Moving to LA – Here’s one thing I would do Differently

There’s a lot of talk of relocation lately due to the constraints caused by COVID-19. People wanting to move to the suburbs, people wanting to change cities altogether, and people wanting to change homes. This got me thinking about when I first moved to Los Angeles over 14 years ago and what’s the biggest advice I would give to someone today. So…moving to LA – Here’s one thing I would do differently.

*This post is inspired and sponsored by Oz Moving & Storage, but the experience is purely my own.

My First Move to Los Angeles

I made the move to Los Angeles in January 2006 shortly after college; leaving behind my New York City apartment the size of a closet, for an expansive unit in Brentwood on the westside of Los Angeles. Brentwood, much like New York City, is a wonderful place to be old and rich or young and poor — because at least in 2006 it was very possible for two girls to split the rent on an 1800 square foot apartment.

As a young actor/temp/tanning salon associate I able to bounce around the 60’s style apartments of Brentwood for several years before making the move even further west to the much newer units of Playa Vista. At the time Playa Vista was nothing more than LMU and large office buildings — but the large plots of undeveloped land were a perfect breeding ground for brand new apartment complexes that are now taking over Hollywood.

Around this time of my life, I got a more adult job at the television show EXTRA and found myself doing a daily commute to Glendale and spending more time in my car than I did in my fancy apartment. That’s when I crossed to the dark side that is the valley and moved to North Hollywood instead. And what happens when you move to the valley?? You fall in!! Almost a decade later and I’m convinced nothing good happens on the other side of the 405. 

Today, after what feels like lifetimes later, I’m a permanent Glendale resident. This is the perfect place to raise beautiful littles with a lot more space. And while I have no regrets about any of the neighborhoods I’ve lived in over the past 14 years, here’s the one thing I would do differently…

Follow the Food!!

Somehow in all my city migration, I managed to move out of the neighborhoods before they got the good restaurants!! Now Brentwood has Pizzana and Baltaire; Playa Vista is more than just a stop near the airport; and North Hollywood is an overflowing melting pot of cultural cuisine. 

If I were moving to LA now I would definitely FOLLOW THE FOOD and find your favorite restaurant before putting down that deposit. You’ll cut way down on your driving time and be a much more full and happier Angeleno! As a Glendale resident, I find myself making lots of 20-minute commutes to Downtown Los Angeles, Silverlake, and Highland Park; but 20-minutes in Los Angeles is like 5-minutes anywhere else in the country, so I’m doing pretty well :).

 I can’t wait to see where you’ll go! 

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