Are the negative stereotypes about LA really true? (Los Angeles, San Francisco: sales, rent)

[NintendoTogepi]

I hear horror stories about the awful pollution, terrible commutes and traffic jams, horrific sprawl, no one being able to speak English, extreme prices etc.

How much of it is at least semi-accurate?

[graciously]

theres much more many really could see as negative. Most of the stuff you said is as you put semi-accurate except maybe the horrific sprawl cause if you live within the city or any place near to la shouldn't be real bad unless you don't like being around urban places or anything like it other than that things like pollution can be bad if you live within of any urban area or maybe 10-15 miles of one and same with traffic which mostly pretty and depends with where you live and go. As for the people I would say for me many don't speak english or speak another language in many areas partly cause of certain things of an area but again there are places that people speak english a lot.

[yukiko11]

I was born and spent 40 years of my life in LA.
Everything you have heard is true to some extent.
LA is like a bathroom sink. Thats why they call it the basin. When the marine layer is present, it puts a lid on the basin and the pollution is horrible because most of the major freeways go directly through the mdidle of LA.. If you take a deep breath, it sometimes feels like you are being stabbed in the chest with a knife. There are times when you can't see 2 miles due to the smog. Then in the summer there are the brush fires that add a huge amount of pollution to the mix.
Most people commute to work and the public transportation system is not good so you really have to have a car. The last job I worked was 23 miles from my home and the commute was 1.5 hours each way. That wasn't even on the freeway. The commute on the freeway was easily 2 hrs.
You can get on the freeway in downtown LA and drive 50 miles in any direction and still be in the city. You have traveled through many cities, but with no breaks. I have traveled across the country and never have seen this kind of urban sprawl. There are a lot of people living in LA who come from other countries. It has an extremely diverse population. Some of these people are here legally and some are not. There is a great political debate going on about those that are not legal because recently, the state is near bankruptcy and blames illegals for the problem, so now racism has raised its ugly head against the latino community. Some choose to learn the language and become Americans and some do not. In any case, you will find that whenever you talk to institutions like banks and government offices, the people on the phone have such heavy accents, it is very hard to understand them. You can earn the same wages in LA as you can in Dallas. However a house in LA would cost you 500K and the same house in Dallas would cost you 200K. The same goes for almost everything else. Plus California has a state income tax that will grab up to 10% of your gross wages.
The California you see on TV is only for the rich and those who pay for a very expensive vacation. Everyone else lives a life of quiet desperation just like folks everywhere.

[frenchie]

i agree with yukiko11 1000 %
pollution ; until noon it's foggy, what time should i leave to drive to this place, too soon, or too late and stay hours in traffic, so of course you can spend 12/13 hours a day to work, it depends where you live. Gas is very high. sales 9.25 %, property tax too much. illegal aliens for sure, be lucky not to have an accident with one of them (no insurance or driving license sometimes). my girlfriend is upset about the language. she said "i'm a US LA girl", and i can't be understood in my country, because many don't speak english, that's another problem
then TV cable tel 150 channels etc........ about $150 monthly
in france it's 29 euros about 40 dollars
a good place to live valley village glendale sherman oaks , is a good area not very fancy like hancock park or beverly hills but at least you must spend more than 6 or 700 000.(for the area of LA)
good points :
ben and jerry's everywhere, national park, ocean, Mickey, lot's of babe on the beach

i'm living in france and california so i have a different opinion than an american

[Mike121]

Originally Posted by NintendoTogepi

I hear horror stories about the awful pollution, terrible commutes and traffic jams, horrific sprawl, no one being able to speak English, extreme prices etc.

How much of it is at least semi-accurate?

Pollution is not good, but, it is pretty average for a big American city. It used to be much worse before California started having stricter emission standards for cars.

Commutes can be terrible if you choose to live far away from your job. If you choose to live near your job then commutes will be easy.

Some people speak a lot of English. A lot of people speak some English. 45% of the population have English as their native language.

I don't find the prices on consumer goods to be particularly high here. Food is average. Electronics are a bit cheaper than other places in the US. Airfare is cheap here: it is a good place to fly from. Housing is expensive. Rent is expensive.

But I'm sure you've already made up your mind, so I'm probably just wasting my time.

[jfields]

Originally Posted by NintendoTogepi

I hear horror stories about the awful pollution, terrible commutes and traffic jams, horrific sprawl, no one being able to speak English, extreme prices etc.

How much of it is at least semi-accurate?

Living in the Bay area for 10 years, I've heard alot of negitive sterotypes about LA. Up until last October I lived in LA (Long Beach) and I really liked it. I actually miss it and want to go back.

Pollution and traffic are really bad, you're right about that. The traffic in Long Beach isn't all that bad, but in most of LA it's horrible; try to avoid Freeways 405, 10 and 101 especially.

Prices are high too, but they are higher in places like The Bay Area or DC. I rented a 2 bedroom apt for $1,000 a month.

