Northern virginia/DC to LA???

Question

i'm 17 years old. dads job is moving us to LA. i've never moved anywhere out of northern virginia, i've been here my whole life. i hear that the east coast is much more fast paced and uptight then the west coast.. is this true? has anyone been to both locations and could give me some details about the differences? i hope i like the west coast, never been.. and now im going to be living there! what is the temp in the winter time? i know there wont be much season change as it is in VA.

Answer 1

Say goodbye to snow. High temps in the winter average mid and upper 50's to low 60's, lows in the lower 40's. That's ABOVE zero.

For a number of reasons, we get a bunch of questions asking what it’s like in LA in order to move here.

First of all, I'll tell you what it's NOT like: It's not like anything on TV. People watch shows on TV and think that’s what it’s like out here. The “Real OC”, Newport Beach, The Hills, etc. Ever wonder why people in those shows never have to pay bills, do laundry, and are NEVER stuck in traffic? Because it’s FAKE. And the news doesn’t help either, since they know that s*x and sensationalism sells. News flash: There aren’t running gun battles in the street. There aren’t shootouts every day. Also, you don’t see celebrities just walking down the street, all glammed up, or sipping a cappuccino at Starbucks waiting to sign autographs. We don't go surfing during lunch hour.

Some sections are REALLY nice, others are “ghetto”. Too many people have this vision in their head that LA is one or the other (either Beverly Hills or Compton). In fact, most of it is working class and middle class stiffs working to pay the bills.

You NEED a car to live in Southern California. We don’t have an effective public transportation like New York or San Francisco. One reason is that LA is larger in area than either of those, without a central hub where everything is. Back in the 1960’s, we might have done it. But by the time local governments got their act together, it was much more difficult to make a working public transit system. Also, unlike NY, we have earthquakes, which make it a little more difficult to build underground.

The freeway traffic is probably the worst thing about living here. The 405 is the worst. Know why they call it the 405? Because you go 4 o' 5 miles per hour, and it takes 4 o' 5 hours to get where you're going. Freeway Traffic is bad from 6-10 AM and bad from 3-7 PM. I don't know why they call it rush hour. It's more than an hour, and nobody's rushing, that's for sure.

The gangs are the cause of many rumors. Keep in mind that there are gangs in any large town, in every part of the country. In LA, the gangs aren't really downtown, they are in South LA, East LA, and north Long Beach (an extension of the South LA gangs, actually). And here's the deal: Mostly, they just kill each other.

Gas is expensive in California. It’s about 20-30 cents above the national average.

Yes, gas and real estate are very expensive in SoCal. However, this would be the best time to BUY a house because it's a buyer's market right now. There are a lot of foreclosures, and too many houses on the market.

Yep, freeways are a drag, it's smoggy in summer, and expensive to live here. Yet, if it's so bad, why do we have thousands and thousands of people moving here?

Weather, Activities, Plenty of jobs, Beaches, mountains, deserts all within driving distance, and plenty of opportunity for those who have the skills and tenacity.

In colder parts of the country, people keep their cars in their garages all winter. Kids get snow toys for Christmas. Here, kids get BIKES, scooters, and skateboards. 10 AM Christmas morning, the streets are FULL of kids on their new bikes, scooters, etc. We have a play set from Costco in the back yard. I installed a light in the yard and our youngest plays on it (sometimes with friends) at night during the “winter”. You can't do THAT in the snow.

The job market is good here, mainly because there are SO many people here that it creates its own job market. Then there are MANY industries, including tourism, entertainment, shipping, manufacturing, etc. It’s an incredible economy.

However, it is not for everyone. Every time someone posts this question, you get the LA haters who post their bile and venom. A lot of them don’t know what they are talking about. Some people never even visit, and hate it on principle and stereotypes. Some actually visited once, and found out it wasn’t like it was on TV, and it certainly wasn’t Mayberry. And some actually lived here, and couldn’t deal with the expense, the traffic, or the somewhat impersonal nature of living in a large metropolis. To those I would say “good luck” to you wherever you are, but please don’t spew your hatred in this forum.

As for lifestyle, it’s rather casual. You work during the week, and then go do something fun on the weekend, so that you can impress your coworkers around the water cooler on Monday.

To summarize, LA a HUGE metropolis that really defies easy description. I live in one of the nicer suburbs, but the commute is no fun, often 1-2 hours each way each day. However, 340+ days of sunshine really helps. Yeah, it's expensive. Mrs. Obviousman and I both have to work to pay the mortgage. But is it worth it? You bet!