NationStates Jolt Archive

I am going to school in L.A. january 2006 and I was wondering if you could tell me about the good and bad things of L.A.


Only people from L.A.

Which school?

The Los Angelas Film School

good about L.A. - lotsa good people
bad about L.A. - lotsa idiotic assholes
good about L.A. - its easy to live just about any lifestyle there (except maybe the Amish lifestyle?)
bad about L.A. - SMOG *cough cough*
good about L.A. - it's where all my friends and family live
bad about L.A. - The Governator
good About L.A. - Near many beaches and beautiful mountains
bad about L.A. - the beaches and mountains are polluted and defiled with trash and grafitti and such

gangs..we have alot of them

good about L.A. - lotsa good people
bad about L.A. - lotsa idiotic assholes
good about L.A. - its easy to follow just about any lifestyle there (except maybe the Amish lifestyle?)
bad about L.A. - SMOG *cough cough*
good about L.A. - it's where all my friends and family live
bad about L.A. - The Governator
good About L.A. - Near many beaches and beautiful mountains
bad about L.A. - the beaches and mountains are polluted and defiled with trash and grafitti and such

Great, thanks.
One question, what is SMOG?

Great, thanks.
One question, what is SMOG?
SMoke + fOG = people coughing

gangs..we have alot of them

Do they have guns? - Probably a dumb question.
What parts of L.A. are they in?

Great, thanks.
One question, what is SMOG?


http://www.ec.gc.ca/air/smog_e.shtml



What is smog?
The term "smog" was first coined more than three decades ago to describe a mixture of smoke and fog in the air. Today, "smog" refers to a noxious mixture of air pollutants that can often be seen as a haze in the air.

Smog can make breathing more difficult -- even for healthy people -- and it can make us more susceptible to cardio-respiratory diseases. Even healthy young adults breathe less efficiently on days when the air is heavily polluted, especially if exercising outdoors. Particularly vulnerable to smog are people with heart or lung disease, the elderly and small children.

The two main ingredients in smog that affect our health are ground-level ozone and fine airborne particles.

The Los Angelas Film School

Oh! Congratulations!

That sounds wonderful. I'm not from LA, so I can't offer any firsthand insights about it. I have heard it described, however, as 20-some suburbs without a real city. I'm not sure about there being truth to that. But still, congratulations!

Do they have guns? - Probably a dumb question.
What parts of L.A. are they in?

Oh you poor poor kid, yes they do have guns. Also they are alll over Los Angeles. Hope your school isn't near Hollywood or anything like that.

Oh! Congratulations!

That sounds wonderful. I'm not from LA, so I can't offer any firsthand insights about it. I have heard it described, however, as 20-some suburbs without a real city. I'm not sure about there being truth to that. But still, congratulations!

Thanks. :)

Oh you poor poor kid, yes they do have guns. Also they are alll over Los Angeles. Hope your school isn't near Hollywood or anything like that.

Well the only people that have guns in my country are the Coast Gaurd (More like cannons really), the immigration officers at the only national airport in my country and the Víkinga Sveitin (Kind of like the SWAT in America) oh and a few hunters too. We do not have gangs or people with guns on the streets.
The school is in Hollywood L.A. CA. Why?

W
The school is in Hollywood L.A. CA. Why?

Oh sweet lord, right in Hollywood? Not only are you going to meet our world famous street gangs, but also our street weirdos...there is nothing like an LA street weirdo in the whole world. There you will also be introduce to the stereo-typical Hollywood sleazeball, some advice...always assume that LA people are trying to bullshit you. Also in Hollywood do everything you can to keep away from the LAPD which is just another street gang if not the worse one around.

Oh sweet lord, right in Hollywood? Not only are you going to meet our world famous street gangs, but also our street weirdos...there is nothing like an LA street weirdo in the whole world. There you will also be introduce to the stereo-typical Hollywood sleazeball, some advice...always assume that LA people are trying to bullshit you. Also in Hollywood do everything you can to keep away from the LAPD which is just another street gang if not the worse one around.

Yes in Hollywood CA.
Thanks for the advice.
Is it legal to have some kind of defense weapon on your person in La? Do you know? I am not talking about guns.

Yes in Hollywood CA.
Thanks for the advice.
Is it legal to have some kind of defense weapon on your person in La? Do you know? I am not talking about guns.

Thats the problem in LA, if you are a law abiding citizen you not allowed to carry a weapon, except maybe a can of pepper spray or a pen-knife. And if the Los Angeles Police Dept. catches you with a weapon, they will beat you. They will beat you for just about anything they like if they feel like it over here.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1955000/images/_1958496_king150.jpg
And this is a picture of a typical traffic stop. You really have to be scared of the police more than the gangs. The Federal Government is curently investigating the LAPD.

lol stop scaring him/her!

