Thread: Move from NY to LA?

Tomorrow the wife and I jump on a plane to LA, planning to relax, eat some good food and take a look at several different neighborhoods in LA we might move to. She's recently gotten this grandiose vision of moving to LA and wants to take a look around hoping I'll consider making the move. As it stands, I'm just playing along since it'll take a whole lot of convincing for me to move out there.

Her "reasoning" for moving out there is that "it feels right." (I know, I know...) Neither of us are from LA, have ever lived there (we went to college in San Diego), have family out there, have jobs there, are in "the Biz," or really have any purpose for moving out there - this all makes me lean towards NY. The only reason we're considering it is because she is considering it.

So I pose this to you: Why should/shouldn't we move from NYC to LA? Since most career-focused motivations are non-existent, I'm really looking for lifestyle differences. Things that will make raising a family in LA better than NYC. Of course, you should consider we'll be living the surrounding 'burbs of each city, probably not Downtown LA or Manhattan. Probably Long Island in NY and Burbank or Calabasas in LA.

Here are the reasons why I wouldn't move to LA:
-Traffic
-Crime/Gangs
-Unfamiliarity with the area
-Earthquakes/Wildfires/Mudslides
-Bankrupt State
-Poor public school options, even in some suburbs
-Comparable cost of living - so why bother?
-No Friends there

Reasons I would move:
-Weather
-In-n-Out
-Beaches

Seems like a no-brainer to me, but then again, I have to debate this with someone who disregards logic so, please, HELP!

I'm from Long Island & Brooklyn originally and now living in NJ, ugh.. why don't ask the wife's family lives here, every true New Yorker hates NJ, the Devils, the smell, etc... luckily we live in a beautiful area, but still I secretly hate it, the wife knows. I'm planing a move back to Long Island.

I have never even been to CA, but our friends used to live in San Fran and now are considering moving back for the same reasons "it feels right," this time it's the hub and not the wife pushing, go figure.

My good buddy of 20+ years wanted to move to San Fran, but the cost was ridiculous even worse then NYC in some parts.

Here's a total New Yorker's view who's never been, visited or even seen CA, I say if your gonna move there, make sure you realize some things about seeing a place on vacation compared to living there.

Now for 6 years I lived in Florida, first in West Palm (east coast) then Tampa/St. Pete ( west coast) i went to community college there worked etc..., I can tell you when you vacation to Florida it all seems good but living there you get to see the true vibe and culture( actually lack there of any culture) The people in Florida were lazy, ( I called it cooked brains from the hot sun) and had no culture, no decent restaurants ( Compared to NYC or Long Island) and the jobs there payed dick.

So that was not the view I had vacationing, it all seemed wonderful with the nice weather beaches etc...

I have a theory about warm places, I think the sun calms people in numbness, and in those places in the US there is NO Culture at all, maybe in the Carolinas where my wife's from there is southern culture, but Florida no way.

I love the warm weather and this year in NY/NJ the snow was ridiculous and could make anyone want to move, but I would miss the people, the culture, the feeling of the NE, it's hard to explain, but I totally understand the dichotomy.

I want to move half the time, then I love it half the time.

NY is a love hate place, you love it one day, you hate it the next but it will never leave ya, that's how it is for me.

I say buy a condo or time share, spend half the year the and enjoy best of both worlds.

cheers
David

Well Los Angeles is great!! And the fact that you said the suburbs( burbank glendale ect) thats even better because you get the suburby feel , but the city is like 15 min away every which way you go, and the wheather is never bad. I live near Pasadena and i love it, the shops the vibe its just very lovely to be in, and if i want to go to LA then 20 min later im there and im in the hustle and bustle of Downtown. It seems though if i couldnt live here i would live in NYC so either way your golden. Oh yeah and disneyland.

Pretty much 6 of one half a dozen of the other to me. I wouldn't move to either. If your in one, why change?

take a look at the hermosa redondo beach aera. i lived there in my youth and had the time of my life . very laid back and easy . or if weather is your motive san diego. my sister lives there and they have 300 great days a year the other 65 are perfect.i would gladly trade earthquakes for snow and cold anyday

Just tell her YOU are the man and your decision is final!

(I'll visit you in the hospital as often as possible)

Okay, I'm probably not the best person to ask, because I've never been to New York (I know, I know ...) and spent 3 months driving through LA one day thirty-odd years ago. Maybe I didn't drive through the right neighborhoods, but to me Los Angeles was just a huge sprawl of faceless suburbs. If you want to spend most of your life in traffic, fine ...

Here's a thought, though. We're coming close to some fairly big ecological and economic changes, I think. I'm not trying to get all apocalyptic here, but petroleum (hence gasoline) is going to get scarcer and more expensive over the next few decades, and so (more importantly perhaps) is water.

Where do you want to live? More to the point, where do you want to raise your children? In an area that has been fattened for generations on car culture and water piped in from distant sources, or in a place near fresh-water sources that still has some remnants of a public-transportation system and of an urban-center community structure to rebuild on?

Just my take on it, from my perch in the urban midwest--obviously not everyone will agree.

