Are Los Angeles's best days behind it? (fingerprints, crime)

[bophisto]

I was born and raised in L.A but I have been wondering (for a while now) that L.A's best days might be behind it? I don't feel the city has been run that well for a while. Our mayor sucks ,and local city government seems pretty incompetent. Lot's of money was and is spend foolishly. The gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger and bigger. There are a lot of things that I like about L.A , but a lot that makes me wonder if the city is just going more and more downhill. It seems like everyone has the attitude that "everyone wants to live here, so we don't have to work hard or do much to keep people happy here" . This doesn't seem to bother many people but it's something that really annoys/bothers me. It doesn't help that L.A is in California since CA's economy is really bad now as well.

I think i'd like to move somewhere where people actually care about their city , but isn't totally boring with not much to do. Somewhere where things are improving and the future looks bright. I know there's problems everywhere but I know there are also cities that are in much better shape financially. Places where they care at least a little bit when you call in a request for something that needs to be fixed or when you need the police. I'm 30...maybe I'm now "too old" for L.A?? LOL . But I'd like some place with a positive type of we can get it down energy.

I could see the excitment of L.A was it was possible to live on the Westside on a factory workers salary, jobs were good, crime was lower, traffic wasnt so crazy,etc . It seems like one of the only things we have left is the weather. People seem to stay because they have the idea in their heads that L.A is "the best" just like some people have the idea that NYC is "the best".

Any thoughts on this? Any suggestions of cities better than L.A? An "up and coming" city that tries harder?

[Chicano3000X]

Really? LA's best days behind it? A couple of years ago you could not go almost any night without hearing a gunshot or a helicopter shining it's light through your windoes(still happens but nowhere near as often).

LA's past from my experience is gangs gangs and a dash of gangs. The 90's was notorious for that.


It's kind of inbetween because it's alot safer, and seems alot cleaner than it was years ago. But also comes the question of how far can you clean a neighborhood without gentrifying it to hell? Get rid of gangs, but dont get rid of the neighborhood's latino culture and murals. I still want to see the man with the shaved ice treats pass by down our streets on hot summer days. LA is in a transition. Making it better aesthetically, and improving it's infrastructure to make it act like a real city.

But culturally, hopefully we dont turn it into a yuppy infested wasteland of chain stores and make it sterile.

[bophisto]

Yeah I know what you mean. I agree that it appears that crime has gone down when looking at the statistics..but having my house broken into about 5 months ago it does not feel like it. The attitude of the police was basically being brushed off. "It'll take 6-12 month to get the fingerprints back" ... "This isnt a serious crime" ... So basically you are supposed to wait till you are killed for some justice?? Then it's too late! Of course homicide is more serious..but having your house and personal space invaded should be taking very seriously too.


I live in one of those ungentrified neighborhoods. I guess it depends on the level of gentrification. Total gentrification seems to take a long time. I wish my area would get somewhat gentrified or at least cleaned up. It's sad that there are parts of the city that have trash all over ,graffiti etc . It's a combination of residents not caring and the politicians/local government not caring. The "nice" parts of the city are nice and safe because the residents bug the hell out of politicians to DO something it.

You are right crime is a big issue and I agree, but there are other issues too such as how the city is run in general, traffic ,average commute times , cost of housing , local regulations/redtape for starting a business etc other factors that effect quality of life.

[Chicano3000X]

I dont mind graffiti as long as it's not tags. Always interesting to see graffiti in a seemingly unreachable spot.


stuff like this is what is wrong:



And for the cops, yeah, looks like we still gotta improve that.

I consider the eastern part of LA more of the real side. Overall places that arent the west side. Nobody fakes it, nobody cares for celebs. We work hard, thick skinned and arent afraid of buildings.

[disgruntled la native]

America's best days are behind it. The only things better today are crime and smog. And i'll give you that crime is a big one.

But in the old days... you could go outside and play, you could get from santa monica to downtown LA in 20 minutes at any time of the day.. never worry about traffic, less rules, regulations taxes, more freedom to be yourself and live life to the fullest...

[bophisto]

disgruntled , ya this is the L.A that my parents and grandparents experienced...and sadly one that we will never see again!

[BarcelonaFan]

I left Houston, which is on a major upswing for LA which is on a major downswing. Yet, I find LA at it's worse to still be more enjoyable than Houston at it;s best.

But I can tell I came when LA is already on it's way out as a major player.

[Chicano3000X]

In terms of development, LA's best days are ahead.

[PDF]

Some of the negatives the OP points out are very true, but you can apply that to every other city. Los Angeles is pretty young and one only needs to look at how much light-rail is under construction to know that LA has a lot to look forward to.

[West of Encino]

Some of it. The City of Angels is going back to the old days of the Great Depression.