I do agree that you should be wary of EVERYONE and not get taken though.

The gangs are much worse than the LAPD i my opinion. That is not a typical traffic stop! LOL.

I would suggest that you carry some sort of pepper spray or something for defense but try to just stay away from suspicious areas and people the best you can rather than rely on it because a lot of people have guns.

There arent any gangs or people with guns in your town? No pollution? Where the hell do you live? Santas Village?

Okay,
I have never broken the law and I never will.

lol stop scaring him/her!

I do agree that you should be wary of EVERYONE and not get taken though.

The gangs are much worse than the LAPD i my opinion. That is not a typical traffic stop! LOL.

I would suggest that you carry some sort of pepper spray or something for defense but try to just stay away from suspicious areas and people the best you can rather than rely on it because a lot of people have guns.




Thanks for the info. :)


There arent any gangs or people with guns in your town? No pollution? Where the hell do you live? Santas Village?

Close, Iceland.

lol stop scaring him/her!

I do agree that you should be wary of EVERYONE and not get taken though.

The gangs are much worse than the LAPD i my opinion. That is not a typical traffic stop! LOL.

I would suggest that you carry some sort of pepper spray or something for defense but try to just stay away from suspicious areas and people the best you can rather than rely on it because a lot of people have guns.

There arent any gangs or people with guns in your town? No pollution? Where the hell do you live? Santas Village?
I was jsut trying to help. Remember - always assume that people in LA are going to try and bullshit you. :D

Moved to the LA area few years ago.

Impressions: *very friendly people* for the most part. A lot friendlier than New York, for example. There is a fair number of "fruits and nuts" (crazy people, a particularly Californian variety - look up "colonics" sometime), there are some fast talking con-men, but I kind of like the fact that you can start conversations with people on the street or in stores.

Size: it's huge, the LA metro area is about ~6000 square miles of urban sprawl, the sheer scale of it will take some getting used to. There are a lot of incorporated cities embedded in LA City proper. From downtown you would have to drive for about an hour or more in any direction before you're out of the urban area.

Transportation: there is mass transit (bus, subway and rail) but because of the distances it is not very practical unless you live and work exactly along a route. Realistically, if you're going to do anything other than the poor student lifestyle, you need to drive. Car is roughly twice faster than mass transit. Buy a used Toyota or Honda. Warning, traffic is *heavy*, you will need some time to adapt. Picture a packed six-lane highway moving at 70 miles per hour (http://www.sigalert.com/cameras.asp?Region=Greater+Los+Angeles&camera=00500). LA drivers are agressive but generally very skilled (unlike Boston).

Gangs: they exist (http://www.streetgangs.com/maps/) but have never bothered me directly. There are certain parts of town I tend to avoid (south and south-east of downtown). I suppose it helps that I look like a mean mf.

Where to live: if your school does not offer on-campus housing, find a place in North Hollywood (NoHo). It is not next to Hollywood, it is actually on the other side of some pretty large hills from Hollywood but you have a very short metro route to your school. Cheap, lots of students live there. Alternately, Silverlake or Echo Park. I absolutely do not recommend living in Hollywood proper. Your school is in a *bad* area of town. It is perfectly ok during the day, but it creeps me out at night. The day-night change is an interesting phenomenon, basically there are places that have almost no residential buildings, so after the stores and offices close, it becomes a creepy place... downtown is like that, and so is Hollywood.

You might want to watch Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0231402/ and LA Story http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102250/ . They are caricature versions of what it's like, but will get you in the right mindset. Think "zany" usually in a fairly benign way.

Is it legal to have some kind of defense weapon on your person in La? Do you know? I am not talking about guns.

Pepper spray and tazers are perfectly legal to carry for anyone. Interestingly enough so are *folding* knives (with a few important technical restrictions) but not fixed knives. Like this beauty: http://www.1sks.com/store/cold-steel-vaquero-grande-el-vaquero.html . Most other weapons are *not* legal to carry. A cane (not weighed) might be legal as well.

My sister Katina, who lives in LA (and just moved from a 1-bedroom in Koreatown into a 2-bedroom in The Valley, which is somehow cheaper) warns of the fact that, while walking her dogs in the park, she is often accosted by a man walking his pet lobster.

If this concerns you, then please do not move to LA.

The Cassini Belt thank you very much :) .

My sister Katina, who lives in LA (and just moved from a 1-bedroom in Koreatown into a 2-bedroom in The Valley, which is somehow cheaper) warns of the fact that, while walking her dogs in the park, she is often accosted by a man walking his pet lobster.

If this concerns you, then please do not move to LA.

LOL.

