Currently an analyst in NYC but started to think about moving to LA. Probably because of COVID, but haven't necessarily enjoyed my time here in NYC so far. More of an outdoors person who loves mountains / beaches. Any thoughts on moving from NYC to LA? Heard the homeless situation is pretty bad there, but appreciate any thoughts.
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Do it and don't look back. LA is great. Traffic will suck if you don't live within a couple miles of the office, but otherwise it's hard to beat.
Appreciate your thoughts. Any idea what rents would look like for say a 1-bedroom apartment within commutable distance of century city? Trying to get a gauge if ~$2k would be reasonable for rent in LA without roommates.
Live in brentwood rn prob nicest neighborhood in west LA ~10min from Century City, can easily do $2k/mo 1 bed rn, covid rent prices are cheap... DM me if you want more info
That number is doable
Homeless is bad in ~one~ specific area in downtown LA - everywhere else is literally just fine. The beach, hills, mountains, forest, and nightlife are all within a 2 hour drive. Weather is always fantastic.
Pretty sure Venice Beach is overrun with homeless now, too.
what LA are you living in
This. You won't notice the homeless in LA unless you're in DTLA (or walking around Venice/Santa Monica). You also won't notice it nearly as much in LA compared to NYC or SF since you'll be driving/ubering point to point and not walking or on any subway.
Isn't Santa Monica supposed to be one of the nicer areas though?
great city
- amazing nightlife, restaurants, clubs, bars
- very nice weather, year round
- good for outdoor activities
- exceptional culture around cars, lowriders, motorcycles, car tuning, racing, and more
- great looking girls
- many events and active city, you'll never be bored
- slightly expensive, and bad traffic, homelessness getting out of hand
If you like mountains/outdoors think more Denver, SLC, Seattle etc, the traffic in LA is so horrible you have no idea.
Yeah I love the beach and mountains too. SoCal is a great area.
SoCal is incredible, traffic is highly highly overrated - you need to understand how traffic flows (people commute towards west in am, east in pm). If you can live opposite traffic flows or close to your office, LA is hard to beat; best food city in America imo, unbeatable weather, good nightlife, arts/music scene is pretty dope, great access to outdoors -- only downside is the people but in a city of millions, it's a you problem if you can't find some good folks.
Also wouldn't really worry too much about homelessness, it's pretty concentrated in certain areas. As long as you don't live in those areas it's pretty much like any other major city in the US.
Miami is the better move right now. California government sucks.
Shut the fuck up, you'll ruin it.
Pretty curious to hear from people who actually live in LA right now
Pretty curious to hear from people who actually live in LA right now
I left LA during Covid, does that count or are you looking for the covid experience?
I agree that the music and arts scene is pretty cool.
Weather is obviously great, food is great.
Beaches are dope, mountains are not super accessible but as much as any city except denver i guess.
Traffic actually does suck.
Homelessness is visible depending on what you do.
Women are hot but expectations for men are higher than most NYC guys are probably used to... all the male models and aspiring actors move there too you know.
The biggest problem I have with LA is that it’s too spread out. It’s more like a huge suburb than a real city, so you have to drive/Uber everywhere.
I also would second the fact that yes there are amazingly hot girls, but you won’t go anywhere near them if weren’t already doing the same thing in whatever city you were in before. There’s hot girls in every city, and I’ve anecdotally heard that dating in NY is slightly easier. As a guy, NY>Chicago/LA>>>>>>>>>SF
LA is cool if you have never lived around in CA... otherwise I'd stay away. Santa Barbara and South Orange County are much better.
Any, uh, any commentary on the Asian girls of greater LA?
ABGs
Hottest Korean women in the country.
I hiked up Mt Baldy a few weeks ago and going again this Saturday. I’m also planning on learning to swim in the ocean (I’m a strong swimmer in a pool, ocean is a different beast). I like it here a lot. Traffic sucks, there’s some homeless areas to avoid, but overall it’s good. High taxes but NY and CA both have those.
Also that’s a photo I took, no filter either. Hiking here is great
I’ve been thinking of the same, but I know more people in NYC and worry about starting over. Is it tough to meet people as a finance person?
