Freelance Writer Jobs

Hey, so I live in Chicago — I came here after college because at the time I was a dirt-poor, struggling freelance writer so it was the only big city I could afford. I’m doing much better now, but I’ve become somewhat bored. The brutal winter weather is wearing on me, and I’m itching for a radical change of scenery.

My job allows me to live anywhere I want, so I’m thinking of finding a new city to settle in for a few years, and I’m thinking LA (alternative probably being New York). But I thought I’d pop in here and see if I can get a third-party sanity check on the idea! And some advice on where to live in the city if I do go this route.

Reasons for LA: And I’d like to develop friendships with fellow creative types, who aren’t quite so common in Chicago (more of an academia sort of community for people in their 20s here). Also, my parents retired in Phoenix, and it would be good to live much closer to them.

Finally, I’m a writer and producer in new media. I would like to make some connections with people in the video production end of that industry, beyond the editorial and technical connections I already have, with the aim to start a web network that features video content alongside the kind of stuff I already do. So I’d want to be near the sorts of people who produce that sort of stuff to possibly work with them or contract them.

I’ve only been to Los Angeles very briefly, about eight years ago, and it was a very touristy visit. Never saw the real city at all, so I’m not entirely sure what to expect. Spent time in San Francisco and San Diego though — disliked the former, the latter was nice but a little boring. I’ve done a lot of reading about LA, and people mostly just seem to complain about how horrible the traffic is for commuting, but I work from home so that doesn’t bother me so much.

I don’t need a lot of space, but I’m done living in slum/ghetto-type dumps with run-down buildings and loud neighbors. 1BR would be ideal but I would rather live in a studio in a nice, culturally exciting neighborhood than a 1BR in a mediocre one. I make just over 50k right now. I could spend as much as $1,500/month, but would prefer to keep it closer to $1,000.

What are my options, as far as neighborhoods go? I’ve read about a few of them but the city is so vast I can’t possibly understand everything about them all. So far Studio City sounds like the optimal balance — West Hollywood is too expensive, and a lot of other places I look into look too trashy, or are out in the boring suburban wilderness.

I’ve looked at apartment listings in Studio City and it seems to be on the pricey end but feasible — is that accurate? And does anyone have any other recommendations or advice?

Lastly, would I be a cultural match? I’m a fairly indoorsy sort of guy, but a very creative type with a business bent. My interests include cinema, literature, art (painting and sculpture), television, video games — media in general, both new and old. Also politics, philosophy, etc. Ideal Saturday would be haunting a museum, then going to see a good foreign flick, then go to something kind of interesting like a burlesque show or a downtempo electronica gig. There a lot of my sorta people in LA?

Thanks so much!