The part about no one being able to speak English is false. There are a lot of people in Socal that try to blame immigrants for all of societies problems. You will hear alot of people speaking Spanish because it's the native language of about half of the people in LA. I'm white and I speak fluent Spanish. Almost every day I'd come accross someone who is Latino that I didin't know and I would usually speak to them in Spanish, guessing that it's their native language, and they would respond to me in English. Almost all Latino people in LA speak at least some English; they may not speak it perfectely but they do speak it.

I'll go ahead and clear up a couple more misconceptions about LA while I'm at it. Some people like to say that everyone in LA is stuck up and superficial. While there are some, I also met alot of really cool, down to earth people as well. LA isn't as dangeous as some people make it out to be either. Of course there are gang bangers, hustlers, pimps, dopefiends and murders like in every other city; but LA isn't one of the most dangerous cities in the US. San Francisco and Oakland both have higher crime rates than LA.

[Cubancoffee]

I've lived in several big cities: Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Phoenix. I like LA the best, by far. Your preconceived notions may vary.

[Todd.LA]

Pollution: It used to be much worse, but CA's strict emissions laws have done a good job at cleaning up the air. The air still isn't clear in Pasadena on a summer afternoon, but it's generally safe to breath and no worse than a number of other large US cities (and way better than most large cities in the developing world).

Terrible Traffic: Guilty as charged, though the worst of it can be avoided if you choose to live close to where you work. It's the people who want a suburban McMansion and choose to live 40 miles from their workplace that (predictably) have the most terrible commutes.

Sprawl: Yes LA is sprawling, probably too much. But, much like the traffic problems, you can avoid the sprawl by choosing not to live in it. Downtown, Los Feliz, Silverlake, Echo Park, K-Town, Mid City, Hollywood, West Hollywood, and most of the west side are fairly dense urban neighborhoods and not sprawling suburbs. Like most large cities, LA has lots of soulless sprawl on its edges, but the center of LA is full of dense, walkable urban neighborhoods. So, to say that LA is all suburban sprawl is untrue.

Ability to speak English: There are a lot of Spanish speakers in LA (and Korean speakers, and Armenian speakers, and Chinese speakers, and Hindi speakers, and just about every other language out there). However, English is still the dominant language, and almost everyone speaks some degree of English. If hearing other people speak languages other than English makes you uncomfortable, then LA is probably a bad place for you. English is still the dominant language, and people who only speak English do just fine here. But, if you don't like living in an ethnically diverse place with a lot of recent immigrants, then definitely avoid LA.

Cost of living: Yes it's high, especially housing. Some things are cheaper than average, like fresh produce. If you prize living in a low tax, low cost of living place, then LA is not for you. Wages do tend to be higher here than in cheaper parts of the country, and many of us find the charms of living here worth paying a bit more to live here than we’d pay to live in the south or midwest.

In short, there is some truth to these stereotypes, but they're not the whole story.

[boi2socal]

Well, the pollution is not what I expected. I seem to notice more sunny clear days than smoggy ones. My perspective at least. Traffic is horrible, but not if you're smart about it. Like others have said if you have $500k to spend and you spend it on a large home 40 miles away...the traffic will drive you crazy. But you have the option to buy a condo in a more urban setting that will spare you those long commutes. So how traffic effects you is somewhat up to you. Like any large city, well, really anywhere you have to give and take.

As far as language goes...rarely an issue. You may not always be speaking to a fluent English speaker but if you and the other person are respectful and patient it won't be an issue.

Cost of living is high. But you will catch a break on some things. I find big ticket items outside of housing tend to cost less. Although I'm not sure if there are any savings after taxes, fees, and whatever else applies to your purchase. Sure taxes are high but you have to consider that it does actually go to something, such as higher education, health care, etc. that other states don't provide or at least not at the level California does. Although the taxes obviously aren't enough considering the current crisis.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by NintendoTogepi

I hear horror stories about the awful pollution, terrible commutes and traffic jams, horrific sprawl, no one being able to speak English, extreme prices etc.

How much of it is at least semi-accurate?

Some truth, some stetches in peoples imaginations and some stories might be true for some, not for others, depending on where you have lived before and what you consider bad. Yes, there is pollution, like almost any major city, especially when you consider there really isn't a great public transportation system. It isn't as bad as 10, 20 or 30 years ago, still when you fly in to LAX you will be shocked at the layer of smog still over the city. People in Calif are used to driving their cars, and aren't even, always receptive to car pooling. Yes, the traffic is a nighmare, again, like all cities. DAllas is awful, so if Phoenix and Washington DC just to mention a few places. If you want to live close into the city of Los Angeles you will pay dearly. Otherwise, you will commute and spend a couple of hours or more each day in traffic.

No one speaking English? Last time I was there lots of people spoke English, they even teach it in the schools now.
There are many other languages spoken as well...

For someone coming from a small town or mid sized city in the southern part of the country or mid west, Los Angeles can be a huge cultural shock, for anyone coming from another major metropolitan city, Los Angles is just like other cities.

The cost of living is one of the highest in the nation, mainly do to the cost of housing. EVerything else is similar, gas is higher than in some places, lower than in others.

The most important thing to remember, Los Angeles and So Califorina is not the way it looks on TV or in books.

Nita