Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

Ok so for our possible move to LA I have been doing a lot of research on the city and have come to the conclusion that people view it a little like Marmite - i.e. they either love it or hate it. No middle ground.... A bit like you never get anyone saying that Marmite is "ok".

Now it could be that the more opinionated people are the ones who blog, post on forums, write articles etc but I am staggered at how little middle ground there appears to be on the subject of LA. I would've thought that like most cities there are good bits, family orientated areas, commercial areas, parts you wouldn't want to find yourself in after dark, grotty bits - but overall a good place to live.

I am interested to find out what is so different about LA (from say Boston, NYC, Chicago, London etc) to cause such polarisation in opinion. I guess I am after honest opinions from LA residents, past and present.

Oh and can someone please explain why the horrendous traffic is always mentioned - is it really that bad (bearing in mind I live near the car park known as the M25 and it can take me 30 mins to drive the 6 miles to my daughter's school)?

And in case anyone is wondering .... I love Marmite but hubby hates it ;)

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

One of the things about LA is that it's not like many big cities, instead it's lots of cities joined together to make one mass sprawl. You don't really have your commercial areas, industrial areas, grotty areas, instead most of the cities have a little bit of it all. You drive out of one city, into another, and nothing changes. Everywhere has a mall with identical chain shops, the restaurants are all the same chains, and you have to drive to everything. You can find places that do have independent stores and restaurants, which you can walk between and to, but these are mainly in areas like North Hollywood, which is mainly apartments and not really family orientated, more single/young couples. Santa Monica is another, but is crazily expensive (and personally I'd hate to live there because of all the tourists.)

The thing I hated most about living in LA was the falseness of it all. Many people believe the LA hype, and seem to think they live, or should live like the Kardashiens. They are all so busy (which actually means having their nails done, and the gardener is coming over to plant a new rose bush because the colors no longer match the new lounger they have bought. They can't commit to anything, incase they get invited to an amazing party at that time. They are rude, constantly talking over any school event you may attend, letting the door drop in your face, walking through a door that you hold without even a glance let alone a thank you... So much so that you are absolutely shocked when someone actually does the opposite. I know these things can happen anywhere, however it really was a multi-daily experience.

The other thing is the weather, we lived in the Valley and it really takes it out of you. April to October every day was over 100 degrees, 3 months of it over 110, and there is no respite. It's like that from the moment you leave the house in the morning until you return on a night, every day. It's exhausting.

The thing with the LA traffic is, it can take you 30 minutes to drive the 6 miles to school on the M25. In LA it will take you 30 minutes to drive the 6 miles to school, and that's if there are no accidents. Everyday, regardless of the time, the traffic is always an issue.

I think LA is a great place to visit, and we made the most of doing some fantastic things that I'll never forget, but I didn't actually realize how much I disliked living there until we left. That being said, I wouldn't change the opportunity we had of moving and living there.

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

Are you talking about the whole Los Angeles Metropolitan area? Or just the city of Los Angeles itself?

My husband and I live in Phoenix, but he works most of the time in the LA area. He has an apartment in West Hollywood. He got that apartment 10 years ago because it was within walking distance to most of his clients (large oriental rug shops). Now he has clients in Westwood as well, but evidently there's a pretty direct bus there, so he still doesn't drive.

His apartment is TINY - 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, kitchen and living room (which he's turned into a workshop, so no real living space now either). No dining area. No parking (not that he drives, but no visitor parking either). The apartment is very old and is clean but not updated with nice appliances or countertops, etc. And for that he pays $1,300 per month. The good news is that it includes utilities (water, electric, and gas), and it's a downstairs unit. Does not include cable TV.

In general, he hates LA...too noisy, too busy, too polluted. But that's where the work is, so there he is.

Rene

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

Urban sprawl and budget probably have massive affects to where you can afford to live and what you can do and it seems to be a lot more extreme out there, and more spread out.

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

Thanks Nicky for being so honest!

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

Thanks Bob that makes sense - it does seem to be less of a single city as Nicky mentioned and more of a sprawl.... We would push for the best package we could get so we could afford a nice place to live close to a good school.

