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Laguna Beach is still considered LA metro, as is a large geographic area is considered Sydney. Disneyland is only 26 miles to DTLA, I am sure what is counted in Sydney's 5.4 million population spreads out 26 miles. I am still close enough to enjoy all the amenities of Los Angeles.
Sydney is a beautiful city, and I enjoyed my time there. I could definitely live there. I did go to some of the places you mentioned, but not all of them. I found the quality of the museums good, but more on a Toronto level, than an LA level. Los Angeles has some incredible unique museums like Getty Center, Getty Villa, Huntington Library, and California Science Center, which has the Space Shuttle Endeavour. I have been a long time reader on this board, and have always thought LA was underrated, and maybe Sydney a little overrated. Some people even wrote that Sydney has more famous attractions than LA, I mean get real! Lets be honest the movies have made locations in LA world famous. Many Americans hate LA, and they vote accordingly on this board. I live near Laguna Beach, and just love it.
I have lived in Sydney and I do find it a bit too over rated especially the tourist meccas of Bondi Beach and Kings Cross. Plus the tallest building is Centre Point Tower and it looks rather ugly and not that tall. Sydney newest skyscaper is the Casino and I don't like the design that much.
It would have been better not to tear some of the old buildings in Sydney to make way for the modern skyscrapers. If they did that then Sydney would look better.
Cities like Buenos Aires look more attractive than Sydney because they did not tear down so much buildings to make way for skyscrapers and modern apartments.
Yet I admit there are some beaches there are very impressive and some suburbs that are by the beach are too that are not so touristy like Bondi. Plus there are excellent bushwalks that surround Sydney too and that makes it really good.
I not been to LA but I am really impressed by the Mountains near by it. Yet LA skycrapers are not that impressive. I prefer if they did not have to demolish so much of the old buildings to make way for the skyscrapers.
Yet LA looks clearly better seventy years ago compared to today with this video, with beautiful old buildings torn down since then and the newer buildings do not look betterhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIHfmisMLOY
I have lived in Sydney and I do find it a bit too over rated especially the tourist meccas of Bondi Beach and Kings Cross. Plus the tallest building is Centre Point Tower and it looks rather ugly and not that tall. Sydney newest skyscaper is the Casino and I don't like the design that much.
It would have been better not to tear some of the old buildings in Sydney to make way for the modern skyscrapers. If they did that then Sydney would look better.
Cities like Buenos Aires look more attractive than Sydney because they did not tear down so much buildings to make way for skyscrapers and modern apartments.
Yet I admit there are some beaches there are very impressive and some suburbs that are by the beach are too that are not so touristy like Bondi. Plus there are excellent bushwalks that surround Sydney too and that makes it really good.
I not been to LA but I am really impressed by the Mountains near by it. Yet LA skycrapers are not that impressive. I prefer if they did not have to demolish so much of the old buildings to make way for the skyscrapers.
Yet LA looks clearly better seventy years ago compared to today with this video, with beautiful old buildings torn down since then and the newer buildings do not look better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIHfmisMLOY
Yes the 10k feet, 3k meters San Gabriel Mountains tower over Los Angeles. The best time to visit Griffith Observatory is in the winter when the mountains are covered in snow. You will get this breathtaking view of the snow covered mountains, DTLA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, and the blue pacific ocean.
L.A. is energetic, energizing, spectacular, gorgeous, beachy, mountainous, artsy, classy, independent, multicultural, multiethnic, generally friendly, and a culinary paradise, and has sheer diversity even in terms of the vibes of neighborhoods and suburbs.
L.A is, in many areas, also rottenly-managed, trashy, grimy, graffiti-laden, traffic-choked, chock full of superficiality in certain upper-class communities, also chock full of homeless who have no ambition to be anything other than homeless, and high-crime in certain neighborhoods (and that appears to be increasing for the first time in decades, albeit gradually). It also still has awful public transportation, despite efforts being made to change this over the last 30 years.
L.A. is closer to Mexican cities and resorts (who usually don't check American passports closely because the country wants our money), San Diego, San Francisco/Bay Area, Monterey (CA), Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Reno/Lake Tahoe, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Denver, the Colorado resorts, Salt Lake City/Park City, Hawaii, Vancouver, and Victoria for a nice getaway.
