Los Angeles is the city of dreams, the city where everyone has a dream, and the city where everyone wants their dream to well…become a reality.
Everyone wants to live here, and everyone just wants to be here.
When I was a senior in high school, my only goal that I had set up for myself, and I literally mean “ONLY GOAL“, was to move straight to Los Angeles, go to school for fashion, and well, see where the road would really take me from there.
Had I known a little bit more about the city along the way, as an 18 year old, I would of honestly gotten around the city much better than I actually did.
So, since a lot of you have been asking me what it is actually like living in Los Angeles, i’ve decided to compile a list of a few tips and tricks that will help you get around the city better than you would , if you’re new and unfamiliar with the area.
1. There’s Usually Going To Be Traffic Wherever You Go
If you don’t like traffic too much, and you’re impatient, this city might just not be for you. I am not an overall fan of traffic, but I can handle it to a certain extent. If you have a car, and you have places to be, remember to always leave an hour or TWO early. When I lived in the city, for about 6 or 7 months, the word ‘on time’ didn’t exist to me. I was always late, and always in trouble.
2. Don’t Act How You Preceive L.A On Television
You’ve more than likely seen Hollywood on your television more then once, and you’re more then likely to have also seen it in movies. It’s actually kind of funny because every time my friends from Ohio come to visit me in L.A, they actually do what i’m going to talk about. Just because you see L.A in movies, and on T.V, that doesn’t mean that the city is actually like that. Hollywood is NOT glamorous, it’s actually really dirty, and pretty disgusting, and in parts of L.A, it’s like that too. Don’t walk down Hollywood Blvd, in your high heels please. People do it all the time, and it just makes you look ridiculous. Be yourself, and just be the person that you’ve always been, no matter where you are, don’t change yourself because you’re in “Hollywood”.
3. Don’t Shop At Little Privately Owned Shops… Parts Of Melrose Ave.
I learned this just in about the first month that I moved here. The majority of little shops & privately owned shops that you see around L.A, are shops that bought a ton of merchandise from downtown L.A for very cheap, and they are selling it to consumers for triple the price. Your best bet would honestly be to go to the outdoor and indoor malls around L.A.
4. Don’t Make Friends Just To Have Friends. Really Find Special People.
When I first moved to L.A, I felt like I had a ton of friends, and I felt like I was on top of the world. Within the next year, I realized that friends in L.A come and go. Basically everyone in the city is focused on their careers and their own goals, which there’s nothing wrong with that, but then you just start kind of getting a bit lonely. When you do find that one person in L.A that will stick by your side through thick and thin, that’s the true friend to keep. People also tend to lie, and be very fake.
5. Your Late Night Best Friend, The Best Late Night Food You’ve Ever Had.
In N Out Burger, Jack In The Box, and Kitchen 24 will be your best friend past midnight. Jack In The Box, and In N Out Burger, are usually your best friend late night, when you’ve had a bit too much to drink, or when you’re just leaving the club with a few best friends. Kitchen 24 however is gold at any hour past midnight.
6. You Want To Have A Car As You Will Have So Many Sights To See
I lived in San Francisco for a year. When I did, I realized that your own transportation wasn’t necessary, as they had public transportation EVERYWHERE, and i’m not even joking. In Los Angeles, that is a TOTALLY different story. Everything may sound close to you, but it’s not, unless you live in Hollywood, and you want to be in Hollywood 24/7, which I guarantee you, you won’t want to. There are so many sights to see, and so many places to be in the city, like San Diego, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, and so many more other places. You want to have a car, explore, and get around.
7. Some People Take Things Way Too Seriously And Hate When You’re Happy
When I first applied for a job in Los Angeles, it was actually at a talent agency. I was told in the interview that I was “WAY” too bubbly and outgoing, and that I wouldn’t get the job because of that. Lets just face it, the women looked seriously miserable with her awful plastic surgery, and she was just quite jealous of my upbeat attitude.
People in this city will bring you down sometimes, and put you down because they just want to be better than you and better than everyone else. It’s a tough competition out in this city, and even pretty exhausting, but you really and truly just have to keep on pushing yourself and moving forward, and remember that someone is only making you upset because they are miserable with their own life.
H A V E T O U G H S K I N
