What are some misconceptions you'd like to correct about Los Angeles? (Long Beach: lawyers, neighborhood)

[eureka1]

That LA people are unfriendly or cold. I only lived there seven years but most of my best friends are still the folks from LA.

[SalParadise]

Originally Posted by Mr. Opinionated

2.Its all about gangbangin'/crime
Los Angeles is no more about that than anyother large urban area.
Per capita, Los Angeles has a lower crime rate than many NorCali cities
that smugly believe that the quality of life in their town is vastly superior.
But then, the L.A. crime rate has steadily dropped during this decade.

.

This is FACT, not OPINION. The drop in crime is phenomenal and very welcome. Unfortunately, the stereotype persists that LA is a dangerous cesspool of gangs.....

[nslander]

Originally Posted by eureka1

That LA people are unfriendly or cold. I only lived there seven years but most of my best friends are still the folks from LA.

Aye. Please spread the word up there.

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by Mr. Opinionated

4.Getting around is a Nightmare!
Sure it is anywhere, if you are unfamiliar with the layout. I felt the same way
about San Francisco and Portland, because I am not from those places. But under
all the traffic, Metro L.A. happens to be a perpendicular grid for the most part.
Streets and freeways with a few exceptions, run east, west, north and south with
virtually no twisty curlies and mysterious dead-ends as is the case with Cali's Capitol.

After living here for 10 years full time, and on and off for 15, I completely disagree with this. LA's traffic is awful, and seemingly impossible to track. I sat in a 30 minute backup this morning on the 405, at 10:30am, clearly not rush hour. We have a great freeway system, but the flow is so heavy that a slight hiccup will cause a jam.

Driving around surface streets in west LA seems to always be heavy as well.

Parking nearly anywhere (shopping center, mall, restaurants, etc) on the weekends is always an issue.

[readymade]

It's sort of a nightmare, but no more than any other big city... and it's better than most! I'd rather drive in LA than Boston, NYC, or Austin TX personally.

If you're comparing it to some smaller town, then yeah... it's probably a nightmare compared to that.

Originally Posted by 1200RT

After living here for 10 years full time, and on and off for 15, I completely disagree with this. LA's traffic is awful, and seemingly impossible to track. I sat in a 30 minute backup this morning on the 405, at 10:30am, clearly not rush hour. We have a great freeway system, but the flow is so heavy that a slight hiccup will cause a jam.

Driving around surface streets in west LA seems to always be heavy as well.

Parking nearly anywhere (shopping center, mall, restaurants, etc) on the weekends is always an issue.

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by readymade

It's sort of a nightmare, but no more than any other big city... and it's better than most! I'd rather drive in LA than Boston, NYC, or Austin TX personally.

If you're comparing it to some smaller town, then yeah... it's probably a nightmare compared to that.

Not in my experience. I've spent a considerable amount of time in SF/Peninsula, Phoenix, and NYC (grew up there) - all have been easier to get around, and less congested when trying to actually 'do things' (run errands, if you will). NYC is close, but significantly less worry about congestion as public transpiration is the norm.

[EdJS]

1. That everyone is superficial, totally concerned about their looks. My Dad was an engineer and I can assure you nobody was less concerned about how he looked than he was.

2. That everyone (who has a job at all) has a glamorous job where they mingle with celebrities. I've mentioned my Dad. My Mom was a health insurance claims processor. You can hardly imagine a more boring, mundane job.

3. That nobody walks in L.A., as the song goes. My parents live in Studio City, and they are walking distance to many restaurants, cafes, shops, etc. They can walk to Trader Joes and often do so to buy groceries.

[K 22]

Originally Posted by EdJS

3. That nobody walks in L.A., as the song goes. My parents live in Studio City, and they are walking distance to many restaurants, cafes, shops, etc. They can walk to Trader Joes and often do so to buy groceries.

This one is probably top 3 in terms of LA stereotypes.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by EdJS

3. That nobody walks in L.A., as the song goes.

Although the lyrics remain fairly accurate to this day.

[iNviNciBL3]

"I wanna live somewhere tropical, like Los Angeles" -Alot of Mid-westerners