Cherrysoda

Hotscot-can you try and go back then?As for.....the cultural thing.....mmm not sure how much that affects your daily life as much as other things.I find plenty of culture in LA- there are loads of artists/museums here and the National parks-wow, unlike anywhere scenic in the Uk where you jostle elbow to elbow to see things.....I guess we just appreciate what LA and the US has to offer and we do not look for what is missing, but what is there we would not have in the UK and it is plenty.

jeepster

When moving to the states...America is a worker bee culture, for lots of reasons and

everything is negotiable especially when it comes to medical bills.

Moses2013

The problem I see, is that you want to believe how amazing it is and just compare LA to London. Quality of life is not just about constant sunshine (skin cancer) for most people. Hotscot mentioned UK/Europe to be culturally far richer and you can't deny that. I wouldn't want to live in London, but there are other places in the UK/Europe and for some people having an annual pass to Disney wouldn't be quality of life. I think we should start focusing on how we can reduce carbon emissions and other environmental issues, so the next generation will have a future. I don't have kids, but I'm sure breathing fresh air would be quality of life for a child and it is hard to find that in LA. LA can work for some and there are parts that offer a lot, but again depends how you want to live. I wouldn't talk the whole of the UK down though, just because you didn't like London.

Sally Redux

I don't know why being happy in one place requires one to 'knock' another one.

I still don't know which area we're talking about with multiple parks, deer and bears. Presumably far out of LA proper and so not comparing like for like with London anyway.

Moses2013

Yes, I would also like to know which area it is and what type of living 80K gets you.

Cherrysoda

Look the op wants some feedback on LA-I am someone who has moved from the UK..London and think it is great here.

I think a lot of people can be very negative on LA...but this is my side of it. We moved.We have kids and we love it. Actually we drove one car for 4 years using bikes to commute to work via Griffith Park....but now we moved a little further out for the better air for our son....but we see downtown LA from the window...and can be there at the weekend in 2o mins.....We live Near the foothills-La Crescenta/La Canada area- 25 mins drive to the studios in Burbank...but we were Eagle Rock before that...very pleasant and very much LA....but I agree teh air quality is not as good as many places in California and beyond.
The trouble is that often opportunities present themselves and they are location specific- so if you end up in LA....well we report many positives.....and actually for two under 5s an annual disney pass is pretty much life enhancing....the museums and galleries we take them to...not so much.
This whole knocking the US for its lack of culture I find a little narrow minded_ I have travelled all over Europe( my parents were big on us getting all that culture) and frankly the truth is that this culture you speak of....how often do people really access it....we lived in London and you go to the museums once in a while and then the novelty wears off....you do not access these things all the time.
However we do access the sunshine( and for me that is about light rather than heat and just a lack of grey dreary light) every day. We do access the mountains at the weekends to hike and enjoy nature and disney...yes right now we access that for a few hours rather than long days when we want that.

I am not knocking another place- the op did not ask us to big up the UK- they want to know about LA with family. I have kids.I am in a family. I can compare the UK. For us giving up this enigmatic culture people speak of so readily available in Europe has been a small price to pay for a less populated, greener, sunnier, friendlier environment with a higher salary and a situation where i can choose to stay home with my kids rather than rush back to some job....generating profit or results for someone else. Yes...we love LA and much prefer it to London.

Sally Redux

Actually OP asked about schools and meeting other mums.

It's great that you like where you are - it looks to be technically LA but not typical - but objectively you would have to say that a Disney pass is not culture in the same way as London and Europe have culture. Of course there are good museums in LA as well.

My point is, you don't need to add that element. You like it - fine. There are polite teens in London and there are teens who are very much not polite in LA. False equivalence. There is also poverty and violence in LA on a scale beyond anything in the UK. And that is a fact. We can just insulate ourselves from it.

If OP is looking at Thousand Oaks, it's a perfectly nice suburb. It has a large number of people who wanted to repeal Proposition 8, that might be seen as either positive or negative. I actually lived close by there, and it's fine for families. The teens still drink and take drugs though.

Rickyk

You have to realize that mentioning you prefer the US and especially LA to England will bring the wrath of many regulars on this forum. My experience of UK immigrants to the US is that a large majority much prefer the life to the life they had in the UK. This forum is different but it keeps me amused sometimes.

