Do you ever have to leave LA County? (San Diego, Long Beach: promotional, live in)

[BMORE]

I've been reading more and more on LA county, and the more I read the most I think "do people there ever truly have to leave?" Simply I'm stating you don't have to leave LA county or at least the LA county metro in your life and yet you can experience so much.

Here in MD, the county I live in doesn't have a true urban city to it like LA but we have many smaller cities such as Bethesda, Silver Spring, Etc but there is always a reason to leave here. In LA on the other hand you have mountains to hike, deserts to see, beaches to visit, islands to see (I truly want to visit Avalon someday), mega cities, and rural areas as well. I'd argue it's perhaps the only county in the US that you don't have to leave to experience as many things as you do ALTHOUGH other areas may have things that are better such as better mountains, better beaches, deserts, etc but the possibility to do it all in one county seems to be only a LA County thing.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you can catch a flight to different parts of the county simply because of how vast it is, it's truly impressive to me to say the least. With that being said, I know people leave LA County all the time, my notion is just that you don't have to leave to experience so much. For example, if you never left the county I'm from in NC everyone would think you're strange, but to say one has never left LA County would actually be acceptable to me.

[erin_elise_]

lololol...LA county is pretty massive....tbh, you actually dont really need to leave it...beaches...mountains....major city...other smaller cities....BUT disneyland and knotts berry farm are in orange county...but depending on what part of LA county you live in, thats only like 30 t o40 min away....i live near LAX...so in good traffic on sat morning i can get there in like 35 min.....but yea LA is pretty encompassing.

[transitfan]

I don't know if there are currently any scheduled flights between airports in L. A. County (years ago, I think SkyWest or some other commuter airline had flights between LAX and Palmdale), but last year, during the infamous "Carmaggedeon" closure of the 405 freeway, jetBlue ran a special flight between Burbank and Long Beach and back. It was purely promotional (don't get caught in the traffic, fly over it!), but it was between two airports in L. A. County. But of couse, that was a one-of.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by transitfan

I don't know if there are currently any scheduled flights between airports in L. A. County (years ago, I think SkyWest or some other commuter airline had flights between LAX and Palmdale), but last year, during the infamous "Carmaggedeon" closure of the 405 freeway, jetBlue ran a special flight between Burbank and Long Beach and back. It was purely promotional (don't get caught in the traffic, fly over it!), but it was between two airports in L. A. County. But of couse, that was a one-of.

Funniest BS ever. Drive/uber/cab to LAX, fly to Burbank, uber/cab to your final destination. And then what if you need to return? If Carmageddon was actually bad, you would still spend less money on gas sitting in traffic than flying and taking ride-shares to your destination. Such silly marketing.

[jm1982]

Interesting question. I don't think there is much of a NEED to leave L.A County since it's so huge and you can find pretty much whatever you want..but there are still a lot of people that like to travel .

Even though one might live in L.A and have the L.A beaches, a lot still like to check out the Orange County beaches for example.

I enjoy going to and seeing different places and I feel places have a different 'vibe' about them.

Even within L.A , the Brentwood vibe is different from the Venice Beach vibe.

Old Town Pasadena has a certain feel different to 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica.

Regarding catching a flight from one part of the county to the other... I don't think it would be affordable or practical for the most part. Can't think of a situation where it would really make the most sense.

I could see executives and politicians using helicopters though especially in bad traffic, but that's different than actually going to an airport, going through security, boarding on the plane,etc.

If you really don't want to drive, the train would probably be the best option over a flight.

Even though there's so much in L.A I'd recommend for people to get out once in a while, it's a big world out there.

I feel that traveling is important and gives one perspective.

Even with the U.S there is so much to see. Would be cool to see all 50 states.

I've probably only been to like 15 out of the 50 states , and that's considering that I travel quite a bit I think compared to the average person.

There is just something exciting and good about going somewhere you've never been before.

I always think it's kind of crazy when I hear people that say they don't like to travel. I can see not liking to fly , but just to not want to travel at all seems kind of strange to me..but to each his own.

[SandyCo]

I'd be more apt to agree if this post was about California in general, not just L.A. County. So many different environments and ecosystems are found in our state!

But yes, there is a lot to do here if you don't mind fighting the traffic.

[disgruntled la native]

No, you never have to leave. There's so much going on here that nobody can possibly experience it all. Versus being even in a middle sized city like Minneapolis, Portland, New Orleans, Indianapolis to name a few - you can easily outgrow those places. Even larger ones like Boston, Philly.

[Count David]

As previously mentioned, if you want Disneyland, Knott's, or Sea World, you do.

One of the drawbacks (if you wanted to consider it as such) of this, is that many Southern CA'ians (not just LA County) don't leave the area very often, if ever. And if they do, it's to Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, Mexico, or the Bay Area.

[thelopez2]

I think the variety is what makes filming easy

[volosong]

That's an interesting viewpoint, BMORE. I'd never thought of it that way before. For me, I'd want to get away from time to time. There are just too many people here, and the need to "escape" is strong. Since leaving home, (was born here), I've always lived on the edges of the L.A. Basin. For many, many years, to the west in Ventura county, (less smog due to the prevailing winds). Currently, I'm north of the Basin in the desert. Still L.A. county, but far apart due to the traverse range. My job brings me back to the Basin, but thankfully, it also is at the fringes, so I rarely have to venture into the urban jungle.