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Here's what it boils down to for me. Everyone within less the 2 minutes will tell me they're from NY immediately. I don't do this. I don't know anyone outside of NYC that does this. No offense, but your username even tells us, lol. I suggest you not do this if you move to Southern California and like the other poster said, don't use the word "Cali." You'll see a lot of hate on this board alone from natives (I don't care, I loved the LL Cool J song). Either way, that's my problem, but I know a few others back home that feel similarly. Proceed with caution is my advice.
As for the race thing, what really bothers me is that I'm a 4th generation Chicano. If you watch the movie Blood In, Blood Out or American Me, imagine that I'm the son of that I'm the generation after those guys that were already born here. Or I suppose my dad would have been the son of the people portrayed in the film Zoot Suit. My point is if you're expecting me to dance and play music like Ricky Ricardo, you're in for a shock, lol. I do love La Bamba and Lowrider though.
It would be great if CD locals can give input on this, but I highly doubt hipsters are going to move to Compton. There is absolutely 0 benefit to living in Compton for them. The commute to where that group is likely to work is too far and if you've ever been anywhere near that courthouse at night, good luck. Plus, you have the immigrants that will put 6 people to a house and save on rent to compete against. I think the hipsters will likely go to places like South Central, Watts (last I heard shootings in the middle of the day over there), Hollywood, and Long Beach. If the tech industry starts to move closer to Compton, then maybe a move there would be in the cards. My friends love Long Beach, but I can't stand that area or anywhere south of it. I was always a San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, Santa Monica, or West LA kind of guy.
And although I know of Rialto, I don't know much about it.
It definitely is not the first thing I will speak about when meeting someone (unless I am telling a story about something that happened in my past). It's a part of my history but I definitely doesn't define me as a person. Honestly, I randomly chose my username. I will say that having lived in NY and Miami my idiosyncrasies and tastes can be a lot different than people who have lived in a small town or another city all their lives. I'm sure it is similar for someone who grew up in an urban part of LA or San Francisco as well. You expect to find certain amenities and when you can't locate these things in certain places, it can be very frustrating when you are used to those things being readily available. It's not a big deal about not using Cali. I can just as easily use CA but, then, people may mistake it for Canada. Maybe it's an East Coast or generational thing but we shorten every area name over here (e.g. DUMBO, SoHO MoCa, NoVa, etc.)
Lol, the Ricky Ricardo thing is hilarious (especially since he was Cuban, lol)! I would assume that would come from older people who are from homogenous populations. My Mexican American friend from Wisconsin was more Midwestern-acting than anything else. I also had a Colombian friend from NYC who was adopted and raised by Jewish parents so she did not speak any Spanish. Stereotypes are ridiculous.
I can see the hipsters/yuppies eventually trying to get into Compton as the city keeps growing (especially if they are young, broke and right out of college). It is one of the few affordable places that is reasonably close to DTLA and other major hubs in the city. Trust me, it happened in NYC. You would see these hipsters riding their bikes around the roughest hoods in Brooklyn. I see it here in DC too. Yuppies jogging and walking their dogs right next to the drunk whino guy on Rhode Island Avenue (which used to be one of the roughest parts of NE Washington DC).
The east coast, the south and midwestern cities all have a lot more black americans than any city or area you will find out west. I think the city with the most blacks out west is Las Vegas and they only account for 14 percent of the population. My friend (he is white) is from the suburbs of New York and was shocked at how few black people there were, he still can't get over it.
Yes, it's just not the norm over here on the East Coast not to see several Black people in the course of a day. I admit, I did get kind of excited whenever I would see an AA person in certain areas out West (especially in Salt Lake City). They were usually excited to see us too being that it is rare to see a group of three to four Black people walking together in many western states. There are many East Africans in Seattle but I see them differently than I would an AA. There's a kind of solidarity (even with complete strangers) when you are in an EXTREME minority like that.
San Pedro is about 30 minutes (more in traffic) separated from LA and used to be its own city with its own mayor many years ago (before I was born). IDK why, but they became a part of the city and have regretted it ever since. When you go to SP, you don't find people wearing LA clothes, they wear shirts, etc with SP on them. Locals themselves pronounce Pedro (Pee-dro), which is something outsiders from LA never did until maybe post 2000s (I remember being shocked when the news finally started pronouncing it Pee-dro)?
