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What? Violent and cold-blooded?? I just had to respond to this one. I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience in L.A., but I lived there for almost four years and didn't find this to be true. I made a few great friends in L.A. and would hardly call everyone in the city "rude!" Talk about a BROAD generalization. I even worked for several movie studios and found most of my co-workers --even the executive types--to be very nice. Not everyone working in the enterainment industry is mean-spirited and evil, as some may think.
I have lived everywhere from the Midwest to Miami, and found that L.A. has the same mix of people that you will find anywhere - some rude, some nice, etc. People are people wherever you go. We weren't rich, but you could still find us hanging out in Beverly Hills and Malibu on the weekends - you don't need tons of money to experience the best the city has to offer.
I agree that L.A. can be very fast-paced - that is true. It is hard to stay afloat sometimes and it is easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of day-to-day activities there. Although I was rushing around so much, I didn't feel like anything was passing me by, if that makes sense. I did get sick of the "hurry up and wait" mentality, but I felt that because L.A. offered so much, that I was right in the middle of everything and was experiencing life to the fullest.
I wanted to escape after a few years because I was feeling overwhelmed and thought that a small town was just the ticket. Now that I am away from L.A., I realize that I miss the energy and creative vibe of the city. There just is no other place like it. And I am embarrassed to say that I think we are moving back for the THIRD time very soon! (In my defense, we had to move away the last time due to finances and poor planning.) No matter where I go, L.A. just feels like "home" to me. Even after growing up in the Midwest and being a self-proclaimed "Florida girl."
Quote:
Originally Posted by FunkyMonk
LA is insane. Everything the original poster said is true. I lived there for a while and then moved to a smaller city, and when I got to that city I was acting really on edge and fast paced. Everyone else was smiling and enjoying the moment. And I was rushing around trying to do everything. And my mind was racing along with it. It took me a few months to just slow down out of that LA pace. And when I did, I felt great.
Sometimes I miss LA. LA definantly has a lot of great things going on too. It can be a very fun place. But i'm not rich, so I will not live there again. If you are not rich, living in LA will make you very frustrated. If you are not rich, most of the good things about LA will be out of your reach. And all of the bad things about LA will be at your doorstep.
The people of LA..... well, honestly, a lot of them are very hard to be around. They are very rude.
I've lived in a few very big cities. And in smaller cities. But in LA, the rudeness factor is at a higher level. There is an egotistical vibe there that is unlike any other place i've been to. And there is nothing cool about it. Every day I had people do very, very rude things. Blatently disrespectful and aggressive things. Violent, cold-blooded things.
In many ways, LA is like a city in a developing country.
LA isn't a great place for an ordinary person. But if you are in LA, and you have a ton of money. You will have an awesome time.
Last edited by gypsystar; 12-30-2008 at 03:52 PM..
I've lived here most of my life. Like many, I cannot wait to retire and move out! Where to? God only knows. One thing for sure, I do not want to be here after retirement. Enough is enough!
What? Violent and cold-blooded?? I just had to respond to this one. I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience in L.A., but I lived there for almost four years and didn't find this to be true. I made a few great friends in L.A. and would hardly call everyone in the city "rude!" Talk about a BROAD generalization. I even worked for several movie studios and found most of my co-workers --even the executive types--to be very nice. Not everyone working in the enterainment industry is mean-spirited and evil, as some may think.
I have lived everywhere from the Midwest to Miami, and found that L.A. has the same mix of people that you will find anywhere - some rude, some nice, etc. People are people wherever you go. We weren't rich, but you could still find us hanging out in Beverly Hills and Malibu on the weekends - you don't need tons of money to experience the best the city has to offer.
I agree that L.A. can be very fast-paced - that is true. It is hard to stay afloat sometimes and it is easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of day-to-day activities there. Although I was rushing around so much, I didn't feel like anything was passing me by, if that makes sense. I did get sick of the "hurry up and wait" mentality, but I felt that because L.A. offered so much, that I was right in the middle of everything and was experiencing life to the fullest.
I wanted to escape after a few years because I was feeling overwhelmed and thought that a small town was just the ticket. Now that I am away from L.A., I realize that I miss the energy and creative vibe of the city. There just is no other place like it. And I am embarrassed to say that I think we are moving back for the THIRD time very soon! (In my defense, we had to move away the last time due to finances and poor planning.) No matter where I go, L.A. just feels like "home" to me. Even after growing up in the Midwest and being a self-proclaimed "Florida girl."
A persons experience in Southern California all depends on who you are, what you are doing, what neighborhood you are living in, how much money you have, etc. Most people either have a very good, or very bad time there.
You were working for movie studios? That would lead me to believe you had a good job set up there and had lots of fun. You referred to "we" which would make me believe you had a spouse with you. These things would definantly lead to a better experience than some other people have. And I would venture to guess that you were living in a nicer part of town?
I could give you specific examples of experiences I had in LA. But instead I will just say that a lot of people there are in a ruthless, gangster type of mentality. A lot of other people are in a selfish, mindless sort of mindset too. I'm not even talking about the Hollywood types. I'm talking about the average joes. The blue collar, regular folks.
