Why in the world is Los Angeles so looked down upon (Oakland: roughest, public schools)

[Those Who Squirm]

Originally Posted by wushuliu

It's like saying someone doesn't get why NYC in the early 80s was so cool. Yeah, there was cool stuff going on but if you actually lived there (depending where of course), it also kind of sucked.

About this time the title sequence for SNL showed a woman (cast member? Don't remember) rushing to open her car door like she wanted to get there yesterday--I always thought the unspoken premise was that she was afraid of getting mugged. It's not unlike the way many people talk about L.A. now.

[MordinSolus]

Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm

About this time the title sequence for SNL showed a woman (cast member? Don't remember) rushing to open her car door like she wanted to get there yesterday--I always thought the unspoken premise was that she was afraid of getting mugged. It's not unlike the way many people talk about L.A. now.

The major difference is that NYC in the 80s was generally like how Homer Simpson experienced it, while LA now is pretty darn safe.

[Those Who Squirm]

Originally Posted by StuddedLeather

False. It's a common misconception but I'll clarify for you. Anyone who lives in New York City (the five boroughs) can put "New York" or even "New York City" as long as we put the correct zip code.

Yes, I realize one can address mail either to Staten Island 10304 or to New York 10304, and it will make no difference in how or when it gets delivered. But is that how your mental map of the region works? For instance, if somebody from White Plains asks you where you live, and that happens to be Staten Island, would your answer be "Staten Island", or would it be simply "New York City", without further qualification?

L.A. has a number of remote districts far out in the San Fernando Valley. I'm sure they could all be addressed on mail as Los Angeles along with whatever the zip code is, but people rarely do this, or speak of these places as if they are included in the conceptual image of L.A. To someone on the other side of the country, the SFV might arguably seem the very quintessence of L.A., but that perception is rare in these parts.

[qwertyasdf]

Originally Posted by Those Who Squirm

Venice and Westwood are in the City of L.A.

Yet many people elsewhere in these forums seem to think places like Anaheim and Pomona are part of L.A. Go figure.

I didn't know that. I thought sure Venice (or Venice Beach) was it's own city.

Learn something new everyday. Thanks for educating me.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by RaymondChandlerLives

Let me get this straight, LA's well-documented non-conformist culture doesn't actually exist because...a few people in the nice areas (which I'm told time and time again is just a tiny portion of the city) wear sunglasses and drive nice cars?! Good one.

Exactly. The stereotypical areas of LA are only a minor fraction of the city. Those enclaves out on the Westside are what gives LA that image of being shallow. Its true to an extent and it's annoying to see the wannabes in the industry that flood that side but the actual native Californian, the native Angeleno, is actually very friendly and very down to earth. I tend to really enjoy being with LA natives, not in the industry, that have absolutely no desire to be in the industry and that tend to live East of La Brea or in the Valley.

The real magic I've seen in LA has been in the places not advertised on television. The real creative people I've met in LA are actually NOT in the industry and are street artists, graphic designers, architects, writers, painters, comic aficionados and local musicians. Especially the ones from DTLA.

I never thought LA would even be a hidden gem in this regard.

[Those Who Squirm]

Originally Posted by qwertyasdf

I didn't know that. I thought sure Venice (or Venice Beach) was it's own city.

Learn something new everyday. Thanks for educating me.

Venice does retain its own house numbering in the first block inland of the beach. This means many of the popular pubs, cafes, and shops have one or two digit addresses, otherwise practically unknown in the city. So some confusion is inevitable.

[hipcat]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

The major difference is that NYC in the 80s was generally like how Homer Simpson experienced it, while LA now is pretty darn safe.

But you got to admit that large parts of LA look pretty tore up and run down like NYC was in the 80's. Especially from the perspective of someone coming from a more sterile suburban area.

This video captures large parts of LA thats not broadcasted in the media. Such as Westlake, Skid Row, And South of Washington. It looks very poor and grimy.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN1-0nC_6i0

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by hipcat

But you got to admit that large parts of LA look pretty tore up and run down like NYC was in the 80's. Especially from the perspective of someone coming from a more sterile suburban area.

This video captures large parts of LA thats not broadcasted in the media. Such as Westlake, Skid Row, And South of Washington. It looks very poor and grimy.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN1-0nC_6i0

To be honest, with the exception of the entertainment industry and ocean, this could be Phoenix!

[RaymondChandlerLives]

Originally Posted by hipcat

But you got to admit that large parts of LA look pretty tore up and run down like NYC was in the 80's. Especially from the perspective of someone coming from a more sterile suburban area.

This video captures large parts of LA thats not broadcasted in the media. Such as Westlake, Skid Row, And South of Washington. It looks very poor and grimy.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN1-0nC_6i0

LA's worst areas don't even look as bad as Northeast and Rustbelt ghettos today, much less 30 years ago. Google "Charlotte Street Bronx" and you'll quickly see how completely out of touch your statement is.

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

To be honest, with the exception of the entertainment industry and ocean, this could be Phoenix!

Phoenix is the Inland Empire on creatine. Nothing more.

[Bunjee]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

To be honest, with the exception of the entertainment industry and ocean, this could be Phoenix!

But what else do we privilege ourselves to except? Go to the L.A. Pictures thread and decide for yourself what's not the "real" Los Angeles. That seems a common dealing, even a tactic both to the positive and negative, when speaking of the city. More so than others, it appears to me, because it's such a big town and much of it hidden in plain sight.

No where else are outsiders invoking far flung places like Cerritos or Skid Row--or, in turn, Beverly Hills or Pasadena--to assert falsely totalized versions of a place. We see people insist the predominant housing in the city proper is standalone single family homes, when that's measurably untrue.

The reason is L.A.'s size. It cannot be encapsulated. Single person perspective, and the vanity of opinion, resists this.