A New Yorker’s Guide to Los Angeles

Are you planning a move from New York to Los Angeles? While NYC is one of the greatest cities in the world, it is nothing like LA. If you work in the entertainment industry, you may even land a better position and have more opportunities in LA than in NYC. However, this shift will not be easy for you. LA is nothing like NYC. And you’re going to need a lot of time to get used to it. In order to better prepare for this change, Best Movers NYC is with a New Yorker’s guide to Los Angeles. In this guide, you’ll find the best neighborhoods, hang-out spots, restaurants, etc. Keep on reading to find out more.

A New Yorker’s Guide to Los Angeles – Top 5 Neighborhoods in LA

It is a peculiar time of year searching for a new home, but since city rents have dropped to their lowest level for a decade, now is a great time to move. If you’re moving from NYC to LA this is some good news.  As exciting as it is to find a new location to call home in Los Angeles, it can also be taxing since there are so many communities to choose from. Over 20 of the city’s most popular neighborhoods are broken down into their constituent parts, so you can choose the one that’s right for you and your family.

1. Atwater Village

This peaceful area along the LA River and 5 Freeway contains several independent stores. It’s one of the few LA areas where local businesses prevail and huge chains don’t exist… yet.

Atwater Village is a very cool spot to live in. It’s less party-like than Silver Lake and Los Feliz, but you can still get down. It’s one of the few districts in LA where every home looks different from the next. You can find homes of all different colors and styles (some even with castle-like turrets). Most 1920s homes have traditional architecture. Atwater Village is one of LA’s most diverse neighborhoods. You’ll meet a lot of cool people here from all over the world. There are many different restaurants serving traditional dishes from many different cultures. You’re going to enjoy walking through this neighborhood. Every time you go out you can notice something new and exciting to look at. Make sure you hire some quality long distance movers and move before the market crashes.

2. Beverly Grove/Fairfax

Beverly Grove is known for its location and finest landmark: A Grove. This mall has joined Santa Monica Beach and The Getty in the pantheon of LA tourism. You’ll discover high-end shopping, restaurants, a movie theater, and Barnes & Noble (they still exist!). Your favorite part of the Grove will be the Farmers Market, a food and novelty market (shoutout to the store that sells only hot sauce).

Beyond the mall, Beverly Grove joins Fairfax. Also, a food and drink haven, Uncle Paulie’s sandwiches, Badmaash’s neo-Indian dishes, and Canter’s bakery goods make the area a dining attraction. Even if many restaurants and pubs are closed for COVID, the neighborhood will soon recover. Believe it or not, quarantine life hasn’t damaged the area’s position as a hype beast hub. This area is in high demand as well. So if you’re looking to move, you better look quickly. You should book movers in advance as well.

3. Chinatown

Chinatown is one of the most well-known neighborhoods, featured in many movies. This neighborhood was popular from the very beginning. Mainly because you can find anything and everything there. Whatever you need to buy, you can head to Chinatown, and you’re bound to find it. The freshly refurbished LA Historic Park spans across Chinatown. Strolling through the park is one of the greatest park experiences in the city. Along with the Chinatown Gateway Monument, lanterns and Chinese designs are everywhere. Along the edge is Philippe The Original, LA’s oldest sandwich shop. You have to stop by and grab a sandwich.

Chinatown is one of the hottest neighborhoods in recent years. Chinatown was a popular area for immigrants to operate enterprises in the 1930s. DTLA’s Union Station presently occupies the historic Chinatown district, although its bounds have pushed into “New Chinatown.” Chinatown is well known for its’ many restaurants. For instance, Golden Dragon and Ocean Seafood Restaurant were already dim sum legends when Howlin’ Ray’s opened. The food and drink scene is more serious than ever, with hard-to-get reservations at David Chang’s Majordomo, magnificent cuts of meat from burger master Alvin Cailan at Amboy Quality Meats, and some of the greatest beer from Highland Park Brewery’s second taproom.

4. Culver City

There’s a distinct sense of progress in Culver City right now. Big IT businesses, apartments, hotels, restaurants, shopping, and more are coming up within a half-mile of The Platform. Everything is accessible from practically any place in the city. This is why many are hunting for apartments there nowadays. If you found one, you better call long distance movers NYC right away.

Culver City was home to MGM in the 1920s, making it one of Los Angeles’ greatest studio districts. Much of it still remains but is part of Sony and Columbia Pictures. A big outdoor mall named Platform is the core of Culver City’s growth in popularity, with a SoulCycle studio, an art gallery, and Loqui, a best-tortilla-in-the-city candidate. Culver City is large, so it wasn’t always cool and stylish, but that’s changed. Many Sony and Columbia personnel live here to escape a grueling commute; the Expo Line helps.

If you’re looking for food and drinks, Vespertine is the place to go. Wonderful cuisine, not as pricey as it should be, and mind-boggling presentation. You need to give it a go. Some people have described their experience there as “dining on Jupiter” because the experience is otherworldly.

