Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Excuse me, but L.A. County has a population of 10 million people. The beauty of living in L.A. is that it can be whatever you want it to be. If you don't like plastic, "Hollywannabe" people, don't hang around with those people! There are many more of us who are down to earth, who are working at regular jobs and living normal lives.
By the way, what race riots occurred over O.J.? There were certainly none here in L.A.! The Rodney King beating and subsequent trial and acquittal of the police offers sparked the riots in 1992, however.
Quote:
Originally Posted by northbound74
Welllll......... most of the people I run into here in fly-over country either hate it, or are indifferent towards it. LA is a has-been town. It's fifteen minutes are up. I've been there twice, and have no desire to go back.
Plastic women, smoggy skies, looks-are-everything, substance is nothing, better-than-thou Hollywood preachiness, race riots over a convicted criminal, O.J.... did I mention real estate prices? Even with the current situation, you suckers in L.A. are still paying out the gord for some rat hole to lay your head in. A half-million dollar house out there only costs 100k in the real world. L.A.'s average income isn't nearly enough to cover it, either.
There's people all over the place that don't care for LA, not just on C-D.
No, I'm not the slightest bit jealous, or "uncomfortable". Give me a break. Yes, I'm a proud midwesterner, who loves our old, gritty, close-knit cities.
Excuse me, but L.A. County has a population of 10 million people. The beauty of living in L.A. is that it can be whatever you want it to be. If you don't like plastic, "Hollywannabe" people, don't hang around with those people! There are many more of us who are down to earth, who are working at regular jobs and living normal lives.
By the way, what race riots occurred over O.J.? There were certainly none here in L.A.! The Rodney King beating and subsequent trial and acquittal of the police offers sparked the riots in 1992, however.
If the post below is an example of typical midwestern thinking, full of ignorance and attitude... Well, it's no wonder that L.A. considers this area "flyover country".
I never meant race riots occurred over OJ. What I meant was, all that silliness could only happen out there.
I've been to LA, and know that normal people live there, but my goodness, you people don't know how to put your best face on.
My wife lived out there for a while, and people would mock where she went to college (Arkansas) during interviews, and wouldn't give her the time of day because of it. That kind of snobbery is uncalled for. I'm not a big fan of the state of AR either, but sheesh. It was a good college by anybody's standards.
No, not all midwesterners think like I do. Many of them get starry-eyed thinking about coastlines or mountains or whatever. There's more to life than that.
In my opinion, when people move to a place based only on it's climate or natural beauty, people lose a bit of their decency. They don't care as much about each other, because they are there for selfish reasons. This is just my theory, not to be taken as fact.
I'm not stupid. I know not everyone out there is like this. You guys just seem to have more of that than other parts of the country. There has to be a reason for it. If you have other theories, feel free to let me have it.
I'm sorry that your wife experienced that kind of mockery. In truth, there are rude and obnoxious people everywhere! Snobbery is alive and well in L.A., no doubt about that. It's not exclusive to L.A., though; I think you'd find that in most big cities, unfortunately.
Someone on the L.A. board here pointed out that the most obnoxious, me-me-me people are sometimes the ones who come from small towns or cities elsewhere in the country. They were crowned beauty queen of their town or whatever, so they think they have some kind of "in" here in L.A., too. Sometimes they get a very rude awakening!
I grew up here, and I actually feel very provincial because I've never lived outside of L.A. County (something I mean to rectify before I die!). I can see the appeal of moving here - the weather being the most obvious factor. Often, though, I think new residents go through a period of culture shock, because the L.A. depicted in T.V. shows and movies is so very different from L.A. in reality!
Quote:
Originally Posted by northbound74
I never meant race riots occurred over OJ. What I meant was, all that silliness could only happen out there.
I've been to LA, and know that normal people live there, but my goodness, you people don't know how to put your best face on.
My wife lived out there for a while, and people would mock where she went to college (Arkansas) during interviews, and wouldn't give her the time of day because of it. That kind of snobbery is uncalled for. I'm not a big fan of the state of AR either, but sheesh. It was a good college by anybody's standards.
