I FUCKING HATE LOS ANGELES. WHAT A FUCKY CITY.

Where are you from

What was it about your experience that actually sucked?

eh ive been on the east coast most of my life ... areas where ive lived for more than a month include miami, dc, philly, boston, and nyc.... compared to LA those cities arent THAT special either but i just think LA is waaaay overhyped.

i mean, whats with all these tv shows and action films taking place in LA? There is nothing in this city...its got 1/4 of the skyscrapers that NYC has and the social scene is either at the same level or worse than Miami's. And I've driven into Beverly Hills neighborhoods, Irvine, and Laguna Beach and yes, while there are scores of BMWs, Mercedes', and a few Ferraris/Aston Martins here and there (which is expected) the hyped up "rich" neighborhoods surrounding LA are all flat and uneventful. I also got curious and drove up the high hills sporting multi-million dollar homes (area so high up hill that it got hit by landslides years ago)...its a bitch to drive up there and the place is ugly as hell. who the heck pays millions to live here? there are litter and trash all around the place, wild animals roam the hills, and im pretty sure i killed a tank of gas just driving up hill for less than a block.

I've also seen the Hollywood sign numerous times while driving on the freeway...OVER-RATED. its just like any other city, like chicago, cleveland, miami, etc... with a bunch of random celebrity spottings tossed in :P the city looks like any other city; the "rich" neighborhoods look like any other middle class white suburb in metro DC.

and some of the areas around LA like anaheim....i cant tell you how many drug busts ive seen with what seems like lines of mexicans on their knees, hands over their heads with cops standing behind them

LA is a more expensive, worse traffic, more douche version of Houston.

Was it really that bad? Looking into a few boutiques out there for this summer...

I am from LA so I understand what OP is saying here. I mean, if I were given an offer for an internship here in LA, I would take it. I mean, especially if it is a branch of a larger bank or just a boutique.

I have never been there but everyone who goes says they were surprised at how dumpy it was. They were also shocked at how the layout of the city kind of makes it lose allot of its character.

You're ignorant. You spent 2 months in a city that is NOTHING like NYC/Miami/Chi/SF. I lived in NYC for 2 months and Miami for 3, and each of them are much different than LA. LA takes time to understand. To really understand the city you need to have an experienced Angeleno show you around. Lived here all my life and I ALWAYS come back to LA after I settle down with the fam. You probably were just frustrated with traffic. The city is so disgustingly sprawled that its easy to just hang out in specific areas. Hands down, there is NO better nightlife in the US. Quality of girls, diversity of clubs/bars/lounges, exclusivity. The beaches to the mountains, shopping, weather, girls, nightlife. That's all I need. Tool moment, but, I've partied with more celebs than you've seen on TV.

Come back, I can show you a good time.

Agree with LA_Duc...

Stay in the SC/UCLA areas (Santa Monica, Brentwood, Westwood, BH, Century City, WeHo, Downtown). That's really the heart of LA.

Fun fact: If the entire world's population stood shoulder to shoulder, they would all fit within the city limits of LA...

If you go to USC, it's pretty crappy. People get stabbed there usually and it's just shady. But the UCLA area in Westwood is really close to the beach and beautiful.

Wrong IBDroid. You truly don't know SC. The surrounding areas are ghetto as fuck, but the actual campus and student living area (row, DTLA, etc) is extremely safe. PM if you have questions about LA.

^are you kidding me? the areas surrounding SC campus are as ghetto as LA can get. I would shit my pants trying to walk around the neighborhood at night.

There are a bunch of security guys on campus. Westwood isn't necessarily the safest place ever, but it's safer at night. The area, that is. USC has a much more closed campus.

It was either earlier this year, or last year, there was a guy robbing people in westwood by approaching them with a baseball bat. There was also an apartment study lounge that was raided by 3 guys with sawed off shotguns last year. And thats in the student-packed couple of streets right next to campus.

It's really hard to generalize things here.

I didn't grow up in LA, but have lived here for a few years.

LA is a better place to live than to visit. I actually like it, but I can see where the OP is coming from. A lot of people who come here temporarily or just to visit usually don't like it. It's not really tourist friendly nor does it create the kind of impressions that cities like San Francisco, New York, Paris, London, etc. will make. But even if I could live in any of these cities, I still chose LA (although I wouldn't mind having a flat in Paris haha).

But it's a city that more than meets the eye (to use a cliche) -- whose surface level is actually pretty ugly and seemingly shallow, but is actually a pretty cool place to live.

Again, it's a city that elicits strong opinions. But it's typically not a city that makes a good initial impression.

And with that in mind, I would much rather live here than anywhere on the east coast (and I have lived over there for years).

LA's highway system is a train wreck. No merge lane? Horrible.

