8 Reasons why I'm Moving to L. A. (...soon)
- Theresa C.
- Aug 22, 2017
- 7 min read
If you got the chance to read my Travel Bucket List blog, you would have been not so subtlety made aware that The City of Angels is where I wanna put down my roots. It has everything I want, nothing that I don't, and when I pay that beautiful city a visit I may not return...I'm not kidding.
For people I know who have either lived or spent extended periods of time in Future Theresa Land, I've definitely heard my mix of very mixed personal reviews. Everything from "I love this place" to "ugh I hated it there, not for me at all" / "it's so expensive!" and "is actually not that pricey considering so-and-so factors" / "it never rains, ugh" and "it never rains, yay!". Yes, yes everyone from my mother to the guy who works at the bank has told me about the crime, and the wild fires and the earthquake risks. But if it was all so bad, would an average of 9,000 people be moving there per year?
No matter where you plan to make a life for yourself, for me it all comes down to three main things; The career I plan to have, the lifestyle I want to relate to (or how well I will be able to fit in to the general society) and the weather/natural geography. When you think of moving, and put focus on those three things, you quickly realize that those factors can determine how every other consideration will pan out once you move (overall happiness, making a living, doing the hobbies you love, surrounding yourself with the right people, etc.)
I'm not alone on this though, thankfully my boyfriend is more than up for the adventure. Here are the Top 8 Reasons why lovely LA always comes into our minds when we think about moving and why this would be a the perfect change of scenery...
1. THE WEATHER
Let me be unusually frank, here :
I. F*cking. Hate. Winter.
This is reason enough, if nothing else, for me to want to move to any good neighborhood in the OC/LA area.
Consider this. The average year round temperature for LA is between 22-24C. In their hottest months (May to October) the temperatures can climb from a hot 24C up into the 30s. If you're Canadian, think about that... That's 6 months of guaranteed summer weather. In the "colder" months (December to April) the average temperatures range between 20C to 23C.
Now to a native Californian or for anyone in not-Canada, that might seem normal. But to a more northern dweller like myself, that's literally an entire year of summer, considering that yesterday was a "humid" 21C...and it's f*cking AUGUST!
the nights in LA get chilly though. But with daytime weather like that, that means I can wear nice clothes all year and always be prepared with something more stylish than a puffy, overpriced, heavy, in-the-way-of-everything and too big for everyone's car down jacket.
2. "LOCATION, LOCATION....LOCATION"
If being based on the west coast wasn't enough to send me to Victoria's Secret for more cute panties,
...then knowing that I'll be close to the majority of some of the most popular cities, attractions and natural wonders the United States has to offer might just kill me in the best way.
Las Vegas, Washington State, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Mexico, all the deserts, the Rocky Mountains, Vancouver; the list can go on and on and that's okay because I know that I'd never be asking "what am I going to do this weekend?". It might be a quiet Sunday where I do nothing. Or I may decide to take a drive down to a beach in Mexico and stay the night in Laguna on the way back home because ummm.... I can? And why the hell not?
3. LA IS MORE THAN JUST LA
There are 12 major areas that make up all of LA. When someone says they're going to LA, its sort of safe to assume they mean downtown... Or they could mean one of the 11 other neighborhoods that make up the county.
This wide variety of areas means that there's a place for everyone, in any demographic, cost of living and lifestyle preferences. The closer to the beach or downtown you get; the more expensive. The more south you get, the cheaper it is, but with a higher risk of living close to a poorer area. It's important, with anywhere you go, to find a balance of pricing, safety and recreation, especially in a city like this.
4. THE WEST COAST ATTITUDE TO HEALTH, IMAGE & WELL-BEING
An abundance of Vegan restaurants, beach side head shops, produce markets, organic juice bars, gourmet health foods. World famous gyms, a thriving market for personal trainers (my other forte), a people who embrace being outdoors, eating well, staying youthful and recently, despite the traffic, some of the most strict environmental conservation practices and laws in the country.