No, not all midwesterners think like I do. Many of them get starry-eyed thinking about coastlines or mountains or whatever. There's more to life than that.
In my opinion, when people move to a place based only on it's climate or natural beauty, people lose a bit of their decency. They don't care as much about each other, because they are there for selfish reasons. This is just my theory, not to be taken as fact.
I'm not stupid. I know not everyone out there is like this. You guys just seem to have more of that than other parts of the country. There has to be a reason for it. If you have other theories, feel free to let me have it.
I'm sorry that your wife experienced that kind of mockery. In truth, there are rude and obnoxious people everywhere! Snobbery is alive and well in L.A., no doubt about that. It's not exclusive to L.A., though; I think you'd find that in most big cities, unfortunately.
Someone on the L.A. board here pointed out that the most obnoxious, me-me-me people are sometimes the ones who come from small towns or cities elsewhere in the country. They were crowned beauty queen of their town or whatever, so they think they have some kind of "in" here in L.A., too. Sometimes they get a very rude awakening!
I grew up here, and I actually feel very provincial because I've never lived outside of L.A. County (something I mean to rectify before I die!). I can see the appeal of moving here - the weather being the most obvious factor. Often, though, I think new residents go through a period of culture shock, because the L.A. depicted in T.V. shows and movies is so very different from L.A. in reality!
Thank you. You have proven that there are normal people out there. (tucking tail between legs...)
I know there is plenty of truth in what you say. Maybe we midwesterners have a bit of an inferiority complex, because we don't grow in population by leaps and bounds. I promise it's a nice place to live, though. I do wish people on either coastline would quite looking at us like second-class citizens in some third-world country, who's twenty years behind... That's absurd.
It irritates me to think that if I like snow, weather that changes frequently, small hills, lots of trees, grass that grows naturally, people who are a little hick-ish and don't care too much about how they look, but very friendly and eager to help... does that make me weird?
I don't need endless sunshine. I absolutely do not like the desert. Mountains are nice to look at, but I have no desire to live near them. So there's that.
I react to the negativity by being negative. I know that I shouldn't.
vegaspilgrim I've been here in LA for 2 1/2 weeks now, a pretty short time, but I already hate it. I'm only here for one year for school (an accelerated one-year master's program) and then I'm out come next May. And BTW, don't get me wrong here, the point of my post is not so much to be anti-LA as it is against people who get all defensive about LA when the city is criticized. There are some things to like about LA, but the disadvantages by far outweigh the advantages.
Please elaborate how you can hate a city after only being there for 2 weeks! You write that you are a graduate student so that means you are attending UCLA/Loyola/Pepper dine [on the west side - so what's your problem? You mean Westwood/Santa Monica/Malibu are that miserable or is the truth that you are miserable [wherever you are]. If you attending USC [near downtown - than yes you are close to a low income neighborhood once you head south beyond Exposition Pk. But USC student's generally have enough money to take the 10 minute train/bus ride into the city for fun: nightclubs/sports/music/restaurants]. Which brings me to the next point.
Quote:
1. Low standards of living. It seems like "double occupancy" (two people or more sleeping in one bedroom, so 2 in a one-bedroom apt, 4 in a 2-bed, 6 in a 3-bed, etc) is the norm here, not the exception. And I'm not just talking about illegals here who could manage to pack dozens of bodies in a room, I'm talking about born and bred Americans too. People here accept violent gangs, being afraid to wear whatever color shirt you want (red or blue) as a normal part of life. Pretty much everywhere in the city (pictures of Laguna Beach don't count) is filthy and grimy. Overall, low standards of living. Just the other day I received a police report of someone who got robbed at gun point at the intersection right where I live. Every city has its bad areas, but in LA, the percentage of areas that are bad are a mind-boggling giant portion of the whole city. And LA's bad areas make some other's city's bad areas look like nothing.
