It has been over 10 years since either my wife or I had lived in an apartment complex with wall-to-wall units. Now that my family is stepping backward to one, it's a strange feeling. Wife doesn't much care for socialization so she will blend right into the scene; the dogs and I will stick out like a sore thumb. Still, we both have grown accustomed to the small town's welcoming attitude. A friend remarked, "It's a smaller version of living in NYC". Neither Wife nor I have been to NYC but we heard and read about the pace there. Not our living style. Some friends say that is city's life. I disagree. I think it depends on the city. Some of the cities we have lived and worked, we never care to live there ever again: Westwood (UCLA area), Marina Del Rey, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Arcadia, and Pasadena. From our experience, the worst one by far is Arcadia, CA. Those Arcadians always glare at your "Hello! How are you?" suspiciously. ARe you more into city's living or small town's? And why?

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West San Gabriel Valley, California ... for the time being



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2012 07:55PM by kap.

I think your problem is that you've lived in the LA area and haven't experienced much outside of that hell.

Is your new apartment away from Los Angeles? Perhaps somewhere that you don't have to check your soul and integrity at the county-line?

...

To expound upon your example:

You hold a door for someone in NY and they'll at least throw you a nod and maybe a thank you.

Hold a door for someone in the Los Angeles and they don't know what to do. Sometimes they just glare at you with a deep hatred for putting them in a position where they might owe you something, even just a grateful nod. It's anathema to them.

So, your friend's not far off. New York is way closer to middle-American friendliness than what you've experienced to-date. And if your new apartment is far enough away from Los Angeles then you might even have some sort of community there.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2012 08:08PM by Chakravartin.

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kap
It has been over 10 years since either my wife or I had lived in an apartment complex with wall-to-wall units. Now that my family is stepping backward to one, it's a strange feeling. Wife doesn't much care for socialization so she will blend right into the scene; the dogs and I will stick out like a sore thumb. Still, we both have grown accustomed to the small town's welcoming attitude. A friend remarked, "It's a smaller version of living in NYC". Neither Wife nor I have been to NYC but we heard and read about the pace there. Not our living style. Some friends say that is city's life. I disagree. I think it depends on the city. Some of the cities we have lived and worked, we never care to live there ever again: Westwood (UCLA area), Marina Del Rey, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Arcadia, and Pasadena. From our experience, the worst one by far is Arcadia, CA. Those Arcadians always glare at your "Hello! How are you?" suspiciously. ARe you more into city's living or small town's? And why?

Some of the picture is missing here (or if it was mentioned previously, I missed it.)
Where are you moving to?
I much prefer the density of city life-- country living means being automobile dependent unless you are willing to live smaller than I am at this point.

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Chakravartin
I think your problem is that you live in the LA area.

Is your new apartment outside of that place? Perhaps somewhere that you don't have to check your soul and integrity at the county-line?

...

To expound upon your example:

You hold a door for someone in NY and they'll at least throw you a nod and maybe a thank you.

Hold a door for someone in the Los Angeles and they don't know what to do. Sometimes they just glare at you with a deep hatred for putting them in a position where they might owe you something, even just a grateful nod. It's anathema to them.

So, your friend's not far off. New York is way closer to middle-American friendliness than what you've experienced to-date. And if your new apartment is far enough away from downtown Los Angeles then you might even have some sort of community there.

I'm not sure if we're taking the NY reference a little too literal, but FWIW I found the people there outgoing and helpful.

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How can living in any part of the LA area be like living in NYC?

>>Now that my family is stepping backward to one

I'm confused - why don't you just walk forward like a normal person?

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ka jowct
How can living in any part of the LA area be like living in NYC?

[www.universalstudioshollywood.com]

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Live from Berserkeley, California | Originally from the City of Brotherly Freakin' Love

I guess I don't automatically equate the type of dwelling with the geographical setting. Is that what you are saying? There are apartments and houses in urban, suburban and rural environments.

I live in a high rise building near downtown Chicago. 31 stories, 16 units per floor (the buildings around me are bigger.) I would never say it is like living in NY because the lifestyle in Chicago is distinctly different than the lifestyle in Chicago. Along those lines, if you picked up my building and moved it to a small town in central Illinois, the Chicago lifestyle wouldn't move along with the building- the lifestyle would be set by the town surrounding the building. No?

