're moving your family.

    Scarabin had a pretty good round up of what LA is in general. I choose living and working in Santa Monica. Things are pretty laid back here, the weather is the most mild compared to non-coastal cities, and that suits me. Everywhere in California, clubs and bars close considerably early compared to New York, Chicago and other cities like that. The "public" nightlife experience starts to shut down at 1:30 and by 1:45, the lights are on and by 2, the doors are locked. lol.

    • ah, yes - we're no good in the heat AT ALL - it has to be <73 in our house or we explode :/mikotondria3
    • I lived in Altadena for a couple years, right against the mountains. INSANELY hot. Oven mitts on steering wheel hot.arthur
  • shellie0

    California and the rest of the Pacific Northwest has some really incredible terrain. If you're the road trip type of family I highly suggest getting lost up the 5fwy to seattle and detour through the Redwoods and San Francisco on the way back via Pacific Coast Highway to LA. I just did that drive a few weeks ago and it's always a really fun trip. The outdoors, all year long, is a huge west coast plus. Even when its cold, it's generally a beautiful situation.

    • Oh awesome, thanks for your great post, Shellie - all of that is useful :)mikotondria3
    • We do like to roadtrip, yes :)mikotondria3
  • DaveO0

    I'd love to live in LA – just got back from a two week shoot there and I alway really enjoy myself. I'd probably live in Silverlake if i lived there, as its the closes thing to other places I've lived. A lot of people hate on it but I think it's fantastic. Mysterious and wide open at the same time – and I still think 'the weirdness of the west' applies out there!

  • Frosty_spl0

    I just moved to the beach in OC. Wish I was closer to LA, but whatever, it's 70 degrees every day.

  • ArmandoEstrada0

    As stated above, try to live close to where she will work. That being said, you said you have a family, so avoid all the young hipster areas, like Santa Monica, Los Feliz, Hollywood, Venice, etc etc. I have lived mostly in Burbank, and its central to film, its quiet and very suburban-sih. Glendale or Pasadena are also great.

  • BrokenHD0

    Burbank isn't exactly where i think of, when i think of inspiring..but I'm a native Angelino and here's why you'd like LA:: the weather is great, right now especially. i think you would definitely enjoy art shows and music events. MOCA, LACMA, Getty, NHM, first fridays. lotsa great stuff every night of the week. something for every genre and taste. family friendly stuff too. Farmer's markets are cool. bet you'll bump into like minded people sooner than u think.. the parks are really nice in burbank, also lots of areas to bike ride, i've biked the LA river to burbank before. Theres a good shopping/movie/restaurant center thingamajig that can be fun.. AMC theaters and whatnots. In LA proper: wonderful cuisine, this mexican food is amazing. top rank sushi. ribs, Burger culture (Grill Em All, Tommy's, Juicy). Oh wait, you're a vegan, ha. There are lots of vegan veggie friendly spots too. (Although I don't know in Burbank). Too many restaurants to list, head to echo park silver lake. Thats where i live,, you can hike in griffith, or further out for some serious mountain exploring. You're married, but you'd still appreciate the beautiful women that stroll random hills and travel in packs in the flatlands. I'm so used to the higher frequencies in LA, when i go to most other cities, while I do enjoy them, I start to have LA withdrawals. Once you're here you'll discover plenty to appreciate. Hope that helps. Pop in here with more questions, i'd be happy to answer

    • Splendid response, thank you - really appreciate it - just what I was hoping for. :Dmikotondria3
    • you're welcome. Welcome to LA :)BrokenHD
  • nocomply0

    I've never lived there. Just lived in it's shadow all of my life and visit frequently. The city is so large, spread out, and diverse that everyone can find their place and their groove somewhere inside.

    But like others have said the traffic really does rule your life. It can be a major bummer.

    Also as mentioned above Pasadena is an awesome place for a family if you can pull it off.

  • FawnDog0

    Hey Miko..I've been in Los Angeles working in film for a year now and everything these folks are telling you about living close to work is true but also difficult for your wife. Since we work on a contract basis our locations are forever changing. I was in Culver for 4 months and Burbank the next few months then downtown. The saving grace is that we work such long hours you can sometimes get the tail end of rush hour. Let me know when you arrive !!

    • Oh nice one, yes I shall, thanks :) Can I network my wife to you for filmy contactness ? =D
      She's great and cool, totally :)
      mikotondria3
    • Oh duh - I'm sorry, your user name just clicked with me, lol :)
      How are you ?
      mikotondria3
    • I'm really good. YES !! Please have her contact me. I can give her pointers with the unionFawnDog