Who here is also annoyed by people calling Los Angeles "California"?

I, for one, really hate it when people say things like "Why is it raining in California?, It's suppose to be sunny!" and "Is California dangerous to live in?"

Los Angeles is just a pin point ( a really fat pin ) in the state of California! The state stretches for 770 miles and is 250 miles wide at its widest so California DOES have weather- Los Angeles, not too much.

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :yes: :yes: :yes: :applause: :applause: :applause:

It annoys the HELL out of me as well.

Los Angeles is a city and California is a state- although eastern media pronounce Los Angeles ka-lə-ˈfȯr-nyə

lol Think how San Diego feels that when referring to "Southern California",...everyone means LOS ANGELES.

Well, to add on to the complaints...

I hate when people call it "Cali". I hate it even more when you have people from L.A./other parts of California who call it "Cali". It sounds like some old poser lingo.

I also hate when people come here they expect to see celebrities just out and about. Case in point when I took some out of towners on tour of L.A. last year. (thread is somewhere around here...) They kept bugging me on where celebrities were and I'm just like :dunno:

I also hate it when those same out of towners think they can get shot anywhere in L.A. at any given moment and then make snide ass remarks about it during the same trip.

I also hate it again when those same out of towners keep trying to downplay L.A.'s cultural relevance on the world stage by attempting to discredit it.

I also hate it when... well, nevermind. California might as well be the middle of nowhere to some people.

Well, to add on to the complaints...

I hate when people call it "Cali". I hate it even more when you have people from L.A./other parts of California who call it "Cali". It sounds like some old poser lingo.

I also hate when people come here they expect to see celebrities just out and about. Case in point when I took some out of towners on tour of L.A. last year. (thread is somewhere around here...) They kept bugging me on where celebrities were and I'm just like :dunno:

I also hate it when those same out of towners think they can get shot anywhere in L.A. at any given moment and then make snide ass remarks about it during the same trip.

I also hate it again when those same out of towners keep trying to downplay L.A.'s cultural relevance on the world stage by attempting to discredit it.

I also hate it when... well, nevermind. California might as well be the middle of nowhere to some people.

Oh my god you sound like you know my sister's boyfriend's mother.

She came to visit earlier this week and she thought that celebrities hang out on Hollywood blvd. She would want to go there to try to spot them.

And! And! We were at a gas station and her son went into a store to get a receipt and some black guys went in and she was all breathing hard and hesitating and my sister was like "whats wrong" and she said "this area is safe right?" ( This was in downtown Burbank ) and i said "no, not really... those guys are probably gonna rob and shoot your son down." and she got out of her car to reassure herself while in a panic. AND! AND! Later we saw the same guys going into some restaurant in The Grove ( one of the expensive one )- But to be fair she came from central Washington.

She is the reason why I started this thread. She was down here on Monday when it was raining and she called her husband back home and chatted and one thing that came out of her mouth was "Yeah! It's raining in California!... that's right, just like how it does back home."

Oh my god you sound like you know my sister's boyfriend's mother.

She came to visit earlier this week and she thought that celebrities hang out on Hollywood blvd. She would want to go there to try to spot them.

And! And! We were at a gas station and her son went into a store to get a receipt and some black guys went in and she was all breathing hard and hesitating and my sister was like "whats wrong" and she said "this area is safe right?" ( This was in downtown Burbank ) and i said "no, not really... those guys are probably gonna rob and shoot your son down." and she got out of her car to reassure herself while in a panic. AND! AND! Later we saw the same guys going into some restaurant in The Grove ( one of the expensive one )- But to be fair she came from central Washington.

She is the reason why I started this thread. She was down here on Monday when it was raining and she called her husband back home and chatted and one thing that came out of her mouth was "Yeah! It's raining in California!... that's right, just like how it does back home."

LOL, good lord. I know you had fun with that. It's real head-numbing, isn't it?

One thing I will say though... it's like L.A. and California tends to mystify certain people because they come here with a list of expectations.

And! And! We were at a gas station and her son went into a store to get a receipt and some black guys went in and she was all breathing hard and hesitating and my sister was like "whats wrong" and she said "this area is safe right?" ( This was in downtown Burbank ) and i said "no, not really... those guys are probably gonna rob and shoot your son down." and she got out of her car to reassure herself while in a panic. AND! AND! Later we saw the same guys going into some restaurant in The Grove ( one of the expensive one )- But to be fair she came from central Washington.



A lot of parts in LA would look very dangerous to someone who hasn't lived in LA his or her whole life. I remember the first time I went to Hollywood like 25 years ago, I had a friend who lived around that area and we went down to Hollywood boulevard at night and there were all these weird, spaced out criminal types walking around and I was like "Dude, are you sure wer'e okay here?" and he was like "Sure it's okay, I live around here! Just don't go down to sunset, it gets kinda iffy there..."

