The truth about L.A. from a long time resident (Avalon: private school, allergies)

[jc76]

Originally Posted by AliveandWell

The one truth that will always stay true is that there are mean and nice people everywhere you go. If you are a kind, compassionate and caring person you will attract those kinds of people. If you are the opposite, you will attract negative people into your life. I'd like to hear from L.A. residents about what they think about this.

I agree. When I am having an off day I can be a bit snippy, or just not personable. That's when I feel everyone is being mean or rude, but really it's just my own perception. I met lots of nice folks in L.A. and all over the country. Although the people in California in general seem more upbeat than here in the rust belt. Lot's of depressed people here who kinda just mope around and talk about how crappy their life is and how "It must be nice" to not have to deal with bad weather...as they never try to make it happen.

[stuffavail]

Originally Posted by Lovetheoutdoors

You'll find good and bad in any city you live in.

I know from personal experience, though, that once you move out of L.A., you miss it as there really is no other city like it.

That is why I'm never leaving.

-----------------------------------------------
Ditto.

And I have lived happily in other places but LA has a lot to offer.
Restaurants alone are more diverse than anywhere I supposed because we have ALL types of folks here. It is fantastic that way.

The housing stock is varied unlike most other places.
A feast for the eyes.
:-)

[nickdahammer]

Oh yes, nothing like the food. Here's another great article by Jonathan Gold.

99 Things to Eat in L.A. Before You Die - Page 1 - Eat+Drink - Los Angeles - LA Weekly

And here he tells it like it is, that L.A. is THE best place in the world to eat.

The Hungry Metropolis - Saveur.com

[steel7]

The food in L.A. may be good but its far from being inexpensive.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by eagle7

The food in L.A. may be good but its far from being inexpensive.

Sure some places are expensive but a lot aren't. A lot of ethnic eateries have storefront dining establishments that aren't expensive, sort of take out or cheap dine in. I've had Persian, Indian, Lebanese, Mexican, and Armenian, for maybe $8 for lunch or maybe $11 for a dinner plate.

Tip: Google has a sort of new feature that sort or works like a reverse search engine map. It's called "What's around here?" You go to a location and hit that button and it shows you what stores are there. So, now you don't have to drive around in a mall or strip mall and eyeball the stores. What this means is, you can find a street where you suspect there are a lot of ethnic restaurants, and click that button and you can see all sorts of neat restaurants.

Taj India Palace

(This place is Persian, but right next door is a Lebanese place that's pretty cheap too, couldn't find it online though.)
Orchid Grill & Kabob Menu - Tarzana - Sporq

This place has lunch specials until 4 PM:

Jino's Pars Restaurant

[ANAPA]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

"Aliveandwell",
I think you need to change the title of this thread to read, "the truth about LA "as I see it" from a long time resident."
Having lived her for 39 years, I couldn, disagree more.
We here in Southern California, for the most part, came here because of the outstanding sunny climate.
I think if you took a poll of the person on the street, most would say they like the sunny climate, and hate the rain and june gloom.
As for the smog, I can remember days when you couldn't see 100 yards in fron of you.
I lived here 4 months before I knew there were mountains to the east of Los Angeles.
The smog abatement is 1000 times better than it was 39 years ago.
Sound to me like Seattle or Portland is your cup of tee.
Maybe you should consider a move.

Bob.

Saying the air quality is good because you couldn't see 100 yards in front of you in the past is nothing to brag about. I too see a brown haze almost every day and there's no way to spin that into something good.

I've gotten sick more times in the year and three months I've lived here than I did in an average three or four year period in NYC.

[steel7]

Originally Posted by Charles

Sure some places are expensive but a lot aren't. A lot of ethnic eateries have storefront dining establishments that aren't expensive, sort of take out or cheap dine in. I've had Persian, Indian, Lebanese, Mexican, and Armenian, for maybe $8 for lunch or maybe $11 for a dinner plate.

Tip: Google has a sort of new feature that sort or works like a reverse search engine map. It's called "What's around here?" You go to a location and hit that button and it shows you what stores are there. So, now you don't have to drive around in a mall or strip mall and eyeball the stores. What this means is, you can find a street where you suspect there are a lot of ethnic restaurants, and click that button and you can see all sorts of neat restaurants.

Taj India Palace

(This place is Persian, but right next door is a Lebanese place that's pretty cheap too, couldn't find it online though.)
Orchid Grill & Kabob Menu - Tarzana - Sporq

This place has lunch specials until 4 PM:

Jino's Pars Restaurant

I have never had authentic indian, persian & lebanese food. I would like to try them someday but i would have to travel. The food establishments in yucaipa & calimesa are dull & they are mostly mexican & american food.

