Loaded question

[urbpan]

Oh, hey, it's the moving issue again! I have a lot to fill you people in on, but not just yet. Either my life is going to totally change in some really unpredictable way very soon, or my life will change in a much less extreme way a little further down the line. Is that vague enough?

So here's my loaded question:

What about Los Angeles?

Comments

[bicoastal.livejournal.com]

I live in San Francisco and have only visited the LA metro area. I've heard both good and bad from friends who've lived there. But my impression is that it sucks for some people, but with the right attitude, it's kind of great. "Right attitude" meaning:

- you like outdoor activities and appreciate the phenomenal weather because it means you can do them all year long! You bike and swim and kayak and rock climb! You don't bitch that there aren't "real seasons" because, frankly, the desert is a "real ecosystem" too, and it's better to travel to the snow for skiing than have to shovel it out of your driveway. (yeah, the desert is manicured in LA, I know. It's still pleasant to smell the jasmine and see the bougainvillea. Keep in mind that I think SF is too cold.)

- you are willing to overlook or put up with the urban realities of poverty, crime and traffic in exchange for the humongous benefits of ethnic diversity, fantastic food and wonderful music, art, theater and cinema. Seriously -- so every waiter is an actor? That's not false, that's AMAZING, there's a billion shows to go to all the time, including cinemas showing small independent or vintage films. Most of the serious artists (you know, the kind who want to make a living with their art) I know in SF have moved to LA, including many priced out of SF. LA is way cheaper than SF.

- Killer shopping, including second-hand shops. Seriously, you aren't going to find better vintage, except in New York.

- There are alternate LAs, like there's an alternate anywhere else, so it is possible to find a tribe if that's important to you. You are good at joining activities and finding your own people.

- I hear from a lot of people that California in general is less "real" than the east. That's not my impression. My impression is that that it's harder to make an immediate bonding connection, the way one often does when meeting someone who clearly has a lot in common with you back east. You have to work for the friendship, and people will be friendly with you long before they have any emotional connection to you. The flip side of that is that I find people don't judge permanently based on their first impression, which I find gratifying, as it gives you the opportunity to prove your worth in deed. I can't speak to making friends in LA itself, though, not having lived there.

- Your reaction to spectacle is "NEAT!" not "ugh".

- You give it more than a year. Most people I know who move x-country have a "starter apartment" for a year or 6 months, during which they figure out in which neighborhood they actually want to live. True of both SF and LA. Also, you need to give yourself time to get over the culture shock - I HATED Boulder, the first Western town I moved to, but I think I could handle it a lot better now.

- Other "general California" thing: you have to be okay with being happy and seeing happy people all the time. Not everyone is happy here, obviously, but if your first impression upon seeing a genuinely happy person is that they are delusional, you will not enjoy yourself as much here.

- You like fruit. Seriously. Visiting my friend's dad in Santa Ana, we had fresh mangoes, jujubes, pomegranates and more every day. From the trees in the backyard.

Anyway, I'm biased - I love SF but think LA is cool too. Good luck with your deliberations!