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Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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couldn't agree more...and I, too, lived in OC for 17 years (i.e. firsthand experience)....many OC'ers wanted nothing to do with LA and stated as much. On the other hand, I enjoyed going up to LA, be it Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Sunset Strip, Pasadena, Staples Center, Melrose, Long Beach or wherever...trying to get many people to go there on a weekend was like pulling teeth...many OC'ers, like San Diegans, despise LA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cryptic
Though in map sense, Orange County is clearly part of Metro LA, most people in Orange County dont consider it to be. When I lived in Orange County, most of my friends had only been to Los Angeles on very few occasions and those had been high school trips to museums etc.
As traffic can make even week end day trips to Los Angeles a pain, Los Angeles might as well of been hours away for many people in Orange County. I even got vague looks when I mentioned the Santa Monica Pier and the Getty museum. One guy told me he had been to the pier- once. My friends were from varied back grounds and had a variety of interests. Even an OC judge I knew had no idea of how Los Angeles was laid out and we needed to constantly refer to large scale city maps when we went to a sporting event together.
Last edited by elchevere; 10-28-2015 at 03:47 PM..
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
7,409 posts, read 6,545,347 times
Reputation: 6682
Bold highlighted, below...that's the second thing I've agreed with you on in the same week (other being Portland's superior food scene)....will miracles never cease?
As for Miami, I am here now, visit 6 times a year, and am quite familiar with the city.....you'd be surprised how many of those wealthy foreigners now consider Miami their first home and live here full time or close to it--this is not the Miami of 15, 20 or 40 years ago when it's population swelled during the winter months from Northeast snowbirds and some foreigners--it has become a year round destination with residential and commercial real estate projects booming. (When you have a moment, you should familiarize yourself with the magazine "The Real Deal", or go online--URL below). Yes, there are plenty of poor people which bring down Miami's median income (in similar fashion to LA and/or how the boroughs of Staten Island and The Bronx bring down NYC's median income). Granted, like SD, many people made their wealth elsewhere before relocating to Miami. Oh, and Miami is much more than just South Beach.....getting back to my original point, I guess neither locals nor tourists that come to SD are interested in supporting some or as many high end restaurants or retailers as locals or tourists who visit other destinations, be it OC or LA or SF or Miami, or Park City/Deer Valley or wherever....does higher cash register ring equate to world class city?--not certain....but San Diego certainly seems to be content with "good enough" whereas other cities do not settle for that and want more. Portland benefitted from the influx of people who moved there from the Bay Area who contributed to their new city (contributed to the restaurant scene and increased home values)--wish we got some or more of those transplants. If your kids came home from school with straight C's, is that good enough for you or would you encourage them to do better?...San Diego has potential for so much more, besides nice beaches, but often acts like an elephant with its tail tied to the tree. I guess that's good enough.
I've never heard anyone say OC isn't part of Metro LA, except you. And why wouldn't OC have their own upscale shopping areas? It's part of a metro of over 13 million people (17 million if you want to include Riverside/San Bernardino).
Miami? Please. Anything upscale there is for the wealthy tourists and rich people who own second homes and not for those who live there. Do I have to post links to the embarrassingly low median incomes and low educational attainment for all of South Florida? Vegas is the western twin. Lots of high end shopping and dining to be found there, also. Do you think Vegas residents are keeping Le Cirque and Joel Robuchon up and running? Think again.
And are you really surprised that SD doesn't attract the 1%? I'm guessing you put SD in the same category as NYC, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sao Paolo? This isn't world class city so stop comparing it to other world class cities. If you want to bring up Deer Valley, then let's talk about Aspen. I know Aspen well enough to know there are 2 Aspens.....one is it's for the ultra rich who live and vacation there, and the other is for those who serve them. That's it. Same as Deer Valley.
You're obviously more naive and uninformed than I thought you were, which clearly explains why some of your posts are just flat out ridiculous.
Last edited by elchevere; 10-28-2015 at 03:42 PM..