I suppose I should mention the time when I was at the beach and spotted a hippie giving his pet llama a bath in the ocean?

Walking a lobster, washing a llama are you for real?
This will not keep me from going to L.A. but it is strange I must say.
I think I will have many good times in La.

I would also suggest you watch Training Day (http://trainingday.warnerbros.com/), Boyz N the hood (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101507/) and Blade Runner (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/) (Blade Runner gives you an authenic "feel" of what LA is like, even though its Sci-Fi)

Thanks I will see if I can find those films.

I would also suggest you watch Training Day (http://trainingday.warnerbros.com/), Boyz N the hood (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101507/) and Blade Runner (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/) (Blade Runner gives you an authenic "feel" of what LA is like, even though its Sci-Fi)

What part of town do you live in, Compton? It must not be anywhere near where I live ;)

The places I tend to spend time in are Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Venice and Westwood. It's not bad... maybe a bit of Blade Runner feel in the evenings, but if you go to (for example) Fairfax and 3rd, or the Santa Monica Promenade, it's not like that at all.

gangs..we have alot of them
That will be fixed, eventually.

Do they have guns? - Probably a dumb question.
What parts of L.A. are they in?
Yes, and they are everywhere.

Oh! Congratulations!

That sounds wonderful. I'm not from LA, so I can't offer any firsthand insights about it. I have heard it described, however, as 20-some suburbs without a real city. I'm not sure about there being truth to that. But still, congratulations!
You are close. LA looks big but the city isn't. Most of the built up areas you see on the news or in the movies, are actually LA County. Most of LA County is built up. You have alot of cities that are right up against each other, so that from the air, it looks like one big city. But it is actually a couple of hundred seperate cities (probably more). Each city makes its own policies independent of the others. The city of Los Angeles has virtually no say in what these other cities do.

What part of town do you live in, Compton?
It must not be anywhere near where I live ;)
San Marino

The places I tend to spend time in are Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Venice and Westwood. It's not bad... maybe a bit of Blade Runner feel in the evenings, but if you go to (for example) Fairfax and 3rd, or the Santa Monica Promenade, it's not like that at all.

Okay you have to admit some parts of LA are like Blade Runner, especially Little Tokyo and Downtown. But Fairfax the Santa Monica Promenade, Universal City and the such are so phony that they are more like the Matrix.

You are close. LA looks big but the city isn't. Most of the built up areas you see on the news or in the movies, are actually LA County. Most of LA County is built up. You have alot of cities that are right up against each other, so that from the air, it looks like one big city. But it is actually a couple of hundred seperate cities (probably more). Each city makes its own policies independent of the others. The city of Los Angeles has virtually no say in what these other cities do.
I would note that it is LA Country that pretty much decides who gets to be governor of California and who represents Cali in the US Senate, etc. All statewide races are decided by the people of Los Angeles Country. They also decide which Presidential candidates get California's electoral votes. Talk about raw political power.

I go to the University of Southern California, which is an island in the middle of a ghetto, honestly. I've never had any problems, partially because I don't stray too far from campus. Really, just keeping your head about you will keep you out of trouble most of the time.

San Marino

Okay you have to admit some parts of LA are like Blade Runner, especially Little Tokyo and Downtown. But Fairfax the Santa Monica Promenade, Universal City and the such are so phony that they are more like the Matrix.

Hey, San Marino is not a bad neighborhood, I've been that way every once in a while.

Yep, downtown is kind of Blade-Runner-like but it's a bad idea to be there at night in any case. During the day it's ok. Btw don't forget Chinatown ;)

Phony? Okay, but I like to spend time where I can sip my coffee, read a book or watch the crowds without having to be in hair-trigger alert mode. Universal is indeed totally phony as is Hollywood/Highland, but Fairfax and Santa Monica are ok. I guess also add Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, Brand Blvd in Glendale and San Fernando/Magnolia in Burbank as decent places to hang out.

I haven't lived in LA for awhile and when I was there, it was generally for a month to three months at a time. I resided in Santa Monica and Westwood and worked downtown (near the epi-center of the Rodney King riots). Later I lived in Ontario and worked out of Upland. Santa Monica was great, as was Westwood (near UCLA), and there was great hiking in the SM hills, as well as the beach and great biking. I did some hiking in the San Bernadino Mts., too, but was told it wasn't safe to go alone like I'm used to doing. I agree with everything in this thread about avoiding certain parts of town after twilight and crime being a problem. Shopping was terrific, there were lots of cheap restaurants with great food, and the produce quality in the markets was good, but I found the people, though friendly, to be very superficial and quick to judge a person, not on intrinsic value, but on how much money you made and how well you were able to be hip in how you flaunted it. Also, they were too impatient -- I'm a country bumpkin -- used to a slower pace.

