I love Los Angeles. The first time I came to America (aside from the time I cannot remember when I was a toddler) I flew into LAX. It was 2004 and I was 19 and terrified. I was convinced that I was going to get some combination of mugged, beaten up and kidnapped the moment I stepped off the plane.
On my first visit to the city I stuck closely to the tourist circuit (Hollywood tour, walk of fame, Universal Studios, etc.) but as I've got to know people here and come back and seen the variety and fun that is to be had, Los Angeles has struck me as a city of overlooked depth.
I've noticed that when I speak to people about Los Angeles who have never been here, or who have never been to America, there are three common criticisms raised that are absolute baloney.
I get why these come up. Los Angeles is one of the cities that becomes a venting point for tensions and frustrations people feel toward, and about, America: there's too much pollution, everybody just wants to be famous, rap music is corrupting the children.
But they're still wrong...
The Los Angeles obsession with the entertainment industry doesn't make the city heartless... it is the city's heart
The most redundant comment about Los Angeles is that its preoccupation with the entertainment industry makes it soulless. This is crooked analysis.
The entertainment industry is Los Angeles' soul; it is a conglomeration of multi-multibillion-dollar industries all with a global footprint that have their epicentres right here in town. Complaining about the fascination with celebrities in Los Angeles is like going to Detroit and moaning about the focus on car companies.
Of course, you can reject the values of Los Angeles outright. I spoke at a wedding recently with a lawyer who lives here. He can't wait to leave, he said, because the single-minded quest of Los Angelenos to succeed in entertainment can border on self-obsession.
But reject Los Angeles on its substance, not the misguided view that it has none.
And besides, every time any actor of note moves to New Zealand to film a movie, the towns become a buzz with sightings and anecdotes of celebrity interaction that border on harassment (Jack Black, Adrien Brody, etc.). So our values are not too different. Let us not forget the Wellywood saga.
Sadly, I never see any good celebrities. Well, I saw Ryan Reynolds watching the National play in Boston once, and LP keeps telling me that I lost my cool and got too excited and stared a bit too hard.
Here everyone has a few "I guess they are real people too" star-sightings. These things happen here a lot.
Granted, movie star sightings don't make a city, but it is titillating in a way.
"Los Angeles" doesn't actually exist
When you fly over Los Angeles, you take in an expansive and flat city. It continues farther than the eye can see and then way off in the distance you see a small, isolated bubble of tall buildings, which constitutes "downtown".
I hadn't been back to Los Angeles for a few years before this week and I see that downtown has been developed somewhat and improved upon, but it is still a relatively docile, quiet-ish and slightly random configuration of apartment blocks, hotels and office buildings.
I never feel like I am "in" Los Angeles when I come here, even when I am in downtown Los Angeles. The sum total of the city is an endless collection of disparate neighbourhoods. Often when I've come here I've stuck closely to Melrose and Hollywood, with trips out to Venice and Santa Monica beaches. This trip I've been staying in Koreatown, with forays into the hyped hipster-traps of Echo Park, Silver Lake and Los Feliz. I've been down to Newport Beach. I've also been to the desert.
I've been maybe six times to Los Angeles, and each visit is not like the last one. In the past week I've bowled with friends at a strange-slash-brilliant Korean bowling alley, played shuffleboard at a steampunk-themed Americana bar and bounced on a waterbed-cabana with a beer in my hand at the rooftop bar of the famous Standard Hotel, which has a pool.
Everyone can have a different Los Angeles and these conceptions can all be different and equally magical, but still never overlap.
There's a lot of beauty here, even within a supposedly dirty city
I had some work to attend to in Newport Beach on Friday, and spent a lot of the day looking out down a long, golden beach lined with palm trees and smelling the fresh sea air. Yeah, it has some of America's most expensive real estate, but it was still great to visit.
Yesterday we went out into the desert. We're going to take a swim today probably, before heading out past Pasadena to go hiking with some friends.
My friend Jon, who I have come to the city to see, and I were discussing that for all New Zealand's venerated scenery, and the boast that you can get from the mountains to the sea in a short trip, Los Angelenos appear more actively outdoors-y. Which cuts a little against the overriding notions that it is filthy here, and you have to drive too far through the concrete jungle to get anywhere you want to be.
*****
Los Angeles is a city with its problems. It is choked somewhat by a labyrinth of freeways and traffic problems that would make even Aucklanders blush. It is implausibly located. It is very big. The smog is a drag, and don't forget the crime.
But don't dismiss it offhand. There are many joys to be had here.
And besides, if you dismiss a city with a greater metropolitan area that has three times the population of the country that you live in, it is fair to say the joke is on you, yes?
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Good article, shame it missed the diverse nature of LA and concentrated on Hollywood. As a resident of LA who is also a New Zealander, I rarely meet locals who would move from this great city. Why do they love it so much? Well the sun shines 330 days a year, the temperatures for coastal dwellers are moderate, and the 130 or so cultures that live in harmony here bring their own spice and joy in a way that no other city on earth has. Living here is like living in the centre of the universe.