This is a first for me [people sleeping in the same bed!] and strongly suggests you have a quite limited income & in-fact live in the ghetto. Since that is evidently the case, you may need to be smart & learn how to cope or leave Los Angeles for another school elsewhere [which I am inclined to recommend anyway]. It is expensive in Los Angeles. If you don't have resources then don't blame the city for your poverty. Be a big boy or girl & study hard so that you can start making a living & can afford to live somewhere beside the slums. Please put your supposed smarts to use & take a look around yourself. Isn't it amazing that the whole city of Los Angeles is filthy & filled with gangs? Please consult a map for better neighborhoods, young scholar & you will see to your amasment that Echo Pk/Silverlake/Hollywood/West Hollywood/Hancock Pk/ Pico/Ladera Heights/Culver City/Westwood/Santa Monica are not ghettos [surprise!] or up in El Sereno/Eagle Rock/Pasadena/Glendale are not anything like you have described.
Maybe your problems [or which there appear to be many] have more to do with you rather than where you happen to live, poor dear!
Quote:
2. Horrible air pollution. I've always heard it was bad, but after living here now I understand. Even on a totally sunny day, the sky doesn't even look blue; it looks gray. And don't try to tell me this is "marine layer" water vapor. It's not (I know what that's all about too), it's pure smog. This goes hand in hand with low standards-- some people don't mind living in a smoldering ash tray I guess.
No denying that the mountains surrounding Los Angeles tend to trap pollutants in the air. That has been a well-known fact for decades [so why didn't you explore that problem before moving to LA? Are you sure you are a college student? BTW the 8000 fires burning all over northern California have produced a layer of smoke throughout the state lately.
Quote:
3. No parking anywhere on the weekends. LA has many cool areas, but during the times when most people are off work it can be impossible just to find a parking spot. Unless if there's some special technique I'm not aware of yet.
Parking is a problem in almost every major city in the nation [don't make that unique to LA - ever try to find a parking place in NYC?
Quote:
4. Dismally pathetic mismatch between salaries and cost of living (especially cost of housing). Unless if you already have significant equity on a home here, you can forget about ever owning anything.
Yes, California is expensive to live in. If you cannot afford it here than please move elsewhere. I own my house as do most of my friends/family [you save your money & buy your house - it is definitely an investment]. Why complain if you are unable to afford a better living situation - is that LA's fault?
Quote:
I've found that Californians, especially Angelinos, can be extremely close minded when it comes to the rest of the country. Even nearby San Diego-- I've heard people say "there's nothing there." In contrast, I think San Diego is by far the best city in California. San Diego is what California living is all about. San Diego's beaches, natural attractions and geography, climate, pace of life, pretty much everything blow away LA. Ventura blows away LA. Many of the pretty pictures of beaches some people post are not really LA; they're most likely showing you pictures of southern Orange county, Malibu, or something else. Most beaches in LA are nothing to brag about. LA is a crummy 1000s of square miles sized ashtray that just happens to be in California. I love the state of California, just not LA. I think LA does offer a lot of "culture," more than most cities, but it is most definitely not at the level of a NYC.
What's also amazing is that within 2 weeks you have come to conclusions about Angelenos being "close minded" [maybe you should get some new friends or is that the problem? you don't have any friends? be honest now, college student!
If you think the photos are fake than perhaps you can show us your own photos of LA. I think we'd all be excited to see where you live & all the crime/gangs/filth. If you like I can tell you exactly where these photos were taken [and it was not Orange county/Malibu as you suggest]. Again, boy, you need to get out of your ghetto & see Los Angeles.
Quote:
What people here don't realize LA is not the only place in the country that offers tremendous ethnic diversity. In Denver, where I'm from, even though it's a city most people don't think of as very diverse, you can find tons of ethnic strip malls with Korean, Russian, Arabic, and many other language storefronts. They are often located in old suburbs. Aurora, CO, for example, the eastern suburb of Denver, has a fullblown "Koreatown" of its own. The whole city isn't diverse, but you can find some incredibly diverse pockets, and if that's important to you, live in those pockets and get all the advantages of international flavor without having to live in a giant ashtray. And you can find a similar thing in dozens of cities around the country. You can't compare the urban city of LA to brand new all white bread suburbs of other cities. You have to compare apples to apples. You can find dozens of mid-to-large sized cities in the country that offer plenty of cultural, sports, and entertainment attractions, and walkable entertainment districts, all much more accessible than what LA offers.
