rjw_lgb_ca

Tiberius-- Don't kick yourself too badly about getting up to Seal Beach and not crawling those extra 4 miles into Belmont Shore. I surely do love where I live, but Seal Beach is a lovely town too. Well, the coastal parts, especially around Main Street. And it doesn't have that damn breakwater that makes Long Beach's wave action non-existent.

Scarlett

OMG, rjw-you reminded me of the Farmers Market in Hollywood where the strawberries were huge!! Apple sized
well maybe a tiny bit smaller than an apple but delish!
You are all making me homesick for LA~

Miranda

I moved to the LA area by choice about twenty years ago and have lived here happily ever since. (I grew up in a lovely part of New Jersey.) LA is not perfect, but it has a lot to offer. It's one of those cities that is much nicer to actually live in than to visit.

LA is really a collection of small cities, so you want to choose an area to live where you feel comfortable. If at all possible, live within a half hour drive of your job (timed at rush hour, not early Sunday morning!). I live in Pasadena, which has an east coast feel to it and is family oriented. It's great for me, but would not be the right place for someone seeking more of a beach oriented singles community.

Also note the weather in LA varies by location. Beach areas have a more stable year round temperature and seldom get hot or smoggy. Foggy yes, but not smoggy. The inland areas are gorgeous in the winter but do get awfully hot with air pollution in the summer.

rjw_lgb_ca

Miranda hit the nail on the head-- specifically for the town where I live. Long Beach is a gritty little city and maybe not the most thrilling place for tourists, but it is a gem to live in. All those Iowans that have settled there since the war can't be wrong...!

Miranda, I think Pasadena is one of the very nicest places in our area, and it's both family-oriented AND subtly "hip". Old Town...? What a great place on a Saturday night! If it weren't so far from Tansy's place of work in Howard Hughes Center, I'd recommend it as a nice place to live.

mdv

Moved here over twenty years ago from NYC, Love it. I 've lived in the (now) Grove area, lots of 1920s Spanish homes, and primarily in Los Feliz--old Hollywood feel to it. Wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

fluffy

Yansy-I live In L.A. and love it.I'm sure you will encounter some of the stero typical L.A. types e.g. shallow, looks obessed, cosmetic surgery junkies... but I can honestly say you will meet some of the best people in the world here.
In my experience "we find what we expect to find", anywhere we go.
Have you ever met someone who hated every place they've ever been, except maybe their home town?
The thing I love about it here is people are really open, and on the whole very non- judgmentle, it's a live and let live attitude here.

As far as where to live, I suggest you check out some neighborhoods and get a feeling of where you feel, you want home to be.
I live on the West side of L.A. in Century City( between Westwood & Beverly Hills) I love my neighborhood, I live in a small house and have a back yard for my dog.
It's great to feel like I am in this sweet area, and yet so close to the city and all the action, if I want it.
It's quite at night and I feel safe in my neighborhood.
There are lots of areas to go hiking and go to the beach all with in a short drive( about 30 min. or less).
If you really want to get away from it all you can go to Santa Barbara , for the week end or just the day.It's great town about an 11/2 from L.A. right on the ocean.
San Francisco is only an hour flight, so you can go visit your family in N.Ca. for the week- end very easily.
I would'nt even give it a second thought... go for it!
Much Luck
Fluffy
p.s. A friend of mine is a real estate brooker, and she told me it's the softest rentle market here in the last 10 years, so finding a place to rent should be a breeze.I must see 10-15 for rent signs every week.

Darvy_Kuntz

Her name's Tansy. Not Yansy.

MightyIsis

This has been such an interesting post. It makes me want to move to LA, even if just to see the gargantuan fruit in the Santa Monica Farmers Market. "artichokes as big as bowling balls" and "strawberries the size of apples"; are you sure you're not exaggerating?

rjw_lgb_ca

Oh, Mightyisis, there's only a little bit of exaggeration in those sizes. I'm partial to "baby" artichokes, but the mature ones found at the end of the "season" can range to 6 inches across (NOT stem to tip, but diameter of the bloom) and are still perfectly delicious (once the choke is scooped out). The big strawberries that you get in season here (and there are several growing seasons here) can get up to 2 or 2 1/2 inches across, 1 1/2 inches long, and are intensely sweet when ripe. Bounty and beauty can get one waxing a bit TOO rhapsodic, sure-- but so what? We still get it year-round. Let us gloat guilt-free about something...!

jason888

rjw - we have those bowling ball sized artichokes here in No Cal also! The artichoke capital of the world is located in No Cal!

Two bowling ball sized artichokes and a glass of white wine are all I need for dinner sometimes. Plus drawn butter - mmmm.

Betcha our strawberries are bigger than yours! Wanna put 'em up?! Just kidding!

The lettuce capital of the world is in No Cal too!

Tiberius: "No Cal people are enviro freaks because it is just in their nature" - eh? I thought all the "freaks" lived along the beach communities in So Cal! Especially Venice Beach!

That's said, Tansy, go for it! So Cal is a FUN place to live! So Cal people are too busy living the good life to have time to answer all the bashers.

Pumpy

No! Next question?