Why so many depressed/unhappy people? (San Diego: credit, bill, wealthy)

[Dub D]

Originally Posted by nighthouse66

seriously dude, that is a bit heavy. maybe you need (and everyone else from here whining about LA) need to move to a much less happening place. go to the bible belt. you will learn to appreciate this place but quick.

now, i HAVE hated this place. i get tired of these dirty streets. the graffiti. the self-conscious hepsters with their black nail polish and 1980's-in-a-blender fashion sense.

then i go home to atlanta. and suddenly i miss the raw food restaurants. the taco trucks. the latino influence and the spanish architecture. the great weather. the KNOWING that you are in a city that has NO PEER in terms of weirdness, influence, beauty, and diversity. if people can't make something happen for themselves in this city, it is their own fault. their are lots of hardworking dreamers in this town and some fail and some don't, but they COME HERE. this city represents all that is beautiful and all that is reprehensible about this country. if you don't like the bad parts, look away. (not that i am encouraging apathy, i'm just saying, if you are sitting in a poo pile maybe you should MOVE).

i must mention that the most i have ever made a year in this city is 31,000 a year. how did i live off of that? GRANDLY. like a PIMP. because i don't go in for conspicuous consumption, i don't buy new clothes because malls make me want to vomit, i don't go out to bars, and i am smart with my money. my worst vices are books and vintage clothes and eating out. and i did REALLY well on that income. and i lived in venice, four blocks from the beach.

yeah, if you want to buy into the typical american ideal of owning a new car, owning your own home, and wearing labels, then you won't be able to make it even on 75,000 a year here. but i don't have those values. they are not sustainable, don't even make sense anymore. 60 dollars for any item of clothing that doesn't have 40 dollars in the pocket doesn't make sense to me. we can't as a country act like its 1957 and gas is cheaper than water and prosperity is our birthright. we have to share the world with the rest of the world. i think its far easier to do that in a city than it is anywhere. and LA is great because its chock full of strange opportunities. personality goes a long way here. nobody looks down on you because you lived in your van for a while. this city demands that people think outside of their paradigm. and that is always healthy.

reminds me of an interview i read with rose mcgowan. she was talking about all the people in LA who hate it. she said, "i wish you guys would leave. i need your parking place".

Look away from the bad parts? Don't act like the bad parts aren't a substantial portion of the city. There are plenty of stories where incident people go down the wrong street and get robbed/raped/killed. The Spanish influence gets real old if you don't know Spanish. I also don't need a thousand different ethnic foods, eating isn't THAT important too me. LA use to be something special but nowadays, its the epitome of the income classes across the country. Either you are rich or you are poor...not as many people in the middle area.

I like how everyone constantly refers to the "bible belt" as a bad area. Now, its definitely not for me but you have to a huge prick to just straight out call it a bad place too live without even living there. I do not have a job in the entertainment industry so there really is no reason to remain in LA. There are plenty of business jobs outside of LA. The cost of living in LA is unreal and its not that nice to justify it. Most LA county beaches are just nasty which is important too me since I like going to the beach in the summer. OC beaches aren't exactly clean but they aren't as dirty as LA county...at least I can get in the water.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by Dub D

There are plenty of stories where incident people go down the wrong street and get robbed/raped/killed.

Plenty?

[BacktoBlue]

Originally Posted by Dub D

I like how everyone constantly refers to the "bible belt" as a bad area. Now, its definitely not for me but you have to a huge prick to just straight out call it a bad place too live without even living there. I do not have a job in the entertainment industry so there really is no reason to remain in LA. There are plenty of business jobs outside of LA. The cost of living in LA is unreal and its not that nice to justify it. Most LA county beaches are just nasty which is important too me since I like going to the beach in the summer. OC beaches aren't exactly clean but they aren't as dirty as LA county...at least I can get in the water.

Most of the bible belt has gangs and ghettos galore.

St Louis
Atlanta
New Orleans
Parts of Alabama
parts of Mississippi
Kansas City

[1200RT]

Let me throw in another 2 cents, kinda of off topic from where this thread has gone.

Yes, EVERYWHERE is more fun if you're making more money.

I think, in all seriousness, that the negative attitude in LA comes from people not knowing what they're getting into. There is a certain sense of resentment for exorbitant rent prices, and almost never being able to afford a house in a desirable area on a "normal" salary. People move to LA looking for the "CA Dream" (if there ever was such a thing), and THEN realize what it takes to stay and live here comfortably. These are the people that bring negative attitudes to the table.