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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It most certainly can be, though it depends....I am talking about a person that has had a reasonable amount of success in their career and can live in a nice area (and, no, I'm not talking Mitt Romney rich either).....if you are talking about a person making $50-70K/year with $200K in the bank by age 45 then you will probably find a nicer neighborhood/lifestyle for your money in San Diego (to rent) than you would in Miami--on that, I would agree with you. You couldn't pay me to live in Doral or more than a few miles inland, but along the coast and/or Brickell (though more dense) or Coral Gables are very nice. The downtown Brickell/Coral Gables corridor is less than 20 minutes to great beaches (Key Biscayne, Miami Beach) similar to downtown SD is to PB, La Jolla, etc. I can see where some would not like it because downtown/Brickell is more congested and has more expensive restaurants than SD and how the Atlantic does not have the waves of the Pacific (but the ocean is clearer and does not require a wetsuit to go in the water during the year)....so it would seem to be a matter of personal preference, but it certainly is a viable alternative --unless mountains and desert are an absolute must and/or you prefer less urban, less congested living (then again, many desirable cities in the world are congested).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sassberto
San Diego has a lot of problems, but Miami is not a reasonable alternative to California.
n
Last edited by elchevere; 10-28-2015 at 03:44 PM..
couldn't agree more...and I, too, lived in OC for 17 years (i.e. firsthand experience)....many OC'ers wanted nothing to do with LA and stated as much. On the other hand, I enjoyed going up to LA, be it Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Sunset Strip, Pasadena, Staples Center, Long Beach or wherever...trying to get many people to go there on a weekend was like pulling teeth...many OC'ers, like San Diegans, despise LA.
Like you, I did all of the Los Angeles things when I lived in Orange County including the museums, piers, botanical gardens etc. My friends in Orange County though I was going to a foreign country.
One thing that amazed me is how localized Orange County people can be. People in Orange gave me blank looks when I described going to a mall that was 20 minutes beyond the city borders. When I told others that I had driven to the southeren portion of the county to go to a restaraunt, they had no idea where Laguna Niguel was.
I got the impression that more than a few had not left the immediate area of where we lived (Orange) for years. Some of my friends were not the travelling sort, but some of those who had advanced educations would know only Orange or north Santa Ana- Tustin was getting foreign and NewPort beach was only for the once in a year trip to the beach.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
7,409 posts, read 6,545,347 times
Reputation: 6682
SOME people used to tell me they preferred hanging out in OC and not going up to LA because it was cleaner and safer. Depends what sections you are talking about in LA (South Central v. Santa Monica or BH are quite diiferent)--but I always thought that explanation might have a racial component to it (i.e. they do not like hanging around people whose skin might be darker than theirs.)
OC was changing when I lived there and has become more diverse and tolerant since I left but that thought was always in the back of my mind....when I tried getting people to go up just to Long Beach for great and reasonably priced restaurants, or to go to the best sports bar (Legends) before ESPN Zone was built, some even questioned whether I was gay (which I'm not) for visiting that city (funny, they never asked when I would visit Laguna Beach). Pretty weird excuses for not wanting to visit LA...not everyone, mind you, but more than a fair share.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cryptic
Like you, I did all of the Los Angeles things when I lived in Orange County including the museums, piers, botanical gardens etc. My friends in Orange County though I was going to a foreign country.
One thing that amazed me is how localized Orange County people can be. People in Orange gave me blank looks when I described going to a mall that was 20 minutes beyond the city borders. When I told others that I had driven to the southeren portion of the county to go to a restaraunt, they had no idea where Laguna Niguel was.
I got the impression that more than a few had not left the immediate area of where we lived (Orange) for years. Some of my friends were not the travelling sort, but some of those who had advanced educations would know only Orange or north Santa Ana- Tustin was getting foreign and NewPort beach was only for the once in a year trip to the beach.
Maybe they just got burned out on the traffic?
Last edited by elchevere; 10-28-2015 at 04:21 PM..
San Diego has a lot of problems, but Miami is not a reasonable alternative to California.
