OT - To All You SoCal Guys (and Girls), Do you like it there? Options

[bernbomb914]

There is no place that I know of except here that I can stand on one spot and see 20 miles of coast line and as I turn see 11,ooo ft mtns and all the snow that they hold. every thing is here if you want to drive several hours to get there. I love Temecula

Bernie

PS I was born here many years ago and have seen it change a great deal.

[seanery]

I spent 4 years there, and am trying to get back out there. LA is a different place than most in the US (and the world most likely). For me, it makes sense, because there is more work for me there than any place else. I'm a video editor and graphic designer. I lived at the beach, and loved it. I think it might be tough to live too far inland. The Inland Empire would never work for me, even the valley could be tough. It get's damn hot in the valley in the summer - but it's a dry heat (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif) Traffic is a bitch! If I left home at 6:30am I could be at work by 7:00am, if I left at 6:45 or 7:00 then it would be 7:45 to 8:15 before I got to work. The smog can get on you, and so can the June Gloom if you live at the beach. But, the most beautiful days you'll ever find are the days right after it rains. Those will usually be incredibly sunny and clear like you've never seen it before in SoCal. The weather is awesome, I used to love sitting on the deck of the boat in January in shorts cooking out on the grill. There are a TON of people, always, everywhere you go. Don't plan on being alone unless you're in your house. Banks have security entrances & tellers are behind 2" of plexiglass. In-N-Out (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/burger.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/thumb3d.gif) Willow Springs, Button Willow, Fontana are all close. Driving events happen all year long. Gas is higher, cars are cheaper, land is crazy $$.

Well, those are some of my rambling thoughts.

[lagunero]

QUOTE (Howard @ Mar 3 2006, 07:59 PM)

but the girls only look like Baywatch on Baywatch.

True, but back to 2006, the girls in Laguna Beach are the girls from Laguna Beach

[Joe Bob]

You want plastic boobs, you can find those anywhere. GOOD looking wimmen.....now that's what here....

[Allan]

I was born, raised and lived along the coastal areas of L.A. up until 1985 and loved it. Since then I have lived on the central coast (Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo), Turkey and now in Bakersfield. I still love going down to L.A. and seeing old friends and stomping around in the old neighborhood but I doubt I will ever move back there unless I win the lottery. Basically, unless you are very well off, or alraedy have property, anything from Santa Babara county south is pretty much out of reach. This is also tru for the S.F. area. Bakersfield is not my preferred place to be but I can still be in L.A. or at the beach in under 2 hours and in the mountains in 30 minutes but it gets hot in the summer and we have some pretty crappy air.

[KaptKaos]

I live in LA, and have for 10 years. Its fun and there is lots to do here. Real estate is insane! Schools suck and I have my kids in private school.

Weather is awesome and you see lots of neat cars on a regular basis.

I want to get out of here, but mostly because I don't want my kids growing up here. But if you are single or without kids, its a blast.

[SLITS]

QUOTE (Elliot Cannon @ Mar 4 2006, 01:47 AM)

Stay away from Corona. Or Riverside. Or San Bernardino. Or...just stay away. This is a crappy place to live. Tell all your friends. Come visit, spend some money, then go home.

Oh yea...it's terrible.....When you come to visit to see for yourself, take at least 100 people with you when you leave.

Oh, and pass that on to your friends that want to see for themselves too!

[TonyAKAVW]

Born and raised in California. Grew up in San Diego, went to college there and then moved to Santa Barbara for some more college, and now here to Redondo Beach (in LA). My wife is from Buenos Aires, Argentina and while it took her a couple years to get used to the place, she loves it here now.

We rent an apartment because even on an engineer's salary, we can't even hope to afford a house in the area we live. We'd have to move 60 miles or so, or live in a really bad area to eb able to buy anything. The housing bubble is showing signs of coming down, so things may improve. We really aren't that unhappy to rent however. I wish I had a bigger garage, my wife wishes the kitchen was bigger, but the lifestyle afforded by living here is worth it. We have a number of really ncie beaches near us, which are well set up for cycling, rollerblading, jogging, volleyball (there are a couple huge tournaments each year), etc. There are plenty of places to go for nightlife, lots of good resturaunts, etc. Not to mention Pelican Parts is close enough that I can go pick up parts at lunch (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)

Speaking of which, LA is the landof the automobile, so if you like working on cars, theres basically infinite resources here. Just a few miles from me I can find streets that are lined with automotive related businesses, from muffler shops, to dyno shops, upholstery supplies, metal supplies, plastics, and on and on and on.

The downside really is the congestion on the freeways. My wife is taking classes at UCLA and what is theoretically a 25-30 minute drive has in the past taken her 2 hours on occasion. On the other hand we picked a place to live initially based on where I work, so I have about a 10 minute commute.

There is such a variety of places to live in California. Santa Barbara stands out as one of my favorite just because of the sheer beauty of the place. Growing up I went camping a lot, and in Southern California at least, you can camp at the beach, the mountains, the desert, and not have to drive more than 2 hours to any of these.

If you come out to visit, if you can attend one of the famous Joe's 914 BBQ's I think you'll never want to leave.

-Tony