~Rich

It all depends if your a rich guy or not and what you like. I'm from NYC and I lived in L.A for 5 years and San Diego for 6. yes S California has it all great weather, the beach, the mountains, the desert, great parks. It also has a state that is falling apart, terrible traffic and congestion and very expensive real estate as does N.Y. Otherwise they are both big cities with all the advantages and ills all big cities have. From my perspective and I've traveled all around this country California is a really different place, almost like a different country. If the lifestyle suits you then that's your place. On the other hand NYC has an atmosphere about it that no other city in this country has and only a few cities in the world has.

Personally my happiest day was when I left NYC and the second happiest was when I moved to New Mexico.

Originally Posted by BingoBango

Here are the reasons why I wouldn't move to LA:
-Traffic
-Crime/Gangs
-Unfamiliarity with the area
-Earthquakes/Wildfires/Mudslides
-Bankrupt State
-Poor public school options, even in some suburbs
-Comparable cost of living - so why bother?
-No Friends there

Reasons I would move:
-Weather
-In-n-Out
-Beaches

Seems like a no-brainer to me, but then again, I have to debate this with someone who disregards logic so, please, HELP!

As a fellow New Yorker, born and raised, I can understand the urge not to leave NYC. I too have a girlfriend who disregards logic, so I will try and argue with that in mind. If you choose to skip through this long post, thats fine, but read the bottom. I make a strong conclusion LOL.

First and fourmost, there are only two other places in the country which are more effected by the recession, and you guessed it, california is one of them.
In terms of living and raising a family, all the warm weather and sunny beaches in the world couldn't make up for earth quakes, forest fires and mud slides. Have the old lady sit down and watch Dante's Peak, Volcano, Quake, Training Day, anything which exaggerates the flaws of LA.
I will assume that your families live in or near NYC, so that being said, would you really want your children to have to get on a plane and travel hours away just to see their grandparents. Routine visits with grandma and grandpa are an essential part in a childs life. WONT SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Finally, the beaches in Long Island, and some parts of Brooklyn and Far Rockaway are quite clean and beautiful. Warm weather is over rated. If your cold, all you have to do is put on a sweater, but if your hot, A.C. central air, and central air repairmen may be invovled. Snow is fun, as well as picking apples in the autumn leaves.

Your partner seems to have a romanticized idea of what California is like, and from experiences of my own, the only way to combat that is by romanticizing the option you favor most. Furthermore, get her involved in the scenerio. It's not enough to talk about how great the city skyline is. You have to remind her of the time when you were still a new couple, and you had that wonderful moment of embrace on the West Side bike path overlooking the night sky. As a salesman theres one thing I learn. Women don't buy based on facts or statistics. They buy based on ideas and images. Paint a nice picture of NYC, and she'll buy it.

Good Luck Paul.

-Traffic: Heavy traffic congestion is generally only only the freeways. Driving in-town is usually problem-free. On the freeways, you can use the 3/7 rule. Leave at 3pm or 7pm, you'll get there at the same time, it's your choice.

-Crime/Gangs: Don't live on the east side of town.

-Unfamiliarity with the area: buy a GPS.

-Earthquakes/Wildfires/Mudslides: The occurence and severity of natural phenomena is GREATLY exaggerated by the media. In the six years I lived there, I only felt one earthquake and it was nothing to write home about.

-Bankrupt State: Can't argue with this one. LA and SF are highly liberal and Orange County and the Central Valley area highly conservative...unfortunately, there are more libs in the state than the latter. We have soooo many social programs that nobody is willing to cut in a time of need that it ends up in higher taxes and near bankruptcy on an annual basis.

-Poor public school options, even in some suburbs: UNTRUE! The reason for the 'low' test scores is not because of the teachers, it's because CA has adopted Texas's no child left behind method of scoring. As such, Texas does NOT count the test scores of those that consider Spanish as their primary language. CA, in it's desire for 'equality' has decided to KEEP the scores of children who speak zero english...I mean really, how can you score a reasonable amount when you MUST count the scores of those who don't speak the language, autistic kids, and the retarded children.

-Comparable cost of living - so why bother? Depends on where you live. I lived a mile from the beach and paid $1000/month for rent. The further away you live from the beach, the prices of rent goes WAY down. For example, you can live in Riverside County and pay $170k for a house and have a one hour commute to Orange County and make $30/hour. If you lived in OC, it would cost you $700k for a smaller house.

-No Friends there: These things remedy themselves pretty quickly.

-Weather: It's 70 in the winter and 80 in the summer...absolutely the best weather I experienced in my life. I still regret moving away when you can put the top down on your convertible on Christmas day and take a relaxing drive! The weather, by itself, should be enough reason to move.

-In-n-Out: meh, I must be the only person in CA that HATES this place. There are sooo many better places to eat that in-n-out. Lucille's in Long Beach is owned by BB King and has the best ribs on the planet. In fact, the wife and I have been known to drive the four hours JUST to eat there.

-Beaches: yep...awesome

-10 minutes or less: This is what I really like about the whole area...you're literally ten minutes from anything you want to get.

-Relaxed attitude: Unlike many other places in the US, southern CA is a very relaxed place. We don't normally wear suits, we don't use 'sir' or 'maam' like the south (not that it is a bad thing)...we're just more informal here...if you go to church, they serve coffee at the back and let you drink it during service. The pastor never wears a tie, or long pants for that matter.