Also, the remark about six lanes of traffic at 70 mph is only true if you're driving before 0430 in the morning or after 2000 at night. The rest of the time it's a 12 lane parking lot especially if you're trying to commute into the city from the eastern side. And don't even get me started about the 405. The other thing that irritated me was the major arteries that aren't freeways, didn't seem to have their lights synchronized.

Make sure you do the Getty Museum which is free, but you need to make reservations. The older building is a mock-up of a Roman villa and is so sited that when you look toward the sea you can't see the other buildings surrounding it. The new wing was done by a famous architect (name escapes me) and is quite interesting with spectacular views.

People in LA aren't like people in Iceland. Have fun and be alert.

some simple rules for living in LA

1. Love the weather. You have to, unless you posses some horrible genetic deformity that makes you abhor the warm sun. in that case, kill yourself)
2. get breast implants, if you are female. ( every LA chick has them , none of them admit it)
3.while getting said implants, just say NO to the lip collagen. it looks BAD!BAD!
4. Seriously, watch out for pickpockets/pursesnatchers. they can spot a transplant in a second.
5. Get used to the bus. Having a car is expensive, and pointless, as you will be sitting in traffic all day.
6. realize that are more people, of more races, speaking more varied dialects than you could ever imagine. (take my cue and just find the real americans if you need something)
7. resist the temptation to join any special interest group on campus. the USA is about individuality, and too many people have forgotten that.
8. No, silly, everyone is NOT gay. it just seems like that!
9. go to Disneyland, even if supporting their greedy corporation hurts your ideals. it is rather fun.
10. don't believe anyone. LA is the capital of liars, scam artists, and rip offs. trust your gut instinct, and if you dont have one, find one on the internet ;)

2. get breast implants, if you are female. ( every LA chick has them , none of them admit it)
3.while getting said implants, just say NO to the lip collagen. it looks BAD!BAD!


I hope your advice was sarcasm? I freaking hate implants. I can tell who has them from about a mile off, it looks completely unnatural and unattractive and is bad for sex since it reduces the sensitivity of certain important areas (hint).

Not every LA chick has them. Well, maybe a lot of the "chicks" but certainly not too many "women". Definitely none of the females in my circle of friends and acquaintances. Just my two cents.

Thank you to all of you for the information on L.A.
I feel like I am going to school in the weierdest place on earth, leprocons with implants, pet lobsters, gangs with guns, HEAVY traffic, not so good police officers, robbers, people that use money and status of other people to judge their character and really bad pollution etc. but their are also many things good I have heard about L.A. here and in other places and I look forward to liveing there and going to school.
Thanks again.

Thank you to all of you for the information on L.A.
I feel like I am going to school in the weierdest place on earth, leprocons with implants, pet lobsters, gangs with guns, HEAVY traffic, not so good police officers, robbers, people that use money and status of other people to judge their character and really bad pollution etc. but their are also many things good I have heard about L.A. here and in other places and I look forward to liveing there and going to school.
Thanks again.
Maybe we shouldn't tell him about Venice Beach.

What is wrong Venic Beach?

I hope your advice was sarcasm? I freaking hate implants. I can tell who has them from about a mile off, it looks completely unnatural and unattractive and is bad for sex since it reduces the sensitivity of certain important areas (hint).

Not every LA chick has them. Well, maybe a lot of the "chicks" but certainly not too many "women". Definitely none of the females in my circle of friends and acquaintances. Just my two cents.

It was absofuckinglutely sarcasm. My own natural breast are SPECTACULAR. I was just kidding, the entire list. And the sensitivity thing is very true, I have heard it from a lot of implant idiots. And, I like your comparision of chicks to women, that ruled.

there is only one thing i have to say about the matter- the Lakers suck (disneyland doesn't though....)

Thanks to all of you.

Only people from L.A.

rascist!

rascist!

How is that racist? What, are people from L.A. one race? Do not post here if you do not live in L.A. or have not lived in L.A. Okay. And don't post something stupid like that.

How is that racist? What, are people from L.A. one race? Do not post here if you do not live in L.A. or have not lived in L.A. Okay. And don't post something stupid like that.
Bah, you're no fun. :(

sorry for poluting you're thread.

Yo, you are moving to teh city with the best ghetto in the world, Compton.

Such greats as N.W.A (Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Mc Ren, DJ Yella, Eazy-E), the 213 (Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, and Warren G), and more recently, the GAme, Knocturnal, and Yukmouth have come form this illustrious part of LA.

To fit in, all you need is a '64 Impala, a black cap that reads "Compton", loads of gin and juice, and a ho.

West Coat foreva. :)

What is wrong Venic Beach?

Being in L.A. will make you feel you are on another planet but venice beach will make you think you step into another dimension