Where did all the Valley Girls/White people go? (Glendale: to buy, school)

[Trillion]

I'm a black dude, from South CAROLINA, who od'd on 'Save By The Bell'. Those were the days. I actually watched the re-runs well into the early 2000's. The clothes are so dated, that I can't watch it without getting a migraine.

Go Bayside.

[415_s2k]

The Valley still seems mostly white to me. I had friends and classmates who were from there, and most of them were white... also had an ex whom I'm still really close with from there who was Chinese-American, but she was admittedly totally whitewashed and now is kind of a hippie who lives in Oregon.

That said, I think that the stereotypes once associated with the Valley - white, wealthy, insulated from reality, concerned with fashion and material pursuits - while still alive and well in certain parts of the SFV/SGV, has migrated south to Orange County, where shows like "The OC" and "Laguna Beach" were filmed. Don't know if anyone rememberd the 2002 Jack Black movie "Orange County," but it's basically about a kid who's grown up in Orance County who has an existential crisis after his best friend dies surfing and realizes he's surrounded by vapid airheads.

[415_s2k]

Also, one thing I think is important to realize is that - don't laugh - a lot of the things that people blame for LA/OC/SFV/SGV's "ditziness" is culutural misunderstanding. The same way that someone from the South can have a drawl but be an intellectual free-thinker who attended Columbia, there are plenty of people from the LA area who will go "Dude!" whenever they see a friend or are presented with something unexpected; say "like" more than is generally acceptable in other areas; begin a story with, "oooooh my god... so...", etc.

I have a coworker who's an Asian-American gal from Irvine, born-and-raised by parents from the LA area. She has the prototypical Valley Girl accent, candor, and verbiage... you'll come in and go, "Hey, ______, how are you today?" and she'll answer, "Ooooh my gawd, sooo... last night... I was, like, heading home on the bus...? And you know how you have those really cool Asics I haven't been able to find for my boyfriend? Like, this guy gets on the bus, and he totally has them and I'm like 'oh my god, wheeeeere did you get those Asics?' And he doesn't remember! I'm like, how can you not remember where you got your Asics? They're soooooo cool!"

...

zzz.

The thing is that she went to UC Irvine and later UCLA, and studied abroad for a year in Oxford. She's plenty intelligent. She also hates Southern CA, and when I asked her why, her answer was, "Oh my god... people there are, like, so stupid and boring..." She just has an accent that people, unfortunately, generally associate with stupidity.

Not to say that everyone in OC/SFV/SGV is an intelligent, inquisitive, sensible person. I met plenty of people from those areas that lived up to the stereotypes to a T: younger people who were attending school because their parents didn't really give them a choice, who bumbled through stoned and hungover in board shorts and Oakleys, not understanding why they had to get an education and go get a job when their parents totally had enough money as it was. Not really any different from any other upper-middle-class suburb.

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by Miss Pip

Almost every time I tell someone I live in the Valley, the film "Valley Girl" gets mentioned. So I watched the film to get some understanding. I now see that the Valley has changed a lot and it's not like it was back in the 80's so I don't know why the film keeps on being mentioned to this day? Back then it was very white. What changed? Where did all those "Valley girls" go? Did they all move to Brentwood? Santa Monica (especially that mall)? Orange County? San Diego especially North County? I'm not seeing them on a daily basis. There's times where I feel like I hardly see white people anymore.

I'm curious to know how and why the valley changed? I can't seem to find much online so maybe people who were born/raised in the Valley can enlighten me. I understand the Iranian revolution but how did it get such a high Armenian, Russian, Israeli and Mexican population? I'm mainly speaking for the areas of Tarzana, Encino, Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys.

Apparently in the film Valley Girl, the yuppy house party was filmed in Canoga Park but I hear that's a really rough/gang related area now.

When I lived in San Diego (UTC, La Jolla), I found that to be more like the Valley from the 80's.

So I'm curious...

I know what you mean. When I arrived here in 1990 from New York there were so many more White people in the Valley. Right after the LA riots all my White teenage baby-sitters and their families started leaving. I guess they didn't feel safe. I think they went North towards Thousand Oaks, San Luis Obispo, Northern CA, Oregon and Washington. It's really weird. I don't see any American Black people here anymore either. Just lots and lots of new immigrants from everywhere.

[Narfcake]

Originally Posted by pwright1

What on earth happen to Sherman Oaks Galleria? It use to be a shopping mall!

Dead Malls dot Com: Feature: Sherman Oaks Galleria: Los Angeles, California

The adjacent offices ...
Warner Bros. Animation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

FWIW, the Animaniacs episode 'Survey Ladies' used the old Sherman Oaks Galleria as the design model for the mall and escalators.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

I have a coworker who's an Asian-American gal
She has the prototypical Valley Girl accent, candor, and verbiage..
she went to UC Irvine and later UCLA, and studied abroad for a year in Oxford. She's plenty intelligent.
She also hates Southern CA,

when I asked her why, her answer was, "Oh my god... people there are, like, so stupid and boring..."

She's plenty intelligent.

Does she stereotype much?

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by Charles

Does she stereotype much?

Her words, not mine. I like Orange County.

[Hegotsoul831]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

Her words, not mine. I like Orange County.

Well ask her if she studied humility or tolerance? She sounds a bit arrogant. Going to college sometimes has that effect on people.

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by Hegotsoul831

Well ask her if she studied humility or tolerance? She sounds a bit arrogant. Going to college sometimes has that effect on people.

I'll pass.

[nowincal11]

Originally Posted by laysayfair

I know what you mean. When I arrived here in 1990 from New York there were so many more White people in the Valley. Right after the LA riots all my White teenage baby-sitters and their families started leaving. I guess they didn't feel safe. I think they went North towards Thousand Oaks, San Luis Obispo, Northern CA, Oregon and Washington. It's really weird. I don't see any American Black people here anymore either. Just lots and lots of new immigrants from everywhere.

According to wikipedia, the Valley is just over 40% Hispanic and 10% Asian, but this also includes Burbank and Glendale. Taking just the "Valley" as we know it (minus those cities), the Valley is probably closer to 50% Hispanic and 12% Asian. Assuming Middle Eastern is not "white," (which is a prevelent statement by many white Europeans) and add in the few percentage of African Americans, then the actual white population of the Valley is probably in the 25% range.

For the African American population, the city of LA is now 9.8% and LA County is 9.6%, which is much smaller than most people anticipate.