The first thing I think when I imagine my first stroll down Venice Beach is how good everyone is going to look. Although viewed by many as superficial, I haven't heard about any shortage of people living in LA that don't care about being in shape and wanting to look their best. I've even heard California-living YouTubers recommend getting into shape before moving here because of how good everyone looks all the time.
Depending on your personality, it can make you insecure...
or force you to get your head in the game about your health and maintaining your best self as you age. As someone obsessed with fitness, health and being the version of yourself, I'm really excited for my first workout on Muscle Beach.
5. BEING BY THE OCEAN
This one couldn't be more extravagantly obvious...
If I love anything more in nature than being by the ocean, it's being by the sea. In other words, I love nothing else.
I've spent a large majority of my life either on an island or being close to the ocean. It's a big part of who I am and not something I'm willing to give up for the rest of my life. The fact that California is almost all surrounded by water, save the eastern border, it's the ultimate cherry on top.
Being in the landlocked situation I find myself in now, although I made the conscious decision to move here, is getting old. Lakes just don't really cut it for me. As nice as these Toronto beaches may be, toting decent sand and sort of clear...sort of warm if you step.... A little more to the -- op-- little more to the right --ah-- right there (this could be child pee), my island soul needs the real deal.
6. FIND MY TRIBE
You ever live somewhere and just feel like, although you fit in generally, there's just something deeper missing? You may make many friends and socialize, but a part of you somehow still feels left out, unable to relate and fully embrace the people in your circle as life long bonds. Although having friends isn't everything, it's becoming an important aspect in my life regarding who I surround myself with and the type of energies I allow into my life.
Its actually no wonder to me nowadays as to why I seem to have so very few friends.
Fully a personal opinion, but I really feel, deep down in my gypsy soul, that the people I'll eventually meet and build relationships with in Cali, will just "get it"...get it?
It's important to be in the energy of people who understand your vision. It's important to share your life with people who are where you want to be as well as those who are sharing the same struggles that you are. It's important that the city you live in, in general, encourages the type of career and ambitions you have. In a nutshell, the people here in Toronto (for the most part) don't "get it".
This city [Toronto] is highly driven by finance, tech, law and the medical sector. The outcome is not enough interest, encouragement or opportunity for creatives, like myself to fully thrive. And if we are given a chance, it's most likely across the boarder or out of the continent altogether.
7. MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORK AND NETWORKING
I knew I'd get more realistic with this at some point.
Is easy to see how my 6th point in this list connects here in a big way. The right tribe, leads to the right networking, with a friend of a friend of an acquaintance, and you've just landed your dream job!
I can't tell you how many times I've been scrolling through my Instagram feed and almost every Photographer I admire and want to work with, every other model I look up to, every PR company I like, brand I love, agency I want to try for, or any lucrative casting call I see; They're in LA, or calling for those LA based girls and I'm sick of being left out of what I'm struggling to gain here in Toronto.
8. GOOD COMPETITION
Competition can be bad... Or it can be good depending on how you see it. If you're a person who doesn't want to face up against someone potentially better at what you do than you, or you falter at the thought of potential failure, or you'd rather stay the same doing the same thing at the same level, then yeah maybe it isn't for you.
But, if you see fierce competition as a door, a push or a chance to be better at what you do then let's move to LA together! Competition used to scare me. Now it excites me. But I won't know how far I need to persevere, or what I really need to do, within reason, to succeed as a model without being in the atmosphere of thousands who are chasing it down every damn day.
I actually chuckle a little whenever I tell people what I want to do and where I want to be doing it and one of the first things they tell me is "oh, well good luck, but keep in mind that it's very competitive and difficult"... Ummm yeah, okay? I'm not sure if the reason behind it is to scare me out of it or give me an obvious reminder.
If it wasn't competitive then there would be no point in trying to be one of the best and learning how to stay the best. In a city of such high competition, it definitely means something and more than just luck when one reaches that stage at the top; in the respectable hard working sort of way, not the make-a-sex-tape or sleep with the director type of way.
It's what will set you apart.
Kisses and Sea Breeze,
Theresa
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