How do Others in the World Feel About Los Angeles? (apartments, hotels)
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I ve been there in 2001, and realized its a beautiful place scenery-wise, but it lacks the most important thing: it doesnt feel like a city, it doesnt have a vibe to it. I was SHOCKED! the month i was there that you hardly see people walking in the street! With that amazing walkable weather LA haves...people are inside their houses or their cars....what kind of city is that? It lacks the most important thing an important city should have: soul, heart, identity.
LA is like a huge wasted opportunity: great scenery, great weather, great wealth: but no real spirit.
I ve been there in 2001, and realized its a beautiful place scenery-wise, but it lacks the most important thing: it doesnt feel like a city, it doesnt have a vibe to it. I was SHOCKED! the month i was there that you hardly see people walking in the street! With that amazing walkable weather LA haves...people are inside their houses or their cars....what kind of city is that? It lacks the most important thing an important city should have: soul, heart, identity.
LA is like a huge wasted opportunity: great scenery, great weather, great wealth: but no real spirit.
Its sad actually. LA is a sad city.
Even though your assessment is harsh, I kind of agree with what you're saying (to some extent). This is why I don't recommend LA as the first city someone should visit in the U.S. I hope you don't think the rest of the U.S. is just like LA.
New York City, Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco are much better cities to visit IMO.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 06-05-2012 at 01:26 PM..
It is not a pretty city but some areas are rather nice and interesting (Venice, Santa Monica). Hollywood (Hollywood Walk of Fame and the surrounding area) is just a dump.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Voltaire
I just never learned how to drive and have no desire to learn, I live in Brooklyn, I take the subway or taxis everywhere. Most New Yorkers don't drive, basically everyone in LA does, that's all I'm saying.
I don't drive either but I get around fine using mass transit in the LA Metro area ... Granted, it isn't what you are accustomed to in NYC but it is doable.
I don't drive either but I get around fine using mass transit in the LA Metro area ... Granted, it isn't what you are accustomed to in NYC but it is doable.
That's good to hear, that they finally got a functional transit system together.
I like Berkeley and San Francisco, because they're very walkable, beautiful, and people are out and about on foot. There are sidewalk cafes, parks, gathering places, and people are friendly.
I'm not sure what a tourist would go to LA for, other than maybe to see Hollywood and take a tour of the studios, and the stars' houses. I wouldn't mind seeing Santa Monica, and I like the LaBrea Tarpits, but...that's just me.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vaga bond
Agree with the most posts from today. Would be the most awesome city ever if it was an actual city and not a prime example of why car-centered American suburban cities must be left in history books as an example of the effects of corruption and bad planning. Weather and location are great, but not the rest.
Is anyone familiar with the quote that, 'LA is a hundred cities in search of an identity' or something to that affect? I treat the LA region and SoCal in general as more of an urban region than a city with a metropolitan area in the conventional sense (I mean the LA area has many cities, the downtown of LA itself is just one of the main nodes of this vast region).
Many people who have never been to LA or have only skimmed the surface have this very one dimensional view of LA as this sprawling, smog-filled mess of freeways, spaghetti-intersections choked with cars where plastic celebrities live their inconsequential lives and show off their wealth with ostentatious abandon. Of course it is that, but that doesn't negate the great things about LA: it's location, it's scenery, how it has a ton of neighbourhoods each with their own character, personality and vibe, the eclectic range of quirky folk who call the City of Angels their home, how you can ski and surf in the same day, the tracts of urban wilderness set aside as parks within and nearby the city limits.
I came to LA not expecting too much: the city interests me because I'm a big fan of 20th century history and pop culture: and whether you like to admit it, the LA area has been ground-central for the film industry, movie, and television industry for a long time now. The Star tour didn't quite live up to the hype, I suppose the mansions of Beverly Hills aren't in a league of their own anymore. No, I enjoyed watching a gig at the Viper Room, cruising down Sunset, it felt all very surreal being where so many famous people have lived, worked, partied and died.
Of course I also enjoyed visiting the big tourist draws like Disneyland, Santa Monica pier, enjoyed checking out Griffith Observatory, Little Tokyo, and even just wondering around Hollywood and Downtown. We didn't rent a car, but it wasn't too much of an inconvenience as the metro took us to most of the places we wanted to go. Sure, we saw a lot of ugly urban landscapes, but all in all I remember LA quite fondly and even missed leaving it. I think the fact it was both my first and last port of call in the US helped made it more memorable to me.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,025,008 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer
Even though your assessment is harsh, I kind of agree with what you're saying (to some extent). This is why I don't recommend LA as the first city someone should visit in the U.S. I hope you don't think the rest of the U.S. is just like LA.
New York City, Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco are much better cities to visit IMO.
Well coming from Australia LA is the main point of entry. Unlike most people it seems, LA utterly fascinates me: it is ground zero for so much of American pop culture, particularly film, television, and music (especially for a fan of 60s and 70s music) that there was no way in HELL I would miss it. Everyone always sings the Bay City's praises, and don't get me wrong, if I'd more time I'd definitely have visited it, but LA has so much to offer. Sure there are many negative things about it, but it also offers a ton to see and do that I don't think anyone should write it off. On the same trip I saw other famous cities like San Diego, Las Vegas, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Washington D.C., New York and Boston.
I ve been there in 2001, and realized its a beautiful place scenery-wise, but it lacks the most important thing: it doesnt feel like a city, it doesnt have a vibe to it. I was SHOCKED! the month i was there that you hardly see people walking in the street! With that amazing walkable weather LA haves...people are inside their houses or their cars....what kind of city is that? It lacks the most important thing an important city should have: soul, heart, identity.
LA is like a huge wasted opportunity: great scenery, great weather, great wealth: but no real spirit.
Its sad actually. LA is a sad city.
I'll say that the last decade has seen a lot of changes in LA with a lot more people walking and a downtown that doesn't die after work hours. The difference is fairly big and people there are actively trying to make LA more a walking city. I think if you visit now, you'd probably be pleasantly surprised by the change.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,025,008 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OyCrumbler
I'll say that the last decade has seen a lot of changes in LA with a lot more people walking and a downtown that doesn't die after work hours. The difference is fairly big and people there are actively trying to make LA more a walking city. I think if you visit now, you'd probably be pleasantly surprised by the change.
Had I visited LA 20 years ago, when I first dreamed of visiting the US, my impressions of LA might've been different. Because when I visited last year I did a lot of walking around, took the metro everywhere, and was generally surprised by how walkable a lot of the nabes are. Face it, LA will ALWAYS be a car-orientated metropolis, but at least they're trying to do something to correct the mistakes of the past.
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