Adreanna LV wrote:
hmmm yes I forgot to tack on acting also.  Anything in the entertainment industry actually.  I do know my height is going to hold me back quite a bit in the modeling field.  I'm thinking I could do alot of stand-in work for children hehe.

Well as far as housing, what about outside of LA, in the many suburbs of the area that is.  How much is it around there, round about.

all of LA is a suburb.  It's the original neverending bedroom community that grows into a never ending metropolis of concrete.

even though I was born and raised there, it's mind numbing to me.

Unless your last name is Spielberg spelling etc then working in the entertainment industry can mean being the headliner at the "Five of Cats Lounge" on Figueroa or an assistant something for someone (be sure you can remember the hundreds of variations on coffee for the 15 people who expect you to pick it up for them).

Unless you want to spend your life in a car (you DO own a car don't you?), then try and find housing in a non-gang infested area near where you work.   Traffic is seriously impacted and for those who calculate the hours spent sitting in traffic as hours lost in their life, it can be depressing as well.

If you don't like chewing your air before swallowing, avoid the valleys and stay close to areas with ocean influence.

SayCheeZ! wrote:
* The smoggiest day in Las Vegas is still clearer than a "clear" day in LA.  Remember the few extremely smoggy days we've had in LV over the past few months (caused by forest fires in Utah and California)?  The air in LV during those days was exactly the same as LA on an average day! There were days in LA that were so smoggy that I couldn't see a 10 story building which was about 50 feet away!

That is actually becoming somewhat of an urban mythi now.  The days of actual smog in L.A. are a thing of the past on most days.  Houston, not Los Angeles has been the smoggiest city in the U.S. for a number of years now.

That having been said, what L.A. does have is "haze" a good part of the time and there are days when the visibility is quite restrictive.  It is caused by the moist air coming off the ocean and being trapped by the mountains.

I went through all that because the difference is polution.  There is no doubt, Las Vegas has far cleaner air than L.A.  I am not arguing that.  But it is also true that the polution level has dropped dramatically since the 70's.  We don't get many days where the air is reported as unhealthful and then it is just in areas of the city, typically surrounded by mountains.

So let's not confuse fog and smog, but there are plenty of places with cleaner air than L.A.

SayCheeZ! wrote:
* The smoggiest day in Las Vegas is still clearer than a "clear" day in LA.

The I-15...Coming in to Vegas the pollution looks no different than when headed in the other direction through the Cajon Pass and viewing Rancho Cucamonga (LA burb).  Each of the skylines are a dirty brown.  Funny, areas of Jersey are the least polluted in the country!

For all of the bad, LA is still a vibrant city that offers opportunity to virtually anyone...if the anyone's are specialists.  The city thrives on specialists, do your thing, do it better than anyone else and success will follow.  It is not a market where people dabble in this or that...those dabbling will be trampled by the specialists.

Traffic is bad...traffic is bad in every major city.  Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston are also gridlocked.

Housing is expensive, 3rd highest in the nation.  Wages and opportunity are also greater.  It's relative.

I would never recommend anyone moving to LA to model if not suggested to do so by an agency.  LA is an international city and people arrive daily from around the world...models that have succeeded in smaller (or international) markets have worked their way up to the major market ladder...that's your competition, even for the freelance projects.

Acting is a serious craft in LA.  The competition for roles will be against those coming out of high level drama schools, great theater groups (the Goodman in Chicago) and you can't even read for anything that pays enough for breakfast without an agent.  Without any previous credit no receptionist will allow you the time to see an agent (they are the toughest gatekeepers in the world). 

For all those arriving, there are just as many that leave on a daily basis with broken dreams.  What they discovered was, LA, with all the good life it showcases, it is the hardest working town in America...that helps explain why the freeways are jammed at 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. at night...

"You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard,
Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of.
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.

Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star
And everybody's in show biz, it doesn't matter who you are.

And those who are successful,
Be always on your guard,
Success walks hand in hand with failure
Along Hollywood Boulevard."

