Hi. Like others who've posted recently, I'm looking to move to another
part of the country. Currently I live in Los Angeles but finding it a
very difficult and unpleasant city to live in for too many reasons to
even mention here.
Mainly, in spite of a college degree from a top college, I find it to
be VERY diff to find a job--just any job, even waiting tables is tough
to find-- while the cost of living is becoming increasingly high in
proportion to the salaries. Also, there's so much regulation over
everything, i.e., jaywalking laws, etc., and virtually no communities
where people of similar interests can meet. Sorry if this offends
anyone, but there's also virtually no intellectual vibe here. Also,
you HAVE to have a car here, or else... There's also a lot of
homelessness and extreme wealth but not much of a middle class, it
seems to me. My honest impression of Los Angeles is that the city is
trying to push out low income-middle class people like me and keep the
city just for the affluent and the big celebrities. Whenever I make
friends, they end up moving out of LA because they can't afford to live
here anymore thanks to their employers who want to pay those college
grads only 8 dollars per hour or not hire them at all because they're
overqualified or don't speak Spanish...!!! Also I'm finding that the
stereotype of the flaky, shallow LA native who cares more about your
looks/connections/ than about who you are as a person to be just
painfully true. Everyone who stops to talk to me just seems to be
after something--usually it's either money or . (or both). There's
just no true friendliness--maybe it's not the city but just the
entertainment industry within it. I don't know, but A-A-A-A-H-H-H!!!
I'm just ready to move out...
Sorry again about the vent, but, as you can see, I'm really ready to
move out of Los Angeles rather than to stay here and just complain.
However, I'm an actor, musician, writer, and artist, so I'm very
creative and need to live in a city where there is a community of
artists. Of course, I've heard that Berkeley, CA, San Francisco, CA,
Purchase, NY, SoHo and Greenwich Village, NY offer such communities,
but I'm not sure that I'll be able to afford to live in those places,
and money for me is, unfortunately, an issue.
Here's what I'm looking for in a city:
--large city--pop. of 1 million or more--or adjacent to a large city
--large number of college grads--intellectual population
--Most important: large arts community, i.e., actors, musicians,
writers, artists
--lots of jobs and very easy to find work even if it's only entry level
--affordable housing if not in the city, then just outside the city
within commutable distance
--cost of living matches the salaries better
--good public transportation is a plus, though not the most important
consideration.
--diversity of people, restaurants, neighborhoods, etc.
Does such a city exist here in the U.S.?
I really want to live in an environment which attracts a lot of
artists, filmmakers, actors, writers, musicians, etc. I'm new to this
web site but I've noticed that people seem to get offended easily.
Please don't be offended!!! I'm just stating my preferences in a place
to live. I have a very intellectual side to my personality, and I
rarely meet people who think about things on a very deep level out here
in Los Angeles, so I rarely find people I can really talk to.
Any constructive advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks to everyone who takes the time to respond in a constructive and
positive way!!!
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