Does anyone living in Los Angeles feel this way after many years of living here? (San Francisco: amusement park, public schools)

[TheRealAngelion]

I came back after 6 years on the east coast. Left again and went to San Diego for 4.5 years and came back again. I keep coming back. So this must be love....

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by majoun

You realize that song was satire (like most of Newman's work)?

Yeah, but part of learning to love LA is learning to have a sense of humor about it, both the realities and the stereotypes. (and the fact that the rest of the country seems to have a strong love-hate relationship with the city - hardly anyone is neutral)

[buckeyenative01]

Newman's song is both an ode to and a criticism of everything LA.

I still think its funny to listen to 35,000 drunken Dodgers fans massacre the song after a victory, though

[justhere]

Originally Posted by jzt83

The thing with LA, well at least for me, is that LA is so massive that there's just so much of everything including crap. One must be able to distill the garbage out to find the few gems scattered about. Also, if you live in a neighborhood not suited to you, you will likely be miserable. Living in LA takes a lot of planning if one wants to be enjoy their time living there. You have to find a place with a reasonable commute to work, otherwise life will suck. But then what if your job is near areas not suited to you? Well you have to just try and find another job closer to the areas you like or just deal with the nearby hoods or deal with the commute. There are so many other factors that can make or break ones positive perception of LA. One key factor to enjoying LA is having lots of disposable money to reduce ones need to compromise with their living situation.

Great observation. You must keep the old filter in the senses constantly working AND keep a sense of humor. You dont just take everything in or you will overload and burn out. Some things are truly screensavers in California, others are just so true to the SoCal that you can't even describe it.

Once we saw a guy by the side of the freeway with a sign that read, "Need money for beer ... why lie?"

[sardone]

Originally Posted by justhere

Great observation. You must keep the old filter in the senses constantly working AND keep a sense of humor. You dont just take everything in or you will overload and burn out. Some things are truly screensavers in California, others are just so true to the SoCal that you can't even describe it.

Once we saw a guy by the side of the freeway with a sign that read, "Need money for beer ... why lie?"

Exactly, that's one of the best things about LA. There are so much of everything, that you have the ability to chose what you want and almost completely submerge yourself mesh with the type of culture that suits you, rather than being in a small town where most people generally follow their norms and do not allow for much deviation from it.

In LA, other things become screensavers, but yet that adds to the great diversity and even allows for you to meet different types of people (whether by choice or not), and further strengthen your bonds to your own filter, or even become a more well rounded person.

[buckeyenative01]

I've always believed that, in spite of Hollywood, the amusement parks, beaches and whatever other reasons people visit LA for vacation, LA itself is not a tourist-friendly town.

If you're not familiar with the area, you practically need a guide to find the best hole-in-the-wall shops/restaurants/points of interest or consult an experienced Angeleno to get past all the glitz and glamor that the brochures promise in order to see and experience the best of everything Los Angeles.

Reminds me of a conversation I once had with an out-of-towner complaining about the lack of things to do in LA. When I mentioned several areas of interest and restaurants that are off-the-beaten-path, the poor bastard was angry with himself for not looking hard enough for anything interesting during his visit.

[justhere]

But you know, now that I think about it, its difficult to develop the art of choice (sorta like being in the salad dressing aisle) if you never had the choice to choose from a wide variety of things, people, situations. People from small towns who like to keep things very very simple and predictable, usually do not like California right away. Too much filtering, sorting, choosing, diversity, unpredictability, variety. Senses overload.

The freeways alone can send them over the edge -- 6 lanes both ways.

[jzt83]

Originally Posted by buckeyenative01

I've always believed that, in spite of Hollywood, the amusement parks, beaches and whatever other reasons people visit LA for vacation, LA itself is not a tourist-friendly town.

If you're not familiar with the area, you practically need a guide to find the best hole-in-the-wall shops/restaurants/points of interest or consult an experienced Angeleno to get past all the glitz and glamor that the brochures promise in order to see and experience the best of everything Los Angeles.

Reminds me of a conversation I once had with an out-of-towner complaining about the lack of things to do in LA. When I mentioned several areas of interest and restaurants that are off-the-beaten-path, the poor bastard was angry with himself for not looking hard enough for anything interesting during his visit.

True. It's best to have an long time Angeleno take you around. If not, a tourist must do extensive research on their trip, lest they find themselves bored after visiting the touristy stuff. But when I visited LA for the first time, I complied a long list of places and things I wanted to do. I did my research extensively and had a blast when I visited. The only touristy thing I did was watch the filming of a sitcom. Otherwise, I find most touristy things overly expensive and/or boring. But, you can't just expect to wing it and enjoy your time in LA. I guess you can but chances are you'll be stuck somewhere without the slightest idea as what to do.

[jzt83]

Originally Posted by justhere

But you know, now that I think about it, its difficult to develop the art of choice (sorta like being in the salad dressing aisle) if you never had the choice to choose from a wide variety of things, people, situations. People from small towns who like to keep things very very simple and predictable, usually do not like California right away. Too much filtering, sorting, choosing, diversity, unpredictability, variety. Senses overload.

The freeways alone can send them over the edge -- 6 lanes both ways.

Analysis paralysis. I agree, sometimes the choices can be overwhelming and even overly excessive.

[John23]

There's always something to watch and see...if you get bored, just go to the beaches and look at the girls

Went to the Santa Monica beach today for a few hours, even in feb...wow, lol. The rollerbladers, joggers, bicyclists...who could be bored.

-People watching is somewhat underrated here. And it's year round, in other places, it's only 6 or 8 months. Make the most you can of it.

-Agree with sensory overload. Its easy to get in the habit of going to the same restaurants, malls, watering holes, and there's a cool place you've never seen only 5 minutes away.

Avoid the habits you'd have in other cities. There's more to discover. More to find here.

I'd try to enjoy the uniqueness of it. It only took 6 years to see the Christmas tree at the Grove. There's alot of things like that, that you don't get around to seeing.