Quote:
Originally Posted by NyWriterdude
Did you read my post? People who are in professional careers typically have people who advised them on how to take the steps in order to make those careers happen.
Take teaching. In order to teach a bachelors ISN'T enough. You'll have to pass certain exams, go through the licensing process, and get a masters. There is no TEENAGER who did all this homework. Basically there were different people at different stages who told them what steps they needed to take in order to progress.
In my case I gave no thought to teaching as an undergraduate. Years after getting my bachelors, I was job hunting and someone told me the steps to take to get licensed as a ESL teacher in NY. I was also told after getting the initial credential, that I needed to have a certain number of graduate credits by a certain time to get my license renewed. So I enrolled in a master's program. Upon visiting LA last winter, someone suggested I speak to a local principal. I did, and he told me the steps I needed to take to start getting certified in California. I started those steps, and was able to complete them after my documents were approved by the county education office.
But these were many steps taken over YEARS. There is no high school student who can do this level of homework on a career. People interested in specific careers need to talk to people who are working in THOSE careers for advice on how to proceed.
My uncle is an engineer and knew that's what he wanted to be early on and found out what he needed to do as a teenager. At Berkeley, a lot of these kids already knew the paths they wanted to take. Most knew someone that did it. I agree with you that is part of the process, but the point is that we can and should do that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NyWriterdude
I never have any problems mentioning I'm from NYC to the people I'm among in Los Angeles.
Also anyone from ANY major city will be able to take care of themselves in ANY other major city WORLDWIDE.
And there are more than two big cities in the world.
You don't have any problems because we're not going to say anything out of being polite. My point was that it's freaking annoying when you guys do that because you will mention it without us even prompting you to mention it like it's a big deal, but it's not. I don't go around casually mentioning that I'm from Los Angeles unless prompted.
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Originally Posted by theraven24
Why do you care about my opinion?
The term annoys me, simple as that. I never said anything about some apparent quest I'm on to ban the word, or even alluded to that.
Nothing if you are talking about a Colombian city. Like San Franciscans don't like the term "Frisco" Angelenos in particular first identify as or from LA then the Southland or Southern California and rarely from California as a whole. "Cali" wasn't a term I heard until rappers from the east coast started using it, and then two rappers got shot to death.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYtoDC
Blame Tupac and Biggie for making the term popular.
I do.
I remember hitting basic training and having the Drill Sergeant ask us where we are from. Now the Army way as you can read in award citations is to say "entered service from the state of." Now they had so much experience with Angelenos that when we instinctively answered that we were from "LA" the Drill Sergeant would immediately throw out the question n "Lower Alabama?"
Experience can definitely trump a degree in certain cases (especially depending on the age of a person). I know an older man in his early sixties with only a hs diploma and no industry certs making six figures in IT. I also know a younger woman in her twenties (also with only a hs degree) making in the high five figures as an engineer working in IT. It is not a child's fault if the parents are not aware or do not help the child make those important decisions concerning schooling and career. Many hs counsellors do not do an adequate job of exposing high school students to various career paths and colleges. I know my hs counsellors were horrible with that. Although I was expected to attend my mother's alma mater (an HBCU), I chose my own college at sixteen years old (a PWI), applied and was accepted with no assistance from adults. My parents filled out the FAFSA at my insistence and I chose my major on my own as well. Nowadays, students are fortunate that they can go to forums and blogs for advice rather than just rely on adults for assistance.
Really? I'm going to quote Dave Chappelle here, but how young is 15 really? Parents are influential, but it's not like a teenager in this day and age doesn't at least have the tools to get started in the right direction. And LOL, at hs counsellors, I never ONCE asked my counselor for any advice other than how to graduate in the fastest way possible. Sorry, I just don't subscribe to this philosophy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYtoDC
Blame Tupac and Biggie for making the term popular.
His name is LL Cool J and wrote "Going back to Cali" before Tupac was dancing for Digital Underground, look him up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYtoDC
It definitely is not the first thing I will speak about when meeting someone (unless I am telling a story about something that happened in my past). It's a part of my history but I definitely doesn't define me as a person. Honestly, I randomly chose my username. I will say that having lived in NY and Miami my idiosyncrasies and tastes can be a lot different than people who have lived in a small town or another city all their lives. I'm sure it is similar for someone who grew up in an urban part of LA or San Francisco as well. You expect to find certain amenities and when you can't locate these things in certain places, it can be very frustrating when you are used to those things being readily available. It's not a big deal about not using Cali. I can just as easily use CA but, then, people may mistake it for Canada. Maybe it's an East Coast or generational thing but we shorten every area name over here (e.g. DUMBO, SoHO MoCa, NoVa, etc.)
