Big news from the Shaw household this week is that we just made the decision to move to California! I got an offer I couldn't refuse and I'll be driving out to LA (Chatsworth/Simi Valley area) to start work in the first week of September. The family will follow when the house sells (who knows how long that will take *gulp*) so it's going to be kinda painful for a while, but in the long run we think it's a great move. Coming from Atlanta I'm looking forward to being close to the beaches in the Hot Rod capital of the world I'll have plenty of spare time in evenings and weekends, so I'll look forward to meeting a bunch of you at the socal events this fall! P.S. Man, it looks like a helluva drive. 39 hours in a '64 Catalina with no a/c.
thanks guys! well, other than perhaps Austin isnt socal where *everything* happens? I always wanted to live in CA, beaches, hot rods, tikis, perfect year round weather - it's all there. I hate the GA humidity and we're far too far from any ocean.
Come on over, there is plenty of room for more hot rodders out here! Maybe we'll bump into each other......lots of things happening every week out here. There are alot of good cars/people in the Simi Valley area.
Yea humidity sucks. I remember going down an Illinois hwy @ 60 mph with the windows down and there was no breez, go figure
One thing I gotta do in LA (and I'll start a new thread when I'm settled in) is to find a red 56 F100 truck to beg/borrow/steal - I used to own Dick Spadaro's old shop truck and I took my wife out in it on our first date and parked by the beach. Gotta recreate that one of these days
I live 10-20 miles from there......I've lived all over the country, every place has it's good and bad......but so-cal is hands down the best place to be IMHO Jim S.
I'm with TIMEBOMB I would rather be in Georgia! Just for the record ROADRACER, L.A. and the Valley are two different worlds. Being originally from the O.C. neither are as good as O.C. Maybe look there and commute??
Thought about moving the So-Cal before I ended up in Charlotte. It would be nice having all those shows and people close by but in the end I put having a garage a paying my mortgage off in half the time ahead of everything else. I love traveling so I can always make my way out there. Good luck and take some pics of your travels.
Close to the Beach? About as close driving time wise on a bad Freeway day as you are from Atlanta to the Atlantic. Your first event is right when you get here!!! http://www.primernationals.com/primer/event.html and it's at the closest/easiest to get to "The Beach" from Simi Valley, (other than Malibu Beach which is up and over the mountains or to Ventura County first anyway.) Welcome to California, even if you are going to be in "Northern California" (Some of us see the Santa Monica Mountains as sort of a border, physically and socially between Northern and So Cal. For other's, if they are South of it, it's the Orange County Line. and still others, it's the San Francisco Bay...)
DrJ, ok, I knew i would get some crap about "the valley". that's where the job is, so gotta make the best of it hear you about the traffic, but if it takes me 4.5 hours to get there I'll shoot myself!! that's the absolute quickest I can get to the sea from ATL. the whole thing is going to be an adventure for sure. An english guy moving from GA to CA - i'm hoping at least that a few more will be able to understand me.
TRAFFIC!!!!!!!! I drive from East Whittier to Compton for work, 19 miles, on average 1.25 hours. But its OK with me thats my quiet time........sittin in traffic, no kids, no work, just me, KROQ and the other phsyco drivers.
Just moved to Iowa from O.C. 2 years ago and let me give you some advice. Number one the traffic is VERY bad at times but others not. Housing is VERY expensive and no basements to store any thing in, so most of it ends up in the garage. I could go on and on but to sum it up I'll put it this way. If you can find your comfort zone in which you can keep you and yours protected and not feel as if you're giving up too much you'll be alright! I found that this and the car shows-beaches-mountains-desserts......made it more than worth it!!!!!!!!
Very Nice !!! I have friends in Simi Valley and I think it is amazing up there. They keep trying to get me to move there but I don't see how the average guy like me (I don't make anything near the money it takes to live there) can afford it. There must be some secret to living in SO CAL because everyone cannot make 150K a year.
Just remember the very sage words of Brian Wilson; Well, East coast girls are hip, I really dig those styles they wear, And the Southern girls with the way they talk, they knock me out when I'm down there. The Midwest farmers' daughter really makes you feel alright, And the Northern girls, with the way they kiss, they keep their boyfriends warm at night. I wish they all could be California, The West coast has the sunshine and the girls all get so tan, I dig a french bikini on Hawaiian Island dolls,by a palm tree in the sand. I been all round this great big world and I seen all kinds of girls, yeah, but I couldn't wait to get back in the states, back to the cutest girls in the world. California Girls! On top of that does the traffic suck? Sometimes, but I commute 27 miles each way and it takes me 30-35 minutes - nothing wrong with that! Are there a lot of non English speaking people? Sure but they are everywhere now. No smog checks for pre 75 cars - YEAH!! High humidity here means about 30%. Rain? Yeah those 6 days a year are a pain. All you other cats can say what you want about LA LA Land and the home of fruits and nuts but for many of us there is no better place in the world. And to this native, So Cal ends at Ventura, maybe Santa Barbra
Not knocking "The Valley" !!! Any of them! Not at all! Just saying Simi Valley is different. Different from say the LA basin, or San Gabriel Valley from Pasadena to Pomona or even the original one coined "The Valley" which is the San Fernando Valley. (Ex wife was a "Valley Girl" graduated from North Hollywood High in the height of the '70's) Check out the hood you want to live in there carefully because it's a fairly new area community wise and there may be a NIMBY factor to contend with as far as hobby styles the neighbors will put up with. Welcome!
Any place you live is what you decide to make it. Good luck to you and your family. It will take some adjustment , but with a good attitude (as in everything) you will flourish. I grew up in the SF Valley.
Yeah, one of the good things about going out ahead of the family is to do a lot of exploring for where we want to live...I already see huge differences across LA, and some even recommending commuting from as far as Ventura too.. btw, looking forward to the Primer Nats..thanks for that
Hate to loose you from Georgia. Hope you're ready for the culture shock of greater LA. I hear they don't have BBQ or sweet tea out there. You should happy when your family arrives sometime in late 2010. It took my next door neighbor a year to sell his very nice 200K house here in Suwanee..
welcome and have a safe trip...I think you will love cali ,the closer you get to the beach,the cooler the weather
So true... I spent 39 years in CA, some up in the "far north" above Reno. Up there, everyone thinks that Chico is the SoCal border! Maybe they're right... Best of luck roadracer...but I'm glad I left when I did.
its fun to notice that many of those that bash California live in the shittiest places in the world...go figure
Always funny to see So Cal guys complain about so cal on a car board like the HAMB. I'm a CA native from the northern part of the state. These So Cal natives have no idea how GREAT they have it. Car events and stuff to do.... center of the fucking universe.
From a girls advice welcome! And i live in OC and LA i have a home away from home and they both are great! traffic is only bad during peek hours! California is the only place i would live!
The Jalopy Journal
