Los Angeles is fast becoming a global hub for business, providing a perfect environment for work, play and beautiful houses.
Home to mountains and desert, volcanoes and rainforests, ski slopes, beaches and more than 25 million acres of fertile farmland, California is one of the most diverse states in the USA. It’s also the richest: its farming income is small potatoes compared with the profits generated by the twin global powerhouses of Silicon Valley and Hollywood. In fact, if California were a country, it would boast the fifth largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $3 trillion.
This economic clout goes hand in hand with a weighty cultural capital—California has a talent for kicking off huge global trends, from yoga to juicing, hiking, eating ‘clean and lean’ and, more recently, mindfulness. The lifestyle on offer here is enormously attractive and, as a result, the city at the centre of it all, Los Angeles (LA), is fast becoming a hub for the global business fraternity.
‘My clients, who have homes all over the world, are extremely keen on looking after themselves, from eating fresh, organic food to staying fit and making sure their family is healthy as well—and this is just the lifestyle that LA offers in spades,’ explains Ed de Mallet Morgan of Knight Frank (020– 7861 1553), who deals with global highnet-worth individuals.
David Parnes of Savills Associate The Agency (00 1 424 400 5916) has also noticed that the California lifestyle draws people from the American east coast and Europe. ‘It’s more relaxed here than New York or London—in LA, you can be who you want to be,’ he says. ‘You can eat, drink and party in some of the most glamorous venues in the world or live completely privately, all while conducting some serious business.’
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