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

I'd go for a middle ground opinion on LA actually. It has some highlights around the beach and Hollywood Hills areas, stretching into Malibu but of course some real horrors as well.

But as mentioned do you mean LA the city or LA the generic 'area'.

For example I live down in Orange County, and it is the polar opposite to the horror stories you have heard so far in this thread. But.. if your job is in LA, you really don't want to have to commute from the OC up there, the traffic IS awful.

You should give us some more context. If you want to live in the OC but work in LA your quality of life will be poorer. Live and work in the OC, you're good. Live and work in LA, you're good (if you pick the right area)

I will be very alone in this next opinion though. I much prefer LA to San Fran.... there... i said it :lol:

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

I'm in the minority saying this on British Expats, but I lived in LA for 2.5 years and really loved it. And I never even got my nails done once.

From the point of view of someone currently living in London:

Traffic? Yes, the traffic was pretty bad, but here in South London the traffic is awful too. I drive to Brixton once a week: 4.5 miles, 45 minutes. Don't speak to me of the M25, because I spent half the Christmas holidays on it. At least in LA I had an automatic and didn't have to shift from 1st to 2nd gear eleventy million times a journey.

Rent? Maybe LA is expensive in comparison to much of the US, but rent is completely out of control here in London. If you're coming from anything vaguely similar, LA is not going to pain you. Seriously: we live in Zone fricking Three and now pay £1800/month ($3000!)... for a 2-bedroom flat. It does not have a pool. Parking? Bahaha.

Kardashians? In LA, I saw that type from a distance, but we must have been moving in the wrong circles because I never really met any. Husband was a post-doc so our demographic was more Big Bang Theory than Beverly Hills 90210. The non-uni people we knew did tend towards yoga, vegan muffins and positive mantras, but in, like, a pleasantly unassuming way, and they were always fun to have a drink with (even if they did insist on a 20-mile hike the next day).

I really didn't get the impression anyone was more or less superficial than in London, but I expect that does vary depending on your area/industry/income.

What I miss about LA: being near the ocean, the mountains; lots going on; eclectic neighbourhoods and food; great museums and indoor/outdoor spaces; test screenings; inadvertently developing an active lifestyle due to almost-always lovely weather.

There's also plenty I don't miss, but I think others have that covered!

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

Yep, wife and I can't tolerate Orange County and simply can't imagine living there. We live in the "Los Feliz" area and it is really nice.

San Francisco has changed a lot since I went to school there.

On the weather, L.A. is a good demonstration of how man can POSITIVELY affect the climate. The air pollution has been cleaned up dramatically over the last 30 years. It used to be that driving south from the San Joaquin Valley on I-5 there was visibly clean air until you entered the L.A. Basin and air was visibly dirty. It is now just the opposite.

I love LA

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

I'm considering a job opportunity near Pasadena, and certainly I have my doubts. For one I will need a substantial raise to make up the difference in cost of living. Second thing is traffic. But I'm also a bit bored and tired of living in a small Southern city. Plus this brutal winter with ice storm after ice storm has made me reconsider the South.

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

I really like Pasadena. There are nice environs around it with not bad traffic access to Pasadena. The price of housing varies -- by L.A. standards it is not that high. But one of my kids went to grad school in Pasadena, the house they are buying back east is quite a bit cheaper than it would be in Pasadena, but they have much higher property taxes and then the expenses of heating the place.

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

Check out my sig.

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

Apart from appalling traffic (definitely worse than London IMO; London has much better public transportation), LA is one of the least interesting US cities I have visited. I think that the other cities you mentioned (Boston, NYC, Chicago and London) are much more interesting in terms of culture, architecture, history and neighborhoods.

As others have said, LA really isn't like a regular city. It is a region of huge urban sprawl containing many different cities running into each other - the LA downtown area really isn't the same focal point that it is for other cities. I think they just threw up some taller buildings so people would know where downtown is!

It's pretty cool to be near the ocean, there are some nice beaches and the weather is a plus compared to the UK (understatement of the year).

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

I have no comments on the place, but just saw this on Facebook about 2 minutes before I saw your thread.

Re: Is LA a little like Marmite???
 

:lol: excellent.