Beverly Hills

I have lived in Los Angeles off and on for a number of years. I tried to get away once and then ended back here and now take up residence in Beverly Hills. I love my neighborhood in Beverly Hills. It’s very safe and pretty. You can walk your dog around here and meet plenty of new and friendly places. If you want anything, chances are you’ll find it here in Los Angeles. Plenty of culture here, lots of places to eat good food and meet people. Plenty of great shopping nearby. I have about three malls all within a five-minute drive. On the downside, it’s gotten so unaffordable to live here. You pay $1500 and up and up and up for a decent one bedroom. In Beverly Hills, a decent two bedroom is around $2,700 and up. And landlords seem to feel they deserve this money and can do nothing to upkeep the building. You have to come up with a huge downpayment to move into one of these places and if you have a pet, expect to pay $500 or more for a deposit. Seems like everyone in this town drives a BMW or a Benz. And there’s a lot of pressure to look good and spend a fortune on clothing, haircuts, and botox. You get sucked into it, believe me. You can make friends easy here, but don’t count on too many of those friends for much. This city attracts a lot of young beautiful dreamy people. Just about every bartender you meet is an actor or screenwriter during the day.

In short, Los Angeles is actually a fun, vibrant, and busy place, but don’t move here unless you have lots and lots of money and two feet planted firmly in reality. If you want to come here to make it big in showbiz, expect to be devoured alive and dumped in the gutter. Also, if you don’t live in one of the nicer neighborhoods, some other places, such as Venice and Korea town are very rough. I personally am looking to relocate somewhere like Austin, Portland, or Seattle, where my money stretches a little further and I can have some hope for owning a home one day.