Are people in LA really phony and pretentious? (Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks: safe area, purchases)

[socal06]

Originally Posted by daaaaave

Not everyone of course, but do you get that vibe? I am thinking of moving there from the Northern VA area and I can't imagine people could be any more materialistic and a-holes than they are here. I have lived in San Diego before and I felt people there were so nice and way more down to earth than the DC area. Is LA different?

Yeah they are.
People here WANT you to screw up.
So then they can attack you, and get money out of you.

[GiaSmith]

I am a native Los Angeles/California gal, and haven't travelled much. But I truly believe you can find good and bad everywhere. Perhaps there are more phony and pretentious people in LA just due to the fact that the Los Angeles population is over 1mil. I think if you hang out in the trendy areas, places with people in entertainment and/or extreme wealth, you are probably right. But there are just as many wonderfully friendly and "real" people.

[DaveV]

Tool summed up LA nicely in their song Ænema (http://home.gwi.net/~ral/mfactor/tool/aenima/aenima.html - broken link)

[Amyluv77]

Why do people sum up a person who lives in Southern Cali as pretentious, and phony just because they like the finer things in life? I am 21 and I'm from a family who just happens to have wealth. Yes I drive a BMW, and dress in high fashion name-brands, but I have my own career. I graduated early from College and I work at Sony Pictures.

I live in Beverly Hills in my own place. Yeah, my folks help me sometime, but I wanted to make my own way. So, I have a great life, and I happen to enjoy living the so called "L.A. life" that we see glamorized on t.v.

Am I prententious and phony? No, but I am sure a lot of people think so. And yes, I am blond, slender and look the part.

Amy

[DontH8Me]

Originally Posted by Amyluv77

Why do people sum up a person who lives in Southern Cali as pretentious, and phony just because they like the finer things in life? I am 21 and I'm from a family who just happens to have wealth. Yes I drive a BMW, and dress in high fashion name-brands, but I have my own career. I graduated early from College and I work at Sony Pictures.

I live in Beverly Hills in my own place. Yeah, my folks help me sometime, but I wanted to make my own way. So, I have a great life, and I happen to enjoy living the so called "L.A. life" that we see glamorized on t.v.

Am I prententious and phony? No, but I am sure a lot of people think so. And yes, I am blond, slender and look the part.

Amy

Do the spoils of your environment and upbringing, the physical attributes you claim to have, and the fact that your folks help you out sometime necessarily make you appear pretentious and phony? Maybe, maybe not.

Does the fact that you posted all that crap about yourself (me me me, look at me, don't you wish you were ME?) on an anonymous chat board make you appear pretentious and phony? Most definitely.

The next time mommy and daddy give you a check, use some of it to take that post you wrote to a good psychologist - he can explain your shortcomings to you and probably find ways to deal with your insecurities.

You'll thank me in ten years from now.

[Amyluv77]

Originally Posted by DontH8Me

Do the spoils of your environment and upbringing, the physical attributes you claim to have, and the fact that your folks help you out sometime necessarily make you appear pretentious and phony? Maybe, maybe not.

Does the fact that you posted all that crap about yourself (me me me, look at me, don't you wish you were ME?) on an anonymous chat board make you appear pretentious and phony? Most definitely.

The next time mommy and daddy give you a check, use some of it to take that post you wrote to a good psychologist - he can explain your shortcomings to you and probably find ways to deal with your insecurities.

You'll thank me in ten years from now.

Excuse me for making you angry, at least that's how your post read... I did not post those things about myself to puff my head up. It just seems if someone has some material possessions, and a good life to go along with it, plus live in the L.A. or Southern Cali area, then they are phony and snobbish.

You attacked me without even knowing me, based on a post. That's ridiculous!

[fairweathergolfer]

Jealous much?

AmyLuv just shared her experience, just as you spent your share attacking her for no reason except for her non phoniness and non pretentiousness sharing her experience and asking a question.