So.... dont you hate when ppl say america instead of USA???

The word "America" is coming from a man named Americo Vespucio from Spain, who made the first map of this continent, so America goes from Canada to Argentina... and they say America refering just to USA.


Grettings to everyone!

^^ Well unlike Peru or Venezuela or any country on the American continents, United States of America has "America" in it's name. So it's not too "unfair" or far off to call U.S.A. "America"

I hate it when people say "I'm in LA" when they are in Montebello or Whittier.

^^^^ I don't. Most use it with out of towners who don't know where Montebello, Downey, Pico Rivera or Cerritos is.

Even Orange County say, "L.A."


More props to us!


So.... dont you hate when ppl say america instead of USA???

The word "America" is coming from a man named Americo Vespucio from Spain, who made the first map of this continent, so America goes from Canada to Argentina... and they say America refering just to USA.


Grettings to everyone!

Americo Vespucci was an Italian cartographer, not spanish. :)

I had that discussion about why so much resentment about the US referring to itself as "America". It's not even a issue here. United States of America,....wouldn't it be funny if we said "I'm a united statesman"?

^^^^ I don't. Most use it with out of towners who don't know where Montebello, Downey, Pico Rivera or Cerritos is.

Even Orange County say, "L.A."


More props to us!




Americo Vespucci was an Italian cartographer, not spanish. :)

I had that discussion about why so much resentment about the US referring to itself as "America". It's not even a issue here. United States of America,....wouldn't it be funny if we said "I'm a united statesman"?

I don't like it because folks in LA County liberally say that they are in LA when they are not in the city. When I first moved here it would really annoy me that people would lump together Pasadena, El Segundo, Torrance, Long Beach, Huntington Beach! and San Bernadino as "LA". It still annoys me.

I punch people who say they're "Beverly Hills Adjacent!" . And! And! One time when I was renting a video at a Blockbuster on Van Nuys and Sherman Way at night (holy shit, I was young) and I tucked it into my jacket so no one would see it outside and the Manager came after me with "HEY!" He's Black (Oh no) and he drags me by the arm back into the store because he saw me put the video in my jacket. So, he goes "Hey! Anybody ring this guy up?" And! And! This one guy said "Yes" and he's all "oh.." and leaves me hanging. So you know what I did in front of his co-workers? . Jujubees were flyin' everywhere 'cause I KICKED HIS ASS! Yams saw it, he was there ... . No I didn't. But I wanted to, and that's what counts.

So.... dont you hate when ppl say america instead of USA???

The word "America" is coming from a man named Americo Vespucio from Spain, who made the first map of this continent, so America goes from Canada to Argentina... and they say America refering just to USA.


Grettings to everyone!

Edit.

Here in Orange County I've never heard any resident refer to OC as LA. Many OC residents are terrified of LA and want nothing to do with it. I've heard grown men say "I won't go past Long Beach, that's suicide". PUSSIES!!!

Out-of-towners, however, do refer to most of southern California as LA.

[B][COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]And! And! One time when I was renting a video at a Blockbuster
[LEFT]He's Black (Oh no) and he drags me by the arm back into the store because he saw me put the video in my jacket.
:lol::lol:
"Milq" you're just a misunderstood genius.

I hate it when people say "I'm in LA" when they are in Montebello or Whittier.

Yet you don't take issue when someone puts West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Santa Monica, etc. under the umbrella of "LA"?

And, yeah, I've never encountered anyone who referred to the OC as "LA". Thank God.

People who don't live in California are really annoying to us Californians.

I kid you not, I was in Boston a few years ago, and I decided to wear my Padres cap. Now, this hat clearly says on the bill San Diego Padres. At a street vendor, he asks me,"So, you're from LA?"

California is diverse, and it's not just one city. I swear, it's like people forget about San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento. I even met a guy once, a foreign exchange student from China. He asked me if we'd ever visit Los Angeles to see the State Capitol. :nuts:

EDIT: I'm aware I probably have no right to be here, given this is the LA Forum and I'm just a NorCal guy. :lol:

People who don't live in California are really annoying to us Californians.

I kid you not, I was in Boston a few years ago, and I decided to wear my Padres cap. Now, this hat clearly says on the bill San Diego Padres. At a street vendor, he asks me,"So, you're from LA?"

