Are Angelenos like the Brittish people? They never really move around geographicaly. (Los Angeles: transplants, home)

[zakkk]

So, I've been following a lot of the posts on here for the last couple of months, because I'm moving to LA in Feb next year, and just wanted to get some more info about the place.

One of the interesting things I've noticed, is that it seems as though people who are born and raised in LA, tend to stay pretty much in the same area for the greater part of their lives. Obviously this is not the case with all. This phenomenon I also noticed when I was in England. I also have some friends that live there, and the Brittish people follow this same pattern. Some of the people I spoke to who live in Brighton, which is just a 60min train trip from London city central, have never been there. They don't venture out.

If I take my family for example, we have moved between Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban about 5 times in the last 22 years. Please dont misunderstand, I mean no insult here, i just found interesting.

Here is something I found on another post on City Data:

JFK: Coming out of class in the 4th grade in Capistrano Beach. Some older kid yelled "Hey, did you hear the good news? They shot Kennedy." Republicans.

RFK: I was home sick from school, Capistrano Beach. I saw the breaking news on TV.

Apollo 1: Had just gotten home from school. Heard it on KABC radio.

Moon: Sitting in front of my grandparents' big black and white Zenith in their living room in, you guessed it, Capistrano Beach. I was days away from turning 14.

Sylmar: Barely felt it in you-know-where.

Reagan: Was at work.

Challenger: Was at work.

OJ slow speed chase: My mom died during this. That's what I remember most about it.

Northridge: Was at my night job in San Juan Capistrano, ass in the air on all fours installing a two-way radio antenna on the roof of a new cable van. I was violently thrown to the ground, where I landed on a tool box. My arm still shows that scar.

Landers earthquake: Asleep in bed in Capistrano Beach until tossed out on my ass by this quake. Both the solid core double doors opening onto the alley were blown open by the quake.

Shuttle Columbia: At home in CB, just happened to be watching the news.

911: Was at home listening to Howard Stern on KLSX when they broke in with the news. Watched TV non-stop for the next two days.

So taking from this, this person lived in Capistrano Beach for a very long time. Obviously this is just one case, but I'm sure you see where I'm getting at.

I look forward to your comments.
N

[asielen]

Personally, my family has been in Los Angeles for at least three generations. However we are lucky enough to have the money to take trips all around the world. So of my relatives have moved to places such as Virginia and Washington because of jobs and many of them are counting the days till they can move back.

People tend to move when they have to because they can't afford to live how they want anymore or because their job is forcing them to move. If you have everything you need where you are, economically and socially, why move? I plan on living a year or two here and there around the world, but in the end I plan on coming back to LA.

Also, you have to consider that Southern California is a very large area. Sure in the example you gave the person did stay in one city. However, because of the size of the area and its diversity, it is possible to stay in the general area yet live a completely different lifestyle.

[zakkk]

Yeah I understand that because of the poor economy it's difficult to make a move. But I'm almost referring to people not even venturing out to visit new areas. They live in Burbank for example, but they have never been to Beverly Hills, or Marina Del Ray etc etc. I mean, how long can it take to get from Glendale/Burbank to LAX if traffic is "normal". Two, maybe two and a half hours? To me that seems like a short trip? Maybe just because it takes me 1.5 hours to get home every day by car!!

[Green Irish Eyes]

Originally Posted by zakkk

Yeah I understand that because of the poor economy it's difficult to make a move. But I'm almost referring to people not even venturing out to visit new areas. They live in Burbank for example, but they have never been to Beverly Hills, or Marina Del Ray etc etc. I mean, how long can it take to get from Glendale/Burbank to LAX if traffic is "normal". Two, maybe two and a half hours? To me that seems like a short trip? Maybe just because it takes me 1.5 hours to get home every day by car!!

Where are you seeing posts in which people say they live here but have never been to other areas of the city?

