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I've never considered LA a "3rd world" city. To me the majority is middle class and hard working with the rest either super wealthy and super poor. The Glamour is reserved for the movies and tourists. LA is a NORMAL American city and to many THAT is the culture shock. Hollywood is a gritty neighborhood with hard working people living their lives. There are areas to avoid especially if you are black or hispanic IE: Blacks don't go to the Hispanic hoods and vise versa. I wouldn't call it "less sophisticated" than San Francisco, Angelenos just don't get caught up in pretention the way our friends from the Bay do At least not on a city-wide scale. Being stuck in traffic any hour of any day is a way of life. Angelenos are most adept at finding shortcuts and alternate routes. Just don't do what Reginald Denny did Live close to work, Work close to home, that's the mantra. Master the art of Parallel parking and turning left at intersections lol Downtown is an underappreciated gem, we hope to keep it that way. The beaches are great but usually packed and it's a headache to get to them. No Century City is not downtown, and no life isn't spent soley behind the wheel of a car. Get real people.
I've never considered LA a "3rd world" city. To me the majority is middle class and hard working with the rest either super wealthy and super poor. The Glamour is reserved for the movies and tourists. LA is a NORMAL American city and to many THAT is the culture shock. Hollywood is a gritty neighborhood with hard working people living their lives. There are areas to avoid especially if you are black or hispanic IE: Blacks don't go to the Hispanic hoods and vise versa. I wouldn't call it "less sophisticated" than San Francisco, Angelenos just don't get caught up in pretention the way our friends from the Bay do At least not on a city-wide scale. Being stuck in traffic any hour of any day is a way of life. Angelenos are most adept at finding shortcuts and alternate routes. Just don't do what Reginald Denny did Live close to work, Work close to home, that's the mantra. Master the art of Parallel parking and turning left at intersections lol Downtown is an underappreciated gem, we hope to keep it that way. The beaches are great but usually packed and it's a headache to get to them. No Century City is not downtown, and no life isn't spent soley behind the wheel of a car. Get real people.
Nothing more needs to be said. This topic should be closed.
L.A. has great weather. The city is wonderfully ugly, charmingly so. There are palm trees everywhere. L.A. has some of the best cheap eats in the nation, due to the ethnic vibe of the city, as well as some of the best fine dining. The city is gentrifying, though not like New York, as here you get the farm to table restaurant right next to the 50 year old taco stand. Hamburger stands are revered. Everything is commercial- billboards are everywhere. Street art everywhere. People love to talk about how they wish L.A. had better public transportation as the cruise around in their cars. Lots of expensive cars. People who shouldn't really be driving expensive cars drive them, and the people who actually can afford expensive cars drive a Prius. There is so much great architecture here, but it's hidden on sides streets, and around corners. There's always something to do. L.A. is a city in the middle of nature, ten minutes from downtown you can hike around a mountain range, ten minutes from Santa Monica or Malibu you can visit waterfalls and forests. Most of all, L.A. is a completely unique city- there is nothing else in the world like it.
Very well said. To quote Randy Newman, "I love LA"
I've never considered LA a "3rd world" city. To me the majority is middle class and hard working with the rest either super wealthy and super poor. The Glamour is reserved for the movies and tourists. LA is a NORMAL American city and to many THAT is the culture shock.
I agree with everything you said except this. I agree on the outskirts of LA, it's pretty middle class. But LA metro, is pretty super rich or super poor. And the culture shock stems from it being far from a normal city.
Coming from a town like Houston, Dallas, Austin or Destin, FL, I mean, you show up in LA find the gritty side of East LA. All the older buildings around the area that look "dumpy" to the non-adventurous suburbanite tourist. Riding the Metro and seeing young girls sing on the subway for money, little kids selling candy, the very very working class look of a lot of the passengers, the record number of homeless everywhere. And not just any homeless, but sadly, really mentally unstable and extremely grimy homeless unlike I've ever seen besides NYC. Homeless teenagers, an even bigger and depressing shocker.
I mean what is normal about metro LA that reminds you of other cities? These are serious systemic problems of a city heavily hit by recession.
Again, am I generalizing? Are we just contrasting this with middle class burbs in Studio City and Sherman Oaks? I mean seriously, what is so normal about seeing the grand canyon of a gap between the rich in West LA and the poorer neighborhoods?
MacArthur Park was a huge shocker. Look, I am not trying to disparage LA. I love this town. The good and the bad. I've adopted it even with all it's faults but I am not blind to the obvious almost 3rd world aspects to it that makes it unlike any other town I've seen in the States, and that includes NYC.
I agree with everything you said except this. I agree on the outskirts of LA, it's pretty middle class. But LA metro, is pretty super rich or super poor. And the culture shock stems from it being far from a normal city.
Coming from a town like Houston, Dallas, Austin or Destin, FL, I mean, you show up in LA find the gritty side of East LA. All the older buildings around the area that look "dumpy" to the non-adventurous suburbanite tourist. Riding the Metro and seeing young girls sing on the subway for money, little kids selling candy, the very very working class look of a lot of the passengers, the record number of homeless everywhere. And not just any homeless, but sadly, really mentally unstable and extremely grimy homeless unlike I've ever seen besides NYC. Homeless teenagers, an even bigger and depressing shocker.
I mean what is normal about metro LA that reminds you of other cities? These are serious systemic problems of a city heavily hit by recession.
Again, am I generalizing? Are we just contrasting this with middle class burbs in Studio City and Sherman Oaks? I mean seriously, what is so normal about seeing the grand canyon of a gap between the rich in West LA and the poorer neighborhoods?