California is diverse, and it's not just one city. I swear, it's like people forget about San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento. I even met a guy once, a foreign exchange student from China. He asked me if we'd ever visit Los Angeles to see the State Capitol. :nuts:

EDIT: I'm aware I probably have no right to be here, given this is the LA Forum and I'm just a NorCal guy. :lol:

You're from California, you count too. :lol:

Yet you don't take issue when someone puts West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Santa Monica, etc. under the umbrella of "LA"?



You don't know that about me. But I'll tell you what I do take issue with and that is with your continued and unexplained existence on our planet.

I punch people who say they're "Beverly Hills Adjacent!" . And! And! One time when I was renting a video at a Blockbuster on Van Nuys and Sherman Way at night (holy shit, I was young) and I tucked it into my jacket so no one would see it outside and the Manager came after me with "HEY!" He's Black (Oh no) and he drags me by the arm back into the store because he saw me put the video in my jacket. So, he goes "Hey! Anybody ring this guy up?" And! And! This one guy said "Yes" and he's all "oh.." and leaves me hanging. So you know what I did in front of his co-workers? . Jujubees were flyin' everywhere 'cause I KICKED HIS ASS! Yams saw it, he was there ... . No I didn't. But I wanted to, and that's what counts.


That's right I saw it, but if I remember right, milqy did something else to his ass, not kick it :nuts:

You're from California, you count too. :lol:

Oh yeah, born and raised here. Maybe the rest of the world stereotypes California in these ways because they're jealous of our awesomeness. :D

You don't know that about me. But I'll tell you what I do take issue with and that is with your continued and unexplained existence on our planet.

:(

can the san gabriel valley be considered suburbs of LA? because i have a very tough time explaining where it is to out-of-towners while making it clear i do not live in the city of Los Angeles.

As for places in LA county that is not the city of LA, I just go by distance and direction from downtown. So to tell someone where West Covina is, I just say 20 miles east of downtown LA. Then people will hopefully understand it is still in the LA metro area, but it is not the city of LA.

An you think we have it bad, how about the greater NYC area?

and LA is not the only city with rough areas. Any major city has that. Denver, Chicago, Detroit...

can the san gabriel valley be considered suburbs of LA?

I view the SGV as being suburban LA. Not sure what else you'd define it as.

Here in Orange County I've never heard any resident refer to OC as LA. Many OC residents are terrified of LA and want nothing to do with it. I've heard grown men say "I won't go past Long Beach, that's suicide". PUSSIES!!!

Out-of-towners, however, do refer to most of southern California as LA.

:lol:
i immediately thought of my aunt who lives in yorba linda. she will not even cross the border to la county unless she is in her suburban, doors locked and her husband (my dads brother) at her side in the front. case in point, her daughter my cousin, wanted a tea party for her birthday so my mom, me, and my aunt went to chinatown looking for tea sets, the whole time she had a terrified look on her face, and could not wait to get back to our house. its a kick to have her at parties and telling her i take the train to work. with her look of shock and awe, and asking me if i feel safe.

People who don't live in California are really annoying to us Californians.

I kid you not, I was in Boston a few years ago, and I decided to wear my Padres cap. Now, this hat clearly says on the bill San Diego Padres. At a street vendor, he asks me,"So, you're from LA?"

California is diverse, and it's not just one city. I swear, it's like people forget about San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento. I even met a guy once, a foreign exchange student from China. He asked me if we'd ever visit Los Angeles to see the State Capitol. :nuts:

EDIT: I'm aware I probably have no right to be here, given this is the LA Forum and I'm just a NorCal guy. :lol:

Ansolutely not!! You belong here as much as any of us silly. It's a public forum and anyone can participate, especially Californios.

I don't like it because folks in LA County liberally say that they are in LA when they are not in the city. When I first moved here it would really annoy me that people would lump together Pasadena, El Segundo, Torrance, Long Beach, Huntington Beach! and San Bernadino as "LA". It still annoys me.

Yeah, well that's why I said out-of-towners.

Here in Orange County I've never heard any resident refer to OC as LA. Many OC residents are terrified of LA and want nothing to do with it. I've heard grown men say "I won't go past Long Beach, that's suicide". PUSSIES!!!

Out-of-towners, however, do refer to most of southern California as LA.

(escuse mua Orange County folks)

But I don't like Orange County. (breath, count to 10.................1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10).....ok, I don't like most of it's residents, the County itself is "ok".

I punch people who say they're "Beverly Hills Adjacent!" . And! And! One time when I was renting a video at a Blockbuster on Van Nuys and Sherman Way at night (holy shit, I was young) and I tucked it into my jacket so no one would see it outside and the Manager came after me with "HEY!" He's Black (Oh no) and he drags me by the arm back into the store because he saw me put the video in my jacket. So, he goes "Hey! Anybody ring this guy up?" And! And! This one guy said "Yes" and he's all "oh.." and leaves me hanging. So you know what I did in front of his co-workers? . Jujubees were flyin' everywhere 'cause I KICKED HIS ASS! Yams saw it, he was there ... . No I didn't. But I wanted to, and that's what counts.