From California, it is quite a long trek to get to even the US' East Coast, let alone South America, and more so Europe and Asia. LAX is one of the worst major airports known to man, ever; it still looks adequate, at best, even with the revitalization underway. John Wayne, Burbank and Long Beach are nice small airports, but they only, really serve limited US and Mexican destinations.
Sydney is stunning, clean, homey-feeling, multicultural, multiethnic, classy, pleasant, very safe, responsibly policed, well-organized, well-run, and more modern-feeling. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is as interesting and marvelous to me as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver are.
Sydney is also more sterile, less energetic, less energizing, and more isolated from the rest of the world. Australia, despite what Australians often believe, is a very well-run country, much more so than the USA.
While Sydney has nothing nearly as "mean" as high-crime neighborhoods in L.A., its locals are either very nice, upbeat and pleasant (which are the majority), or very entitled, demanding and abrasive, with little in-between. I found this cultural quirk to be prevalent all throughout Australia, though more so in Sydney and Melbourne. That's a big thing with me, TBH! (The U.S., by comparison, has much more diversity in regional subcultures, communication styles and mannerisms.)
From Sydney, one can only go to the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Melbourne, Tasmania, or...Canberra...or maybe Adelaide and the South Australian wine country, for a getaway, and travel and accommodations are about as expensive in Australia as in the US (more expensive if measured by the Australian dollar rather than the US dollar). Now, those are all very nice places, don't get me wrong. On the other hand, the Kiwi government will be nicer to Aussies entering and exiting Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, or Queenstown, than the Canadian government often is to Americans entering and exiting Vancouver or Victoria (some Canadians have an awful inferiority/superiority complex with the US).
From Sydney, it is farther from Hawaii, a good clip from the Americas, and seemingly a universe away from Europe. While it's still far from southern Africa (mainly, South Africa), that's much closer to Australia than to the USA. It is, however, notably closer to Fiji, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Bali, Singapore (a jewel which includes "Jewel"), Tokyo, Osaka, Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong, etc. for a Pacific/Asian excursion, than the USA is. I think Asia can be more fun than a European vacation if you plan it right, or if you're just there to go with the flow in a totally different cultural experience. I also vastly prefer Fiji to Hawaii. Australia's international airports are also much better than most of the US'. While Kingsford Smith is Sydney's only commercial airport, it's much nicer than LAX, and I hope that the new airport being built west of Sydney turns out swimmingly.
I'm an American who also loves Australia. That said, I love L.A. because of all that the metropolis has to offer; Beverly Hills, Claremont, Brea, Irvine, Venice, DTLA, Pasadena, Koreatown, and Culver City are all different from one another, but cool in their own way. There isn't as much that distinguishes areas such as Parramatta, Chatswood, Mascot, Hornsby, Balkham Hills, Hurstville, their Beverly Hills, etc., as compared to L.A.'s neighborhoods and suburbs. Only Bondi, Cronulla and North Sydney really stood out to be as being their own "thing." And, that's the tipping point for me.
Winner: Los Angeles, by a slim margin. If I were 5-10 years older (on up in my 40s by then), I might pick Sydney.
Agree with most of which you wrote. As an American I also believe Australia is a far better run country than America in several areas, police abuse, healthcare, crime, guns, public transportation, and politics. The main thing I would give America is that the people are more friendlier, and warmer than Australia. That being said Los Angeles is a far more interesting, and exciting city than Sydney is. Los Angeles just had the Academy Awards (Oscars) and to LA it is no big deal, because so much goes on in LA. Image that happening in Sydney, it would have been such a big deal to them, because Sydney is not as exciting as LA, and everything is on a smaller scale.
Australia and most other developed countries are run so much better than the USA, that it's almost a joke.
That being said, there are individual states that are managed well, in terms of fiscal responsibility, providing high-quality education (by US standards) from preschool through university, and building and upkeeping physical infrastructure. States like Colorado, Utah, Texas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington state, Vermont, New Hampshire, Virginia and Florida come to mind here; even within these states, some areas will have much higher quality schools, universities, roads, and highways than others. But even in poorly-managed states in their own rights like California, Kentucky, Mississippi, and New Jersey, there are plenty of areas that still have great school districts and very modern infrastructure...
