Moving to Los Angeles!

[chilipep66]

hey LA freaks, I recently got a gig on a recording thats gonna take me to LA for a bit. Im also gonna be going to music school when Im down there, so I have at least 1 full year committed to living in LA right now! I got myself an apartment in Los Feliz. Anyone have any good recommendations when it comes to food, drink, places to hang out, cool not so well known things to do etc for a 25 year old dude?

 

[Dr. Odd]

I'm not very familiar with the area, but at some you have to visit Frank n sons collectible show in city of industry. It's like a swap meet or flea market for toys and collectibles twice a week.

 

[goatchumby]

If you're in the Los Feliz / Silver Lake area then you are going to have no trouble finding either good food or bars (I'm partial to the Red Lion Tavern as I dig drinking German beer out of big glass boots). If Mexican cuisine is your thing then you've pretty much hit the jackpot with SoCal. You're right next to Griffith Park which has plenty of space for outdoor activities. Just remember to give yourself extra time when driving pretty much anywhere as LA's traffic reputation is well-deserved.

 

[fistfulmetal]

Since you mentioned music, check out Amoeba Records on sunset blvd in Hollywood. That place is the mecca of record stores. Also check out Mann's Chinese Theater. As for food there's so many places there to check out. For starters try going to In N Out Burger or many of the mexican food places there.

 

[Pork Chop Express]

The beach, the beach, the beach. Malibu. Manhattan isn't bad either.

Rainbow Room on Sunset on a busy Friday/Saturday night is fun too.

 

[cmiller99]

This doesn't mean that you have to sell half your magnificent collection does it?

And congrats on the gig

 

[rome_325]

You picked a good spot to stay at since its pretty close to wherever you end up going to in LA. Pretty close to Hollywood/sunset, Glendale, and the Downtown LA area which has plenty of places to go to.

Oh and welcome to LA!

 

[chilipep66]

thanks guys!! lots of great suggestions

cmiller, i definitely aint giving up half my collection haha, Im renting my place out to a friend and he has to deal with a creepy doll room in the basement.. lol
Im gonna bring along a few choice selections though

 

[Mr. Green]

Mr. Green so jealous. Or is it jelly? Hehe

 

[gdb]

Welcome to LA! Some stray LA recommendations: the Nerdmelt Showroom at the back of Meltdown Comics; Shophouse Asian Kitchen (It's like Chipotle for Southeast Asian food) -- it's right across from Ameba Music and the Cinerama Dome/Pacific Theatres in Hollywood; as a rule, it's impossible to get a bad fish taco in LA; it's too expensive to shop, but the Rodeo (row-DAY-oh) Drive part of downtown Beverly Hills during the holiday season is decked out like nobody's business complete with a brass quartet playing on street corners; life's too short to buy sushi anywhere but from a sushi bar; expect to pay for parking everywhere you go even if you're just going to Target; all of our beaches are nice for different reasons but Santa Monica's is the best overall beach.

 

[CAhobbit]

I love much of L.A.! I live in the arts district of North Hollywood myself. Los Feliz is quite a nice area. As someone said, you'll be right by Griffith Park where there's lots of nice hiking. Plus the Observatory (highly recommend going there at some point), the L.A. Zoo, the old zoo that you can walk through (not a large area but cool to walk around), train town, and great picnic areas. During October the Haunted hayride is near the old zoo in Griffith Park and a part of the train town is converted to the Ghost Train attraction. Los Feliz also has a nice array of interesting shops and places to eat.

You'll be by one of my most favorite places to eat at as well...House of Pies. Diner food but I love it! Their grilled cheese is good and pie selection is pretty awesome. Birds is also near by (bar/eatery) that's pretty tasty. El Compadre is my favorite Mexican food (they have a location in Silverlake and Hollywood). Toi is my favorite Thai food (they are in Hollywood).

Decent music venues (the Fonda, Club Nokia, Paladium, Hollywood Bowl, Greek Theater, Ace Theater, and more) host some pretty good bands throughout the year.

There are various dance options as well if you're into dance clubs. My favorite is Club Underground in China Town...they do 80s and 90s nights on Friday nights. But if that music isn't to your liking there are many other options. Bootie (mash-up music), Bar Sinister (Goth/industrial music), the exchange (mixed bag depending on the DJs but can be trance, electronica, hip hop, house), and more!

Tons of museums (Natural History, Space and Science center, LACMA, The Getty, The Getty Villa, and so on).

