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Yeah when I was in OC, that really gave me more of a Houston vibe than anywhere in LA or it's suburbs north of OC. This was of course the parts more inland. The closer you get to the coastal communities and the more it looked nothing like Houston. As far as the people yeah I guess that would be more so like Long Beach. As far as LA proper definitely not.
I actually think Phoenix feels closer to LA than Houston and even Phoenix feels more like IE than LA city proper. But Phoenix being in the West really feels like it could be in California. Vegas too for that matter. Houston might sprawl similar to Westcoast cities but a lot of it's neighborhoods both in the loop and outside of it not to mention several main arterial roads give it a completely different vibe than LA.
Also, who brought up Galveston? Yes, Galveston is pretty much like Houston's playground I guess. It's apart of the metro and whenever I go into Galveston it's always a ton of Houstonians there. It's close enough for the average Houstonian to go every once and awhile or even make a 1 day weekend trip out of it but it's relationship to Houston is not the same as LA and it's coastal cities/beach towns.
For one Santa Monica and Venice Beach feel way more connected to LA's core than Galveston does to Houston's core. For one Santa Monica and Venice Beach are in closer proximity to LA's core and two there's a lot in between downtown LA and Santa Monica than it is in downtown Houston and Galveston. Once you leave 610 headed to Galveston what do you go through? South Houston, Webster, League City? It's one of the less developed and populated parts of Greater Houston. LA on the other hand has West LA right before you get to Santa Monica or Venice Beach.
And even if Galveston was a shorter distance to Houston's core it's so different than any coastal city in LA metro that you still wouldn't be able to compare. Galveston is like other coastal cities in the gulf. Very historic city. Yeah, who came up with this comparison?
As a disclaimer I don't subscribe to the City "XXXX is a Mini-City YYYY". Every city is unique in its own way. But I do feel I can look at this subject and draw some (emphasis on SOME) similarities because I grew up in the South Bay.
IF (again emphasis on IF) I were to compare parts of the LA are to places outside, it would be something like this:
East of the 110, North of the 22, west of the 605, and the city of Long Beach: Houston. This area is extremely diverse, extremely blue collar, and very laid back. It also encompasses the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach which is similar. This area also has some extreme ups and downs regarding rich and poor living next to one another. I am specifically thinking of the transitions between Compton, Paramount, Bellflower, and Buena Park. You have people with money and those with very little living not too far away from each other which is similar to Houston.
Irvine, Santa Ana, Orange, Anaheim, and South OC minus the Beach Cities: Dallas and Collin County: This area is very suburban upscale which is somewhat comparable Collin County. Santa Ana is heavily Hispanic and rough around the edges which is comparable to parts of Dallas. Places like Irvine remind me a bunch of Plano and Frisco. Orange and Anaheim have similarities to a place like Richardson: still considered desirable but suburbs that had their peak in past decades.
The IE East of the 57 and West of the 15: Phoenix. This area is very highly predictable with tons of strip malls and middle class housing, but it still maintains an old West type feeling (especially places like Eastvale, Norco, and Corona). It has a mix of upscale, middle class, and poor. That, at least to me, feels a bit like Phoenix.
The Antelope Valley (Palmdale, Lancaster, and Quartz Hill): Las Vegas minus the strip. This area has a lot of really nice housing but there is also a lot of poverty in this area. Like Vegas, it was a huge destination for people fleeing rough areas of LA in the 2000s. Like Vegas it's local reputation is of affordability and a place to go make a living if you don't have higher education.
The South Bay: San Diego. This is where I grew up and to this day is my favorite place in all Southern California though I am biased. It has that laid back feel, the beaches are a huge part of the culture, and it is expensive as all get out. But I feel the vibe in the South Bay is more similar to San Diego than the rest of LA. People don't get caught up in image or how much money you have, its just all about the beach and enjoying yourself. I always did feel that, if you made the South Bay a huge city, it would resemble San Diego much more so than LA.
The City of Los Angeles: Literally no where. LA is just too unique a place to really compare to anywhere else.
