Anyone else think LA is going down the toilet? (Los Angeles: housing, condo)

[Caliguy2007]

I used to live up in the Northwest and I hated the Gloomy Weather and Rain.

I'm so happy to be in Sunny California,and i've also got to see and do much more things here than when I lived in Washington State.

Originally Posted by Jonah1979

I hate the rain

[AVMan]

I just ran across these forums, and I registered to comment on this specific thread.

I've lived in Los Angeles (city) for 11 years now. Prior to that I grew up in South Orange County, so I did time behind the "orange curtain."

For those people thinking LA is going down the toilet, you must not have been here over ten years ago, when things were much worse than they are today.

In the past ten years:
- The crime rate has gone down dramatically
- Downtown and Hollywood have been improved DRAMATICALLY
- There has been a flood of new public transport options opened up (Gold Line, Orange Line, Red Line, etc.)
- There's been new museums (Getty, Getty Villa, Science Museum), and museum revamps on the way (LACMA)
- There are new shopping/entertainment options -- Staples, Grove, Hollywood/Highland

LA has problems, but to say its going down the "toilet" flies in the face of available evidence (crime rate stats, housing prices, etc.).

Oh, and I don't live in a "rich" area or on the beach -- I live in Atwater Village (between Glendale and Los Feliz). I love it there -- very central and convenient to virtually everywhere, and adjacent to Griffith Park. Not every "good" place is on the water here (or requires $1M+ for a home)!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but contrary to popular belief not "everyone" is leaving L.A., and there are a significant number of us who actually do "love L.A."

[SurekRZA]

"hedgefundpirate" your stupid.
you have a stupid argument.

[Caliguy2007]

L.A has improved tremendously,but so many people just want to continue focusing on the negatives and they also like generalizing the entire region


I was in L.A just a few days ago and I felt safe and I didn't even see a Gangster while I was there....I had a wonderful time while I was there and hope to return soon

Originally Posted by AVMan

I just ran across these forums, and I registered to comment on this specific thread.

I've lived in Los Angeles (city) for 11 years now. Prior to that I grew up in South Orange County, so I did time behind the "orange curtain."

For those people thinking LA is going down the toilet, you must not have been here over ten years ago, when things were much worse than they are today.

In the past ten years:
- The crime rate has gone down dramatically
- Downtown and Hollywood have been improved DRAMATICALLY
- There has been a flood of new public transport options opened up (Gold Line, Orange Line, Red Line, etc.)
- There's been new museums (Getty, Getty Villa, Science Museum), and museum revamps on the way (LACMA)
- There are new shopping/entertainment options -- Staples, Grove, Hollywood/Highland

LA has problems, but to say its going down the "toilet" flies in the face of available evidence (crime rate stats, housing prices, etc.).

Oh, and I don't live in a "rich" area or on the beach -- I live in Atwater Village (between Glendale and Los Feliz). I love it there -- very central and convenient to virtually everywhere, and adjacent to Griffith Park. Not every "good" place is on the water here (or requires $1M+ for a home)!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but contrary to popular belief not "everyone" is leaving L.A., and there are a significant number of us who actually do "love L.A."

[applejack47]

I would like to make some comments in regards to Los Angeles in comparison with other major U S cities. First of all, I would estimate about 50 to 70 percent of the people who live in L.A. are NOT ORIGINALLY FROM L.A. OR EVEN CALIFORNIA FOR THAT MATTER! I know of the unfriendlieness, crime, social problems and other ills that is spoken of about L.A. Most of what you're seeing are coming from people from other U S cities and perhaps the world. They're bringing the problems here. They think they're gonna bring their ways here and change things. NO THEY ARE NOT! as they are finding out. When you have a city that is as big (geographically and population-wise) as L.A., it should be no shock that big city problems exist. This is true for any big city. Some worse than others. Nevertheless, problems exist.

