The "Small" Feeling (San Francisco, Highland: real estate, lawyers, house)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 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.
It's because the wealth gap between rich and poor is huge in Los Angeles. More so than any other city in the country besides NYC. That's a statistical fact.
You're prancing around the Westside, which most native Angeleos stay away from, and you expect not to get that feeling?
You want nice but don't want to feel like an ant; go to Fairfax or Melrose. They're really nice minus the bougie-ness of Beverly Center.
The rich in LA flaunt their wealth without any remorse. In Houston, where I am from, the rich keep to themselves and do not flaunt their wealth. It's only when you flip through the pages of 002 Mag in Houston that you notice how rich they live.
Also, in LA the rich really care about upstaging one another, being the best looking in the room, so they really go for the grandest look possible. Whereas in other cities this is considered super shallow, and it is.
I love LA but the Westside really gets on my nerves. I mean I can afford to eat and play there, I have a great car, I am pretty stylish, but there is something about the trendyness there that irks me. An area FULL of poseurs.
If it's any consolation what so ever, the rest of the city does not take West LA (or sections I should say) seriously.
It doesn't really matter what part of LA you're in. Celebrities live all over LA. It's knowing you're just a "regular" person in a city known for stars.
It's easier to be a "regular person" in another city. There's people in Houston with flashy cars and designer labels and multi-million dollar houses. But, it's a regular city. They aren't really in any higher position of status than you besides a paycheck, and maybe the Country Club. In LA, some of these people are known all over the world.
But you're going to get that feeling most of all on the Westside.
I hardly see any hot cars elsewhere in LA besides on the Westside. The fanciest cars I see in the Valley are maybe you're run of the mill Beamer or an Audi SUV, besides that my car is usually the one getting the thumbs up from everyone and I drive a ten year old sports car.
I only get that "ant" feeling when I am in Beverly Hills or West Hollywood. Elsewhere I am totally cool.
These celebs are world renown, yes. And it's different than say being a big baller Wall St. banker in NYC but the point is that celebs are proly the least you should be worried about because the majority of them are not snobs. The snobs are the billionaire moguls, the hot shot lawyer or doctors or other professional millionaires who do not have a creative bone in their body.
I think the "small" feeling you're getting is the fact that LA rich are creatively styled, flamboyant and flashy.
You gotta hand it to them because the rich in NYC, Boston, DC and even Dallas are usually stuffy, ugly, and hopelessly traditional.
The only time I really felt small was walking around 5th ave. in NYC and seeing the Pharaoh like wealth people had there. Other than that, LA at least makes you feel like you can have a shot at the good life no matter how hard that may be.
Yeah, I think it mainly has to do with being a "regular" person in a place known for celebrities. You could be in a richer part of any different city, and not get that feeling at all.
This is probably why people try so hard to be cool and live above their means in LA, have the right car...trying to fight the "ant" feeling, lol. There's also the possibility of being "discovered" at a coffee shop in LA, so another reason people try to stay on top more.
For instance, Dallas is known as a 30K millionaire city - but I've never felt this way there, even in Uptown or Preston Hollow (which is one of the richest zip codes in the world).
Miami is flashy too in certain parts, same with NY, but still doesn't have nearly the same effect as LA.
It's because in Houston or Dallas, one can reach some level of what the other wealthy are getting because of the cost of living.
In LA the gap is super huge and there is no 30k millionaire effect. In Houston, all my buddies thought they were big ballers making 30k look like 100k. They would rent a luxury apartment with a roommate, lease an expensive car and get bottle service at the club. All with a 30k a year job and some good credit.
They never felt the blunt of major class divide. Much less one where the rich are well known and flaunting how they love every minute of their life.
That's a good point. Although, I think there's a substantial amount of people who aren't making much money, but still try to look their best. I've actually been criticized for this...i.e. trying to look like I have more money than I really do. It's not hard for anyone to walk into H&M or Zara and dress well in my opinion.
It's because in Houston or Dallas, one can reach some level of what the other wealthy are getting because of the cost of living.
In LA the gap is super huge and there is no 30k millionaire effect. In Houston, all my buddies thought they were big ballers making 30k look like 100k. They would rent a luxury apartment with a roommate, lease an expensive car and get bottle service at the club. All with a 30k a year job and some good credit.
They never felt the blunt of major class divide. Much less one where the rich are well known and flaunting how they love every minute of their life.
That same gap exists in most cities, though. I've heard a very similar issue that Manhattan tends to be either really rich or really poor. NYC also has a big divide.
I think the fact that celebrities and cars are so valued, so common out here in LA adds to it. Over there and in the other ones, it's like, whatever, just part of normal residential life. You're in LA here, you need to show off and join the famous people and the traffic.
Maybe the question should be, "What will make you feel bigger?"
If you're not one of "the beautiful people", don't have the bucks to afford being the big shot, or don't have a huge ego as many (not all) celebrities have, what can you do to make you feel elevated in your own eyes? Only you can deal with that. Feelings of inferiority is a challenge very common to the human condition.
The parts of LA where you're hanging out just magnifies this because you're right at ground zero of the "look at me" culture.
One thing to remember when looking at someone who is "known," as in in the entertainment industry is that they are their own brand. They have to be seen, talked about, recognized, etc. as it is all part of the promotion of their image, and flaunting their lifestyle is part of the cost of doing business.
When you said there was a madam coming out of Prada, were you referring to an actual madam? If so, then that's advertising on a similar, yet slightly different level, but not something that would be in the comparative mode for the vast majority of the population. I don't think that I have actually seen a madam at the Beverly Center, but I am intrigued, so I shall now see if I can spot one.
__________________
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
Not sure if was an actual madam or not. Had snakeskin pants and all. I'm sure they weren't cheap either.
This "ant" thing is sort of a paradox. I like the fact LA is a place I can dress as stylish as I want and it's fine. Skinny jeans tucked into boots? No one cares. Deep v-neck? No one cares. Do that in the midwest (unless you're at a club in one of the bigger cities) and you're generally assumed gay, or seen as femmy, since it's such a macho-drive culture there. The only way to offset this is to become a bodybuilder or just be huge.
Interesting enough. People in the midwest can have lots of tattoos/piercings, and no one cares. If a guy starts doing his eyebrows, gets his teeth whitened, etc. Then he's probably gay and that's not understood.
LA is really the only city someone can go for an avant-garde look if they want and not be judged for it.
Last edited by trancedout; 08-19-2012 at 02:45 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 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 1.5 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.
I don't think that I have actually seen a madam at the Beverly Center, but I am intrigued, so I shall now see if I can spot one.