:lol: He didn't drag you back cause of that Toastie!!! He dragged you back cause it was the "Steel Magnolias" VHS.

He wanted to shame you in public!

Yeah, when my overseas cousin was admitted to UC Davis years ago, her mom asked if her daughter could stay at my house in L.A. and drive to school everyday, since it's in California. :nuts:

Yeah, when my overseas cousin was admitted to UC Davis years ago, her mom asked if her daughter could stay at my house in L.A. and drive to school everyday, since it's in California. :nuts:

Well, those european countries are pretty small, they can drive it all over, they don't understand California is HUGE!

This doesn't bug me too much- When I first moved to here in 2000 I considered LA as all of LA County and OC- because there's no break in between the cities. It used to drive my native-born Angeleno boyfriend nuts. In Australia, all urban areas that are connected to Sydney or Melbourne without any rural land are considered to be part of the city so I used the same mentality here in California.

I've learned my lessons since that there is an absolute difference between the regions of SoCal.

I used to work at AAA in Fresno for a while (don't ask) and handed out the maps. People would vaguely ask for a street map of LA and I would ask which part they needed specifically, as we had so many maps of the LA Basin. Some would answer "Ventura", or "Palm Springs!" Anything south of Bakersfield was LA to them,

My best friend, also in Fresno, has family in Thousand Oaks. It drives me bonkers when he calls me to say he's going to LA to visit his family! Or he'll call from TO and say how much he's enjoying LA. Grrrr!!!!!

Glad that's off my chest

If it was up to me id annex all the pink into the City of LA.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/LosAngelesCAMap.gif

if that ever happens, then also fill all the holes. because where i live in SGV, I am stuck in 1 single city block of unincorporated LA County, between two cities (west covina and la puente). I don't see the reasoning for things like that....

^^ If that's the case, Martia, then you have no right to comment here

If it was up to me id annex all the pink into the City of LA.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/LosAngelesCAMap.gif

Glad that you're not king.....shit I'm still trying to find a way for us to get rid of the Valley.

There's at least 3 counties in that map.

Be careful the pink doesn't annex us and move city hall to Brea.

Sounds better to say LA than Mission Viejo... doesn't it?

Tell that to those living in Mission Viejo... Oh, wait! Sorry, South County I meant! They don't even like to be associated with the rest of Orange County, afraid that someone might think they're from some ghetto Santa Ana or Anaheim, or Garden Grove... No way, they're South County... Just for fun, when someone mentions South County, I like to ask if they mean south Riverside County, like Temecula or Hemet...

Glad that you're not king.....shit I'm still trying to find a way for us to get rid of the Valley.

Miniature cities? BOO!, they are less capable to get funding, and can you imagine trying to build rail across a zillion little cities? build roads etc. All those city councils and mayors wanting something different?

I had it my way I'd annex all of it back, all the surrounding "cities".

I guess you and I are at two different corners, I actively participated with Mayor Hahn in keeping L.A. together a few years back when a Hollywood gay night club owner pumped millions into the "secession of Hollywood" and convinced some San Fernando dopes to come along. He wanted to make a "City of Hollywood" so he could have his personal piggy bank and playground.

btw, I received menacing e-mails from his hench men and he still blames me for the surprise raid by the LAPD to his Circus Night Club during that period. :angel1:


There's at least 3 counties in that map.

Be careful the pink doesn't annex us and move city hall to Brea.

Get OC back, we let them go once before, annex them back. Re-design the new mega-city not into neighborhoods like it is now, but something like boroughs (but not that word, I don't like that word)

Just look at all that "munchkin land".

http://www.luisprada.com/Protected/IMAGES/map_la_county1.gif

Oh, I'd leave Long Beach and a few of the "biggies".

Miniature cities? BOO!, they are less capable to get funding, and can you imagine trying to build rail across a zillion little cities? build roads etc. All those city councils and mayors wanting something different?

I had it my way I'd annex all of it back, all the surrounding "cities".



But isn't that what we have in reality now. LA County in many regards is treated as one big city.

Even though I don't think they'd want to be annexed "back", I'd do it anyway! Otherwise I'd continue to call them "munchkins!" Yeah, I like that. Munchkins! Annex all them munchkins back so's we can get back on track and prosper. . ..and all them Orange County munchkins too- THAT'S RIGHT! I SAID IT!

