I wouldn't go to that much trouble, unfortunately. There's lots of random meet-ups in L.A., and those don't require me to rent a car or take Amtrak. Besides, I'm thinking more of an evening thing with a VB-only people, including dinner and whatnot. Anyone up for this?

Hi! It is great to see so many other veggies from SoCal. I am one myself! I'm from Rancho Cucamonga! :hi: Unfortunately I moved out of Cali 10 years ago (:cry:) and have only seen it once since then. But I do plan to return to SoCal within the next year! I hope to go to school somewhere in the area like UCLA or UCSD or UCI!

I live 2 1/2 hours from L.A.

Hi! It is great to see so many other veggies from SoCal. I am one myself! I'm from Rancho Cucamonga! :hi: Unfortunately I moved out of Cali 10 years ago (:cry:) and have only seen it once since then. But I do plan to return to SoCal within the next year! I hope to go to school somewhere in the area like UCLA or UCSD or UCI!

:hi:

After I left Cali, I lived in Arizona for 1 year and Texas for the last 9 years. I unfortunately have not seen any good places for vegetarians or vegans anywhere in Austin or DFW. :( :( :( Texans are very very very big beef eaters. One of Texas's nicknames is "the beef state". Just some warnings to any veggies that might be moving to Texas in the near future! :p

Austin is supposed to be decent for veggies! In fact, PETA gave it an honorable mention when rating U.S. veggie-friendly cities.

Texans are known for liking all things big and there's no denying that vegetarianism is BIG-no wonder vegetarianism is taking root in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, and Dallas, all of which have active vegetarian societies with growing memberships. All proof that Cattle Country is transforming into Carrot Country! While all of Austin is accommodating to veg food, the neighborhoods of Tarrytown, West Lake, Travis Heights, and Clarksville are especially so. While in exciting and eccentric Austin go to Veggie Heaven and it's fantastic mostly vegan menu. The Kerbey Lane Café has a truly delightful vegan cheesecake that many rave about. Mothers and West Lynn Cafe are two favorites that cater not only to vegetarians and vegans but to a huge meat-eating crowd that appreciates great veggie fare. Guerros is a very popular Mexican food veg-friendly joint frequented by stars. Even fast-food places like Thundercloud Subs, which is a popular chain serves various veg sandwiches including one called a "Nada Chicken." The Wheatsville food co-op earns top marks for having a strong vegetarian and vegan food selection. Indeed it seems the Texas cultural mecca of Austin has also become Texas's vegetarian mecca as well.

http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/texas/austin/

Oh well. I guess I didn't see any good places because I just became a veggie last month.

How is living in Southern Cali. I'm thinking if moving there. Does everyone drive really expensive cars and are always looking glam?? Is parking crazy?

I mean, I guess it depends on what part you live in? Also, is rent super expensive up there? As you can tell, though I'm familiar w/ other big cities (like NYC), I've never been to Cali so... don't know what to expect.

virtue23, yeah, everything depends on what part.

i don't know what rent's like in NYC, so i can't compare, though i'm sure it's better here. we pay $1500/mo. for 2 bed/2 bath in an older building on a busy/noisy street in west los angeles. afaik, rent is better in san diego.

parking isn't so bad in less densely populated areas (san diego, overall, again, way better than los angeles).

Hmm... I'm in MD and I pay $1130 for a 2 bed/1.5 bath apartment in a newer building (and I live in the more expensive side of MD). But yeah, even that rent is probably better than what you would find in NYC. So, San Diego sounds good. That was actually the city I was thinking I would most likely want to move to.

I'll do more research and see. Thanks.

So, San Diego sounds good. That was actually the city I was thinking I would most likely want to move to.
san diego is also mostly nicer looking than los angeles. people would always say san diego was a beautiful city, and i didn't know what they meant because i'd lived there all my life. then when i went back after having been here a while, i realized that it was true, at least in comparison.

if i had the choice right now, i'd be in sd.

That's great to know! UC San Diego is now my top-choice school! :D (It is just a 10-minute walk from the beach! :D)

i'd post a few comments on ucsd (i took a couple of classes there before i transferred to ucla from a community college), but i'm too tired right now. it wouldn't be anything too helpful anyway.

