4/4/07
Ian said he would rather stick a fork in his eye than write his blog tonight. I am Heather, staying with my old friends Tessa and Ian, and I am here in LA on a mission to get the fuck out of Dallas, TX and relocate to a bigger city filled with blondes and plastic surgery, closer to the Pacific Ocean.
I hate apartment hunting. I have a long history of bad luck with housing. I once lived in a lower corner two-room apartment in Astoria---before it was hip to live in Astoria. My landlords were, not surprisingly, Greek and my earliest memories are of the Greek husband landlord spitting fig refuse into the gutter while he sold me on all the fabulous renovations he was going to do on this "charming junior" and how the strange, mysterious train on the track above the building only ran "once a month."
And the Super that stood on the corner and would shout out one-liners like Burgess Meredith circa Rocky: "That Marian, she's a whore!" Now, I don't think anyone harks back fondly on the place where their first psychic break took place, but when Bill (in the apartment upstairs) had his Rod Stewart's Greatest Hits on repeat in the piss-smelling sweltering balm of New York summer, I felt like noosing myself.
When the roof caved in from faulty plumbing that burst during one of Bill's all-too-frequent post-coital showers, I watched Baywatch and dreamed of being CJ to ease the pain. When he would bellow out his second-story window at his partner-in-coitus Marian - in a heavy Queens' accent - "Come out and PLAY-EEEE- AYY!" the deli meat carver (in the weed lot that doubled as the "garden") seemed like the long lost friend I never had.
I must admit that during this year, one of the longest years of my life, my judgment was sketchy and I couldn't shake the feeling I was being followed. But ten years later I know the truth. It wasn't that I was leading a life in my head closely resembling that of (in my personal opinion) the great pioneers of going mad -- Francis Farmer and Virgina Woolf. (Oy, those headaches). It is, in fact, that Queens Sucked For Me.
So is it really "Location! Location! Location!"? Or, will it all be okay because once you get your "sanity cherry" popped, things will never be the same again? Oh, and as for the train, well, I bet you can guess.
I'll save my defense of Astoria since defending a neighborhood in New York, especially now, is like defending something you did in a dream - it's all completely dependent on your point of view and it all changes every five minutes any way.
I will say that the train that runs once a month actually runs about six times a day over the hell gate bridge, and in the late afternoon, when the sun is low in the sky, the train casts a shadow on the top floor of my house as it passes, creating a passing shadow inside the wall of the living room upstairs. This "ghost train" gives both my mom and my baby pure delight.
Haha. You made me laugh, Heather. Good luck!
I've been meaning to comment about apartment-hunting in LA - you have great timing Heather! (and I liked your posting) I'm graduating from school in May and thinking about interning for the fall and working nights to pay rent.
I'm looking for a studio or 1-bedroom and was wondering if any readers have suggestions about neighborhoods or areas of town with good options for poor college-grads? Any recommendations from Ian, Heather, or anyone else are greatly appreciated!
Are you really looking for a place, Heather? 'Cause I'm looking for a roommate. I'm in Newport Beach...definitely a lot of blondes and fake boobs here, and I'm about 2 miles from the ocean. It's a townhouse, so there's no upstairs noise. :)
That was pleasant. I'll finish my lunch later.
Heather, like you, I am a Dallas transplant. I moved to LA in October 05 with a week's notice to work on a movie and never looked back.
As for suggestions for places to live for you and Emily, I am partial to the area known as Beverly Hills Adj. ("BeHa" if you have hipster tendencies or "BevHila" if inclined to endear in the "observant" fashion.) Its central to everything especially if you are pursuing the creative life, cheap, and safe. There are all sorts of places in my neighborhood up for rent right now. I scored a 3 bed/2 bath upper of a 1930's Spanish style duplex for 2700 a mile south of the Beverly Center. 2000 sq ft, hardwood floors, washer/dryer, dishwasher, granite counter tops, new stove, garage parking. Its a real home and walking distance to cute cafes, a market, hoity toity robertson, nail places, even a nice massage place ($50 for an hour!). In the event one of my roommates falls out, you are welcome to take a look. Save me the craiglist posting.
Also, check out the the area around Melrose, east of La Cienega and west of La Brea. Particularly the apartments on Romaine around the intersection of Sierra Bonita are safe, spacious, easy walking to cool stuff and cheap (if you negotiate well).
Also, if you don't know already, LA is full of transplanted Texans who are happy to help you get a gig to pay your bills and make your LA life happen. You will find many many friends of like mind here.
Feel free to reach out if you would like: carolynsykes ~at~ hotmail.com
I'm happy to help a fellow Texan settle into LA.
Hello Heather, I'm Lee and I currently live in Dallas. It's not a bad place once you get to know it. Of course it's no LA or Chapel Hill, but there are some areas that have charms.
Good luck in LA, Dallas will miss you.
Attn: Texas Lee, the last 7 years in Dallas have exhausted me. Its a right to work state, with severe limitations if your artistic tendencies lean toward the acting side.I will say, its dirt cheap and if liberals had a larger presence, and I could make a living doing what I love here, I MIGHT be inclined to stick it out. I however found a place in the urban bowels of Koreatown LA and can't wait to get out of here and sit in traffic. Neither can my dogs, Booty and Boscoe.