Lol, the Ricky Ricardo thing is hilarious (especially since he was Cuban, lol)! I would assume that would come from older people who are from homogenous populations. My Mexican American friend from Wisconsin was more Midwestern-acting than anything else. I also had a Colombian friend from NYC who was adopted and raised by Jewish parents so she did not speak any Spanish. Stereotypes are ridiculous.
I can see the hipsters/yuppies eventually trying to get into Compton as the city keeps growing (especially if they are young, broke and right out of college). It is one of the few affordable places that is reasonably close to DTLA and other major hubs in the city. Trust me, it happened in NYC. You would see these hipsters riding their bikes around the roughest hoods in Brooklyn. I see it here in DC too. Yuppies jogging and walking their dogs right next to the drunk whino guy on Rhode Island Avenue (which used to be one of the roughest parts of NE Washington DC).
It may not be the first thing, but I'll bet you mention it without being prompted.
The Ricky Ricardo thing came from Millennials of all non-latin backgrounds (white, black, asian, didn't matter). All, but 2 were from NYC (Boston).
If you drive in LA traffic, you know damn well that Compton is not reasonably close to downtown LA, lol. Go back and read my post, NYC does not have the immigrant issue to deal with. Places like Norwalk and a lot of the 562 outside of Long Beach haven't even begun to gentrify because the immigrants and their children have such a stronghold there. IF the immigrants start to move, I can see it happening, but to see hipsters move in to areas that are still immigrant and gang dominated, I don't think so. Until you see hipsters move into East LA, I think places like Compton will stay un-gentrified.
Yes, this is why I am probably going to go ahead and do another Bachelors in Computer Science. IT, engineering and healthcare are the best paying fields nowadays. I love music and art but it doesn't pay my bills, lol. You would probably do well in Urban Planning on the West Coast. I'm not sure what the demand is out there but I'm sure it is much needed with transplants constantly moving to inner cities all over now.
Entrepreneurship is definitely the best route to take. You'll never make enough working for someone else. Employees are usually always undervalued and underpaid. I was at a position where a woman worked in the same department I was in for over twenty years and they cut her position along with a few hundred people overnight just like that. She was getting ready to retire so it was pretty messed up. My department manager even confided that they didn't want anyone over forty working in our newly merged IT department. One woman in her twenties was super cutthroat and sabotaged a few people to move up the ranks and get heir position. That struck a chord in me and made me realize that I have to hustle and create my own opportunities because these companies don't care anything about you. Ageism amongst many other "isms" is rampant everywhere. Try to learn about bidding on contracts for either local or federal government in your field. You can't lose with that. There are entrepreneurship courses on the SBA website as well as places like Udemy and Coursera.
The crime in Atlanta will, most likely, transfer from the city into the outer suburbs as it is doing here in MD. If I felt comfortable and could deal with the wilderness, I'd move to some remote town in Montana or something. It is really frustrating to pretty much never deal with crime in your neighborhood then go to dealing with it on a regular basis.
I tried to get another degree a few years ago after I graduated. An IT degree could be helpful. But even Blacks with STEM degrees are more likely to be unemployed than STEM grads of other ethnicities. One reason entrepreneurship is a very good idea. I learned the hard way that having a college degree doesn't guarantee instant employment.
One interesting thing is this. I tried calling the man who was the head of King County GIS(in Seattle). I had a hard time tracking him down. My theory was "want a job, avoid HR and go to the man in charge".
Right now, I have a job, and the pay is decent. I'm not in minimum wage or service jobs. However, eventually I have to step up. Maybe in stepping things up, I could possibly afford a West Coast metro.
I tried to get another degree a few years ago after I graduated. An IT degree could be helpful. But even Blacks with STEM degrees are more likely to be unemployed than STEM grads of other ethnicities. One reason entrepreneurship is a very good idea. I learned the hard way that having a college degree doesn't guarantee instant employment.
One interesting thing is this. I tried calling the man who was the head of King County GIS(in Seattle). I had a hard time tracking him down. My theory was "want a job, avoid HR and go to the man in charge".