Judging from a lot of the posts, I find it quite amusing to hear people bashing California and L.A. in particular, yet at the same time, very few of these of people are making any serious attempt to leave. If it's so bad, why waste time and energy pissed off about it. LEAVE! People here have no clue how good they've got it here, despite all it's problems and people struggling. Believe me, there's far worse than L.A. I know because I'm not from CA originally. I was born and raise in Chicago, IL (which in my personal opinion is much worse than L A could ever be). I grew up on the city's South side, which is 96 percent black. I was very glad to get the hell out of there. Crime like you wouldn't believe. Coming to CA back in 1985, I took many opportunities to visit L A and in particular, South L A, Compton, Watts and other bad areas and let me tell you L A doesn't compare. I seen what L A calls slums and public housing and I've been laughing my ass off ever since. That city has NO CLUE what public housing is (or as it's said in the hood, THE PROJECTS!) and if their idea of public housing is Nickerson Gardens, they have a lot to learn about urban America. There was no city in this world that had the highest concentration of public housing than Chicago, Illinois and the vast majority of them were skyscrapers of at least 16 stories tall comprising of many buildings. The one housing project that comes to mind that were the largest in the world was the Robert Taylor Housing Projects. They consisted of 28 16 story tall buildings extending over a 4 mile stretch. There is a High School next to them called DuSable High School which I graduated from in 1979. Now mind you, this is just one housing project of many Chicago had. Thank God they've torn them down. Public housing was a major failure. As a matter of fact, the federal government has gone on a campaign to tear down these projects not only in Chicago, but Detroit, Philadelphia, St.Louis, New York City, New Jersey and others. They will NEVER, EVER build those again. EVER!

For your review, I've attached a pic of the Robert Taylor Projects and a pic of a slum or worse yet, URBAN WASTELAND of Chicago and Detroit. To see more of what I'm talking about about, here are 2 websites to visit: SEEDETROIT.COM- providing prolific, candid, uniquely Detroit images since 1996 -Babylon falling and www.urbandecay.ca After visiting these sites, get back here and tell me whether or not L A can run with these types of slums. I've looked all over L A as best I can and cannot find anything here THAT BAD! Also, it will be crystal clear to you why CA and L A in particular have grown the way they have. I could talk on but I'll end it here.

That said, it comes down to this: Is L A a big city with huge problems? Yes. Does it have problem neighborhoods such as slums? Absolutely. Is it an urban wasteland? In comparison to Midwestern and East Coast major U S cities, NO WAY IN HELL! Sorry folks, L A doesn't compare to that. If I ever had to live in a ghetto again, would I live in Watts, Compton, South L A as opposed to the Midwest or East Coast? HANDS DOWN YESSSSSS!

So I say to you, STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT CALIFORNIA! There is much worse. This place is a paradise in comparison. Just my opinion and 2 cent worth. PHIL

[RJ Ontario]

I find it funny that on the LA forum and others, that those who speak out about the declining quality of life are referred to by others as "haters". It's not a hateful thing to want to life in a safer community, to want gangs eradicated, to want the public school system to meet the needs of their kids etc. I definitely don't dismiss the negative posts about certain cities, as long as they're well written and cite examples. I want the truth, not the rose-colored view.

[ndomorph]

It's funny, but I enjoyed LA more when I had less money. I had less at stake, less to lose back then, and took advantage of many sketchy, colorful and exciting neighborhoods, services and social opportunities.

Now that I own a house and care about property values, own a new car and care about traffic and car body quality, own a dog and care about the kindness of strangers ... the city feels more hostile, more dangerous, less forgiving.

Even though I've lived a comfortable life here, with relatively little effort, I always feel on the edge of ruin. That's why my days here are numbered - I'm too old to do LA bohemian any more.

[dennismpat]

Originally Posted by Caliguy2007

No,I don't work for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce,but I sure wish I did

I'm sure you'd be a welcome addition if they ever go recruiting in your area.

[LALady]

Originally Posted by applejack47

That said, it comes down to this: Is L A a big city with huge problems? Yes. Does it have problem neighborhoods such as slums? Absolutely. Is it an urban wasteland? In comparison to Midwestern and East Coast major U S cities, NO WAY IN HELL! Sorry folks, L A doesn't compare to that. If I ever had to live in a ghetto again, would I live in Watts, Compton, South L A as opposed to the Midwest or East Coast? HANDS DOWN YESSSSSS!

So I say to you, STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT CALIFORNIA! There is much worse. This place is a paradise in comparison. Just my opinion and 2 cent worth. PHIL

Just cuz another city is worse doesn't mean LA people don't have the right to complain. Your argument makes no sense to me. Florida has sink holes that swallow houses... does that mean I should not complain about the sink holes on LA streets?

[pwright1]

I love LA.