Is Los Angeles Magical? (San Diego, San Francisco: credit, home, school)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Userdavey

But every time I go there I survey what people think. I ask the fifty year old checkout lady at Albertson's, the 23 year old guy at the hotel...Everybody says they love it. Yeah the expense is big, but the weather, the scenery, the people, the air...the air is so fine there.

You arrived in Southern California under the most contrasting of circumstances. While the Springs weather is just starting to get bad (April Showers bring May Blizzards), the weather and flora in SoCal are peaking.

Nobody is going to argue with the weather, diversity, scenery, and excitement of Southern California. As the housing prices dive, housing affordability even starts to get on some peoples' long range radar screens.

The traffic will probably always be a mess.

This isn't a bash but to be fair, those two data points aren't representative of "everybody".

You asked the lady who with her husband bought their home in 1984.
You asked the 23 year old dude working near his job who parties with a bunch of hot chicks every night.
You asked yourselves, possible DINKs, and yes, that can work pretty good too.

It sounds like you didn't ask a 35 year old married with one kid and another on the way guy who needs four bedrooms in a good school district.

And the Springs isn't that bad at all. If you like eclectic, consider Manitou Springs. You want pretty, well maintained neighborhoods with excellent schools and tons of amenities, consider Briargate and the D20 Academy District schools or D38 up in Monument. Nobody will argue the weather in the Springs is better than SoCal but the traffic is ten times better.

[Userdavey]

Originally Posted by Charles

And the Springs isn't that bad at all. If you like eclectic, consider Manitou Springs. You want pretty, well maintained neighborhoods with excellent schools and tons of amenities, consider Briargate and the D20 Academy District schools or D38 up in Monument. Nobody will argue the weather in the Springs is better than SoCal but the traffic is ten times better.

I've lived in Briargate for six years now, have 2 kids and yes the schools are good. My kids actually like school. They must be doing something right!

The good points about the Springs?

Cheap.

Good natural beauty.

Good for families. (But what this really means is that the kids will be sheltered away in the suburbs with little excitement - sometimes I wish they had it a little rougher, just to get the street smarts)

Low crime (In my neighborhood, I have heard a siren maybe five times in six years)

But as I say, with all this peacefulness comes sterility... boredom... loneliness....everything is hilly and spread out and it is really bad for walking. Your home becomes your hideout, especially in the winter. I jog after work and I see maybe two other people in five miles.

The people are extremely perfect, Christian, or military, and they keep to themselves. You won't see any Hollywood types here. If you do, take a picture. They will soon migrate away....

[moxieman2]

I have a serious question for everyone on this forum who is so negative about LA....Why don't you leave?

I mean really, if the "gridlock traffic" and "disgusting air" aren't worth dealing with for perfect weather, palm trees, the ocean, and magic (yes I said M A G I C). There is NO other single place on the planet that individuals from around the world want to move to and make a life!!! And, please, don't even bring up New York City, yes its great, but if your Moderator cut: complaining about LA traffic and air you don't like NYC either.

So please, answer my question if LA is SOOO terrible why do so many of you choose to stay and pay ALL THOSE TAXES. BTW, I'm not really interested in a guy with 3 kids looking for a 4 bedroom house (he can move to Utah with the rest of the complainers, help solve that nasty overcrowding problem LA has, according to you pessimists).

[Userdavey]

Originally Posted by moxieman2

I have a serious question for everyone on this forum who is so negative about LA....Why don't you leave?

I mean really, if the "gridlock traffic" and "disgusting air" aren't worth dealing with for perfect weather, palm trees, the ocean, and magic (yes I said M A G I C). There is NO other single place on the planet that individuals from around the world want to move to and make a life!!! And, please, don't even bring up New York City, yes its great, but if your Moderator cut: complaining about LA traffic and air you don't like NYC either.

So please, answer my question if LA is SOOO terrible why do so many of you choose to stay and pay ALL THOSE TAXES. BTW, I'm not really interested in a guy with 3 kids looking for a 4 bedroom house (he can move to Utah with the rest of the complainers, help solve that nasty overcrowding problem LA has, according to you pessimists).

YESSSSSS!!!!! Spend some time in the mountain west with its cold, dry barren landscapes and miserable lifestyle and you will BEG for the beach!

Trees in LA have red flowers in them!!! WTF??? How is that? And some have PURPLE FLOWERS!!! Some have bark that is smooth and green! Dude!! That is so different from here!! The grass that is like a putting green? What is that?? It is so tropical out there and so nice! Man if I could afford it I would drop everything to be there!!!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by moxieman2

I have a serious question for everyone on this forum who is so negative about LA....Why don't you leave?

I mean really, if the "gridlock traffic" and "disgusting air" aren't worth dealing with for perfect weather, palm trees, the ocean, and magic (yes I said M A G I C). There is NO other single place on the planet that individuals from around the world want to move to and make a life!!! And, please, don't even bring up New York City, yes its great, but if your Moderator cut: complaining about LA traffic and air you don't like NYC either.

