South Bay...a cultural wasteland? (Los Angeles, Torrance: school, living in, mall)

[cynsis]

Originally Posted by AJT123

Definitely check it out. It's seriously the most perfect beach I've ever been to. We never go anywhere else for a beach day. I'd rather be sitting in a doctor's office than cutting through the 50,000 tourists in SM trying to get to the beach. I even hate posting about it bc I don't want people to know about it. Go there on a Saturday even and you won't be close to *ANY* people.

But yes, South Bay is pretty boring. It reminds me of home (Knoxville, TN), but with a beach close by. It's very suburban. Nothing wrong with that, but I didn't move across the country to live in another suburb. South Bay is comprised of car dealerships, Wal-Marts, Grocery Stores, banks, and chain restaurants (which we do frequent, lol) We have friends who live down there who try and try until they're blue in the face to justify how nice it is there, but they're not fooling anyone. It is "nice" but it's not LA. They always have to drive an hour up here to meet us for fun.

I wish you the best and hope you find your niche there! DEFINITELY check out Abalone Cove.

I think this is a case and point about how transplants tend to be more uptight, rude, stereotypical, and judgmental. LA natives really are the more chill, easy going people.

[HipsterAtHeart]

Originally Posted by hjt123

i think playa del rey is a notable exception

i really like the sleepy beach town vibe there, and im someone who tends to hang out in the 'hipster' circuit

I've heard good things about Playa Del Rey… a friend who lives up in my old neighborhood in LA said we should meet there and hang out. Thanks for the tip.

[HipsterAtHeart]

Originally Posted by cynsis

I think this is a case and point about how transplants tend to be more uptight, rude, stereotypical, and judgmental. LA natives really are the more chill, easy going people.

Hmmm… she's the rude, judgmental one?

[Voyageuse]

I grew up in the Pasadena area and moved to south Redondo when I got married in 1994. At the time, there were no good restaurants, only chains. It was awful. For fun, we'd dine out in Venice, the Westside, Silverlake... We moved back to the Pasadena area in 2000. Despite the horrid summers, I am much happier.

[HipsterAtHeart]

Yes, the weather here is enviable. The restaurant scene has picked up since then, I would guess, as there are some nice restaurants in the area. That doesn't do me a whole lot of good in terms of social life, but I can grab a good lunch at various places.

[hipcat]

Originally Posted by HipsterAtHeart

I get that it's a family, sports, "bro" area but it's surprising that in such a huge territory there isn't a little bit more along the lines of the kind of "indie" stuff I like to do. I mean, even a little. The music scene, for instance, tends to all be cover bands playing over-baked hard rock and none of the theaters show indie/art films. I'm just surprised there aren't a few hipster niches around here.

Also I thought the surf scene would be a bit hipper but I don't see much evidence of that…maybe those types of surfers live in Venice.

There is a bar in Hermosa Beach called Lighthouse that has a few Indie bands playing. But the hipster culture isn't seen as cool out there compared to central LA. The South Bay is one of the few reminants of old school Beach Boys LA culture. And the locals like it that way.

[cb2008]

how do you feel about roller derby?
my daughter moved to one of the beach cities with her husband and kids 2 years ago from manhattan NY. she was ready to shoot herself and could not get the hang of the culture or the people there at all. i am not sure she would call herself a hipster, i don't know what that is, but she was fish out of water. a year ago someone asked her the same thing. she thinks derby has saved her soul. she meets whole different variety of people and loves the game, made friends she loves. she is happy now.
this may not be what you are looking for, but there it is.

BTW i totally agree about the cultural wasteland that southbay is. where are the indie movie theaters you mentioned in the LA are?

[HipsterAtHeart]

Originally Posted by cb2008

how do you feel about roller derby?
my daughter moved to one of the beach cities with her husband and kids 2 years ago from manhattan NY. she was ready to shoot herself and could not get the hang of the culture or the people there at all. i am not sure she would call herself a hipster, i don't know what that is, but she was fish out of water. a year ago someone asked her the same thing. she thinks derby has saved her soul. she meets whole different variety of people and loves the game, made friends she loves. she is happy now.
this may not be what you are looking for, but there it is.

BTW i totally agree about the cultural wasteland that southbay is. where are the indie movie theaters you mentioned in the LA are?

If you're daughter is into roller derby she is most likely a hipster! I will have to google that and see what is around here.

[rss77]

The South Bay is not very Hipster, but I don't think it is Hipster-unfriendly. There are a few places that Hipsters would enjoy, like Two Guns Espresso on Sepulveda near 2nd Street in Manhattan Beach, The Hangar Inn on Aviation and 10th in Manhattan Beach and the many hipster-friendly craft brew spots in Torrance. Check out this suggested Torrance craft brew and Japanese food day trip, which is definitely hipster-friendly: Torrance Day Trip Torrance » Southern California Day Trips

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by hipcat

There is a bar in Hermosa Beach called Lighthouse that has a few Indie bands playing. But the hipster culture isn't seen as cool out there compared to central LA. The South Bay is one of the few reminants of old school Beach Boys LA culture. And the locals like it that way.

Yeah I remember going to see some shows there , had a friend whose band would play there pretty cool little place .