I lived there in the early 90s and loved it. Coming from a small Canadian city, the idea that I could get somewhere good that wasn't rural and return home in a day, on a train, was just mind blowing. I also made 4x my Canadian wage as a cook. I was only there for 18 months but I seriously considered renewing my visa and staying. Ended up moving to Anaheim, CA. Big mistake. ;)
- job sucked
- grew up in a place where the weather changes all the time, daily sun was driving me nuts
- got mugged at gunpoint by the gang members (fourth was in a running car close by) who stole my bike as backpack (full of filthy underwear and socks from a 12 shift in a kitchen!) - probably an initiation
- apartment was cockroach infested
- the 7/11 near my place had groups who stayed outside watching you pay to see how much cash you had (not related to previous mugging)
- the pollution was staggering
- the nearest place up buy books was a mall 45 minutes away by bike, the library near me just had children's books and car manuals
- when I biked to that bookstore, on the way home I got egged by some jerks in a car who called me various names related to what the thought my sexuality must be because I was riding a bike
- and so forth
Just wasn't a good experience for me. Living as a cook, you are on the very low end of the income spectrum. If you aren't willing to have roommates, you live in terrible places. I'm sure if I were to live there with my current career, I'd like it much more. :)