Celluloid Heroes - The Kinks

Alan from Aavian Prod wrote:
That is actually becoming somewhat of an urban mythi now.  The days of actual smog in L.A. are a thing of the past on most days.  Houston, not Los Angeles has been the smoggiest city in the U.S. for a number of years now.

I've heard and read the same thing.  From what I understand, when compared, Houstons traffic congestion makes LA seem like Las Vegas  (if it doesn't make any sense, reread it a few times).

Alan from Aavian Prod wrote:
There is no doubt, Las Vegas has far cleaner air than L.A.  I am not arguing that.  But it is also true that the polution level has dropped dramatically since the 70's.  We don't get many days where the air is reported as unhealthful and then it is just in areas of the city, typically surrounded by mountains.

I've noticed that the air does seem to have cleared up in the LA basin over the past few years,  but I don't ever remember coming down the Cajon pass (between Victorville and San Bernardino) and NOT see a thick layer of brown smog towards the bottom of the canyon.  My incident with the tall building did happen in the 1980's (and it happened quite often) so the pollution problem probably has died down since then.

area291 wrote:
The I-15...Coming in to Vegas the pollution looks no different than when headed in the other direction through the Cajon Pass and viewing Rancho Cucamonga (LA burb).  Each of the skylines are a dirty brown.  Funny, areas of Jersey are the least polluted in the country!

Yes, there are days when LV has a brown haze above it which is part of the reason that I want to move from the LV area as well,  however,  as I said before, the worst smog days in LV are still better than the average day in LA. 

The brown layer in LV usually occurs for a few weeks in the winter, where an inversion layer causes the dirty air to remain close to the ground.  Even then, the  brown air seems to linger only above the center of town, and the outskirts (Henderson, South Hills, Summerlin) usually aren't affected.  In LA, practically everything from SF Valley to Long Beach, to San Bernardino is blanketed in the bad air.

Long time Las Vegans will remember "The Henderson Cloud", which was a cloud of polluted air that would settle over a stretch of Boulder Highway.  It was a unique phenomenon that is now practically forgotten, and unheard of by people that have lived here for less than 20 years.

Alan from Aavian Prod wrote:
That is actually becoming somewhat of an urban mythi now.  The days of actual smog in L.A. are a thing of the past on most days.  Houston, not Los Angeles has been the smoggiest city in the U.S. for a number of years now.

That having been said, what L.A. does have is "haze" a good part of the time and there are days when the visibility is quite restrictive.  It is caused by the moist air coming off the ocean and being trapped by the mountains.

Dude! Shut up! Don't debunk the myth! The lies about smog are a huge factor that is keeping a lot of schmucks from moving here! If everyone knew how great this city actually was, traffic will get WORSE! Let them think the smog is AWFUL.

area291 wrote:
With your height and look you will be far better off exploring the world of acting. 

Your first lines will be very easy to remember.  "Can I tell you about our Specials this evening?"

Dude.....

SayCheeZ! wrote:
*The average home in LA is nearly double the price of a house in LV.

*The WORST AREAS in Las Vegas are still safer than most of the upper middle class areas in Southern California.

Far more than double the price. Average in my area is $750,000 for a three bedroom. LV is still pretty reasonable.

Actually, 5 of the top 10 safest cities in the nation (measuring violent crime rates)are in Southern California. LV isn't in the top ten.

Eric Foltz

Eric Foltz wrote:
Far more than double the price. Average in my area is $750,000 for a three bedroom. LV is still pretty reasonable.

Actually, 5 of the top 10 safest cities in the nation (measuring violent crime rates)are in Southern California. LV isn't in the top ten.

Eric Foltz

I'm with Eric here. Go somewhere else so there's one less buggy on the road to perdition.
My ex offered to sell me her house (formerly our - years back) a little over a year ago for about $330k. Enter the real estate bubble and the two bedroom shack across the street with no parking is up for half a million. Did I mention that it is in "the hood" one block from a police station and next door to an unofficial halfway house/rogue's gallery?

