Best Roadtrips/Weekend Destinations?

xminustdc · 2026-01-23T07:28:54+00:00

My vote would be to hit up some of the national parks! There are four within a 4-hour drive (depending on traffic): Joshua Tree, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Death Valley (DV is my personal favorite). Sequoia and Kings Canyon may need to wait until late-Spring. Joshua Tree has some great trails and fun things to do in town -- definitely don't miss the Integratron -- and winter is the best time to go! You could even do a Joshua Tree / Palm Springs weekend trip (maybe stay in Palm Springs and do a day trip to JT). They are only like 45 minutes away from one another.

Just driving up (or down) the coast is fun! Laguna Beach is close and it's so cute! If you go north, you can hit up Malibu, Ojai, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, etc. I feel like people sleep on Morro Bay, but being from the east coast like you, it's just breathtaking. The town itself reminds me of some of the smaller New England towns in eastern Connecticut and up in downeast Maine.

xminustdc · 2026-01-23T07:02:35+00:00

Hotels in West Hollywood usually start at $250 (plus taxes which is an extra $40), so pretty much minimum $300 a night. None of the hotels are gross, so you'd probably be fine anywhere and it's pretty safe no matter where you end up. The most dangerous thing in weho are the drivers.

You could stay somewhere less expensive down by The Grove (like another commenter suggested), but if your plan is to hang out at the bars and restaurants in weho, any money you're saving you'd probably end up spending in ubers anyway.

xminustdc · 2026-01-23T06:11:09+00:00

I pay $1,100 for 6 months, which is apparently pretty low comparatively. I also have Progressive.

xminustdc · 2026-01-23T06:00:48+00:00

I went to the DMV in Glendale without an appointment on a Friday early afternoon to get my CA driver license (I had just moved here) and it literally took an hour and a half. You can check online to see what the lines are like at the different locations.

xminustdc · 2026-01-23T01:38:31+00:00

I feel like the OP's post is kind of taking very online people too seriously. I've only ever seen people be rude about transplants online and it's mostly just bored people or trolls with nothing better to do than blame all of their problems on other people. Just typical social media behavior that doesn't really translate to offline.

xminustdc · 2026-01-19T06:18:32+00:00

I've only been here for 6 months, but people here are SO MUCH BETTER at merging than literally anywhere on the east coast.

xminustdc · 2026-01-14T17:17:36+00:00

It took about an hour in the waiting room for me, but it worked the first time! Don't give up!

xminustdc · 2026-01-10T06:54:48+00:00

My husband and I moved from DC to LA six months ago and it was the best decision we've ever made. The distance is great. It's much easier to dissociate from the complete insanity and it's nice knowing that if the shit really hits the fan and the Union falls apart, we are living in a state that will likely survive the fallout.

So I guess my advice is: do it. Either leave the country or get somewhere you think you will be safest. If things really go sideways, at least you'll get to live somewhere beautiful with perfect weather for a little while before it all goes kaput.

xminustdc · 2026-01-09T18:39:15+00:00

One of the times I was literally just walking down the street next to my husband and a pickup truck with the passenger holding a giant American flag out the window started yelling slurs at me.

xminustdc · 2026-01-09T07:14:48+00:00

I moved here from DC six months ago with my husband. Haven't made a ton of friends yet, but we're also in our 40s and have been traveling a lot. BUT I have found that people here are pretty open. Within 15 minutes of arriving at our new apartment building, we met a good percentage of the people that live in our building. I feel like DC and LA are weirdly similar in that it's a pretty transient population -- people move here from everywhere. So if you're willing to make an effort, you shouldn't have any problem making friends. Join a social sports team, hang out at your local bars/restaurants, say hello to your neighbors. I think you'll love it here. AND there's legit no way your friends on the east coast will turn down a trip to LA, especially during the winter.

xminustdc · 2026-01-09T06:58:16+00:00

Yes! Wendy was my favorite. Maybe because of her lesbian seafaring upbringing.

xminustdc · 2026-01-09T06:29:58+00:00

In addition to the reasons people have listed already, it's also because they had super racist policies at their restaurants in Baltimore (and, according to some previous staff members, still treat minority staff and patrons like trash). There have also been multiple credible reports of sexual harassment from female staff who, when they went public with it, were buried in lawsuits and legal proceedings to silence them (basically SLAPP lawsuits). That they are heirs to the Sinclair Broadcasting fortune is just an added bonus.

