The mesmerizing image of Los Angeles... (Long Beach, Orange: 2013, house, theater)

[Hawaii4evr]

I agree with pretty much all the points made above.

[California-Dreaming]

Originally Posted by Caladium

--the sprawl. In a way, LA's sprawl isn't as big of an issue as it is in other cities. This is because no matter which section of LA you live in, everything can be found where you live. So even though you may be surrounded by a giant sea of a city you don't experience most of it. Many people do everything within a 10-mile or so radius of their home. When I lived in Manhattan Beach, I never worked more than 5 miles from my house. All the stores I needed, included a mall, was within 1 mile. Hospitals, libraries, government centers, and a community college were within 2 miles. I only left the South Bay to go to major events like concerts. I actually lived without a car for a few years and found it very walkable.
.

This is very true. Yes it is sprawled out but that's what I like about it. I think it's because people don't live where they work so they gripe about how if the city weren't sprawled out, they wouldn't be stuck in traffic. I like that you have all these city centers connected together. You can have all your needs met on a day to day basis, and if you are looking for something different one day you can easily access another area.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by California-Dreaming

This is very true. Yes it is sprawled out but that's what I like about it. I think it's because people don't live where they work so they gripe about how if the city weren't sprawled out, they wouldn't be stuck in traffic. I like that you have all these city centers connected together. You can have all your needs met on a day to day basis, and if you are looking for something different one day you can easily access another area.

When it's described like that, it makes it very appealing. That's basically what I loved about living in NYC, and sounds like LA is basically the same thing, with way more Asian representation.

[Caladium]

Most of LA is more like Long Island than NYC--but you've got the gist of it. There aren't all that many skyscrapers due to earthquake codes, and the ones that do exist are scattered all around LA County in little mini downtowns. For example, when I lived in Manhattan Beach our local "downtown with highrises" was in El Segundo. And in a few spots in Torrance. No need to work downtown, there were tons of companies in the densely packed buildings that filled a square mile or so of both cities. I personally like the idea of spreading out highrises--it may not give you an impressive skyline, but so what? It's handy in case there's a major earthquake, and I rather liked having the high rises of El Segundo within walking distance even though I lived nowhere near the official LA downtown. (Well, it was walking distance if I wanted to walk 2 miles--but there were pleasant days when I did just that).

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by ProjectMersh

Some pretty standard stereotypical comments for a guy as well traveled as you (I've seen some of your other posts).

Gang culture? Maybe a relevant comment in 1992 but crime has fallen dramatically the last 15 years or so. Disneyland is located in Orange County. Don't worry, you won't get assaulted by Mickey Mouse.

Ha ha ha... Too funny! And fitting for yet another post that features negative prejudice against L.A.
Also makes me wonder why come to CD for advice if you already have concluded flaws about somewhere you might consider making your permanent home.

[Tantamount]

Originally Posted by Caladium

--the high cost of living. This is the big downside to living in southern California.

That's the only downside of Los Angeles to me. Everything else is mesmerizing and different. Having done a lot of traveling, I still find that I always enjoy the time I spend in L.A. more than anywhere else.

[exnj1970]

I have never been to L.A.,but all I know about L.A. I learned on TV as an impressionable kid. LA Law, The A Team, Knots Landing, and countless other shows and movies provided me with glimpses of never ending summer,wealth, prosperity and excitement. Born and raised in NJ, in the NYC metro area, the contrast was stark. NYC (in the '70s and '80s) was dark, cold and gloomy. The L.A. area was full of green hills and sunshine.

Not saying it's right or fair, but this is the way I saw it.And I still feel that way a little.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by exnj1970

I have never been to L.A.,but all I know about L.A. I learned on TV as an impressionable kid. LA Law, The A Team, Knots Landing, and countless other shows and movies provided me with glimpses of never ending summer,wealth, prosperity and excitement. Born and raised in NJ, in the NYC metro area, the contrast was stark. NYC (in the '70s and '80s) was dark, cold and gloomy. The L.A. area was full of green hills and sunshine.

Not saying it's right or fair, but this is the way I saw it.And I still feel that way a little.