So please, answer my question if LA is SOOO terrible why do so many of you choose to stay and pay ALL THOSE TAXES. BTW, I'm not really interested in a guy with 3 kids looking for a 4 bedroom house (he can move to Utah with the rest of the complainers, help solve that nasty overcrowding problem LA has, according to you pessimists).

A couple of things and a couple of reasons: why do people stay? It is, normally called jobs or family...We have friends in NO Ca, (retired) that would leave but are staying because their kids are in Calif..Others who are still there because they need the security (hopefully) of their jobs, at least for now.

Others may complain about the smog, the high cost of living or other negative things but that doesn't mean they hate Ca. I love living where I do, that doesn't mean we have no problems or concerns..

As for the guy who is trying to make ends meet, you may not be interested in him, but he does have to feed and house his kids. Maybe moving isn't an option..

Of course Ca has a lot to offer,,many of us have pointed out the positives but it does have serious problems..

Nita

[SurekRZA]

Rep points to Userdavey
After all those negative comments and you still stand by your original post

I have to agree, I wouldnt say L.A. is magical...well only sometimes but its very special. When I fly back to L.A. and the pilot announces that we are flying over Los Angeles about to land, I look outside my window and feel so much joy to be back home. Once I land at LAX and wait for my Flyaway bus its just so hectic at the airport but its definately not boring. You can say I get bored very easily and something is always happening in L.A. so I definately love being here.

[EscapeCalifornia]

When I fly into home to SoCal, I feel my blood pressure rise before I've even landed. The air looks like death from above and I know the traffic and crowds that are in store everywhere I go. I know I'm going to encounter more aggressive Ahole drivers on the 5 miles home from the airport than I encountered in a week away.

Userdavy said he was doing burnouts and 100mph in his BMW here. Hey, that's just a great reminder of the kind of drivers we have here. If he thinks that's the right way to drive on city streets with millions of other people on the road, then I can see why he'd like LA.

[fairweathergolfer]

Originally Posted by TheRealAngelion

You hit it on the nail for me. LA has a certain dreaminess to it...a mood, vibe, and energy that's created by its physical location, natural beauty, climate, people, architecture, history, Hollywood, among other things that makes it very unique and special and unlike any other major city, especially in the U.S.

Userdavey. I think TheRealAngelion nails the feel here overall combined with the OP's description. Notice is does entail the people and physical locale as another poster mentioned and this is what contributes to the 'surreal' sort of magical sense of the place mentioned by another.

Is it worth it? For some especially some that have lived the opposite most of their lives. If you do not have a lot of money to get excellent education for your children though, I would wait until they leave home to move here. Also street smarts come to different children in different ways. They do not always have to live in the city or rough circumstances to acquire them. Some are born with it.

Why don't you take extensive vacations in California? Explore southern California overall. Some people are laughing at the comments regarding your stated 'magical feel' and someone else smartly added surreal, but I agree it does exist and it does stay as long as you live here. It can be very difficult to leave.

[fairweathergolfer]

Originally Posted by katenik

Is LA magical? Grow up! I have lived here for the better part of 35 years, and the best I can say for it is that it's HOME. That's a lot, but it isn't magical, and it isn't reason enough to stay. If you're looking for magical, I suggest Disneyland, but last I checked, there was no rental property at Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Why so harsh? Where is the empathy for how and where and what others experience in their lives other than southern California?

You have been here 35 years. I do not know how old you are but clearly you do not know what it is like to live in barren, cold, dull places where it can be possibly deadly travel conditions at times on everyday roads (from the weather conditions). Where people may not have much choice but to drive those roads because they may need to get back from a weekend trip for work or have to get across town to their job etc.

I remember showing family that live in the Pacific Northwest photos of my new home. They have very nice homes, fantastic jobs, live in excellent neighborhoods blah, blah, blah. These are people in their forties who have travelled extensively world wide and all over California, some have even lived long term internationally. They were pointing at trees on my property and the sun and the flowers, and the architecture and saying sad and dreamy like, "Sun! Palm trees. Look at the palm trees!" The yearning to be in such a place (preferably at that moment :-)) was clearly apparent in their voices. A similar feeling , I am sure, to how some Angelenos may yearn for private and secluded wide open spaces as they are surrounded by mass people and sitting in long, long lines of barely moving traffic as a daily occurance.

At that time even in a picture that contrasted the day to day gray weather etc it looked 'dreamy' and highly desirable. To them, in contrast, it was a Disneyland--a naturally enticing fantasy world. If one leaves a place for long enough they often return to understand it better objectively. At a minimum they see it more clearly in contrast to where they have been.

Los Angeles and southern California, in general, do have a magical feel whether it be topography, weather, geography, architecture, layout of LA as a city, the impact of 'the industry,' overall culture, the people, the density of excellent educational opportunities, the wide spread opportunities in general if one is willing to sacrifice and go after them, massive amounts of activities and shopping to take in at ones whim etc . . ..

You live here yet you seem to have no appreciation why millions of people move here and stay at such high cost.

[SurekRZA]

Yea, L.A. is magical.
Why? take a look
LA In A Minute (TIMELAPSE) on Vimeo
Chasing La La on Vimeo