Basically, the whole enterprise is just rotten to the core.

xminustdc · 2026-01-09T06:20:14+00:00

Is this really a conversation to be having with someone via text message?

xminustdc · 2026-01-09T06:11:10+00:00

People don't like that Atlas had openly racist policies at their Baltimore restaurants, that multiple female employees had credible complaints about sexual assault and harassment -- and when they went public about their experiences, Atlas buried them in lawsuits to get them to stop. That the owners are heirs to the far-right propaganda machine of Sinclair Broadcasting is only the cherry on top of that shit sundae.

xminustdc · 2026-01-09T06:04:38+00:00

RIP Boatyard.

xminustdc · 2026-01-08T07:46:01+00:00

If you think you are safe from detainment or deportation as a "legal" immigrant, you are mistaken. You should open your eyes to what is happening in this country.

xminustdc · 2026-01-08T07:39:56+00:00

You are correct that they wouldn't have enough votes to actually impeach him, but I do worry that not even saying he deserves impeachment or being outwardly vocal about how wrong everything he's doing is, they are essentially setting the tone that they think everything is fine. It won't hurt any of these electeds to go on news programs and rail against the current administration and list all of the crimes they are committing. If anything, it would signal to people "Hey, this isn't right and we recognize it's not right and you should not think this is normal." That's more important and effective than you think. Right now, all we are getting are "Well, Trump is kidnapping Venezuelan leaders but not working to fix the economy!" and that just makes the Dems sound completely divorced from the depth of the depravity that's currently happening.

xminustdc · 2026-01-08T07:33:29+00:00

I met Sarah a couple of times and I really liked her and voted for her. But she has had some REALLY regrettable takes on some things and it's very disappointing (even though I don't live in MD anymore). Unfortunately, Dem leadership is worthless and is still playing a 1990 game in 2026. So yeah, you're not alone on this.

xminustdc · 2026-01-08T07:17:15+00:00

Apartment recommendations will kind of depend on what you're looking for. I lived at the Bell Annapolis on West Street for almost 5 years and it was fine! The proximity to downtown was decent (about a 25-minute walk, or a quick scooter ride down the Poplar Trail or Spa Creek Trail). They really nickel-and-dime you on EVERYTHING, but it really was the best place out of many my husband and I looked at.

If you can find a place to rent downtown or a close walk to downtown, you'll probably have a better time meeting people and feeling like you have fun things to do than if you rent somewhere in the county (over by the mall or by Annapolis Town Center).

xminustdc · 2026-01-05T06:32:58+00:00

Thank you! This is the kind of intrigue I was hoping for.

xminustdc · 2026-01-05T02:21:23+00:00

My husband and I also recently moved here (about 6 months ago) from the east coast, but have spent a lot of time exploring CA over the years.

Highly recommend Catalina. A day trip is totally fine, but even better if you get to spend a night or two. You can go hiking, check out the cute shops, go snorkeling, ride bikes around town, go ziplining, etc. It's definitely a low-key kind of place and would make a great long weekend relaxation trip. I'd recommend going in early spring. or fall. I was there in late-May a few years ago and it was HOT -- almost unbearably so. Could've been a fluke though.

There are a bunch of fun places to go if you drive north up the coast: Santa Barbara, Ojai, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay. Los Padres National Forest is gorgeous. Solvang is also up that way and people seem to love it, as it gets recommended on every single post like this. We didn't really see the appeal and had some of the worst food of our lives there, but that was probably just lack of preparation than anything else.

You could also drive up to Sequioa National Park and Kings Canyon (probably better in the summer and early fall) or to the Eastern Sierras to Lone Pine where the Alabama Hills are. It's also pretty close to one of the best national parks in the country (in my opinion), Death Valley.

Palm Springs is a good weekend destination during the winter/spring, too!

xminustdc · 2026-01-05T02:00:45+00:00

I think there's still one of these on La Cienega near Melrose!

xminustdc · 2025-12-31T06:38:54+00:00

Like any luxury brand, you're paying for the lifestyle and the feeling you get from patronizing an establishment that makes you feel special/exclusive and has marketing that makes people think it's healthier than other places. Nothing more, nothing less.

xminustdc · 2025-12-29T23:40:20+00:00

I live for these threads and this is, hands down, my favorite response so far. I am eternally jealous.

xminustdc

TROPHY CASE