Moses2013

I wouldn't say that and the US also has a lot to offer. Just think that people shouldn't compare a whole country to one place (LA), because they weren't happy. When you go abroad, you obviously want to see the positive and most people on this forum that speak positive about the US have a husband that works. The reality is different and most people forget that they are just guests in America and could be sent home tomorrow. When it happens, the UK is the best place again.

Hotscot

Wrath? Not really...just the opinion of those who have lived extensively on both sides of the Atlantic and have different wants/needs/priorities in their lives.

The reality can be far different for those who base their desire to live in the US on holiday/Florida/TV/Grass is greener etc..

There's even been posters who are desperate to come here, desperate to become citizens and haven't even visited once.

N1cky

My office is in Westlake Village, so I know TO quite well, and most of my co-workers live there or there abouts.

It's very suburban, the same box houses, relatively safe and clean (a little Stepfordish, lots of power walking Mom's with their sunvisor, jogger pushchair and skinny lattes . But it is rather boring. It all depends what you do and what you want to do. Fire risk is fairly low unless you go a little bit further out, like Moorpark area, several of my colleagues have been on fire watch more than once, and had to pack their treasured belongings up and evacuate...

Most people I know who live in the area don't do much. They spend their weekends running errands, going to the mall, and eating at chain restaurants, lots of them socialize through their church (they don't seem overly religious, but going to church every week is very normal). The beach is easy enough to get to. A couple of times a year, they might venture into LA proper, maybe the Farmers Market/Grove, or a trip to Santa Monica or Disneyland.

Schools seem ok, nothing special, and they have their funding problems like everywhere else. Technology seems very lacking compared to where we currently live.

You're looking at a drive of an hour, in normal traffic, to get to Hollywood, an hour and a half to get to Downtown, the Getty, Santa Monica, a couple of hours to get to Disneyland. In traffic you can as much as double these times.

TO is slightly cooler than the Valley, although you can still expect June to October to be a minimum of 100 every day, all day, many times 115. This makes it really hard to do simple things as a family, for instance going for a walk or a bike ride on a Sunday afternoon isn't very appealing.

I don't know how to answer the better standard of living, everyone's view is different. Personally, I missed walking my dog and not melting, being able to ride our bikes around the lake and not getting light headed, being able to jump in the car and go to a museum/national trust property without having to sit in the car for hours. On the flip side, our daughter was 5 when we moved and we could visit Disney whenever we wanted for free, and some of our happiest memories are from there.

I felt we became very boring and one-dimensional living there. Weekends were mainly spent lounging around the pool, despite our best intentions of going here or there on a weekend, by the time I'd got out of the shower and dressed, I was already too hot and bothered to be arsed to go anywhere. I was constantly grumpy because of the heat, and I actually quite like the sun. My daughter was frazzled every single day from spending all day in the heat.

Since moving to the Bay Area, the only things I miss about LA are The Getty, Disney, our local Indian Restaurant, and Sally (but she doesn't even live there any more).

Moses2013

Isn't Westlake Village pretty pricey for real estate?

N1cky

There isn't much property there, unless you live on the lake, and very few rentals. Nearly all my co-workers lived in TO, Moorpark or Camarillo, all these are substantially cheaper than living in The Valley. I lived in Woodland Hills, but was one of a handful who commuted in that direction.

Sally Redux

The guys in the Indian restaurant seemed unable to comprehend that you'd left

Cherrysoda

I think it is useful for someone to know coming with kids...what the teens are like and actually I do find a difference so I am reporting on that- I find the teens more polite here. There is extreme poverty in London- I worked with some kids at one point from such situations but I also agree that the US is a worse place to be unemployed due to the health system and that should be considered seriously. But housing is much cheaper here as is gas and eating out.

I am not sure about this culture thing- it gets trotted out a lot even by people who have never stepped foot in the US.....when we want culture we visit LACMA or the Getty or the art nights in East LA.....or we go to the Autrey and learn about native Indian culture ......you could say...Europe is really lacking in epic national parks...but that would be silly as different continents offer different things.

You find a place you are happy living in and try and stay or return.We have created a happy life in LA much better than we had in London and we enjoyed the culture there too.....it is just such a kind of unthinking criticism of the US- oh there is no culture there.....so no I do not agree Sally. Different culture here-many incredible experiences here that I have not experienced in Europe-The Grand Canyon, Zion, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Monument Valley, Big Sur...maybe i value natural beauty more than the old paintings you stand in line to see with 1000 s of other culture vultures.