The truth about L.A. from a long time resident (Los Angeles: hotel, neighborhoods)

[Chicoan]

....east coast disturbia

For what it's worth, Disturbia was filmed in Whittier

[brit3218]

Originally Posted by AliveandWell

Hello to all living in Los Angeles,

Recently I've seen quite a few threads about people wanting to move to L.A. and as a long term resident of this nation's 2nd largest city, I wanted to offer my opinions about what I think the truth is about L.A. and not the stuff many people hear about this city on the television or what they see based on how the movies portray it. These are going to be my opinions and I ask that all of you please respect my views even if you don't agree with them.

Okay, so the first obvious truth about L.A. is according to me:

1. The air quality is horrible. I say this because I have allergy and sinus problems. The air out here is just not fresh enough. Just go outside and take a walk and you'll see what I mean. Excluding the coast which I wouldn't even bother living in anyway, the air quality is the worst in the nation. A simple Google search will show the proof.

2. Cost of living is outrageously expensive. This one speaks for itself unless you want to rent a room in someone's house which is what I'm basically doing now.

3. Public transit is not that good here. A bus ride from Glendale to Burbank would take over an hour. Although we have a Metro system in L.A. it does not cover the entire city.

4. There is too much sunshine here. Its interesting because when I was 15, I used to love sunny days but now I've gotten to the point where I think the constant, dry sunny rainless days are a bit boring IMO. Which brings me to my next point.

5. The weather and climate is not as good as most people seem to think. Especially in the summer in the inland valleys where temperatures can soar into the 100s and can stay that way for at least a good 4-5 months. From about July to October and even November can see heat waves at times. IMO the best weather months in L.A. are December through April and three weeks in June with the June Gloom days. Okay L.A. is not as hot as Phoenix but summers are not the best IMO. Not enough variety in the weather in L.A. Not enough rain, no snow and too many brush fires. I know what many of you think but I am not a person that actually loves Los Angeles weather but we do have our "good" months. I put the word good in quotes because although the metro area has its nice weather days, it can't compare to San Francisco, Portland, OR or Seattle. I'm not even living here for the weather as I could care less quite frankly. Those of you that want to move here because you think the weather is so nice, think long and hard before you do it because its not what you may think. I'd rather have weather in the 50s, 60s or even 40s. I think I was born to handle cold better. Hey at least New York doesn't have earthquakes or brush fires, haha!

6. Yes, the food is great here, especially if you like Mexican or Japanese food.

7. Yes, there is a lot of cultural diversity here.

8. Yes, there is a ton of poverty in the L.A. metro with different groups not getting along with each other.

9. There's a lot to see and do but the issue is everything is so spread out here. L.A. is a city built for cars and even the streets are usually not pedestrian friendly.

10. L.A. drivers are the worst I've ever seen so far because they cut you off without using their signal lights or they can cut in front of you on the freeways. Yes this has happened too many times in my 26 years of living here. Some of these drivers also drive a bit fast.

11. People in L.A. are usually tough to maintain friendships with because they are so busy its tough to get a hold of your friends. I went to Japan for 16 days a few years back and made more friends over there in those 16 days than I would in 16 days over here.

I am not trying to say L.A. is a horrible place to live. There are things I like about L.A. but it is not as good as some think. I was just trying to point out some of the realities of living here. If I find others I will post them.

I personally think L.A. is responsible for most of the nonsense that poison our radios and televisions. Lets all give L.A. a big round of applause for spreading materialism and superficialness across the globe! They all must be so proud!

[Voyageur]

Originally Posted by brit3218

I personally think L.A. is responsible for most of the nonsense that poison our radios and televisions. Lets all give L.A. a big round of applause for spreading materialism and superficialness across the globe! They all must be so proud!

If you think society is so pathetic and inept that it can't function properly without the entertainment industry coddling it and feeding it whatever pablum you think is "proper", you should be taking society to task, not a business which merely feeds a demand.

When I turn on the television or listen to the radio, the only person responsible for that is me. The same is true for you or anyone else watching or listen to media.

[sam222]

My all time fave freeway is 210 (any way bound). I just love speeding in the carpool lane. Rancho cucamonga is on the side, while foothills and claremont on the right side depending which way you going, but anyways its just so damn hot to ride it. I wish I could get back to LA in some near future, I miss it it a lot. So when I'll be back there I wish some gorgeous cali girls would greet me in LAX

[AliveandWell]

I think that L.A. was a great place in the 1980s because:

1. There were less people living here and rent costs were significantly cheaper. I admit I really miss those days.

2. The Lakers had Chick Hearn behind the microphone broadcasting the games. No NBA commentator alive today can match him. Chick was simply the best And also, the NBA was much more exciting back then. I can't really watch these games anymore because they just don't get me excited anymore. There is also too much emphasis on these big huge contracts.

3. The schools were safer back then. No kid had to worry about being attacked with a gun. Also, I don't even remember hearing a thing about gang violence.