You didn't mention you were moving to buy a house or survey traffic so I guess you're on track. Good luck on your transition. Don't take drinks from strangers, don't join a gang, don't beat baby harp seals. And if you see a man looking at you while pointing a camera at a woman painted some odd color, you moved to the the bad lands.

Eric Foltz wrote:
Far more than double the price. Average in my area is $750,000 for a three bedroom. LV is still pretty reasonable.

Actually, 5 of the top 10 safest cities in the nation (measuring violent crime rates)are in Southern California. LV isn't in the top ten.Eric Foltz

1150 square foot 2br home in my neighborhood (Green Valley/ Henderson) goes for about $300k. 3 bedroom homes cost between $50k-$90k more (depending on size) in the same area.  Older homes in downtown can be had for a bit less, but homes in gated communities can cost more.

Property taxes, on the other hand are alot less than in LA.  My sister purchased a small home in San Marino (near Pasadena) in the 1980's.  Her property taxes are based on the $180k price she paid for the fixer-upper.  It's now worth nearly a million bucks, but her property tax rate remains about the same as when she bought it.  If she was to sell that house and buy another one just like it, whe would have to pay the property tax based on the sale price, which in fact, would require her to get a full time job JUST to pay that property tax.  That good old Proposition 13 strikes again!


As far as crime rates, there are a few things that can skew statistics.  First, in some areas  (including LA), many crimes go unreported due to fear of retaliation from gang members, and in many cases fear of the police themselves.  If the crime isn't reported, it won't easily be used as a statistic.

Similarly, LV has an extrmely high tourism rate. If statistics included the amount of people that are actually staying in the area instead of only the people that are registered as residents,  the statistical data may show that there is actually less crime per capita.

so there!  neener-neener-neener!

...Stacy wrote:
I despise LA, the thought of going back makes me want to shoot myself in the head.

See? Another satisfied customer.

SayCheeZ! wrote:
1150 square foot 2br home in my neighborhood (Green Valley/ Henderson) goes for about $300k. 3 bedroom homes cost between $50k-$90k more (depending on size) in the same area.  Older homes in downtown can be had for a bit less, but homes in gated communities can cost more.

But at least they build them right here in SoCal.  The growth explosion in Vegas has brought on thousands...not hundreds, but thousands of new homes recently built that are falling apart due to shoddy workmanship.

Try finding a lawyer to take a case against the construction firm.  None will take the case...

SayCheeZ! wrote:
so there!  neener-neener-neener!

Back atcha!

Anjel Britt wrote:
well my individual reaction is that u all don't know when u r well off for traffic or pollution its way better in L.A. than London - apart from the weather, service , choices, glamour and fun close to London at times...and  and the cheaper prices.

so i won't complain about LA just say san diego is nicer in many ways.

BUT we are NOT all here for the modelling .... but when u want it theres always work. Even when you are nearly 50 Life is what u make it, so there U go.
Good luck huni

Hey Anjel !!!

...Stacy wrote:
I despise LA, the thought of going back makes me want to shoot myself in the head.

Are you talkin' 'bout LA as in Louisiana...  or L.A. as in Los Angeles?
Curious minds wanna know,

Adreanna LV wrote:
Hello,

I am considering moving to the LA area.  Any tips, pointers, suggestions or warnings other could give me would be appreciated.  I don't know much about anything there.  I am researching the cost of living and such.  I'd also like to know if, modeling wise, it would be worth it to move there based on my looks.

Thanks for any help,
Adreanna

liscensed agencies do NOT advertise on craigslist or OMP.
dont believe everyone who says they are a talent scout...especially those that say they scout for mens magazines

Adreanna LV wrote:
hmmm yes I forgot to tack on acting also.  Anything in the entertainment industry actually.  I do know my height is going to hold me back quite a bit in the modeling field.  I'm thinking I could do alot of stand-in work for children hehe.

Well as far as housing, what about outside of LA, in the many suburbs of the area that is.  How much is it around there, round about.

if you have roomates its not that expensive. if you split up a 1000 dollar studio with a friend its only 500 a month.
the suburbs here are expensive. Santa Monica and Thousand Oaks or whatever are super expensive because theyre so nice and safe