Oh well. I guess I didn't see any good places because I just became a veggie last month.

Um, you're welcome.

How is living in Southern Cali. I'm thinking if moving there. Does everyone drive really expensive cars and are always looking glam?? Is parking crazy?

I mean, I guess it depends on what part you live in? Also, is rent super expensive up there? As you can tell, though I'm familiar w/ other big cities (like NYC), I've never been to Cali so... don't know what to expect.

Yes to all your questions. Though many people manage to get by with roommates and so forth. I lived in L.A. for 15 years (San Diego for 3 years before that), so lemme know if you have any other specific questions.

That's great to know! UC San Diego is now my top-choice school! :D (It is just a 10-minute walk from the beach! :D)

Go to UC Santa Barbara. That school has its own beach. Literaly, in geology classes, we would just walk right out of the classroom and right over to the beach to look at the sea features.

I miss Santa Barbara. My husband just graduted from UCI and I from Pepperdine (oc campus) with our masters degrees and we liked ucsb much, much better. The community feeling of the school is much stronger up there.

It is expensive in SB though. You can get a 1 bedroom for $1000, a 2 bedroom for $2000, and my brother lives in a 3 bedroom (also goes to ucsb) for $3000. He lives there with five other people.

sooo, anyone live in berzerkly? i dont, but its a nice bart ride away. i wont even ask if there are any vb's in brentwood. thats funny.ha.no.
~glamboy

I lived in Brentwood for a year. It's not a bad area, and there are some environmentally and socially conscious people living there for sure, though I couldn't say how many veg*ns live there, and I've never come across a VBer from there. To live there you'd have to work too hard to have time to spend at VB anyway. ;)

BTW, Brentwood has a handy Whole Foods right smack in the middle of everything.

i lived a couple of blocks from the brentwood whole foods until recently. it's not my favorite whole foods.

but glamboy may be talking about brentwood, california rather than la's brentwood?

Yes to all your questions. Though many people manage to get by with roommates and so forth. I lived in L.A. for 15 years (San Diego for 3 years before that), so lemme know if you have any other specific questions.

See, that was my concern. Being around too many extremely superficial ppl makes me want to gag. Not that I would mind showing off really nice things, but the overall attitude can be so annoying. I guess that's because I'm used to living around NY, where it can be a little more mellow. I mean, even some celebrities are able to roam around freely w/out having to make a big fashion statement, which is cool. In fact, I remember running into Kim Wayans, Bill Murray and a few others just casually walking down Manhattan like regular ppl in NY (though they did try to be a bit incognito, just in case).

But, I guess, I'll still think about it.

I guess on my two week-long visits to the LA metro area, I found it to be not much different from any other city I've been to. Of course, I spent a heck of a lot of time on the bus system so I was rubbing elbows with people who are closer to my SES.

yes i am talking about Brentwood, California. Sorry !!
~Glamboy

but glamboy may be talking about brentwood, california rather than la's brentwood?

Oh. Didn't know there was another one.

I only stop into that WFM for a snack when I'm in the area, so I can't vouch for how good it is, but I do know it's a bit of a scene... Geez, seriously it is.

See, that was my concern. Being around too many extremely superficial ppl makes me want to gag. Not that I would mind showing off really nice things, but the overall attitude can be so annoying. I guess that's because I'm used to living around NY, where it can be a little more mellow. I mean, even some celebrities are able to roam around freely w/out having to make a big fashion statement, which is cool. In fact, I remember running into Kim Wayans, Bill Murray and a few others just casually walking down Manhattan like regular ppl in NY (though they did try to be a bit incognito, just in case).

But, I guess, I'll still think about it.

There's a lot of substance here, and plenty of people could give a crap about showing off really nice things. I live in Hollywood, which is fairly unpretentious, though still somewhat image-conscious in some respects. But the big trend now is Diesel Jeans (which aren't too in the outer stratosphere), vintage shoes, and vintage shirts. That's practically a daily uniform, and it's relatively cheap to come by, actually. I really have never seen anyone prancing around trying to look like a million bucks.

I see celebrities at my nearest coffee house all the time, and they come in just like regular folk, too. I have a love/hate relationship with L.A., and at the moment I love it enough to still be here. So take it for what it's worth.