Generally speaking, it is more difficult to meet people in Los Angeles. Not because there are fewer people, but for other reasons:
- The city is much larger, it is an assembly of multiple cities that can be very far apart and it may take ages to get somewhere
- Greater LA has more "groups" or regional hot spots, if you want to call it that - meaning residents are more grouped into certain locations, demographics, lifestyles, hobbies, etc. you are therefore less likely to meet them all in the same spot. in NYC, you go to a watering hole in Manhattan and all the lawyers, doctors, finance and other professionals could hang out there. this may work in downtown LA, but it is more difficult outside of it. there are lots of businesses outside of downtown.
- a lot of people who left said the locals are a little bit "self-centered"; maybe less open than in NYC
- cost of living also segregates people into their own bubbles more than elsewhere (ie you could live in New Jersey and still meet your friends in NYC easily)
- There are big industries based in LA that are focused on looks, fame, money and general appearances; even the dropouts who didn't break in have exceptional looks, aspirations, and friends who are like that. A huge amount of people is in shape/work out, fashion has a different meaning, and the weather also contributes in a way that folks are less able to hide the little imperfections we all have. This place is a bit more superficial than NYC.
Super helpful response
It sounds like despite all these issues you still love the city - did you grow up in CA or go to college there?
Honestly based on the news reports, California is probably worse than NYC with regards to literal freedom to live. As for outdoors stuff, NY has mountains and beaches as well, only difference imo is that LA just has year round warm weather. Both are super liberal cities with insane tax rates with beaches and mountains both being 1-2 hour drives depending on where you live. I'm a beach bum so I live in Coney Island and live right by the beach and love every minute of it despite winter weather, and Rockaway is only a 20 min drive from me max.
I've also considered moving to LA but after making a pros and cons list, it made more sense to stay in NYC than move to LA.
Aside from the gun laws, what laws restrict LA so much? There’s not been a thing I wanted to do that I couldn’t in LA pre- COVID. Aside from some gun law stuff but it’s not a deal killer for me.
It was 85 today, need I say more? Homeless situation really isn't a factor as others have said. It's one of the few places in the world you can easily surf and ski in the same day. Bear Mountain is less than 2 hours Mammoth Mountain is less than 6 hours. Tons of hiking/climbing Joshua Tree, Baldy, Yosemite (bit further but doable on a weekend). Real estate is expensive and taxes suck, but you're coming from NY so it's a wash. Go for it, you likely will not regret it.
What does it have to say for you if the homeless situation is bad. How does that relate for you to move from NYC to LA?
Don’t we have this post every week now
You're in NYC which means you're east coast time. Depending on your group's policy (my BB NYC was in office by 9am), you'll need to be up and online by 6am PT. Just FYI, don't discount the timezone factor as waking up when it's dark and going to bed when it's dark can really suck.
Yeah I mean as a five-year NYC die-hard guy, covid hasn't really presented a challenging case to staying here given the lack of literally everything NYC has to usually offer. That being said, LA could certainly be a temporary relief if Newsom gives those socal counties a break in terms of dining and the lockdown (which I think are asinine given going to a whole foods in Santa Monica is so crowded that it's hard to see getting sushi at Nobu in Malibu for outdoor dining is much worse). I think at this point in our nation's regulatory environment I'd hold off on making super drastic city / career changes until things are more set in stone. With the impending dispersion of the vaccines, it would make more sense to make an informed decision based on where you actually want to be / see yourself making a career unless you're looking at temporary living.
Now if your switching cities is predicated on you not liking NYC, that's a whole different discussion but I'd say give our city a chance first.
Thanks. I think much of it has to do with moving to NYC this past summer and literally not having anything to really do on the one / two off days per week with everything shut down. Imagine it will be some time before I get to to truly experience everything NYC has to offer though. I feel like with LA at least I would be able to head to the beach / mountains when I have time off, but maybe that's just a temporary relief.
If you couldn’t find anything to do in the summer like you said, even with restrictions, that’s on you. It was outdoor dining and drinking galore with meetups at just about every park each weekend and the beaches were packed - I went almost every weekend. Don’t discount nyc because of a COVID summer. I’ll tell you to give it a chance and hopefully this upcoming summer (fingers crossed) will change your perception.
I don't really see the difference between these two places. Better to move somewhere in Dallas.
LA is awesome. If my wife was willing to take another bar exam, I might consider moving there. (not happening). I have never lived there but I have visited a few times. It is such a fun city and the weather is best in the US. Living in a city with basically no winter is probably good for your longevity.
Seeing a few homeless people is not a good reason to be concerned about living in LA
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