[disgruntled la native]

Well I still wouldn't live anywhere else. I do meet these people who come in from midwest "pursuing a dream" and now they're bitter that they're working as waiters and barely making rent. Or people who move their families over and try to live a middle class lifestyle but realize its too expensive besides a 2 br apartment for rent. ^ what above poster said.

[nighthouse66]

Originally Posted by Dub D

Look away from the bad parts? Don't act like the bad parts aren't a substantial portion of the city. There are plenty of stories where incident people go down the wrong street and get robbed/raped/killed. The Spanish influence gets real old if you don't know Spanish. I also don't need a thousand different ethnic foods, eating isn't THAT important too me. LA use to be something special but nowadays, its the epitome of the income classes across the country. Either you are rich or you are poor...not as many people in the middle area.

I like how everyone constantly refers to the "bible belt" as a bad area. Now, its definitely not for me but you have to a huge prick to just straight out call it a bad place too live without even living there. I do not have a job in the entertainment industry so there really is no reason to remain in LA. There are plenty of business jobs outside of LA. The cost of living in LA is unreal and its not that nice to justify it. Most LA county beaches are just nasty which is important too me since I like going to the beach in the summer. OC beaches aren't exactly clean but they aren't as dirty as LA county...at least I can get in the water.

well, i have lived in the bible belt- have you? i spent my first 32 years there. in atlanta and in greenville, south carolina. now atlanta is a great city in its own way, but the attitude there is much different. and the small towns, like the tiny town i grew up in of less than a thousand, had a Klansman on the city council, and to this day there are separate cemeteries for blacks and whites. never mind the conservative politics of every place other than the major cities. i don't mean goldwater republicanism, i mean, far-right religious fanaticism. remember when cobb county wouldn't allow the olympic torch to go through their county because the olympics didn't discriminate against gays? i remember that VERY well.

and yes, fontucky, the definitely have gangs there, but people forget that. thanks to the overwhelming focus on the gang problem in LA, never mind gangsta rap like Snoop Dogg (don't get me wrong, i love Snoop- he is the Ghetto Shakespeare) everyone thinks gangs start and end here.

anyway, i wouldn't say there are "plenty" of places you can go to get robbed and raped. did anyone forget about our lowest crime rate in 45 years? i would be more frightened driving down a backwoods rural road in GA because they are overrun with meth addicts now. some of whom used to be my friends.

anyway, i would fight a war for this city- california has been good to me and good vibes can turn things around (man)

[Dub D]

I LOVE California but I HATE LA. In a couple more years, I'll be in Orange County or near San Diego. The further away from LA, the better. I lived in the south for 7 years so I know life away from California. I know there are nice parts of LA but you have to travel thru the massive amount of crap to get to them.

[Jay100]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

Few people in LA, even in (or especially) the glitzy neighborhoods, are happy. It's a tough place to live and grow up in. For example, driving half a mile to do a simple errand often turns into a stressful, life or death ordeal. You really always have to be on your guard here. That being said, there are numerous benefits to living here too.

That is exactly right.

OP: LA has a high immigrant population and they bring their "attitudes" with them. To give an example, recently, I took a trip east to Diamond Bar. While driving home on the 60freeway, some Mexico person in a big, dusty, dented, 1985 red lawnmower pickup truck decided to play "chicken" and swerve into my lane for approximately 2 miles. I think he simply had a problem with the "gringo" in a Polo shirt and nice BMW.

The energy in LA, however, can be a good thing. There are tons of things to do here. It's hard to be bored or downright depressed.

[mading6]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Because these forums are a place for many to rant or to rave. There are not a lot of unhappy people, just people who either, 1-have a gripe at the time or 2-have some issues with some things in Los Angeles, but that doesn't mean they are unhappy.

Nita

I agree with you. They have a problem/dilemma and are looking for advice, answers, something.

[londoner1]

Originally Posted by Jay100

That is exactly right.

OP: LA has a high immigrant population and they bring their "attitudes" with them. To give an example, recently, I took a trip east to Diamond Bar. While driving home on the 60freeway, some Mexico person in a big, dusty, dented, 1985 red lawnmower pickup truck decided to play "chicken" and swerve into my lane for approximately 2 miles. I think he simply had a problem with the "gringo" in a Polo shirt and nice BMW.

Ouch!

Originally Posted by Jay100

The energy in LA, however, can be a good thing. There are tons of things to do here. It's hard to be bored or downright depressed.

In all honestly, I did feel a bit bored a couple of nights. I actually complained to someone how there was nothing to do in LA in the evenings, and then I think I went to bed. It was around 7:30PM. But even in spite of that, I completely fell in love with the place. It's like, even when it's boring it's still so much fun -- am I making any sense?