MacArthur Park was a huge shocker. Look, I am not trying to disparage LA. I love this town. The good and the bad. I've adopted it even with all it's faults but I am not blind to the obvious almost 3rd world aspects to it that makes it unlike any other town I've seen in the States, and that includes NYC.
No I'm not calling you out on anything. I just don't think or see the gap between the rich and poor as you describe it. Perhaps I'm used to it? LA, SF and El Paso are the only 3 cities in which I've lived. Maybe I'm jaded a bit. Yourself being an outsider more or less will see LA with, for lack of a better word, a fresh set of eyes. The homless, beggers, and kids selling candy is basically something I'm used to so I can see where you are coming from in our disagreement. It's more or less the norm for me I guess.
No I'm not calling you out on anything. I just don't think or see the gap between the rich and poor as you describe it. Perhaps I'm used to it? LA, SF and El Paso are the only 3 cities in which I've lived. Maybe I'm jaded a bit. Yourself being an outsider more or less will see LA with, for lack of a better word, a fresh set of eyes. The homless, beggers, and kids selling candy is basically something I'm used to so I can see where you are coming from in our disagreement. It's more or less the norm for me I guess.
Totally understandable. I am getting used to it too until I see a really, really depressing scene like a guy with half his body in the trashcan just ravaging it looking for anything to eat. I mean this is not normal for most cities. There is a lot of desperation in this city that reminded more of the type I saw in Moscow, Prague and Santiago, Chile. More so than the top cities I've been to in the US; NYC, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Dallas.
Skid row was literally too much to take. I had to see it because it's so well known outside LA and I wish I hadn't seen it. That level of poverty shouldn't exist in the States.
I'm from OC where there aren't that many homeless people but to be honest, the homeless people in L.A doesn't shock me. Pretty much nothing shocks me.
I don't go into areas like East LA and lower income area etc because I have no reason to; I don't know anyone there and have no business/reason going there. The only places where I have any interest in going and where I have business going to are mostly located in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Burbank. I don't have broke friends.
The area where I live (W Hollywood) is every bit as picturesque, lovely and glamorous as portrayed on tv. Not a fan of the city of Hollywood; it's more middle class and grimy, dirty with too many tourists. However, West Hollywood is much more cleaner and upscale. I absolutely love it. I also like Santa Monica; I think Santa Monica is also every bit as glam and very accurate to the "Socal Beach" lifestyle portrayed on tv.
Los Angeles is very big; if you live in W Hollywood or Santa Monica you are living the L.A life. If you live somewhere more depressing like East LA or South Central then you have a different life, not the glam one people think of when they think of L.A. If you live somewhere like Burbank/Sherman Oaks to me that is boring and mundane as HELL but still upscale.... I prefer the city vibe of W Hollywood instead of the boring suburbs.
Damn, girl. I live in Valley Village right next to Studio City and Sherman Oaks. I hang out in Burbank, NoHo and Sherman Oaks with a lot of non-broke friends.
Most of my posse lives out in West LA because they're snobs like you that do not want to venture past Fairfax or Le Brea.
I like both LAs but the hipper areas are not out West. If you think a bunch of crunchy green yuppies, gawdy foreigners in Beverly Hills, and metros trying to too hard to be the wittiest in the room (and believe me they try to no avail) is somehow better than have at it, to each his own. But do not come in here snapping like some wannabe dive saying that the other half is somehow gross and not worth visiting.
I've been to the South of France, the Italian Riveria and the Greek Isles, no broke fool here, but I do not disparage people and their neighborhoods. In fact I embrace them and adapt to them a lot easier than I would in a room full of unbearable souls like I've dealt with all my upper middle class life.
You should get out more. Ever danced til 4am in a sweaty warehouse club/party in Silverlake or somewhere in downtown? Ever had great conversations with activists out in Echo Park? Ever eaten Korean BBQ in Koreatown?
Ever danced til 4am in a sweaty warehouse club/party in Silverlake or somewhere in downtown? Ever had great conversations with activists out in Echo Park? Ever eaten Korean BBQ in Koreatown?
Have no interest in doing any of those things; has no appeal to me whatsoever.
I'm from OC where there aren't that many homeless people but to be honest, the homeless people in L.A doesn't shock me. Pretty much nothing shocks me.
I don't go into areas like East LA and lower income area etc because I have no reason to; I don't know anyone there and have no business/reason going there. The only places where I have any interest in going and where I have business going to are mostly located in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Burbank. I don't have broke friends.
The area where I live (W Hollywood) is every bit as picturesque, lovely and glamorous as portrayed on tv. Not a fan of the city of Hollywood; it's more middle class and grimy, dirty with too many tourists. However, West Hollywood is much more cleaner and upscale. I absolutely love it. I also like Santa Monica; I think Santa Monica is also every bit as glam and very accurate to the "Socal Beach" lifestyle portrayed on tv.
Los Angeles is very big; if you live in W Hollywood or Santa Monica you are living the L.A life. If you live somewhere more depressing like East LA or South Central then you have a different life, not the glam one people think of when they think of L.A. If you live somewhere like Burbank/Sherman Oaks to me that is boring and mundane as HELL but still upscale.... I prefer the city vibe of W Hollywood instead of the boring suburbs.
This post screams low class, sorry.
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At least not on a city-wide scale. Being stuck in traffic any hour of any day is a way of life. Angelenos are most adept at finding shortcuts and alternate routes. Just don't do what Reginald Denny did 
