Meet a Member: Catherine Siggins, originally from Ireland, who moved to Los Angeles three years ago because ‘the thought of taking a beach walk on New Year’s Day seemed enticing to me.’
Was there a particular reason you chose LA?
I’d lived in London for 11 years, which I had loved, but felt that moving to New York would have been swapping one urban obstacle course for another. I had started to feel city life grinding me a little, high rent, small spaces, financial pressures, and persistent head colds in the winter. Also when I had first come over in 2010, walking around my then-neighborhood, I found myself for the first time in a long time feeling that I could create a life I dreamed of. As I walked around Sunset Junction and looked at the small wooden houses I saw myself, in time, living in one of those homes, a feeling I had lost in London. The possibility of being closer to natural spaces and the beach were also too much to pass up. I had gotten used in my childhood in Dublin to being close to the sea. Also, I had done some master classes with an acting coach, Ivana Chubbuck, in London and wanted to be able to continue my work with her in her studio in LA. Finally, I thought, what have I to lose?
What one thing do you miss from home?
Loved ones. I miss my family and friends. I knew one person when I came here and not having my family and old friends to meet up with has been a challenge, even today.
What do you find the biggest difference is living here versus the UK?
Oh boy, where to start… The biggest? You are an alien here. I’ve never felt that before, and didn’t expect to as I had grown up watching American culture on my TV, and meeting Americans, but it felt different being here. There are pluses and minuses of course. It was strange not being able to get a car because I didn’t have a US credit history and the barriers to renting an apartment for the same reason. At home, you take such things for granted, as with free health care on the NHS. It cost $23,000 to my travel insurance when I tore my achilles heel here in 2010, more then my Mum’s heart bypass operation.
What would you suggest to others who are thinking about making the move here?
Mostly I would say you must focus on making the best life possible here for yourself outside of what you do for a living, especially if you are in the entertainment industry. Find good supportive friends, create a life that you are really happy with that is not affected (excessively) by how well, or badly, your career is going. And buy a GPS as soon as you land. I’d be utterly lost without mine.
Lastly, how can we find you on the Internet?