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Just because someone has lived their entire life or the majority of it in one part of the city or in another area near by does not mean that they have not ventured out to other parts of the city. I would say that one thong about the majority of us in the Southland (A term given to the LA Metro area.) is that we for the most part are mobil. I for one have more than one car. Although most of my life has taken place in the Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Ventura area I have visited many communities within the LA County, Orange County, San Diego County, Santa Barbara County, and of course all over Ventura County area. My family loves to drive down the PCH by Malibu and into the West Side. Your example shows an individual that lives in one community, but does not inform the reader if they have visited or not visited areas outside their home city. Though it can be said that the author has spent a lot of time in Capistrano, it does not mention if trips were made outside of the city. Chances are slim that a trip was never made. I would say plenty were. Not sure on the geography of the London area, but here we have an amazing freeway system. Sure it could be better, but for now it gets most of us around.

[coffeelovr]

Where are you from originally, Sir? I'm curious.

Anyway, I was born/raised in L.A. county (in a bedroom community outside Los Angeles) and as an young adult in 1980's I moved to Orange County and loved O.C. very much! I lived in a few different cities within O.C.

But -then after I married, years later I moved to Wisconsin which is 2,000 miles away from CA. I have been in Wisconsin (WI) for almost 6 years now. It seems people who live in WI and in the Upper Midwest don't "move around" very much (as far as I can tell)! In my opinion, they move around less than folks in CA! Many have never been across their own state, much less to another state -even to visit!

I have known many, many CA people and can say that they seem to enjoy traveling to various places (Europe, Asia, Carribbean, Cancun Mexico; etc.) but as far as moving is concerned, I have known a smaller percentage of CA people who actually move to another region; however, Californians are more adventurous than you assume! Some CA persons I have known have lived in Asia, Africa (for missionary job), Europe (my niece is living in "Aix de Provence, France" now - I believe it's in the South of France), Latin America and even in Saudi Arabia for a job position with an American company that had a division out there. Soooo, some Californians do move to other localities in the world, you just haven't met any -yet!

When you move to L.A. and you move to a middle class, upper middle class or upper class neighborhood; then you will soon meet CA neighbors who have traveled the world (and perhaps even lived in other places too).

[uptown_urbanist]

I don't think that's true; my friends who were born and raised and still live in the LA area have all lived in different locations, and all have certainly visited many of the other parts of the city/region.

(and as an aside, coffeelovr, my upper midwest experience has been the opposite of yours - my friends and relatives living in the Upper Midwest traveled more in general than do the people I know in CA, in part because they have more disposable income and can afford to leave home more often!)

I think that in any city or metro area or state you can find people who have never left and rarely go more than a few miles from home, but you're also going to find people who are the exact opposite.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I would tend to agree with uptown Urbanist on the availability for many in the Midwest to travell. I know people in Iowa that visit California and other places on a yearly basis. I know of others that have lived their entire life in Kansas and have been able to visit much of the USA and other parts of the world. We do spend more to live here in California.

It would be hard to state that an entire region is going to have people that are well traveled without having any that never leave home. Both exist I am sure, but the majority have gone somewhere. Even if one individual remained behind and never left a community I think you would be hard pressed to find a majority of people that remained home in any local.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by zakkk

Yeah I understand that because of the poor economy it's difficult to make a move. But I'm almost referring to people not even venturing out to visit new areas. They live in Burbank for example, but they have never been to Beverly Hills, or Marina Del Ray etc etc. I mean, how long can it take to get from Glendale/Burbank to LAX if traffic is "normal". Two, maybe two and a half hours? To me that seems like a short trip? Maybe just because it takes me 1.5 hours to get home every day by car!!

But what does Beverly Hills or Marina Del Ray offer to those Burbank residents that they don't already have closer?

I haven't been to Santa Monica in over a decade, but I don't want to either. Why should I drive 45min to an hour to go somewhere that offers the same as I can get here in coastal OC?

As far as moving abroad, plenty are moving abroad. Middle class flight is a real thing, with destinations like Vegas, IE, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas/Houston/El Paso/San Antonio, Asheville, Salt Lake City/St George, etc.

Moving locally, people move for work, that's it, even then you try stay where your friends are because the area is huge and difficult to traverse.

[zenkonami]

Though my boss has lived other places in California, he's always gravitated back to the Valley (where he was born.) I suppose you could chalk one up to that notion. Natives here are pretty proud of being natives without being demeaning about it to transplants.