4. The quality of the cartoons was way better than what I see on tv nowadays.

But the truth is, THAT is L.A. of the past. The L.A. of today compared to back then is not a very good place. No longer can you rent a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in a decent are for $500 a month. There is too much graffiti, and housing is expensive. That's because people kept on moving here and made it difficult on the middle class. That is what drove up the cost of real estate. Read the thread titled "Get out if you can" and you will see what I mean. I could rent a studio apartment in another state for the price of a one bedroom in L.A.

There is just too much traffic on the freeways now and we have too many rude and aggressive drivers here. Some of them will honk for a stupid reason. And this state is just loaded with sex offenders who love to attack teenage girls. There are just too many sick, screwed up people in CA. I'm not saying there aren't people like this in other states, there are. But CA is loaded with them. I wouldn't even think about raising kids in L.A. if I had them because I think it is too risky.

Having said all that, not all is bad here in L.A. but anyone who moves out here is going to have a challenging time because this city is NOT what it used to be years ago. L.A. is not a bed of roses but it is probably not the worst large city overall.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by AliveandWell

2. The Lakers had Chick Hearn behind the microphone broadcasting the games. No NBA commentator alive today can match him. Chick was simply the best And also, the NBA was much more exciting back then. I can't really watch these games anymore because they just don't get me excited anymore. There is also too much emphasis on these big huge contracts.


*******

4. The quality of the cartoons was way better than what I see on tv nowadays.

Chick Hearn, Vin Scully, Bob Miller, Dick Enberg (Rams, Angels), a Mount Rushmore of Sports Announcers.



The whole "athletes make too much money" controversy has been around since Babe Ruth.


*****

Better cartoons? How do you measure that?

[Island_OnThe_Land]

Originally Posted by AliveandWell

I think that L.A. was a great place in the 1980s because:


3. The schools were safer back then. No kid had to worry about being attacked with a gun. Also, I don't even remember hearing a thing about gang violence.

Having said all that, not all is bad here in L.A. but anyone who moves out here is going to have a challenging time because this city is NOT what it used to be years ago. L.A. is not a bed of roses but it is probably not the worst large city overall.

So many points to cover in your post but POINT #3 is simply VERY, VERY WRONG!!!!!!! There was far MORE violence and esp. GANG VIOLENCE in the 1980's as compared to 2010. Crime, esp. violent crime, was at an all time high in the late 1980's. Crime today in LA is a fraction of what is was then.

[AliveandWell]

Originally Posted by Island_OnThe_Land

So many points to cover in your post but POINT #3 is simply VERY, VERY WRONG!!!!!!! There was far MORE violence and esp. GANG VIOLENCE in the 1980's as compared to 2010. Crime, esp. violent crime, was at an all time high in the late 1980's. Crime today in LA is a fraction of what is was then.

The crime rate may be lower but the truth is, there is still a ton of it in L.A. If you watch the local news for 5 minutes, you'll see just how many news stories are negative. That doesn't mean areas like Compton and Watts are safe now. Bottom line is I still prefer the L.A. of 1985 vs. the L.A. of 2010 or even 1995. Thanks to the mass of people that moved here and drove up the cost of living, middle class wage earners are being forced out of the state. I hate to sound negative but L.A. sucks now in a lot of ways compared to when I was growing up. How sad that is

[majoun]

Originally Posted by AliveandWell

The crime rate may be lower but the truth is, there is still a ton of it in L.A. If you watch the local news for 5 minutes, you'll see just how many news stories are negative. That doesn't mean areas like Compton and Watts are safe now. Bottom line is I still prefer the L.A. of 1985 vs. the L.A. of 2010 or even 1995. Thanks to the mass of people that moved here and drove up the cost of living

Hipsters?

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Island_OnThe_Land

So many points to cover in your post but POINT #3 is simply VERY, VERY WRONG!!!!!!! There was far MORE violence and esp. GANG VIOLENCE in the 1980's as compared to 2010. Crime, esp. violent crime, was at an all time high in the late 1980's. Crime today in LA is a fraction of what is was then.

Very true.

Now, there were good things in that time period which have been lost which AliveAndWell didn't mention - MUCH more of a cultural infrastructure than today, MANY more dive bars than today, more direct links with the past, an intact industrial base, far more high paying blue collar jobs even if less than the '70s, aerospace and the entertainment industry still providing more jobs, etc. L.A.'s economy was kicking ass in the mid '80s while it's truly nightmarish now. But certainly violence, including but not limited to gang violence, was worse at that time.

Perhaps AliveAndWell's from the Valley? I could see how a Valley person could come to such a conclusion, even though it's wrong, because the high crime neighborhoods of the mid '80s don't entirely match those of 2010. For example, Central Hollywood and almost all of downtown LA in the mid '80s were considered high crime neighborhoods and Van Nuys and Panorama City weren't ; now it's the other way around. CityData does seem to have an overrepresentation of Valley people.