Right now, I have a job, and the pay is decent. I'm not in minimum wage or service jobs. However, eventually I have to step up. Maybe in stepping things up, I could possibly afford a West Coast metro.
This is true. You always have to work twice as hard as an AA in STEM. Certain males at my job were upset that I got into an entry level IT position (especially since my degrees were in an non-related major) but I worked really hard and picked up the skills I needed quickly. Thank God for Google! Fortunately, I've been able to talk myself into a variety of jobs just by networking and "pounding the pavement" to find opportunities. Having an IT background is beneficial in a variety of fields since everything is so technology based these days. I really wanted to go back for an M.Arch degree but the unemployment percentages for architects is crazy! The way the job market is these day, you have to somewhat go with the flow and find what is in demand (unless you have an uncle that owns a company or something).
The government contract thing is really hot out here which is one reason I am nervous to leave the area without something set up in place for me in CA beforehand. Everyone that has a government security clearance makes really good money out here. It is almost guaranteed that you will get a great job with a clearance and the idea of job security is hard to give up.
You could try combining your geography skill with some coding knowledge. That will probably bump your pay rate up if you can find the right position. Have you ever tried a GPS company like Garmin or even the Google Maps division? That seems like it would be right up your alley with a Geography degree.
I'm pret much in the same place as you. Not working minimum wage but my salary is not enough to live the lifestyle I want to live (which is living in a nice crime-free area with good amenities in the city of my choice).
I remember hitting basic training and having the Drill Sergeant ask us where we are from. Now the Army way as you can read in award citations is to say "entered service from the state of." Now they had so much experience with Angelenos that when we instinctively answered that we were from "LA" the Drill Sergeant would immediately throw out the question n "Lower Alabama?"
Really? I'm going to quote Dave Chappelle here, but how young is 15 really? Parents are influential, but it's not like a teenager in this day and age doesn't at least have the tools to get started in the right direction. And LOL, at hs counsellors, I never ONCE asked my counselor for any advice other than how to graduate in the fastest way possible. Sorry, I just don't subscribe to this philosophy.
His name is LL Cool J and wrote "Going back to Cali" before Tupac was dancing for Digital Underground, look him up.
It may not be the first thing, but I'll bet you mention it without being prompted.
The Ricky Ricardo thing came from Millennials of all non-latin backgrounds (white, black, asian, didn't matter). All, but 2 were from NYC (Boston).
If you drive in LA traffic, you know damn well that Compton is not reasonably close to downtown LA, lol. Go back and read my post, NYC does not have the immigrant issue to deal with. Places like Norwalk and a lot of the 562 outside of Long Beach haven't even begun to gentrify because the immigrants and their children have such a stronghold there. IF the immigrants start to move, I can see it happening, but to see hipsters move in to areas that are still immigrant and gang dominated, I don't think so. Until you see hipsters move into East LA, I think places like Compton will stay un-gentrified.
Nowadays, research can be done independently by teens but a long time ago, it was hard to get up-to-date information about college rankings, programs offered, etc. When I was in hs, I really only knew of a few of the biggest names out there (e.g. Harvard, Colombua, NYU, etc). I randomly found my college when I was searching through college catalogs and decided to apply. Also, everyone doesn't have a wide range of professionals in their inner circle to model their life after. My mother was a HS English teacher and my father worked for the federal government. Unless I was close to them, I really didn't know the ins and outs of what my friends' parents did for a living. So, my own personal knowledge of what career choices were available to me were extremely limited at the time.
Yeah, the Ricky Ricardo thing is strange. Never heard that one before from anyone I know. IDK. I had a Hatian American friend in Philly that was called Wanda Sykes because of her hairstyle which was pretty stupid because they really looked nothing alike. I hate celebrity comparisons anyways. So pointless in my book.
I was pretty surprised that I got around LA county/OC pretty quickly last time I was there. It literally took me 40 minutes or less to zip across the highways. Maybe it was the time of day. Not sure. I think our traffic here in DC is worse than L.A.'s traffic now so maybe it is all relative because I am used to crazy traffic and long commute times now.
The only way I could see hipsters staying out of Compton is if they lower prices elsewhere (which isn't bound to happen with L.A.'s popularity). It may take a decade or two but I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen. If they did it in Ft. Greene and Bedstuy, they will do it to Compton.
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