[travelboy]

Ok, I stopped laughing long enough to post.
I find it so funny to hear people commenting on California, let alone L.A.
Fact #1 I am a native Californian for 45 years, lived at or near the beach my entire life. Have any of you guys seen "Dogtown and the Z-Boyz"? Grew up with most of them in that area and still live here.
As a kid, The Ocean Park area was not as popular as it has become, it was more family oriented, actually considered lower middle class.
Now, it's a haven for judgmental cell phone junkies looking to make it rich somehow. Mostly, "In the business" (movie biz) A lot of females end up doing some sort of porn. Don't think it won't happen to you,..........gotta pay the bills, right?
The joke here is when someone tells you they are an actor, you reply, "Oh yeah?, what restaurant you work at"? And when and IF they do make it, we have lots of rehabs, in fact, we are the rehab capital of the US.
Fact #2 Most people are NOT from here, so we natives endure all sorts of "other" ideas from transplants that come here with their own ideas of how to act when they get here. Doesn't work. Leave it where you came from.
Fact #3 Our air quality sucks, I can see it everyday from my office, and granted it is better than the 70's, but it is still bad. Take a drive from Big Bear route 38 down into it, you'll get the picture.
Fact #4 We do have some of the best weather bar none.
Fact #5 Where else can you surf in the morning, then drive 2 hours and ski or snowboard in the afternoon? or drive to the local canyons and go mountain biking? I have done this many times.
Fact #6 California is NOT what it used to be, it is being ruined by too many people and not enough thought about infrastructure, just look to my hometown of Santa Monica. You can not put 10 lbs of dirt in a 5 lb bag.
Fact #7 California drivers? Please, you guys are all from somewhere else,....bad drivers are everywhere. Who here has driven in Tijuana? Until you have, you don't have anything to say,.....

All in all, I think home is where you hang your hat. I love the westside where I live. I believe most people would be very envious of our living situation.
I have traveled a fair amount, and I will chime in on the "friendliness" aspect out here.
As most people are not from here, (being here 20 years or less simply doesn't cut it), they immediately assume everyone else is. That makes most people a bit timid at first. I have a slew of friends. Many who moved here, scratch that, all but 1 who are from somewhere else.
From my various travels that include other countries, yes, 3rd world as well, I find that people are people, good, bad, ugly, etc. and that humans are creatures of habit, that can, and will adapt quite well to new surroundings, if a thought out plan is executed.
I write this post to welcome others as a native Californian to this wonderful state.
Bring your culture and diversity, but most importantly, bring your checkbook, we need the money,.........

[R66]

Travelboy -

Excellent post..... Bravo! Bravo!

Have a nice evening everyone!

[JerZ]

You know, here's what I personally feel the bottom line may be. If you just "love" a place...you'll manage to put up with the "bad stuff" or you'll even make yourself insular enough that you don't go where the "bad stuff" is. I know this from experience.

And if you DON'T like a place...at all...you're going to find a thousand things wrong with it.

I loved the northeast and managed not to see the corruption, managed not to cry too much about the property taxes ("It's WORTH it to live here!"), managed not to think about the absolutely sick traffic in the northern suburbs ("That's because it's so great that everybody wants to live here..."). But talk to someone who is clawing to get out of the northeast and you'll see all the problems highlighted as reasons it's *unlivable*.

I'm sure it's the same with Los Angeles. Personally, I live in the suburbs. I don't feel like I'm "home" but I have the insight or what-have-you to see that there are in fact great things about the city and great things about being here in the burbs as well. I can never say I "hate" L.A. based on its actual problems...because if I had grown up here, say, or if I moved here because I really was dying to be here, I know for a simple point of fact that I'd be grazing over all the problems as "just stuff people have to live with...you have sh*t to deal with wherever you are." Sure, I might "hate" the bigger problems but only to the extent that I'd hate any area of the country's bigger problems. There ARE things to really love about being here. It really is a place unique unto itself...the most varied place I've ever heard of, much less visited and/or lived in. Amazingly so.

There definitely are things to love about this area and if you want to be here, you will see those things. Trust me.

I am a firm believer at this point that there's a "feel" to a place that makes people truly love or hate the place as a whole...you fit or you don't...sounds a little philosophical but I really believe this. I don't believe anyone can ever convince the next person to either "love" or "hate" ANY area...if the person already feels the opposite.

Sorry...that's not much of a help but I think of it whenever I see these back-and-forth threads...they're all over CD, in virtually every city in every state in the nation (I haven't checked out any international threads), so I say: If you love it...don't let anybody convince you not to come because it's "so bad." And if it's just not for you...don't let anybody tell you you're a moron for not seeing all the great stuff about it.

It is very, very, very much a personal choice.