You seem quite bothered that she described herself (should she lie and say 'I am chubby and have falling out brown tresses'? Would she get your approval then because you are not threatened by her physical attributes? Would you then not accuse her of me, me, meism? WHo is the one being superficial here? Not Amyluv)). You are clearly jealous that she gets a check or financial support from her parents on occasion. Many middle class people as well as poor get similar assistance. Where do you think all that money that is wired to Mexico goes from the U.S. Mexican workers--each week, each month? How about all those parents that work hard to help their child with a down payment on a house and financial gifts or presents, college, time given babysitting grandchildren five days a week ten hours a day? Many of these parents barely have the money and some don't really have the time. But they give to their child.

Amyluv's parents have disposable income, why can't they just as the middle class and poor give to their child? Ten thousand to them may be a fifty dollar check to another. It is all statistically similar when it comes to income percentage and in fact they probably give her less of their total income then middle class or poor folks do to their children. Even if it was more, who are YOU to judge their financial decisions. It is their money. I assume you do what you want will YOUR money.

It is all relative. Me thinks you would prefer her flesh and blood send you a check. If you had enough money to never work as a child and into adulthood, how do you know you would not work at all or even go to college? Amyluv has and this says a lot about her, especially considering she may be easily able to spend the whole day shopping on Rodeo and spaing instead. I personally have no problem with that if she did. It is the person's choice. Then atleast the poor workers that service those industries make money to take home to their family. So the wheel keeps turning. Sorry about the assumption Amyluv of what you could be doing with your time (you said you were wealthy), but this is true of others I know that are wealthy. It is each person's choice.

People always talk about what they will do when they retire. Well who are they to judge people who never actually have to work? People who have never had a choice but to work spend their life fantasizing about such freedom and decisions, but know nothing about the reality of financial freedom or the decisions one has to make when they have all the beauty and 'things' already.

People make a lot of assumptions about what they would do if they had enough money to not work or if they were fantastically attractive and fit etc, but the reality over the long term is much more complicated. We all have souls and feelings and minds. Rich, poor or middle class. The discrimination and hate of the wealthy world wide is so sad. It is all envy. Who is the sinner then? Who is the real pretentious phony?

Originally Posted by DontH8Me

Do the spoils of your environment and upbringing, the physical attributes you claim to have, and the fact that your folks help you out sometime necessarily make you appear pretentious and phony? Maybe, maybe not.

Does the fact that you posted all that crap about yourself (me me me, look at me, don't you wish you were ME?) on an anonymous chat board make you appear pretentious and phony? Most definitely.

The next time mommy and daddy give you a check, use some of it to take that post you wrote to a good psychologist - he can explain your shortcomings to you and probably find ways to deal with your insecurities.

You'll thank me in ten years from now.

[Amyluv77]

Wow, fairweathergolfer, thanks a million!

And it's my parents who are wealthy, not me. I am just their child. They've raised me not to be someone who just sit back and wait for things to be handed to me... Think about it, I finished college at age 20. I made the right moves, and got in at one of the most successful major studios in L.A.

It wasn't just given to me. yes, my parents help me with housing, and my BMW, I got that on my own.

[dtran103]

In a city of over 4 million, among the most multicultural cities in the world where half the population is Latino, and where whites are becoming a minority, the stereotype persists where LA is flooded with blonde bubbly girls. Go figure.

We ignore the multicultural reality because it's easier to go by a rich white perspective of cliches rather than form real, fair impressions of a city.

Oh, and LA is one of the fattest cities in the country with among the highest per capita fast food joints, but apparently the media believes we are all suffering from anorexia due to our "image obsession."

[fashionablecowboy]

Who cares?! beautiful environment-beautiful people. They're a product of the perfect and never-changing weather. Get with it people-Obviously LA won't be full of hippies or fatties that don't care about this stuff. You want that? -Move to Chicago or Boston.

Are people dark and depressing in New York City?