Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Dev]

I've seen a lot of threads about New York and Toronto. One on L.A. here is overdue.

What do you think about L.A.?

Many artists love it and make it their home.
Comedian Bill Hicks hated it and hoped it would have a massive earthquake and sink into the bottom of the ocean "...where it belongs". He's from Texas- I don't know it that had anything to do with it.

I went there once. I loved the beaches, but found the people to be not very friendly especially on the roads. I was there for only a week - which is hardly enough time to form any real opinion of the place. It's for this reason, I'd love to know what you think of L.A.

[ella]

It's my home. I love it. No place like it on earth, it has everything I need, I love its pace and rhythms, I love that everyone knows where I'm from, I love that the Beach Boys sing about the town I was born in... I could go on for hours.

The thing about earthquakes and part of California "sinking into the ocean" is a pet peeve of mine, though. Silly Superman movie. L.A. is moving closer to San Francisco, not into the ocean.

[Milwaukiedave]

LA, is not my cup of tea. Except for visiting, I dislike California in general. The Bay Area isn't bad. Driving in LA is kind of like driving in Korea. You'd have to be crazy to do it.

[RACETRAITOR]

Some of the most despicable bands in the history of music have come out of California.

[rothkowitz]

such as..?

[dogbert]

THE PENETRATORS

[sjrm]

[The Bobster]

[Anyong Bluth]

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.

[Yaya]

I lived in Los Angeles for two years and hated it. The taxes, pollution, cost of living, tight job market, crime and other bad points made it simply unbearable.

Yeah, I know two years is a long time to live in an "unbearable" place but I wanted not to give up so soon, but found myself finally leaving. The sun and beaches are small solace to the problems you'll have living in that dump.

[davai!]

I lived in Los Angeles for 9 years. Made it work after the first attempt failed.(Showed up with a one way ticket and 80 bucks, slept on friend's couch, no car - lasted 4 months) Second time was better, had a car and some money and got a place pretty quick. In 1994 NO ONE wanted to live there after the EQ, fires, floods and riots, so the rents were pretty cheap. Settled in Venice Beach for a year, then Marina del Rey just to the south of Venice, on the beach for 8.

I worked in film production, so there were few places to base out of, even the beach was kind of isolated from that, but greater LA was the obvious choice. I got a job in Agoura Hills on a movie ranch, which is north of Mailbu, so my commute was the Pacific Coast Hwy and Malibu Canyon Rd for 4 years and the reverse of city traffic, so things were good. The weather in LA is some of the finest in the world, although that ranch where I spent a good deal of my time saw some extremes (just under freezing to well over 100). I had a rippin' tan.

Generally, the weather is dry. My friend had a jeep and wouldn't need to put the top on for like 9 months at a time. Minimum 40ish on the beach in winter, max. 90.



I truly enjoyed LA, as I see it, it is a great place to be based. You can fly ANYWHERE for cheap and there are lots of places to drive to. When it rained we got out our skis and went up to the mts. b/c we knew the rain would become snow there. There is a slope or two in LA county (2 hrs.) World class Mammoth Mtn. (5 hrs) or Tahoe (8 hrs by car)

Surfing is alot of fun and I particularly liked tooling around the beach/mts./city by bicycle. The roads are really nothing like Seoul, the avenues and blvds. are pretty wide and straight, very logical, but there are jams where the roads cut into the hills and mountains.

That said, it still is a giant metropolis and the traffic and pollution can get to you. Try to work in an industry where you can get out of the city often, or just travel. SF is 6 hours away, Diego is 2, Vegas is 4. Must admit when I was there gas was 1.29 /gallon, but try it.

Lots of great clubs all over, and generally a good nightlife scene, but, OUCH, all the bars close at 2am. Reportedly, Koreatown establishments don't follow those rules so much. Korean food is good in LA, with places everywhere, but downright expensive.

LA is generally expensive and there are lots of taxes, etc. For example, your cell phone has not 1 or 2, but 10 different taxes levied on its' service. Car insurance is very expensive, and I couldn't convince my company that my neighborhood was one of the nicest in the city. All they cared about was that it was IN the city.

Parking tickets were a giant nuisance there. They average 45 dollars per and the sharks who give them out must get a percentage, b/c they are often within the grey area... For example, there was a spot on the beach where the sand had literally sandblasted the paint on the no parking sign, but they gave me a ticket anyway... Once, I reparked on the street one hour and 55 minutes into the 2 hour street sweeping period, and despite the clear indication that the sweeper had gone by (his telltale wet tracks) I got a ticket. Is that fair? I think not.

Oh yeah, by the way, there is some really good weed there. 4:20!!

[WorldWide]

Superficial capital of the world. People are fake. I'll drink to its demise when the quake hits.

[sjrm]

[Yaya]

Funny thing is, Vegas is a magnet for Angelenos on holidays and weekends, but most say they couldn't live there. I've heard most peeps in Vegas gamble quite a bit.

That said, screw Los Angeles and I agree with the earthquake wish.

[PolyChronic Time Girl]

L.A pretty much sucks....such a "big" city with very little energy to it. I can't explain it. Forget about public transportation...doesn't exist. Some people say we have a mysterious subway....I've never seen it. Taxis pretty much don't exist either. If you don't have a car....your life will end. Gas is costing us almost 4$ a gallon and Californians, I'd say, usually have to drive 30 miles a day (just to and from work). It's the commuter-hell state. I actually like big cities...but give me a city where you can easily travel around (either by bus, subway, taxis).

Downtown "real" L.A is pretty much Satan's Lair....you don't want to go there. My father worked LAPD for twenty years and he agrees its a festering hell hole.

Now the people who defend "L.A" are thinking more of their satellite cities like Newport Beach....which is about a good two hour drive in "light" traffic" from L.A. People also defend Southern California saying "oh, but we have the beaches and the weather". They forget you have to drive three hours in traffic for a day at the beach and rent an studio apartment that costs almost 2,000 dollars a month. Plus there's nothing to do. You can't go to the beach everyday. Most of us don't get to live by the beach.

So, yeah, Southern California royally sucks, unless your rich and can live in San Luis Opispo or Laguna Hills. But if you're not one of the "lucky" you will be drained financially (mostly for your car insurance and gas and your $2000 dollar/month studio).

I know, bad review. Not that there's anything really "horrible" about it....it's just so boring. I can't believe that an area so "famed" can really have nothing to offer. Maybe I just have more of an east-coast mentality. Oh, yeah, my husband and I live around "L.A too"....we really want to get out. Most of family, fortunately, has escaped to Oregon (and Oregonians are hating the Californians because we're all running the place over). My dream is to run away up there too.