Most of the reality will not be televised, but there have been some reasonable presentations of other sides of L.A., such as:

Chico and the Man theme by Jose Feliciano - YouTube

[dethwulf_Zero]

I think California_Dreaming described it well. The way I always like to describe it to my friends is that there are various urban centers throughout the city, and that really, because the city's so spread out, anyone can make of it what they will. You can live anywhere in the city and get anything you want done fairly close to where you live, if you choose for it to be that way. Not everyone has a choice, of course (for example, if someone works, say, Downtown but can only afford to live in the Valley), but for what it's worth, it's still overall nice, and I enjoy it I also personally took the Metro everywhere, so even though I can't drive and don't have a car (partly because I could get anywhere I wanted to on the bus - why would I need a car?), I could still go anywhere I so choose (except for maybe the national forest, but I could get pretty darn close). Even my friends from Hollywood, West Hollywood, Brentwood, Santa Monica, the Palisades, the South Bay, or eastern San Fernando Valley (I went to high school with lots of kids :P), should they so choose, will hop on the bus or the train and just...go somewhere.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by Caladium

The image someone has from afar is different from the image people have if they live there. And LA is a chameleon of a city--your view of what it's like can change dramatically depending on which neighborhood you live in, and what groups of people you like to hang out with. I lived near the beach, a very different experience than someone might have living in Watts, or near UCLA, or in the Valley, or Malibu, or in Pasadena, or in those sylvan canyon neighborhoods. Pretty much any lifestyle you want can be found there, except possibly the winter sports lifestyle--and even that is just 2 hours way if you're willing to drive up to Big Bear.

Therefore a person judging the city from afar can't really gauge what it's like to live there. Still, I think you would love living there, TB--if you can afford it. The high cost of living there is one big hurdle.

A few comments on the negatives you mentioned:

--the sprawl. In a way, LA's sprawl isn't as big of an issue as it is in other cities. This is because no matter which section of LA you live in, everything can be found where you live. So even though you may be surrounded by a giant sea of a city you don't experience most of it. Many people do everything within a 10-mile or so radius of their home. When I lived in Manhattan Beach, I never worked more than 5 miles from my house. All the stores I needed, included a mall, was within 1 mile. Hospitals, libraries, government centers, and a community college were within 2 miles. I only left the South Bay to go to major events like concerts. I actually lived without a car for a few years and found it very walkable.

--the high cost of living. This is the big downside to living in southern California.

--the gang culture at ground zero. Not sure where ground zero is. But, FWIW, I never ran into gang culture. You can find it in certain neighborhoods, but there are also plenty of neighborhoods where it's not an issue at all. Many people live their whole lives in the LA area and never have to deal with gangs. When I lived in the South Bay I felt safe enough that I walked home from the bus stop after dark. In the 20+ years I lived there, I never had any frightening encounters and never came across any gangs, although I saw some gang-ish graffiti from time to time. To be honest I think most of that was from school kids trying to look tough. In other parts of town, of course, gangs may be more common.

--the car culture. If you want to find car buffs, you can easily find them in LA. At the same time, if cars aren't your thing it's easy to find lots and lots of other people who couldn't care less about cars.

--the Hollywood movie industry and Disney. Tourists go to Disneyland, people who live there don't visit it all that much. You might go every few years but that's bout it. It's not like Disney is part of your every day life if you live in LA (unless you work there). The movie industry is a bigger deal in some parts of town, since it's a major local employer. But it's another one of those things that's easy to avoid if movie industry people aren't your cup of tea.

I think by 'car culture', the OP means a place that is centered around having a car. And while you can say LA has some public transit, not everyone owns a car, it's improving, etc etc, So Cal as a whole is car culture, vs. somewhere like Portland or a smaller college town, where bicycles and walking are common, or Boston with its infrastructure. I mean, rural or suburban folks rely on cars just as much; it's just very different when you live somewhere with 6 lanes freeways from one suburb to the next. Whether people are into cars or not is not what the OP meant, (I think...)

Someone mentioned Disney-I don't think the OP meant disney re the gang issue..not sure what was meant, but I think it's related to the materialistic and pop culture thing---[though anaheim can be hit or miss neighborhood wise, too. so who knows.] I just don't find as much variation in the pop culture and materialistic scene in the US as there used to be, though, so I don't think so cal rates in that way as much anymore.

I mean, with internet, media, video games, the development of consumer industries around things that were once subculture lifestyles [organic, environmentally friendly/conscious, health food stores, the arts, outdoor recreation, craft beer/wine, travel, etc], plus the build out of suburban culture throughout the US, from areas that people could not afford to 'new hotspots', materialism and its attitudes are pretty pervasive and not relegated to so cal or similar stereotypes anymore. Of course, many people somehow think that what they are personally buying or doing is less sheeple than the next person's 'thing'. It's all these boxes and programs now. Pick a team, rah rah rah.
[I know there's a move back to urban, but for the time being, families and keeping up with the jones is still centered in suburbia].

My two cents.