But the Hollywood types have their own little quirks too.
Of course a huge percentage of LA people are good people too. There are good people in every place on Earth. But I personally think that LA has a lot more unsavory characters than other cities, just like the original poster said. I would say the same thing about San Diego too though, although it's a little different there.
I've had this debate with a lot of people. I think that Southern California has a LOT of big problems that are unique to it, just like the original poster said. He basically said exactly what I think about it very articulately.
Some people just don't see it. Some people just don't seem to understand or acknowledge the dark side of the places they go to. And they choose to focus only on the good. Southern California seems to really have this effect on a lot of people too. It's an interesting phenomenon.
I have found that some people go to LA, work a good job, get a good apartment, and live in a little bubble and love it. But other people end up in a bad neighborhood, have huge financial problems, or for a variety of other reasons, they do not get that good LA experience, and get the very bad LA experience that is also so common.
When I was in LA. I drove all over the city for my job. So I saw it all. I walked the streets of all the different parts. And I saw some very, very gnarly things. They don't call LA the "gang capital of America" for no reason ya know.
Also, in spite of the fairly good salary I made. I went into debt just surviving there. The high cost of living causes a huge chain reaction of problems in the LA community. Only the rich are immune to these problems.
The original poster worked as a police officer. So he couldn't just pretend the problems didn't exist. And that was my problem in LA too, I could not pretend the problems didn't exist because they were in my face all the time.
If $$$ were no object and I were to return to SoCal; it would probably be the 'Hi-Desert' as in the Hwy 62 corridor between 29 Palms and Morongo Valley (that enclave is about 30 miles N of Palm Springs)----------it still has that Old School laid back 'Cali' vibe of another era. Maybe due in part to housing being very inexpensive and a dearth of illegal aliens.
If $$$ were no object and I were to return to SoCal; it would probably be the 'Hi-Desert' as in the Hwy 62 corridor between 29 Palms and Morongo Valley (that enclave is about 30 miles N of Palm Springs)----------it still has that Old School laid back 'Cali' vibe of another era. Maybe due in part to housing being very inexpensive and a dearth of illegal aliens.
I can see the whole wanting to be in the desert and also cheap housing, but what the hell does illegals have to do with anything? C'mon really? I rarely encounter illegal immigrants. Most middle class areas rarely are in contact with the poor in SoCal. Everybody complains "Oh illegals!", but when asked if they directly impact their lives typically the answer is vague and it turns out they are not really impacted. It is a little ridiculous and paranoid.
A persons experience in Southern California all depends on who you are, what you are doing, what neighborhood you are living in, how much money you have, etc. Most people either have a very good, or very bad time there.
You were working for movie studios? That would lead me to believe you had a good job set up there and had lots of fun. You referred to "we" which would make me believe you had a spouse with you. These things would definantly lead to a better experience than some other people have. And I would venture to guess that you were living in a nicer part of town?
I could give you specific examples of experiences I had in LA. But instead I will just say that a lot of people there are in a ruthless, gangster type of mentality. A lot of other people are in a selfish, mindless sort of mindset too. I'm not even talking about the Hollywood types. I'm talking about the average joes. The blue collar, regular folks.
But the Hollywood types have their own little quirks too.
Of course a huge percentage of LA people are good people too. There are good people in every place on Earth. But I personally think that LA has a lot more unsavory characters than other cities, just like the original poster said. I would say the same thing about San Diego too though, although it's a little different there.
I've had this debate with a lot of people. I think that Southern California has a LOT of big problems that are unique to it, just like the original poster said. He basically said exactly what I think about it very articulately.
Some people just don't see it. Some people just don't seem to understand or acknowledge the dark side of the places they go to. And they choose to focus only on the good. Southern California seems to really have this effect on a lot of people too. It's an interesting phenomenon.
I have found that some people go to LA, work a good job, get a good apartment, and live in a little bubble and love it. But other people end up in a bad neighborhood, have huge financial problems, or for a variety of other reasons, they do not get that good LA experience, and get the very bad LA experience that is also so common.
When I was in LA. I drove all over the city for my job. So I saw it all. I walked the streets of all the different parts. And I saw some very, very gnarly things. They don't call LA the "gang capital of America" for no reason ya know.
Also, in spite of the fairly good salary I made. I went into debt just surviving there. The high cost of living causes a huge chain reaction of problems in the LA community. Only the rich are immune to these problems.
The original poster worked as a police officer. So he couldn't just pretend the problems didn't exist. And that was my problem in LA too, I could not pretend the problems didn't exist because they were in my face all the time.
You ever seen the movie "Falling Down"?
No, my situation wasn't perfect. Yes, I am married, but my husband is a carpenter and was out of work several times a year. I did have a full-time assistant position at a movie studio at one point, but I was also a temp, working at several different studios, for a long time. We struggled a lot financially, and often wondered if it was all worth it. I did live in Woodland Hills when I first arrived in L.A., but then we moved to Van Nuys- not exactly a "nice" part of town! Things aren't always as they first appear. And although we felt very overwhelmed sometimes while living in L.A., we made the best of what we had. I realized that the biggest thing that we gave up by living in L.A. was housing space. Our monthly living expenses in FL are the same as they were in L.A. - we just get a lot more "house" for our money here. Which, to us, isn't really worth it.
