I live in Los Angeles - AMA

[LALALife]

Name changed for this so doesn’t matter if it’s especially outing

Lived in Los Angeles for the last 7years, moved from London with DH and 2DC in tow intending to come for a 3-4 year adventure and we’re still here.....

I think LA is different to every other city really, London is my favourite place in the world but I think is way more similar to NYC than LA is to either of them and that’s because LA is spread out with multiple centres.

I'm glad you love NYC too. I've never been to London but DH worked there for about a year before we met and loved it there. He's promised to take me someday. I just hope we don't run into any of his old girlfriends while visiting.

I feel similarly about LA. To me it's more a cluster of connected neighborhoods spread out over a vast area than a city with a clear center like NYC.

You've seen almost as much of the US as I have, so well done on your travels. The one city I'd add to your plans if at all possible is Boston. It's a lovely mid sized city with a very European feel and a lot of history to explore. Just don't go in winter. I have family in that area and DS is in uni there now so we're up there a lot.

It's great fun for me to chat with the Brits on MN currently living in the US, so thanks for starting this thread!

Sorry to be morbid but do you worry about earthquakes?

actiongirl1978

Homeless people in the US always head to California, the climate lends itself to sleeping outside.

In my state homeless people literally freeze to death during the winter.

Do you notice a lot of plastic surgery? And also, as it's a town where all the beautiful people congregate has it had any impact on your own body image, do you ever think of having a cosmetic primping yourself, or am I overestimating the number of beautiful people that live in LA?

@MissConductUS I would love to go to Boston, DH has been for PAX East and really liked it. There is so much to see in this country although I do miss having quick and easy access to different cultures and languages in Europe

@SassyBadger not where I live - a bit of Botox but no more or less than people I know in NYC or London. I don’t feel the compunction to have work done but am probably more up for getting exercise outdoors because we have all these mountains and the beach and the weather is generally good. I also have become vegan since moving here

I have pretty shitty body image but have always done so!

Do you or your DH work in the movies? Whenever I’ve been to LA, everyone wants to does work in the movies! And the waiting staff are always beautiful!

Do your children feel more American or British ?

I am a theatre director trying to transition to tv and film, DH works for a games company. But yes a huge number if people are in “the business”

They would say they’re british. I drum that into them, friends and family come to stay, we spend a chunk of the summer in the U.K. they currently 7&10 so not sure how they really feel inside - time will tell I suppose. I have a few friends who were moved here as children and sound American but call themselves british and say they feel more british than American

Got your bug out bags for the big one? Did you feel the 2.5 this afternoon?

Are the freeways really as bad as everyone says they are?

Hi. Does the politics in the US i.e. Trump etc scare you (not that I think politics is any better in the UK currently)

Can you actually walk around your neighbourhood or do you end up driving everywhere. I have noticed a lot of America is just not not set up for people on foot or bike which would do my head in!

Do your kids have American accents? Do you? My great aunt moved to Canada in the 60s but has retained her Scottish brogue though all her kids, born there, naturally have accents. It's odd to hear her use terms that are, to me, American/Canadian but in a Scottish accent!

Yes, the freeways suck. But if you have flexibility and can choose when to travel and know how to do it it’s not too bad. We live on the Westside so we tend to go against traffic at usual rush hour times. Traffic has got worse since we moved here but drunk driving has gone down massively

@Frazzled2207 it’s a question that comes up a lot - every time I see his horrific face I want to pack my bags and leave, and especially all the awful abortion laws in the south. We do live in a leftie liberal bubble that feels totally outside of Trump’s America and around us everyone hopes that next year he will be gone. Politics at home (U.K.) doesn’t exactly inspire joy though either and both countries make me want to move to a socialist Scandinavian country!

You’re right a lot of America is not set up well without a car and we do need to drive a lot, but in LA you drive from area to area because public transport is shit and the city is so massive it takes forever to go anywhere by public transport anyway, but you can totally walk within areas - I walk my kids to school, DH bikes to work in 15mins, I can walk to the grocery shops, farmers market, several coffee places and restaurants and bars and other even more walkable areas are only a short bike ride away.

@Ginger1982 I do not, I think I sound more English! The Americans think my children sound british, the Brits think they sound American, they have quite hybrid accents (DD is younger but has a more british twang) and certain words that Americans just don’t use of course come out British. I hate the Americanisation of their accents personally!

LA has a reputation for being superficial. Do you find that people are all about networking and seeing how you can benefit them and their career, or are people in fact the same the world over and there as many fun and down to earth people in Los Angeles as you'd find anywhere?

I really haven’t had the experience of people being superficial. I myself am trying to segue my career into the entertainment industry and have only found encouragement and support, people try to hook you up with other people and provide opportunities where they can. I think like everywhere there are people who blow their own trumpets and blow hot smoke up each other’s arses but I’ve genuinely found people in LA (who themselves come from all over the country and the world) are open, friendly, fun, have the same worries and concerns as anyone else, and will bend over backwards to help. It does have a reputation for flakiness which I do think is a little warranted - people don’t like to commit but I wonder if part of that is because it’s a city of freelancers who aren’t sure when the next job will begin or end? Also the distance across the city means a lot of people just don’t like getting out of their area and sitting in traffic

The thing with it being such a vast city with such diverse areas though is that the people are all pretty different too - but no, on the whole I think the superficiality part is a misnomer

Is there ever a buzz if someone famous is nearby? Or is it just so normal?

What are your favourite restaurants?

When I go over I love Paradise Cove in Malibu, and the Brazilian buffet in Burbank

Have you been to the Rose and Crown in Santa Monica? My English friend who has lived out there for about 15 years now says it is the closest to an English pub in LA.

There’s probably the same buzz as anywhere. One of my friends is in the “very famous” crowd but he loves meeting people and chatting to them so kind of creates his own buzz - otherwise I think it’s kind of like most places, a whisper might go around but generally I’ve seen famous people in restaurants or playgrounds and the public tends to be respectful.

@CrispyButtyNo1 love Paradise Cove! Though the beach got washed out last year. I eat mainly plant based so I hit up those spots generally and there are so many good places! You must try Plant Food and Wine in Venice (I live on the Westside so mainly go out there) and Sage Bistro, also Flore Vegan In silver lake. There’s also other great fish places - blue plate oysterette in Santa Monica and Tangaroa in Culver City, and you can’t miss Malibu Seafood. I also really Topanga Table for a post hike brunch and get my British food fix at the Stalking Horse on Pico where I can get a decent Chana Masala and an excellent vegan shepherds pie. If you want some great Italian food and old school Hollywood glamour Il Piccolino in Beverly Hills is excellent and when we’re downtown we always hit up Grand Central Market. The Japanese, Mexican and Korean food is outstanding across the city.

I think the Rose and Crown is in Santa Clarita - pretty far away from me!

Did you watch the show Southland about cops in LA? I thought it was really good and felt that they had a paramilitary job really in the more difficult parts of the city. But it was only a drama!

Do you find that people are all about networking and seeing how you can benefit them and their career

I did notice a bit of this when I was out there. Some people were thrilled to meet me until they knew I did not work in the entertainment industry in any capacity that could help them, then I became invisible.

How do you feel that you are treated as a Brit in the US? Are you welcomed or held with suspicion?

You said up thread that you are white, so do you notice your privileges in comparison to either black or Latin Americans or even in comparison to say Romanian or Poles who have emigrated?

How often do people coo over your accent?

It might not be the rose and crown then. I will check. My friend actually lives in Santa clarita so I could be getting my pubs confused. 😁

www.yeoldekingshead.com/.

That's the place!