To correct an error in the story the greater LA area (the 6 counties) has a population of 23 million. People are still flooding into LA to live, mostly from Australia, Great Britain, Korea, Thailand and India.
Some myths to be dispelled:
Crime: My family lives in a city within LA the same population as Lower Hutt but has 1/2 the murder rate of Lower Hutt.
Pollution: The coastal cities from Malibu to Newport Beach have no pollution to speak of. Apparent pollution in LA is more about the famous marine layer and visibility due to low humidity
Danger: the roads in LA are around 4 times safer than New Zealand roads.
Commute Times: Locals don't often have long commutes to work, that's because LA is comprised of around 60 cities which all have their living and business districts. People tend to live close to where they work.
Cost of Living: Services like power are around half the cost in New Zealand. Food is much better quality, cheaper, and more diverse. New Zealand wine is cheaper here than in New Zealand, because to compete here it has to price itself to sell. A good Chardonnay can be as little as $4 a bottle.
Innovation: LA is at the cutting edge of trends in all things. LA is the city of electric
Went to LA last month...things to note. LAX is a dump public, the car is king. I found most of LA very safe and found it was ok to get around, I would go back to LA over San Fran anytime which was homeless and crack head central
Pete StClair #2 You compared your "city within LA" (without naming it) with Lower Hutt, but do the socio-economic profiles compare? You can't compare apples with pears you know. It would be like comparing Malibu with Mangaere and saying "there's more crime in Mangaere".
Pollution: I remember driving towards the "city centre" in 1998 and wondering how far away it was because I still couldn't see the sky scrapers then suddenly, there it was. We hadn't been able to see the sky scrapers until we were right upon them due to the air pollution.
Venice Beach: Went there in 2010, huge disappointment, full of junk and cannabis.
People: I saw two types, either plastic or fat! (Ok, that is a gross generalisation). But I was amazed at how many people I say who were trying to be Barbie or alternatively, not trying at all.
Electric??? Well yes, they do use a heck of a lot of electricity running all that AC, but if you mean "buzz" as in "big city buzz" then LA is sadly lacking. Compared to NY anyway. Maybe it has more "buzz" than Invercargill.......
"And besides, if you dismiss a city with a greater metropolitan area that has three times the population of the country that you live in, it is fair to say the joke is on you, yes?" - was this really necassary??
As someone who favoured the East Coast because of its history and stopover in LA on the way in and SF on the way out was a complete surprise - I really liked LA, its a place with history (albeit more modern) but the bonus was discovering a public transport system - I used the trains and got all over the place. My favorite memory was catching a train to Union Station so I could have a french dip sandwhich at Phillipe's, directly across the road from Union Station was a hispanic market - the station was a classic, the sandwhich was great and I spent the rest of the evening at the markets with families milling around just doing their thing - and absolutely no car involved! Next time a trip to Pasadena is on the cards to see Gainsboroughs Blue Boy, theres lots of little wins to be had in LA for a traveller up for making the most of the place
@Pete: thanks for your insights, always interesting to hear from someone actually living there.
However, "Food is much better quality," - you cannot be serious. Unless by 'quality' you mean quantity of additives... not for me thanks, I like my milk without 'added Vitamin A & D', I like my chicken without added hormones, I like bakery items made from flour that hasn't been over-processed and then mineral-enriched. I am sure these are factors in why so many Americans have food allergies! (I lived in the Bay Area for a year)
I've been to LA several times, but stayed for a few days only twice. I thoroughly enjoyed it both times. And Peter #6: the public transport in LA is fantastic, but seems to be used mainly by the lower stratum of the population. On our last visit, we travelled exclusively by train, bus or on foot. It was SO cheap! It was weird going from London's Undergraound to LA's trains though - no turnstiles, no crowds, and the only ticket insepction/checking was a random one by the sherriff's department (I guess they just shoot anyone they find without tickets...)
You didn't mention culture! We went (by bus - only $1.25, but it took a long time) to the Getty Gallery, which had FREE entry and which we enjoyed more than a visit to the Louvre a week or so earlier. Fantastic! However, after a month in Europe, arriving in Hollywood was a bit of culture shock, so we caught the train to the Spanish Mission, which was nicer.
Food? the first time we stayed in LA, we had fantastic food, and all within walking distance of our hotel in Marina del Ray (including some right in the carpark!)
It's funny - I'd been saying I don't like LA, and like it less than SF, but reading this and writing about it, I realise that for all its hustle'n'bustle, crassness, and homeless people, I actually DO like it.
I was in Los Angeles a few years ago, and it greately appealed to me. Pete StClair is correct, LA is more than just smog and the entertainment industry. There is a LOT of arts and culture in LA, and the public transport system is actually better than Auckland. And the weather in LA makes up for all the problems the region might have.
OKAY, LA may be misjudged and underrated sometimes, but praising the public transportation system? Let's not get carried away, folks. The subway is a joke compared to pretty much any of the others in the US. Spraaawwllll
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Great article James, only been to LA once (way back in the 80's) did the touristy stuff and enjoyed it but was somewhat nervous getting around and probably should not have been. Will certainly go back there for a look at how it has changed.