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Los Angeles Dating Ground Rules
A city with 10 million people, beaches, and the Hollywood scene. Dating must be easy in Los Angeles, right?
Wrong.
Being single in this town is notoriously difficult. But we’re here to tell you the biggest challenges and how to get around them. The three most important things about dating in Los Angeles are:
1) Location
2) Location
3) Location
Where to Live in Los Angeles
In any city, you want to live or work close to a social hot spot – somewhere with restaurants, clubs, people hanging out. That seems obvious, but L.A. is so spread out that if you don’t choose carefully, you could find yourself living 40 minutes away from the nearest action.
To help you pick a place to live, here are some of the top spots in the L.A. area and the people you’ll find there:
- Cahuenga Blvd. and Hollywood Blvd. – Hollywood (Younger, Hipsters)
- Sunset Blvd. at Sweetzer Ave. – Hollywood (All Age, Hipsters)
- Ventura Blvd. at Woodman Ave. – Studio City (Older)
- Sunset Blvd. at Santa Monica Blvd. – Silverlake (Alternative)
- Grand Ave. at 6th St. – Downtown (Professionals)
- Pier Ave. at Hermosa Ave. – Hermosa Beach (Very Young and Casual)
- Manhattan Beach Blvd. at Highland Ave. – Manhattan Beach (Very Young and Casual)
- Colorado at Fair Oaks – Pasadena (All Age)
- Main St. at Hill St. – Santa Monica (All Age, Casual, Some College Students)
- Gayley Ave. at Weyburn Ave. – Westwood (College Students)
If you can find a place to live near one of these spots, you’re halfway done. But only half. Because the other big impact of location is how far away your job is. Most new singles in Los Angeles don’t realize how a long commute can kill your social life. Most Angelinos work long hours, not getting off until 7 or 8 in the evening. If you tack an hour commute on top of those late hours, all of a sudden it’s 9 p.m. before you can even meet up with anyone. And because there’s no real downtown, like in a New York or Chicago, the people you want to meet up with are probably coming from just as far away as you are.
To minimize the late starts and all the driving, do everything you can to work close to home. Again, it seems obvious, but many singles convince themselves that they can make a commute into the San Fernando Valley or down to Orange County work – only to find that they spend more time stuck in traffic than out socializing. So if you like where you live, it’s worth hunting a little longer to find work nearby. Or if the distant job is just too good to pass up, consider moving to a happening neighborhood in the vicinity.
The Cost and The Clothes
Los Angeles is known for its casual vibe, but East Coasters may be shocked at how far this relaxed code goes. Jackets can be found on men in some of the high-end eateries, but ties are extremely rare. It isn’t at all surprising to see a thousand-dollar suit with Chuck Jones sneakers and a vintage T-shirt. Women are very casual during the day, and evening dress varies greatly depending on the part of town. The beach has skirts and tank tops. Silverlake has nice jeans and vintage T-shirts. Sunset Boulevard has the latest fashion.
Depending on where you’re from, the cost of dating in L.A. is either a bargain or a burden. Surely, there are cheap dates to explore. You can go to the Griffith Observatory and stare at the stars for free. But if you’re interested in dinner and bar-hopping or a dance club, you’re probably in for $100 at least and possibly twice that amount.
The Risk
We would be remiss if we didn’t at least mention the problem of drinking and driving in L.A. Like most cities that grew up in the second half of the 20th century, L.A. is spread out and has no practical public transportation. (There are trains and buses, but when it comes to dating they are almost always worthless.) This means that after a bottle of wine over dinner and a couple of drinks in a bar later, you’re going to be climbing behind the wheel with a serious problem. The police in L.A. have been known to set up roadblocks on Sunset Boulevard, stopping every driver for a sobriety test. Cabs are expensive, but DUIs are far worse.
The Best Part
Finally, it’s important to remember that in terms of meeting the opposite sex, there is no one “Los Angeles.” If you socialize in Westwood, you’ll be talking to college students from UCLA. If you socialize downtown, you’ll be talking to professionals or lawyers. If you socialize on Melrose you’ll be meeting entertainment industry people – actors, agents, and the like. If you don’t like the people you’re meeting, it’s easy to change your location and change your luck.
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