NYC is fun to visit but it sucks living there. LA is a better place to live than visit. I don't want to live anywhere on the east coast.

This actually happened in Riverside, not LA, but my friend's house got robbed twice by the same guy who just knocked and once the door was opened, pulled a gun on them.

The first time was when they were just sitting around the house and they opened the door for him and they got robbed. The second time, they were more careful but one of their drunk friends opened the door for the guy.

Now that I think about it, it's dangerous living in or around a campus community.

Los Angeles is only good for chicks and weather. It would pain me greatly to live there longer than six weeks.

LA_Duc couldn't have said it better. In my opinion, LA is probably the greatest place to be if you have money (And I mean a lot of it). There is a lot of trash in and surrounding LA, but once you know the scene and where to go it's an amazing place. You can't tell me that Bel Air isn't nice, because you went to Irvine. Talk about apples and oranges.

LA doesnt suck at all, but most people form the east coast will knock it cuz they think people from LA are "fake" or "too chill". Its a completely different vibe than the east, midwest, south and its hard to compare it. maybe to the original poster its overhyped but i guess thats subjective.

its one of the few places u can surf and snowboard in a day if u wanted. aand muuuuuuch better market hours! sure theres trashy people, but which city doesnt have that? if you have money, LA is one of the best places in the world. flat out.

^ what makes nyc have more culture? are u saying more diversity in population? more art shows? more live music? define that please.

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Arcadia and Pasadena have their nice spots too.. (San Marino, etc).

Ideally, if your a wall street dude, you're going to live in one of these places:

Manhattan/Redondo/Hermosa Beach/Palos Verdes (SouthBay) Santa Monica Brentwood/Pacific Palisades The Valley (Yes I know but there are some baller spots in Encino, etc.) West LA (Westwood, Century City, Beverly Hills, WeHo, Hollywood Hills) Downtown

This is all in the heart of Los Angeles. I don't recommend OC because it's so far from the city and THAT is where people are fake/plastic/etc. If you are going to be in OC you ONLY stay in Newport Beach (Balboa), Corona Del Mar, Newport Coast, WASP nation.

Long beach, what upppp. hah I just say that because it has yet to be mentioned, and its my home town. It has one of the largest filipino populations outside of the Philippines, along with a large black/hispanic population (snoop dogg went to my high school... but so did cameron diaz.). In all honesty, people that don't think there is a significant amount of diversity, and that NYC automatically blows LA out of the water, should look at statistics. Fiscally speaking, LA has some of the poorest people living right next to the richest. In terms of ethnicity, there is less than 30% of the population in LA that is caucasian. When looking at whites, blacks, mexicans, asians, native american, there is still 25% of the population left that is classified as "other". NYC you have around 35% whites, roughly 50% black/mexican, and a combination of native american and asian that leaves about 15% for "other".

You can look at this in two ways. I see LA as being more diverse because of the fact that the white population is very far from majority, along with the fact that you cant just say theres only a black/mexican/asian population other than that. NYC diversity proponents could say that the fact that there are so many cultured towns, such as chinatown, that this rules out LA, along with the fact that NYC seems to be the key city of the US (I believe this has a lot to do with wallstreet in present day)... the city that all the immigrants have come through (think ellis island). This WOULD be true, but I've driven through china town, little tokyo, little ethiopia (yes.), and little armenia in the same day. I've also walked through LAX and seen the influx of minorities (now somewhat majorities) over the past few decades. Also, the sprawl of the city that a few of you have talked about prior to this message sort of verifies the CAPABILITY of more diversity. If you aren't forced to fit into these towns, it leads to more people branching off and mixing, allowing for cultures to spread and be felt more effectively, rather than somewhat quarantined.

saw someone posted a nyc thread. thought i'd bring this old one i made back up :D

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Living in LA has been amazing. There are definitely worthless parts of the city. As long as you stay away from the valley (Van Nuys, Chatsworth, etc), you should be okay. Even then, Encino and Calabasas are nice parts in the Valley. Beverly Hills is amazing during the day, but tends to quiet down at night. Sunset, West Hollywood, and LA Live is where its at for night life, no place better. If you have the money, some of the best places to live in the country are out here. Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Westwood, Bel Air, etc. The west side of town, including Santa Monica and Malibu, is essentially crime free. Interning at a boutique in Santa Monica while living out in Malibu for the year...pretty excited.

PS: Who on earth considers Riverside as part of LA? That's easily 2-3 hours away from the outskirts of the city.

Yeah fuck that, LA is the SHIT. I was down there two summers ago and partied at this massive mansion of this big time asian music producer. I think it was an NBA finals party (when LA won). LA is not a city for everyone, but I was coming from Houston so I could easily relate to what LA was all about.

If I had the money I would live there, but only if I had some sort of hovercraft, fucking traffic is terrible..