Moving to Los Angeles, California!

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Thanks. I'm used to traffic. Washington, DC apparently has worse traffic than Southern California.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/20/wh ... t-traffic/

Anyone on the map I posted earlier?

Absolutely, visit In-N-Out. Make sure you order everything "animal style" at least once. Ride the train from LA to Coronado - gorgeous view, as it hugs the coastline. Fish tacos.

That about covers it.

I also recommend In n Out, and getting the burger "animal style" at least once. The animal fries are also really good, and one of my guilty pleasures. I've discovered that In n Out is also in the Las Vegas area, and that it has expanded into Utah, but I don't know if it's gone to other states yet. We just got a couple of Five Guys places, one in Cerritos, and the other in Carson near the Ikea, but I still love In n Out myself.

There are plenty of adventures you could have on the east coast, too. Just saying ...

You know I wish you'd stay, but if you need to get this out of your system, please be careful and take good care of yourself!

Do you know when you will travel through Flagstaff?

I noticed that your route takes you through Flagstaff. I might be able to drive up from Phoenix. I would need permission from my wife.

Regarding California, I have to echo that not everyone in California is like the Hollywood types. I'm descended from central valley Californians -- originally from Oklahoma and Arkansas during the dust bowl. Totally different people, much more unpretentious if nothing else. Most Californians insist they're "not really Californian" because they're so different from the stereotype that even Californians have of themselves. The Mexican-American community (some of whom have been in California since long long long before most Anglos, never mind the stereotypes, they owned California first remember) is likewise generally quite different from the stereotype of shallow Californians.

But there's an attitude throughout much of the more stereotypical parts of California that's one reason I left: They don't care about people. They'll act really friendly to you. But if you're in serious trouble, they won't give you the time of day. I know someone who was homeless throughout a lot of the country, and she said California is the worst place possible. People who knew she was dangerously starving would take her out to a restaurant, order food for themselves, ask her advice, and not even order her the simplest little food, and would sit there eating in front of her. That just says it all. That sort of thing seems to be one of the cultural norms there even among people who claim to "care about the poor" and crap. It carries through into the way they vote on things. And I didn't feel safe there anymore as someone who was poor, unemployed, and saw the direction the country was headed a long time before a lot of people did. Even though I grew up there.

One thing I've seriously heard people say is that the mild climate throughout much of the state makes people not aware how much they depend on each other. Gives them the illusion of not needing each other, and therefore the ability to be more selfish. Where my parents live, in the northern mountains, there's a totally different culture as well. They're in a tiny remote mountain town that can get extreme snow and flooding and forest fires and lots of other things, and what do you know, people actually look out for each other even if they loathe each other. Whereas in many milder parts of the state many people can act like they like you, maybe really even believe they like you, but not lift a finger if you're in trouble. (This is also generally the more affluent people. Again, they can afford to think they need each other less than poor people or people in harsher climates can.)

So definitely watch out for that kind of cultural attitude. But also be aware California is a large mix of cultures and there's far more than the cultures that contribute to the stereotypes. I wouldn't want to live there anymore, personally, got nearly as far from it as I possibly could. But I hope you find it better than I did.

Not that I've ever been to Washington D.C. but I don't imagine Los Angeles would be much worse.

The traffic is horrible on the westside between 3:30pm and 6pm, during which time it's nearly impossible to embark on any journey which involves crossing under the 405, as it backs up onto the surface streets. The roads are poorly maintained for a large city, and you generally have to pay to park at most places.

When the traffic is backed up, people have no qualms about blocking intersections, and the city doesn't have enough left turn lanes. It can be impossible to make a left turn on a green light and most people end up having to make them on yellow lights.

As far as big cities go, Los Angeles probably has a more suburban feel. I hear the worst ghettos here aren't half as bad as the ones in Baltimore. Most of the "bad" areas are not actually all that bad looking, they are just populated by gangs.

As far as living, you generally want to stay west of downtown....west of Hollywood is even better. With some exceptions, like Culver City, Marina Del Rey, and parts of Santa Monica, it's generally best to stay north of the 10, in my opinion.

If you will be living in the Valley, the closer to Ventura Blvd the better.

Perhaps we can meet, though I can be quite socially awkward, as you might imagine.

I live just outside of Baltimore - on a recent LA visit, my friend's car broke down in what she said was the bad area of town. The people...yeah. We got accosted by a strung-out panhandler. But the area was nothing like my conception of "bad". No trash bags piled on the sidewalk; no dilapidated, boarded up, and condemned rowhomes...

@Alex - Will you be having a going-away function of any kind?

if you pass through Utah then PM me and i can tell you where i live
[edit: ok where i live in UT will be far from the trip your doing oh well]

Hey Alex! I been on here a while but never really talked to you. Good luck on your journey. I have been to LA before....downtown La has alot of polution. I could not live there, the smell really bothers me....it smells like chemical cow sh*t....just warning you...and my aunt says the taxes are high too, but I am sure you did the research before going there.

Anyway, safe journey, wear your seatbelt, you know the drill.


Jojo

I am curious. Was there a job offer in LA that is prompting you to move?

I'm from Orange County too - the LA/OC Aspies should get together when you get here.

What part of LA? I really like the Los Feliz/Silverlake area myself - I'd move there if I wasn't so lazy...one of the Manson murders happened there - how cool is that?!

Well, maybe not...

Alex!:heart: You know you can call me whenever you'd like. Hopefully, i'll be there in a few years too.

If that is a date topic, I think we've found the source of your problem.

It's interesting how of all the things there's to do in L.A, the one thing that people seemed to mention was IN-N-Out. There's also Universal Studios, downtown Hollywood, the winter season rose parade (I hear it's overcrowded though), Chinatown, the L.A County Fair, the Santa Monica Boardwalk, a huge Halloween costume event in West L.A that people travel from all over the world to go to (there are interesting costumes but it can get extremely crowded), the Griffith Observatory and Griffith Park, the L.A Natural History Museum, some fancy old theaters in Hollywood (I forgot the names), and other places.

Last edited by rainbowbutterfly on 05 Mar 2011, 3:20 am, edited 2 times in total.

I'm up in Silicon Valley near San Francisco. Los Angeles is a bit of a ways away. lol