5. Glendale

Once an Armenian hub, Glendale is gradually gentrifying. The abundance of amazing Middle Eastern cuisine is nearly overwhelming.
Armen Martirosyan, Mini Kabob, just to name a few.  Do you enjoy Grove? Surprise! As does Glendale. Americana Center is the Grove’s less intense relative. A short years ago, Urban Outfitters was Americana’s highlight. Today’s openings include Bacari, Din Tai Fung, Katsuya, and The Tsujita.

Glendale’s eating scene in recent years expanded beyond Armenian and Middle Eastern companies. Glendale is a classic illustration of LA’s gentrification; when old companies shut, new ones open. Nishi-ya, a top-notch omakase restaurant, and Brick & Flour, which offers handcrafted flour tortillas, both launched in 2005. Top-notch Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine is still accessible in Glendale despite the collapse of established enterprises. Still everywhere! Try Raffi’s, Carousel, Skaf’s, and many more. The tiniest restaurant in Los Angeles provides elite-level grilled meats at Mini Kabob. You won’t find finer Armenian cuisine in the city or even in California. Maybe not even the nation.

The Best Hang-Out Spots in LA

Now, if you’re moving from NY to California, you must learn how to get around as soon as possible. That being said, we’re here to share with you some of the favorite hang-out spots of the locals. If you want to have the most fun, here’s where you can go.

1. Tropicana Pool

Roosevelt (on Hollywood Blvd) is decorated in Spanish Colonial style, a nod to the hotel’s storied past. While Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were having their famed romance in the hotel penthouse, the inaugural Academy Awards were given at a special luncheon in the hotel’s Blossom Ballroom. This hotel was home to Marilyn Monroe during the first two years of her modeling career when she stayed in a classic 1950s cabana for her first professional magazine shoot by Roosevelt’s pool. It’s a must-visit in our opinion.

Hotel guests can even relax in the Tropicana Pool’s lush vegetation and cabana rooms surrounded by the famed David Hockney-painted pool. Day or night, this enticing sanctuary is home to a hip population who gather to converse quietly by the fire while sipping on refreshments from the café. As a result of Los Angeles’ year-round pleasant weather and constant sunlight, hotel swimming pools are always popular attractions. And this is how many youngsters choose to spend their days. Many parties happen here as well. You may meet your favorite movie star somewhere near a rooftop pool.

2. Kyoto Gardens

DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown has verdant Kyoto Gardens on its rooftop, located in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles). Intricately recreated from an old Japanese garden in Tokyo, the garden spans a half-acre of groomed vegetation, tumbling waterfalls, and peaceful ponds. A haven for the city’s inhabitants. Tokyo’s Japanese Garden was originally built for 16th-century samurai lord Kiyomasa Kato. If you want to feel like a king, this is the place for you.

You may recognize Kyoto Gardens from its appearances in numerous commercials, movies, and television shows, including The Runaways and Rampart. Kyoto Gardens’ Thousand Cranes room and terraces offer stunning views of the garden and skyline, as well as the opportunity to host a variety of events, from corporate meetings to weddings. If you’re planning to expand your business to LA, commercial movers NYC will gladly help you with that.

4. Suiho En

Suiho En, which translates as “Garden of Water and Fragrance” in Japanese, is a 6.5-acre traditional Japanese garden modeled by “stroll gardens” built for Japanese feudal lords in the 18th and 19th centuries. Reclaimed water was used to build this San Fernando Valley treasure by Dr. Koichi Kawana to bring beauty, inspiration, and a deeper knowledge of Japan. In addition to the botanical gardens at LACMA, Dr. Kawana constructed more than a dozen other notable Japanese gardens in the United States.

5. The Grand Park

LA is undoubtedly one of the best places to move from NYC. Because we know how much you New Yorkers love your parks. And we have them too here in LA. Los Angeles’s Grand Park spans from the Music Center to City Hall and is an urban sanctuary. Grand Park has been a popular meeting place for community activities, cultural experiences, festivals, and holiday celebrations since it opened in 2012. The Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain, an intimate performance lawn, a communal terrace, and a magnificent event lawn are all part of the 12-acre park. A picnic may be brought in, or visitors can eat and drink on site. Food trucks and other food providers will be invited to participate in certain events. From 5:30 a.m. until 10 p.m., the park is available to the public.

Because of its year-round sunshine, Los Angeles is one of the greatest places in the nation to have a picnic. This is one of the top picnic spots in L.A. If you’d like to spend your Sunday mornings with a bunch of cool people in Grand Park, feel free to call residential movers NYC to pack you up and move you as soon as possible. We are sure you’re going to love spending time here.

Final Note

We hope that now you know that people who reside in Los Angeles come from a lot of different backgrounds, and just like in New York, they are proud to call it their home. Moving to a different city may be difficult, but we hope this New Yorker’s guide to Los Angeles was helpful. Angelenos consider the city to be both livable and exciting. It’s easy to become lost in the city’s plethora of museums, events, and flavors. It’s never boring to live in Los Angeles. And we are happy that you are able to explore different kinds of lifestyles. Feel free to tell us which one you like more. Happy relocation!