Back on topic: Australia is higher-tax, more highly property- and business-regulated than most US states (except possibly California), and overall more of a nanny state. However, there aren't dramatic differences in how, say, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, etc. are run. I largely attribute this to Australia still being a commonwealth country and, effectively, subscribing to the British "social contract." (You even notice this similarity to a degree in Canada, although Ontario and Quebec are noticeably different than PEI, British Columbia, or Nunavut). The Americans fought two wars (Revolution and 1812) to leave and stay away from that "social contract."
Americans from the West and, to lesser extents, the Southeast, Texas and certain areas of the Great Lakes (Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan), are generally warmer and friendlier than Australians, I'll give you that. But that's generally. Most of the West is the warmest and friendliest region of the US, IMO. I'd contend that while the Southern US and Texas are a checkerboard in terms of friendliness (many Southerners hate "yankees" and "liberals"), they can be quite welcoming for first-time visitors. While a little parochial, Chicago, Wisconsin and Michigan seem to be welcoming to just about anybody who has a quick spunk/sense of humor and great work ethic. But I'd argue that Aussies are warmer and friendlier than Americans in the Northeast (NYC, DC, Mass., New Jersey, etc.), Rust Belt (Ohio, Indiana, etc.), Great Plains (Iowa, Dakotas, etc.), Colorado, Northern California/Pacific Northwest (SF Bay Area, Oregon, Washington state), and Hawaii (some Hawaiians really resent tourists).
New Zealand, just "across the ditch" from Australia, has about the warmest, kindest people I've ever met. Think Canadians, but with much more humility. I'd live in New Zealand in a heartbeat if I could figure out a way! Much better quality of life than just about anywhere, except Australia in terms of some cultural and material pursuits, but you sure pay for it.
Yeah, when I lived in Southern California, NOBODY I knew ever discussed the Oscars, Academy Awards, etc. Not in my friends circle, professional circle, classmate circle, etc. NOBODY. Nobody really cared. Sure, some might watch it at home for entertainment, but that's anywhere in the country. There was always a cool restaurant, hole-in-the-wall restaurant, park, concert, something to go do instead of just watching some awards. I hear more people in Texas or Utah who go all gaga over Hollywood award stuff (including conservatives' sometimes negative reactions thereto).
Yes it is amazing to me how a low tax state like Florida, with no state income taxes, keeps their infrastructure so beautiful. The Florida beaches are immaculate, and well cared for. I often wonder what does California does with all those big taxes they collect?
While I do not disagree with much of what is in the previous two posts, can I say that nobody I know has said a single word about the Academy Awards and they could not care about celebrity culture at all.
While I do not disagree with much of what is in the previous two posts, can I say that nobody I know has said a single word about the Academy Awards and they could not care about celebrity culture at all.
The point I was making about the Academy Awards is the EVENT itself would have been such a big deal in Sydney. The prime minister would have been there, and every known rich and famous Australian would want to be seen there. I remember when the play Hamilton came to Sydney, OMG everybody showed up. Where in LA it is just another event, no big deal. Los Angeles is like New York, Paris, and London in that regard, where Sydney is more like a Toronto, Montreal, or Melbourne. LA is a huge, and happening city.
The point I was making about the Academy Awards is the EVENT itself would have been such a big deal in Sydney. The prime minister would have been there, and every known rich and famous Australian would want to be seen there. I remember when the play Hamilton came to Sydney, OMG everybody showed up. Where in LA it is just another event, no big deal. Los Angeles is like New York, Paris, and London in that regard, where Sydney is more like a Toronto, Montreal, or Melbourne. LA is a huge, and happening city.
Again I do not really disagree. We are in a very remote location and nobody really cares what happens here. We do have events of our own which are a big deal for us and get no publicity at all anywhere else. But I am sure that applies to other countries.
But re Hamilton, the opening got a lot more publicity than normal simply because of Covid. There are few countries which have theatre open and for us it was almost a symbol of our old life returning. When Frozen opened there was not the same fuss, nor when La Traviata opened as an outdoor event overlooking the harbour. The publicity for Hamilton was partly engineered, I am sure, to boost our domestic tourism market, seeing that we have no overseas tourists for the forseeable future. The biggest blow has been to places like the city of Sydney which used to have so many oversees tourists.
Yes of course LA has much more going on. I have not been there for years (last time in the US we flew out of San Francisco to avoid LA airport) but the large American cities tend to frighten me. I love the national parks and scenery but the cities are scary.
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