So's my book. ;o) Just for the record, I'm not that dumb. But it beats trying to imagine stuff while trudging through LA with Google maps. Though, from what I understand, the Google Maps travel speed seems to be more realistic. It's a traffic issue. There's less traffic in the game. And you have a tank.
Its really just the highways and a couple of boulevard that get bogged down. The rest of us know ways around it. 405 is a no go all times of day. Some areas too where it's too dangerous to drive down. Whole thing is a bit of an animal haha.
*watches the cops retrieve the remains of GTA-style drivers with JATO rockets in the back of their SUV* Seriously, though: the JATO-assisted car is, and always has been, an urban legend. Anyone who actually uses a JATO rocket to give their car that extra 'oomph' is either suicidal or an utter loon. Those who are neither still have 'issues', but those issues are as naught when set against the issues that they will have very, very shortly after they turn on the ignition.
So, I used to live in LA. I lived in a bigger studio (~650 sqft), but it was definitely a studio and not large. If you feel that 600sqft is huge, then maybe there's been some kind mistake in what you've been shown and what the size is (or those awful wide angle photos which make everything look larger). I picked it because it was near the subway (yes, LA does have one) and it made my commute to DTLA easy. Because of the homeless problem in SoCal, you will find homeless people even in areas where the houses are $10MM, assuming not in a gated community in the valley or behind the orange curtain. But also, LA is a monstrously large city in terms of sqft, and so the neighborhoods all have interesting and unique vibes. I felt mostly safe in my neighborhood, but everyone's comfort level is different due to how they grew up and how much exposure they had had in the world. I recommend looking up Dingbat architecture. If you are talking about a character who is getting by, this is a quintessential and unique architecture to California and it will feel very familiar and comfortable to someone who knows SoCal. From what I hear you saying, the vibe I'm getting is something like Culver City, which is more expensive than it was 10 years ago, but still reasonably nice. If you're just starting out in LA, often what you get is older construction, often from the 1970s which has had minimal upgrades. That will feel very LA. About 10 years ago, $2000 a month would get you a 2-bedroom in a Culver City dingbat, but that's very not true anymore. My place was in one of the older buildings closer to DTLA, built in the 1920s, with high ceilings, an elevator that you had to manually open both doors to, and the old icebox still in the kitchen. Part of LA apartment living that is wild to a lot of other people in the US is that it's Bring Your Own Fridge. Most places will rent one to you at about $50 - $100 a month, but for whatever reason, refrigerators are not included in a lot of apartments and you are expected to bring your own. Edited to add: if you're very attached to the idea of an elevator, there aren't a lot of tall apartments in LA that aren't expensive. Maybe take a look at Park La Brea (not to be confused with the city La Brea in Orange County). It's the largest apartment complex in LA, it's rent controlled, and it very much fits the idea of what people think of when they think of LA. They've got towers in addition to the smaller building that people usually associate with Park La Brea. If you poke around their website, you can get an idea of what they cost.
The main problem with this is that for someone in a country not even the size of California it's very hard to grasp American sizes. Add to that the fact that I was converting to regular feet instead of square feet, the wide angle photos aren't the problem. ;o) No matter the size of my country, these numbers are truly incomprehensible to me. Like, I can't even begin to conceive how you drum up the money for a month. General rule of thumb here used to be "earn three times the rent" which is now more two times, but at American numbers I would have to forego essentials like Playstation entirely. Which wouldn't be bad for my writing, but I'd have to do it old school with pen and paper because I couldn't afford a laptop either. That's the standard here. When I first moved out my ex and I were all stoked that there was a tiny little fridge included. In most cases, you just get empty rooms. "Has fridge" or "windows open all the way" are actual selling points. I actually had my characters climb the stairs to the fourth floor. Didn't think much of it, really. Anyway. Story's been put on hold because it started getting an opinion, and I don't do opinions. Just entertainment. Until I can beat the social critique out of it, it's dead in the water.
I misread that as "if you're very attached to the elevator" and started idly thinking how that could be possible. Maybe, as you turn around, you jauntily toss your tie over your shoulder ... and it gets caught in the closing door ... and you can't move ... and then the lift goes up and you go with it? But that becomes a horror show.
Gotcha covered, hoss. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087622/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_de%2520lift
Hmm, I can see that film was made in The Netherlands. Now I wonder what would've happened if it was made in Germany. Would the title become "Das Luft"?
I've got a joke for this, but it's over the edge and it only works if you speak German and Dutch. I'm not gonna push this one. Instead, I'll say that director Dick Maas did a remake of the movie in 2001, this time set in the New York Millennium Building. Which I kinda wanna see now. He also did the classic (which I say unironically this time) Amsterdamned about a serial killer terrorizing the canals of... you guessed it, no you didn't, the canals of Utrecht. Filming in Amsterdam was too expensive. And holy shit, this topic is doing me some unexpected favors. There's an Amsterdamned 2 coming! Starring a very charming young lady who is also the daughter of Herman Brood. This is pretty cool, considering that Dutch movies are usually incredibly Dutch. Do you have a little brother or sister who would see you do something and then try it too, but cutely terrible? That's Dutch movies. Every so often, one would slip through unDutchified, and Amsterdamned was one of them. On the other hand, there's Sint. About the Dutch Saint Nicholas who brings presents every December 5th, and also the boss of the now infamous Black Pete. Those aren't in the movie, but St. Nick is a murderous monster now. Brilliant concept, poor execution, no pun intended because some executions were pretty amusing. Back on topic... Ehm... I guess LA apartments have ample room for a TV to watch Dutch movies on?
