Rant incoming. Would really love longtimer LA residents advice. Or if you've moved to LA for work. Especially music industry professionals!

Let me know if I'm going through grass is greener mentality at the moment. Or maybe I'm not, and tell me to move.

I'm from Toronto Canada. Born and raised. I used to enjoy this city and this country but it's very quickly fallen apart the past 5 years. No recovery in sight.

First off, Im 25 and work in the music industry. I run a deccently successful company in Toronto that acts as a "one-stop-shop" for artists. We print merchandise, host events and have a recording and photostudio facility.

And I would also like to know a lot of the issues that I'm faced with in Toronto are similar issues in LA. However I feel like LA has a bigger appreciation for the arts, people are friendlier and the weather is just so much better haha. I feel "happier" when I'm there.

Back in January I closed down the facility temporarily to do a 6 month renovation to revamp the space and expand it (We were originally sharing a commercial unit with another tenant but they moved out and we were taking over the whole space). Come June I'm finishing up the renovations and I get noticed that the building is getting torn down for condos in December. I was absolutely heartbroken and the renovations never got finished.

I then began a search for a new building thinking onwards and upwards. I saw over 50 places and put in about 30 offers. And no one would accept because they don't want music industry tenants in their building. I finally found a new building secured a lease. But I've been having nothing but cold feet ever since.

I'm signing a lease for 3 years to commit $30,000 over the next 6 months to build a brand new facility for recording and photos and never even got to use the other one.

I come to LA often, I'll be back in 2 weeks and absolutely love California. I always feel like a "tourist" in the rest of USA but not in Cali

My biggest issue is in Toronto seems to not appreciate the arts but more on that later... Let's talk about some other stuff.

Housing is ridiculously unaffordable. They're building 1200 square foot townhomes 45 minutes outside the city core starting at $1.9 million.

The average 1 bedroom apartment is $2719/month.

Driving is fucking hell. Getting anywhere is a nightmare. If I drive home from my studio at 4am I can get back in 15 minutes, head anytime during the day before 9pm it's upwards of an hour to drive there.

There's pretty much one highway in and out of the city and city planning is non existent.

Parking is non existent. When you do find it, it's so expensive it's more worth not paying and risking a $30 parking ticket (which is what I typically do). There are some areas that are upwards of $20 an hour.

The weather. When I was younger I didn't mind the winter. But the older I've gotten the more I hate it. It's mainly just because it makes driving an absolute bigger nightmare. That already four times longer commute now turns into an eight times longer commute.

No one wants to go out, it's a chore to get people to do anything. The reasons come down to money #1 people are too broke from the cost of living #2 people say they pay so much for their residence they don't wanna be away from it.

In Toronto I constantly feel that we're paying first class prices to live economy lifestyles. What kind of lifestyle is this?

Now in terms of the appreciation for the arts... It's pretty much non-existent. And it's frustrating because it's a chicken in the egg situation. I will be Frank a lot of the local artists and bands I see and work with absolutely fucking suck. They don't put the work in like they did back in the day. And I know I sound like a grumpy old guy here but it's the truth. 20 years ago if you wanted to get a good slot at a music venue, you had to be a well polished band. Now it's so hard to get people to shows all the venues give a shit about is their alcohol sales so if you're in a band with some of your college buddies and you suck fucking ass but you can get 200 people out to come by drinks and rack up the bar tab you can get a spot at one of the cities most notable venues on a Saturday night like the Horseshoe Tavern.

Everyone here is fake and shit talks you behind your back. No one actually supports each other's success. There is no community and little cliques that stick together and hate others when they become successful. The second anyone garners a little bit of success people try to "cancel" that person and I have been a victim of this. For the most ridiculous reasons.

I'm fed up. I feel like I'm going absolutely mental and going in circles in this city. I feel like there has to be more elsewhere. And I love California. The vibes, the friendliness and the weather. People in Canada have become so cold.

The benefits of being here is I do have a bit of family and my close friends. Moving elsewhere would be starting over pretty much from the bottom. Which I don't know if that bothers me or excites me. I'm always someone that looks for a challenge.

I've already spoken to a lawyer and looked into the visa and it would be doable with the fact that I run my own company and could present a plan to create new jobs for people in California.

Am I Just falling victim to grass is greener mentality due to the struggles of the past few years. Should I just weather the storm that has been the past few years here and continue visiting California as frequently as possible for pleasure?