+1
I wouldn't live in Miami if you paid me. I too used to visit once a year (in march) and lived in West Palm for 6 months. What people don't tell you is Miami is hillbilly central once you leave the South Beach area. Lots of southern states license plates and attitudes. Add to that the arrogant nature of the transplants and different ethnic groups evacuations mosquitos humidity ...NO THANKS.
Like you, I did all of the Los Angeles things when I lived in Orange County including the museums, piers, botanical gardens etc. My friends in Orange County though I was going to a foreign country.
One thing that amazed me is how localized Orange County people can be. People in Orange gave me blank looks when I described going to a mall that was 20 minutes beyond the city borders. When I told others that I had driven to the southeren portion of the county to go to a restaraunt, they had no idea where Laguna Niguel was.
I got the impression that more than a few had not left the immediate area of where we lived (Orange) for years. Some of my friends were not the travelling sort, but some of those who had advanced educations would know only Orange or north Santa Ana- Tustin was getting foreign and NewPort beach was only for the once in a year trip to the beach.
Maybe they just got burned out on the traffic?
The exact same things could be said for people in San Diego who often times are completely oblivious to anything in OC AND LA. It's silly to generalize.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
7,409 posts, read 6,545,347 times
Reputation: 6682
Exactly...there is Miami/Miami Beach and the rest of Florida...I'm eating in Delray Beach now, which is supposed to be a nice town. I feel like I'm on the set of Jersey Shore, waiting for The Situation to walk in the front door any moment. Not hillbillies, a different homogeneous crowd that I'll pass on. Headed back down to South Beach tomorrow after having spent 3 days in Brickell--turning into a subtropical Manhattan with all the construction taking place....temperature said 86 today, but with nice 15MPH breezes felt much cooler and very comfortable (and I've been here in the summer where it is tolerable because of the breezes, unlike Vegas or Arizona which is intolerable). Plus, I welcome the ethnic diversity of Miami, at least the successful and professional ones in Brickell (Latinos), South Beach (Europeans, Latinos, Russians, and even ex NY'ers) and up through Ft Lauderdale.....depends what part of FL you have been to and/or how recently (at least as far as Miami/Miami Beach is concerned)--your impression and experience will vary greatly.
Last edited by elchevere; 10-28-2015 at 06:51 PM..
SOME people used to tell me they preferred hanging out in OC and not going up to LA because it was cleaner and safer. Depends what sections you are talking about in LA (South Central v. Santa Monica or BH are quite diiferent)--but I always thought that explanation might have a racial component to it (i.e. they do not like hanging around people whose skin might be darker than theirs.)
OC was changing when I lived there and has become more diverse and tolerant since I left but that thought was always in the back of my mind....when I tried getting people to go up just to Long Beach for great and reasonably priced restaurants, or to go to the best sports bar (Legends) before ESPN Zone was built, some even questioned whether I was gay (which I'm not) for visiting that city (funny, they never asked when I would visit Laguna Beach). Pretty weird excuses for not wanting to visit LA...not everyone, mind you, but more than a fair share.
I think there could have been racial undertones in their refusal to visit LA. I do go to LA. I was just there; I go regularly. OC young people often move to LA to sew their oats. Times have changed but older folks may still not go to LA except maybe to the symphony, LAX, etc.
OC was a refuge for many and some people in OC, like SD, grew up in a bubble and don't even realize it.
There is also the factor of traffic. It can never be understated in Southern California. Many OCers, myself included can and do get to West LA within an hour, however, the 405 is a notoriously traffic riddled fway. We fear the 405 and all LA traffic.
The area has changed so much since I used to go to Laguna or party in Dana Point in my 20s or driving hrough OC on my way to LA (San Diego was always way too boring for me in my youth). OC is infinitely more tolerant than it was and is no longer LA's backwater (many more LA ppl commute to OC than the reverse - incredible). It is an economic powerhouse with an entirely self sufficient nature. It is urbanizing and changing in dramatic ways.
Last edited by LuvSouthOC; 10-28-2015 at 06:44 PM..
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