DM

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dmann
I would never say it is like living in NY because the lifestyle in Chicago is distinctly different than the lifestyle in Chicago.

Oh, D... LOL

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RIP, Greg the DogSitter. You are missed.

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N-OS X-tasy!

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dmann
I would never say it is like living in NY because the lifestyle in Chicago is distinctly different than the lifestyle in Chicago.

Oh, D... LOL

I had a teacher tell a story once of a patient at a psych facility she had worked at (in Chicago) that would continually try to book travel to "the real Chicago." More than a few times, a travel agent would figure out some way to oblige, e.g. a flight out of and back to Chicago.

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I loved New York. People were always friendly, if somewhat abrupt, but never unnecessarily unkind. We were in an old 5 story apartment in the East Village. Had a crazy old cat lady, of course, and an unmarried "working" mother as apartment mates and an old man across the street who never seemed to move from his window. In the few years I lived there I only ever had one spot of bother from a young pill-popping guy one sunny Sunday morning. Other than that, I was all over the city at all times of the day and found as a rule that everyone responded well to direct eye contact and a cheery hello.
I live in the inner suburbs of Portland now. Which took a little getting used to, coming from NYC and London before that, but I have. Clean, green and bike friendly living! Not quite Copenhagen, but pleasant nonetheless.
My parents live in the countryside in England- small rural villages are slightly odd places to be when you are not a local, I found, but again, an open approach and a generally sunny disposition goes a long way.

Each mode of living has it's benefits. If I had to choose, I'd transplant Portland OR, to a nice rural location about 20 miles outside London, unless anyone strongly objects!

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N-OS X-tasy!

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dmann
I would never say it is like living in NY because the lifestyle in Chicago is distinctly different than the lifestyle in Chicago.

Oh, D... LOL

Tee hee! I am so confused by the point of the original post that I can't get my own reply right! LOL!

DM

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Manlove
… an open approach and a generally sunny disposition goes a long way.

You are right! And if I run smack into a grumpy one I will keep moving on.

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West San Gabriel Valley, California ... for the time being

I live in a city, albeit not a big one like NYC or Chicago. But I live in a decent sized house, in a nice neighborhood.

I used to live in a pretty big city (Philadelphia), although at the time I did live in an apartment. But there are areas of the "city" where there are houses, not just apartments.

I prefer living in/near a decent sized city, but I would never wish to live in an apartment. My dad and my in-laws live out in "the country", which is the opposite extreme. Nice to visit, would never want to live there. And small towns just don't appeal to me.

Kap,

House living and apartment living are distinctly different than city living and suburban living. My wife and I live Ian apartment in the suburbs on Long island. It's different that living in an apartment in Manhattan or any of the five boroughs of the city. The pace is a bit slower (though likely faster than in the suburbs of a different city) , the attitude of the people is different and even just the general rhythm of life is different.

But, some things about living in NY are the same, regardless of being in the suburbs or the city. The people tend to be friendly. Sometimes gruff. Sometimes impatient. Sometimes they thank you for holding a door. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they say hi if you say hi. Just as often they'll ignore you. You get the idea.

House living vs apartment living is an entirely different discussion. Some buildings, like the one where my wife and I live, are small. Everyone knows each other on some level and as with any building, you must be that much more considerate of your neighbors. They living right next to and above or below you. There is no buffer except for a wall, ceiling or floor. That's quite different than living in a house that has a buffer between you and your neighbors, i.e. lawn, fence, driveway, etc.

Robert

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Robert M
The people tend to be friendly. Sometimes gruff. Sometimes impatient. Sometimes they thank you for holding a door. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they say hi if you say hi. Just as often they'll ignore you.

I think you just described everywhere on earth.

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__________________________________
Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity

Bazooka,

Yups, that I did!

Robert

Every time I scroll past this thread the Green Acres theme song pops into my head.

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Black
Every time I scroll past this thread the Green Acres theme song pops into my head.

That made me smile exactly when I needed to most - thanks for that.

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RIP, Greg the DogSitter. You are missed.