Now I finally see why people love that area. Been out there for a couple of weeks just vacationing, seeing family, etc. Funny how I have never been out there considering I have relatives there(I've been to Frisco cuz I have relatives there also but never to L.A.). Also went to San Diego and it was nice as well but I'll be visiting L.A. more often now. In addition to the weather, the sights, the mountains, the night life, etc. the women are like, WOW! Did I mention the women there were like, WOW?! *Also made it to Pasadena and ate dinner at JLo's restaurant Madre's. The food was actually damned good! And wouldn't you know it, our waiter was from Houston who was out there trying to be an actor! Anyways, he got us free deserts and hung out with us for awhile. Here's to you L.A.! Now I finally see why...
what about the Dresden! If I ever get back to LA (alive)....I have to relive the entire script of "Swingers".
To live and die in LA, it's the place to be You've got to be there to know it, what everybody wanna see -the late Tupac Shakur
I will be landing in LA on Thursday for a 5 day stay with my bro in law. I also LOVE L.A. If I had to move out of Houston, I'd choose LA...in a heartbeat. I can't speak as to the quality of women...Mrs. Ref is in the room as I type this.
I lived in LA for over ten years. Can certainly be fun, but we're d*mn glad to be back home in Texas.
Was there earlier this summer. Now I know what the fuss was all about. You can absolutely get lost in a city that size. I will one da live in california and new york.
Her brother moved out there 2 years ago. My wife is from Fort Worth by way of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Alabama...LONG story. This time Thursday...I will be spending some quality time at Pink's Hot Dog Stand...and Friday afternoon at Roscoe's.
If you love LA, you need a reality check. It's a fun place to visit, and a crappy place to live if you are in the middle class. Los Angeles is one of three cities in the country where you can make $90,000 a year a live like a college student, eating ramen noodles for dinner. I spent 1986-1998 living there, and I'm happy as hell that I moved back to Houston. I'll take my house on a 1/4 acre lot and luxury car in Houston over my one room apartment and beat up Toyota in Los Angeles any freaking day of the week. Anybody who lives in Los Angeles and makes less than $100,000 a year is insane.
ALL of California is insanely expensive. Not just L.A. I know people moving here from California because of the hp/Compaq merger and they LOVE Houston because they can buy a $400,000 house that would have been over $1 million in California and pocket the rest of the cash tax free (up to 500k). I would have to make a ton of money to live out there, and I still don't know how much I'd like having to pay income tax to both federal AND state.
cost of living sucks...these people are taxed so ridiculously. LA -- a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't wanna live there Houston -- a nice place to live, but you wouldn't wanna visit there!
Well, since I was on vacation, I didn't see the "bad" side to L.A. I'm sure if I actually lived there I'd have issues with the area. Still though, I can't wait to go back on vacation there again!
Very true, but if you are willing to find a few roommates or live inland (yuk...the heat of Texas, add smog) you could make less. We paid $1850/mth in rent to live where we wanted (relatively close to the beach with a view of the ocean). Our landlord could have charged us $2100. Be VERY careful about the community you select. Its strange, but you will have a seemingly good community right next to a very very bad one. The local news spends each show reporting on all of the murders and rapes for the day (no exagerration). After a few years, you won't feel comfortable walking into a convenience store without looking over your shoulder. We were never fond of LA proper, but its nice to be close to Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, and San Diego. As for LA County, I like Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach. If you can afford it ($$$$$$$$$$), Pacific Palisades is awesome. For OC, I like Newport Beach, Balboa Island, and Laguna Beach. You will be a long way from LA though, if you really want to party there (we have no tattoos, so we stayed away ). Irvine is good for a family, not sure about it if you are looking for fun. Seashore Blvd in Newport is a blast and very young. Laguna is far south, but fun in the summer. There are some nicer communities even farther south, but they are too far away from the fun, family-oriented and still expensive.
Rocketman, I second that emotion. I lived in Rancho Cucamonga {45 min east of LA} 4 years ago and I had to either get a second job or get out. I lived at the base of Mount Baldy and while the view and weather were fantastic, the prices were through the roof. I was looking at buying a condo {the rest of us call it an apartment} and the prices started at 100k. I make a comfortable living but the prices in SoCal are out of my reach. It`s to bad because SoCal is a beautiful place although I am not sure how so many people afford it
ROCKSS, The people that have lived there a long time had their homes appreciate significantly, thus they have relatively low mortgage payments now, and a good down-payment if they move. As you are probably aware, many others live in not-so-nice neighborhoods (there are many) or with roommates.
