can you get the L.A. experience in the San Gabriel Valley? (Los Angeles: sales, neighborhoods)

[temporarysHxt]

Can you get the L.A. experience in the San Gabriel Valley(San Dimas, Covina, El Monte, San Gabriel, Pasadena)?

[HyperionGap]

What do you consider the LA experience?

[timtemtym]

You have beautiful mountains and all of the nice LA chains for food and other stuff.

You can also get the wildfires and mudslides up there. That is DEFINITELY the LA experience!

Pasadena is a quick trip into central LA along the beautiful arroyo seco parkway. Some of the beautiful hillsides up there provide the best views of LA. Although, from what I have heard, the SGV gets some of the worst smog in SoCal. That's what makes me avoid it.

[ccm123]

Sort of. The SGV is hot in the summer, but offers some nice communities. LA is a "mish-mash" of different neighborhoods, so you will need to travel around the area if you want to get a comprehensive "experience" of what LA has to offer. For example, the Westside and Malibu has a different feel than the SGV does. The SGV is a lot of bedroom type communities combined together.

[ElysianEagle]

no, you cannot.

[Gurbie]

Originally Posted by temporarysHxt

Can you get the L.A. experience in the San Gabriel Valley(San Dimas, Covina, El Monte, San Gabriel, Pasadena)?

The SGV has worlds largest concentration of Chinese, outside of Asia. Literally hundreds of great little restaurants, many tucked into strip malls and shopping centers, that are destinations for Chinese tourists.

I would say, if your just visiting, you can skip the SGV, for more iconic places. But you'll be missing PART of the LA experience, for sure.

[Joe Van Fossen]

Of all the places you mentioned, Pasadena has the most urban feel and DTLA is just a few stop away on the Gold line.

[pretendingtowork]

You get the traffic, smog, gas prices, and sales tax, if that is what you consider the LA experience.

To me the LA experience is eating a Dodger dog in Chavez Ravine, Spotting the Hollywood sign on the hillside, checking on the walk of fame and theater, or having awesome taquitos on Olivera St. Also having a french dip at Phillipes or walking up and down our little version of China town. Walking the boardwalk in Venice, or bumping elbows with the upper class in BH. Cruising Melrose for some new threads, or enjoying the sights, views and smells of any one of the great beaches. None of those can be had in SGV. About the only other LA experience that can be had there is a fresh double double animal style with fries or having a drive with the top down through a canyon.

But then again it comes down to what you view as the LA experience.

[HaemophilusAphrophilus]

Originally Posted by Gurbie

The SGV has worlds largest concentration of Chinese, outside of Asia. Literally hundreds of great little restaurants, many tucked into strip malls and shopping centers, that are destinations for Chinese tourists.

I would say, if your just visiting, you can skip the SGV, for more iconic places. But you'll be missing PART of the LA experience, for sure.

agreed-- the SGV in and of itself is not the prototypical LA experience (using this term loosely), but IMO without it a significant chunk of the "true" LA experience would be gone

[genjy]

Regarding LA tourism in general, I think tourists do themselves a disservice when they skip SGV because it isn't "Los Angeles." The best Chinese/Asian food in North America, if not outside of Asia, is just a 15-20 minute drive from DTLA. Even if not for the food scene, it's fun just to explore the area and absorb the unique Asian influence has on some of the SGV cities. There's nothing quite like it in the U.S.

When I travel, I always make plans to visit the touristy areas for that requisite experience and the non-touristy areas for the local flavor.