In the Midwest? sure! [don't BS us ]. If you don't believe that the diversity of Los Angeles is unlike any other city in the nation than you can go right down to the university library & look it up for yourself [you do remember where the library is, don't you? Remember you are a graduate student, right?
Quote:
Who cares how much "stuff" LA has if you have to drive around for an hour just to look for a parking spot to get to the "stuff"? Denver, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Chicago (I don't want to offend people by leaving out other cities) are not exactly lightweights when it comes to the fine arts. Some of the best universities in the country are right in the heart of the midwest. The truth is the "flyover country" is a great place to live; it's the country's best kept secret. In my book, anybody who sincerely believes the entire country between the two coasts is "flyover country" is a total idiot. I for one can't wait to leave this "found paradise" and and go back to that godforsaken hole in the middle.
So why did you pick Los Angeles to attend graduate school if you could have stayed right in the Midwest or Texas to attend school? Me thinks you are an imposter who has major unhappiness in your life wherever you happen to be. You statement says a lot more about you than Los Angeles, I'm afraid.
^^^^^
Vegaspilgrim went to (or is going??, no sure) USC if you check his or her profile. So yes, he or she is definitly living in a rough area of LA. I'm sure anyones' opinion about a city would be different if they lived in a bad area vs. a nice area. I wouldn't be so cruel to call vegaspilgrim poor and stuff though. If you go to USC, you are sort of stuck being in the ghetto, he or she doesn't really have much choice. I wouldn't be so fast to attack him or her either, if you look at his/her reputation, he/she is one of the most respected members of this forum and definitly not a troll.
By the way, thanks SandyCo for showing the "normalized" version of an Angelino. You approach issues very well and do so in a nonoffensive manner and are a good representation of the attitude of many in our region. I think some city data members have gotten the idea that all Angelinos are like some of the more radical LA members on this subforum.
Happ, the tone of your post does nothing to promote Los Angeles to anyone reading this thread. VegasPilgrim is in a program at USC, and that was chosen after careful consideration of all the choices available. Even though USC has the misfortune to be located in a bad part of town, it still has an amazing reputation. A year of your life isn't too much to ask in return for greater rewards in the future.
Starving students don't usually have a huge income on which to live. As the parent of a UC Berkeley student, I'm surviving, but our household isn't exactly rolling in money!
I'm sure VegasPilgrim had to choose, like many of us, to either live close to school in a gritty area, or have a pricey commute from a better one (and higher rent to boot!).
And again, VP's rant only illustrates my point that L.A. is so big that it presents many different lifestyles, depending on where you're living, what kind of life you're striving for, and so on.
Someone on the L.A. board here pointed out that the most obnoxious, me-me-me people are sometimes the ones who come from small towns or cities elsewhere in the country. They were crowned beauty queen of their town or whatever, so they think they have some kind of "in" here in L.A., too. Sometimes they get a very rude awakening!
This is huge problem with transplants in LA and other parts of CA. Many were a big fish in a small pond and now it's the opposite. Too many are attracted by stupid stereotypes; LA attracts all the celebrity wannabes and SF attracts all the hippie activists. More times than not the people with those stereotypical fake, wannabe attitudes are from somewhere outside of CA. And sometimes they hate on their own state and act like they belong and are a native Californian. Most of the celebrities that people love to hate that live in LA are not from CA either.
Even people in other states where there is a large influx of CA transplants notice this; that the native Californians are nice and down to earth while the ones that aren't originally from there have that snobby, I am better than you attitude.
People say CA is the land of fruits, nuts, and flakes.....well where the hell do you think those fruits, nuts, and flakes originally came from? Most of the weirdos and outcasts people complain about are here in CA b/c they couldn't be accepted in their own state. I am proud we are such an open minded, accepting state and very diverse b/c of it but it's also brought negative aspects too.
LA has plenty of normal people and the natives tend to be very cool and down to earth from my experiences. I spent over a week working up there with the LA County Sheriff's and MTA Security officers and they were all native Angeleno's and all great, down to earth people who were funny as hell.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
