Overseas tourists who bypass LA altogether, what do you think of them? (live, homeless)

[Trimac20]

I've met a couple of Australians who entered the US from the PACIFIC, yet said they wouldn't bother even seeing LA (they went straight to SF) because it was shallow, plastic, Hollywood etc. It sounds to me as if they bought into the stereotypes. What would your opinion be of a tourist who came to the west coast and was perfectly capable of seeing LA, but just bypassed it?

[kyle19125]

There are all kinds of geographic snubs, much like those who live on either coast and refer to everything in-between as "fly-over states". Ignorance comes in all forms.

[BacktoBlue]

I'd say they are showing ignorance. Don't knock it unless you try it first.

Besides if anywhere is fake and materialistic, it's San Francisco, that overrated dirty hippy homeless utopia.

[uptown_urbanist]

You can't do everything in a trip. There's only so much time. Those who skip LA because of preconceived notions or stereotypes are really missing out, though!

[BigCityDreamer]

I say live and let live. People should go where their interests are. Personally, I would see San Francisco first and then down the coast to Los Angeles and Las Vegas for cities. But the real beauty of California is its natural scenery.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer

I say live and let live. People should go where their interests are. Personally, I would see San Francisco first and then down the coast to Los Angeles and Las Vegas for cities. But the real beauty of California is its natural scenery.

I agree...SoCal's Hollywood/glitzy Beverly Hills/Laguna beach type image overshadows the fact it has more spectacular scenery than anywhere east of the Mississippi.

[BacktoBlue]

Los Angeles isn't the only part of Southern California.....
You've got beautiful San Diego....
The Imperial Valley is impressive in it's own way....
You have the San Bernardino mountains...
Riverside....

If people are going to go off what they see on tv then they are really close minded and ignorant.

I have an internet friend who I have not ever met. We have known each other for a few years. She lives in St Louis Missouri. She has so many illconcieved wrong ideas about California, it is not even funny. We got in an argument one time because she emailed me about a co-worker being a pain and acting stuck up. She said the coworker "needs to go to California with the rest of the stuck up people." I got so annoyed with that, I went off on her and told her to stop stereotyping the whole state and we stopped talking for about 3 months before we made up.

[tfox]

Southern California DOES get a lot of foreign visitors, last time I checked. But, even for those who opt out of it; it's a very big country in a limited time to see -- perhaps people are just trying to prioritize their trip?

[LauraC]

When we sell it to the Chinese it will get even more overseas visitors.

[NorCal Dude]

If they are not looking for LA, they are not looking for LA