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Yeah the homeless population is insane - a long heat wave and I wouldn't be surprised if we had riots. I'm lucky enough to have a rent-controlled place in Silv
by siliconc0w 9y ago
Yeah the homeless population is insane - a long heat wave and I wouldn't be surprised if we had riots.
I'm lucky enough to have a rent-controlled place in Silverlake but it does come with other costs because the owner doesn't really maintain the property. Hallway light doesn't work and we strung up Christmas lights in our kitchen because we can't get an electrician to fix the light in there.
A lot of the startup jobs are on the Westside but considering those easily adds an additional 18k/year in housing costs or doing that terrible 2-3 hour commute everyday.
Thinking hard about moving to Oregon or something and just doing remote work - I've lost most of any enthusiasm I've had for LA.
- thechao 9y agoCome to Austin. Or Houston; San Antonio, Dallas.
- ozi 9y agoThe startup scene in Houston sucks unless you're in energy or healthcare.
- JBlue42 9y ago- Austin is fun and has some good companies but too damn humid (and I'm originally from the South). And I think the exodus from CA the past few years have really overwhelmed their infrastructure - Houston/Dallas seem like just more sprawl. LA is actually pretty dense in parts and can have good public transit. I know people from Dallas that have been happy moving back though. - Don't know much about San Antonio
- thebradbain 9y agoDallas native here who goes to school in LA! Yes, Dallas is much more similar to LA in that regard compared to New York, although still a magnitude less spread out than Los Angeles (and traffic is nowhere near as bad): I would say geographic distances in Dallas proper (not the exurbs, which I don't consider Dallas as most are in their own counties) are one-fourth to one-half shorter than Los Angeles. Also, Dallas has been increasingly developing their Downtown/Uptown scene to mimic Austin, and is where most all young professionals / startups are located, as the past generation's upper class still prefer the centrally-located neighborhoods of Highland Park and Preston Hollow just outside of downtown for their large single-family homes, meaning high-rise apartments in Dallas go for about $1.5-$2k and are located next to work. Also, the mayor in Dallas is all for the rapid development of higher density housing, which greatly helps with housing supply (though single-family home property values in these desirable neighborhoods are increasing about 10-15% year over year due to the influx of new people and no more space for single-family homes in Dallas proper).
- gozur88 9y agoThere's no reason to live in Southern California unless you have family there.
- iopuy 9y agoHow about the weather? Or the geography?
- tomjakubowski 9y ago… or the excellent food, or the friendly and outgoing people, or the art and music scenes, or you work in the film/TV or aerospace industries, or …
- eganist 9y ago> or the friendly and outgoing people You must be thinking of a different place.
- exclusiv 9y agoI'm from the Midwest originally and I've found SoCal to be friendly and outgoing, moreso than most places. As an example, you'll have 50+ year olds on skateboards or surfing, playing volleyball, mingling with younger crowds at bars or restaurants, etc. In the Midwest - they don't do a whole lot, stick to their own neighborhood, and there's lots of ageism. In SoCal - people are generally nice but aren't in-your-business-neighborly-friendly like the Midwest or South but I prefer that. Also, it's rare to even hear a car honk because people are so much more laid back.
- eganist 9y agoSan Diego, perhaps? Because this description doesn't seem to fit my years of experience with LA. :/
- 9y ago
- EdSharkey 9y agoOregon is full!
- AcerbicZero 9y agoCommuting in the Portland area can be pretty horrific. Plus when it occasionally snows here traffic gets turned up to 11. I'd rather commute from Jersey to Manhattan than deal with Portlands winter traffic.
- NegativeLatency 9y agoPublic transit and biking are viable options in Portland though
- mayneack 9y agoBiking is viable in southern california. Most of LA is flat and it doesn't rain enough to even need to worry about a plan B.
- civilian 9y agoPortland or Seattle is a wise move. Places can still expensive, but an expensive place will get you somewhere actually central. And at worst the commute will be smaller even if you do live farther away. You should look into it! I'm a northwesterner through and through, but a lot of my favorite people are transplants. Don't listen to Ed, you're very welcome here.
- JBlue42 9y agoI'm in a rent-controlled place near Silverlake as well and have been here long enough that trying to find equal price for amenities I have at my current building (well-maintained, garage for car) is impossible without moving further away. As you said though, a lot of jobs on the Westside and it's way more expensive, even with a roommate or two, to live out there. The Expo line may help some but we definitely need wider-scale rail or dedicated bus lanes to connect all the central business nodes to the mainly residential areas.
- Rebelgecko 9y agoOut of curiosity, how big is your place? It seems pretty crazy that moving across LA would _add_ $1,500 a month... that's almost what my total rent is in the South Bay.
- TACIXAT 9y agoSanta Monica is nearly all million dollar homes now, not a lot of high density housing. Renting a house there is easily 5-6k / month. I grew up there and would love to move back, but it's just insane.