Someone else mentioned the beaches...Santa Monica and Venice are nice to visit for sure. Lots to see and do in those communities. But I much prefer the beaches further north (Malibu on up through Ventura County) myself as I find them prettier and better to walk along but that's just my personal preference.

Public transportation is better than it used to be but won't be as quick as other large cities since L.A. is so spread apart.

Ok, I'll stop now. L.A. is an interesting city/county. It's bigger than what most people imagine it to be and is full of interesting people and sites!

-SideshowAlex

 

[CAhobbit]

Welcome to LA! Some stray LA recommendations: the Nerdmelt Showroom at the back of Meltdown Comics; Shophouse Asian Kitchen (It's like Chipotle for Southeast Asian food) -- it's right across from Ameba Music and the Cinerama Dome/Pacific Theatres in Hollywood; as a rule, it's impossible to get a bad fish taco in LA; it's too expensive to shop, but the Rodeo (row-DAY-oh) Drive part of downtown Beverly Hills during the holiday season is decked out like nobody's business complete with a brass quartet playing on street corners; life's too short to buy sushi anywhere but from a sushi bar; expect to pay for parking everywhere you go even if you're just going to Target; all of our beaches are nice for different reasons but Santa Monica's is the best overall beach.

A note about parking...it's pretty easy to find free parking in various parts of L.A. but you'll have to be ok with walking a greater distance then you may have originally anticipated. The only areas I've never had any luck in finding free parking were Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Downtown L.A. Heart of Hollywood, East Hollywood, all of the Valley have never been a problem for me.

 

[Pork Chop Express]

I live in the arts district of North Hollywood myself.

We're neighbors, I'll buy you a drink if I can ***** about SS, . J/k... not really... but I am.

Someone else mentioned the beaches...Santa Monica and Venice are nice to visit for sure. Lots to see and do in those communities. But I much prefer the beaches further north (Malibu on up through Ventura County) myself as I find them prettier and better to walk along but that's just my personal preference.

Leo Carrillo Beach is my personal favorite.

 

[CAhobbit]

We're neighbors, I'll buy you a drink if I can ***** about SS, . J/k... not really... but I am.

Leo Carrillo Beach is my personal favorite.

Ha! When I'm off the clock that means no work talk.

Leo Carrillo is a very nice beach! I really love that whole stretch up the PCH. Lots of good hiking up that way in the Santa Monica mountains, Point Mugu State park, etc.

 

[cmiller99]

thanks guys!! lots of great suggestions

cmiller, i definitely aint giving up half my collection haha, Im renting my place out to a friend and he has to deal with a creepy doll room in the basement.. lol
Im gonna bring along a few choice selections though

Thank God for that, your thread is some of my favourite eye candy on this forum.

 

[ifrack]

Welcome to Socal....... Ton's to do out here. From the mountains, deserts and to the beaches.

 

[Indeedely]

Not all the Targets/Walmarts charge $1 for parking. It is free like in Glendale.

I moved here like 1 year ago and quickly saw truth to all the LA stereotypes (albeit mostly bad things). It is neat randomly seeing them film stuff. But anyways play it smart to stay safe.

 

[gdb]

A note about parking...it's pretty easy to find free parking in various parts of L.A. but you'll have to be ok with walking a greater distance then you may have originally anticipated. The only areas I've never had any luck in finding free parking were Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Downtown L.A. Heart of Hollywood, East Hollywood, all of the Valley have never been a problem for me

I think we're saying the same thing.

EDIT: I do grant that living in the thick of things my have colored my view of city parking. But try living in the 90210 and see what parking options look like.

 

[rome_325]

Not all the Targets/Walmarts charge $1 for parking. It is free like in Glendale.

I moved here like 1 year ago and quickly saw truth to all the LA stereotypes (albeit mostly bad things). It is neat randomly seeing them film stuff. But anyways play it smart to stay safe.

Funny that you mention Walmart. There's a handful of targets near me but the nearest Walmart store is at Crenshaw. Next one over is at South gate.

 

[CAhobbit]

I think we're saying the same thing.

EDIT: I do grant that living in the thick of things my have colored my view of city parking. But try living in the 90210 and see what parking options look like.

I don't venture into the 90210 zip code often, nor would I live there. Just not a convenient area for me to reside in (and is too high of a price point compared to other areas) given my commute to work. When I have been in that part of L.A. the parking is horrendous. But as I said...it's really not all of L.A. that has parking situations where you have to pay no matter what. There are may places throughout that it's pretty easy to just park for free.

-SidehsowAlex