[mouse]

knock knock...where'd everyone go?
i just moved (back) to echo park. doing midnight ridazz bike ride tomorrow. there is a new dyke night at akbar on tuesdays for those interested. also, cinespia is doing cemetery screenings again at hollywood forever! they are super fun, you can bring a picnic and wine and lounge in the cemetery and watch old movies while sitting on their stars' graves.

[bklynhermit]

so, um, hi southern california busties...

this is kind of a weird and random post. i'm a filmmaker. i currently live in new york. while i haven't had too many problems finding work here so far, i'm becoming more and more aware that there might be more for me, careerwise, if i moved to the LA area. i have an on-and-off very realistic fear that sometime in the next few years the NYC film market is going to start drying up. which inevitably leads me to the fact that i need to be prepared to relocate if need be. i've been thinking about it more and more, and realizing that i have absolutely no frame of reference for what that would mean for me. which leads me to a few questions.

what's it like to live in the LA area? all my impressions come from TV. i know you have to drive everywhere, and that there are apparently a lot of malls. but i know there must be more to it (just like there's more to new york than what you'd see on Seinfeld). what are the sane, cheap, fun neighborhoods? is it possible at all to get by on public transit? what's the cost of living like compared to new york or other major US cities?

also, as a side note for anyone who might happen to work in film there, how's the job availability/security and money and all that? i know the ins and outs of that sort of thing here, and i have plenty of experience and connections on this side of the country -- i'm not a blushing young 'hopeful' trying to make it in hollywood. how hard will it be for me to find work? is every kid and their sister trying to get work as a set dresser/prop person/scenic (which is what i do), or is it more like new york where there seem to be jobs out there for those who have the skills and are willing to put in the work?

thanks for letting me hog your thread for a bit, and in advance for giving me some advice about relocating.