As a disclaimer I don't subscribe to the City "XXXX is a Mini-City YYYY". Every city is unique in its own way. But I do feel I can look at this subject and draw some (emphasis on SOME) similarities because I grew up in the South Bay.
IF (again emphasis on IF) I were to compare parts of the LA are to places outside, it would be something like this:
East of the 110, North of the 22, west of the 605, and the city of Long Beach: Houston. This area is extremely diverse, extremely blue collar, and very laid back. It also encompasses the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach which is similar. This area also has some extreme ups and downs regarding rich and poor living next to one another. I am specifically thinking of the transitions between Compton, Paramount, Bellflower, and Buena Park. You have people with money and those with very little living not too far away from each other which is similar to Houston.
Irvine, Santa Ana, Orange, Anaheim, and South OC minus the Beach Cities: Dallas and Collin County: This area is very suburban upscale which is somewhat comparable Collin County. Santa Ana is heavily Hispanic and rough around the edges which is comparable to parts of Dallas. Places like Irvine remind me a bunch of Plano and Frisco. Orange and Anaheim have similarities to a place like Richardson: still considered desirable but suburbs that had their peak in past decades.
The IE East of the 57 and West of the 15: Phoenix. This area is very highly predictable with tons of strip malls and middle class housing, but it still maintains an old West type feeling (especially places like Eastvale, Norco, and Corona). It has a mix of upscale, middle class, and poor. That, at least to me, feels a bit like Phoenix.
The Antelope Valley (Palmdale, Lancaster, and Quartz Hill): Las Vegas minus the strip. This area has a lot of really nice housing but there is also a lot of poverty in this area. Like Vegas, it was a huge destination for people fleeing rough areas of LA in the 2000s. Like Vegas it's local reputation is of affordability and a place to go make a living if you don't have higher education.
The South Bay: San Diego. This is where I grew up and to this day is my favorite place in all Southern California though I am biased. It has that laid back feel, the beaches are a huge part of the culture, and it is expensive as all get out. But I feel the vibe in the South Bay is more similar to San Diego than the rest of LA. People don't get caught up in image or how much money you have, its just all about the beach and enjoying yourself. I always did feel that, if you made the South Bay a huge city, it would resemble San Diego much more so than LA.
The City of Los Angeles: Literally no where. LA is just too unique a place to really compare to anywhere else.
This is pretty spot on. You definitely have more knowledge on this subject especially more than a visitor since you're from there.
It's funny though because before I visited LA, I always thought Houston was like a southern version of LA. The Palm trees, freeways,sprawl, strip malls came off very LAish at least what the media portrays of LA. But when I finally went back as an Adult I was like oh this is definitely not like Houston despite having some of those same features that most sunbelt cities tend to have.
But when I drove into the areas you're speaking of that's when I started to see some Houston in the area. I can also see the Collin County comparisons to Irvine. Didn't really venture into other parts of OC outside of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach to really gauge the vibe of OC.
I agree with the recent posts comparing Houston and LA. I'd add that for me they're surprisingly similar for being in different parts of the country. Obviously places in Southern California, California in general, and the Southwest will have similarities with LA that Houston doesn't. As was mentioned some parts of greater Phoenix look a lot like the IE. But Houston was a surprise and for me it's more like LA than anywhere east of Colorado outside of Florida.
San Diego is like a smaller LA, but with a vastly better downtown area.
The only thing downtown SD has over LA is the lack of traffic and it's nightlife isn't scattered but concentrated in one area (Gaslamp) so it's wayyyy easier to bar/club hop etc..
The only thing downtown SD has over LA is the lack of traffic and it's nightlife isn't scattered but concentrated in one area (Gaslamp) so it's wayyyy easier to bar/club hop etc..
I don't know how DTSD could rate over DTLA for traffic, as LA now has seven fully underground Metro stations downtown.
Unless of course we're rating them on how easy it simply is to drive a car around downtown, which is a strange way to rate a downtown.
Yes, DTSD has more bars right next to each other (like a theme park), but then DTLA has the historic bars with character and you would seldom need to walk more than a block or two to find one.
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