I was born and lived most of my life in the LA area. I just recently, this past Novemeber, moved my family out of that hell hole and moved all of us to the southwest MO area. We love it in MO and it is a much better area for raising kids and it is nice not having to deal with so many illegals and actually get to be with people who love their country and just want to live life without people constantly telling them how to live. Here they also don't have hissy fits because people own guns and hunting and fishing here is so much better. The cost of living is, of course, much better than anywhere in CA. I find the people in the area here in MO much more accepting to us than CA is to outsiders who move there. My wife is Persian, originally from Iran, and a naturalized citizen. I am an American of Mexican descent. CA has many problems and it just doesn't seem like they are truly willing to fix said problems and would rather act like there is no problems.
For those posters who either just recently moved here (the one from Hawaii) or the one who just visited and hasn't lived here.... you obviously haven't given it enough time. Wait until the first and second and third time your car is stolen/broken into, wait until you continually are accosted on the streets by random people and homeless people - the one who visited. Some parts of LA may LOOK nice on the surface, but believe me, it's the side you ARENT seeing that everyone is complaining about. We aren't overexaggerating and I don't think you are in the position of making any such statement when you haven't experienced what we have. How would you be in a better position to make a statement like that than the people who have lived here all their lives? And dougnaie I agree with you 100%. And CaliGuy I believe this post was for people who ARENT billionaires. Unfortunately, that is where the good places are... only for the billionaires. If you've got at least a couple million to blow, then you'll like LA... if not, you probably won't. Bottom Line.
ok plz excuse me.....but this is bull****......i read thru so many of these comments and have just read how bad LA is how ppl get robbed and killed and harrassed on the regular........I guess I just been living in a hole my life in LA because I haven't experiecned any of this. My car has never been stolen, Im not gonna lie i have been robbed but honestly i feel that comes wit living in big city and I say that having expereicend Dallas Houston Atlanta and New York lived in Va for 4 years and can't Wait to move back to LA. In my opinion, NY was dirty wit rats walkin the streets like normal peds, the only city part of Atl was Downtown, the rest of the city feels like Im in the boonies, Dallas and Houston way to damn hot, and living in a small city in va was horrible with everything shutting down @ midnight on a good day as well as the complete far right conservative stand point on everything. Ppl constantly complain about how horrible LA is but majority of the ppl u see say that are the ones who have lived here their whole entire life and have not expereinced other parts of the country. No direspect but im not writing this to convince the ppl who don't like LA to cause if yall move thats less traffic on the freeway but for the ppl that are just browsin and happen to read this. Like some1 said b4 compare the ghettos of LA to other major cities.....trust me a lot the ppl that thnk they can survive in compton, aint got nothin on the ghettos of NY, so If i had to choose a ghetto to live in, I would def pic LA, where i may live the ghetto but i have a house wit a fence and where besides thugs on the corner or a couch chillin on the corner my street would like a normal neighborhood. Now I can say all of that because I moved to VA to get out of LA, I would say after a year I was ready to move back. Talk about crime, I had never seen anyone be shot until I went VA, point, crime is everywhere and there are **** holes around the country but trust me the amenties of Los Angeles are like no other city. What makes LA so different and makes me fall in love with it so much is that one LA is a young city so it has so much growing to do as for NY where u can't really add anything else, LA also has 88 different cities in one, where some city everyone is goin to downtown to party, shop, work, etc.....No....LA I can get u go snowboarding in moring, come down the mountain go do dinner in Downtown, go to a party in Hollywood and end the night @ a bombfire on the beach in which I have done, no joke, tell what other city in the world u can do all that on the same day....enough said as far as financial probs in LA, I have learned thru my contact with different individuals from co-workers to friends to family financial probs come from ppl tryin to live above their means and live in LA light, u shouldn't own a hummer or any car over 30K and u live in a one bed apt, u should be buying a new $500 blackberry wen u need to pay ur rent, ppl wanna look flashy on the outside and spend their money on all this extra stuff, when if ppl actually budgeted their money they would survive in LA witout a prob, LA is an expensive city, that should come as no surprise, but its so funny how ppl complain about how expensive LA is and say yea Im moving to NY...LOL Goodluck,
I acknowledge that there are part of the greater LA region that can be pretty sketchy. But there are parts of most regions that are pretty sketchy.
But it is possible to avoid those and when you do, you can live in a safe place with a really pleasant climate that is really nice almost year round. The other advantage of LA is that if you look for it, you can find people doing really interesting jobs that you just don't find everywhere else. I had a neighbor who used to write music for movies. You don't have the same opportunities to do that type of really creative work in other parts of the country like say the midwest.
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We weren't rich, but you could still find us hanging out in Beverly Hills and Malibu on the weekends - you don't need tons of money to experience the best the city has to offer. 
(In my defense, we had to move away the last time due to finances and poor planning.) No matter where I go, L.A. just feels like "home" to me. Even after growing up in the Midwest and being a self-proclaimed "Florida girl." 