:lol:

Yeah Klam, I guess, I'd just make it oficial.

Tell that to those living in Mission Viejo... Oh, wait! Sorry, South County I meant! They don't even like to be associated with the rest of Orange County, afraid that someone might think they're from some ghetto Santa Ana or Anaheim, or Garden Grove... No way, they're South County... Just for fun, when someone mentions South County, I like to ask if they mean south Riverside County, like Temecula or Hemet...

Believe it or not... Someone I met in NY told me she was from LA. When I asked her where in LA she lived she answered Mission Viejo.

^^ Lawl. I had to look that one up.. wasn't even sure where it was.

If this was the east coast, Mission Viejo would probably be in another state :ohno:

But still, what are you going to tell someone on the East Coast: "I'm from Mission Viejo." They'll say, "Oh, I've been there; it's like near Porto Rico, right."

i think we all are a little self-centered or whatever you want to call it to think we are the only ones with this problem. It is universal. Just like how if you say you are from France, people ask you how is Paris. or if you are from upstate New York, they ask how it is living in NYC. We are not alone in this, and actually we might be to blame for doing that very same thing to people from anywhere else in the world.

But in our defense, California is so damn big. If people can at least know the difference between northern and southern, then I think that is good enough.

I like being self-centered, and pesto? Did you spell that Porto Rico?

When I think of my grandparents moving to southern California when it was an impressive collection of unique and walkable cities, towns, and villages that were connected by trains and trolleys and separated by orange groves, countryside, and wilderness, I long for the time before the freeway system.

The freeway system created this amorphous blob with "white flight", dead city centers, pollution, crime, socioeconomic disparities, unaffordable housing, long commutes, and traffic congestion at all hours of the day. So, if we could only return to a comprehensive transit-oriented model, we'd be in such a better place.

When most cities in California still had sundown laws and in Inglewood you'd get your head broken by the Inglewood police if you were black and got caught there after dark. And downtown could still build no building taller than City Hall. And those restrictive covenants were still legal that prevented blacks, jews, "mexicans" et al from buying property previously owned by white folk. Yeah, I long for that time too......."we'd be in a much better place".

"So, if we could only return to a comprehensive transit-oriented model, we'd be in such a better place."

I was referring to the way the advent of the freeways, the loss of the Pacific Electric Railway, and the decline of passenger trains changed the region for the worse. I didn't mention anything related to the specific issues you cited. So, ... how about a little perspective? :)

Southern California must have been a gorgeous place before we paved it over with parking lots, strip malls, and eight-lane highways. Some of the good stuff is still left, but we had better do more to preserve it. And, we had better make the tough decisions and investments now to stop allowing oil, cars, and freeways to continue dominating our lives and destroying our economy.

Who here is also annoyed by people calling Los Angeles "California"?

I, for one, really hate it when people say things like "Why is it raining in California?, It's suppose to be sunny!" and "Is California dangerous to live in?"

Los Angeles is just a pin point ( a really fat pin ) in the state of California! The state stretches for 770 miles and is 250 miles wide at its widest so California DOES have weather- Los Angeles, not too much.

As an outside to LA and California, I really don't understand the annoyance. Is it that people think LA is the only place in California? Is it that people think California and LA are synonymous? Is it that people in LA think LA is so special it should not be associated with California at all?

Every state I would imagine has the same thing: When a person is in Chicago - "Why is Illinois so cold?"...well Chicago is in Illinois. Maybe I missed the entire point of this thread...

^^ There's a huge difference between California and Illinois. For starters, California's massive. Sacramento's in the middle of the state, and it takes seven hours to get to the Oregon border and eight hours to get to San Diego. Not only that, but Chicago is really the only big city in Illinois. California's got quite a few large cities other than Los Angeles: San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno to name the majority.

There's a huge difference between California and Illinois...
It was just an example. I still don't see the gripe.

except for a quick but controversial trip into the romanticized version of rural California, circa 1920, we have managed to keep this thread pretty light and friendly so far.

Part of the problem is that when people think of California, they think of the image from TV and movies: cars, beaches, surfers, warm weather, convertibles, movie stars, etc. So the LA/OC/SD look becomes the California look. You see that all the time in the Bay Area, where tourists talk about why is it so cold in the winter (or summer in SF). Even the locals seem to have bought-in and are surprised that the winters are cold; I honestly believe that many have a SoCal image of themselves in their minds. (And, I'm not picking a fight; NorCal weather is pretty good compared to the rest of the country.)

The other part has been pointed out before: people are just ignorant about the details so they use LA as a catch-phrase.

milq; "Porto Rico" is my attempt to mimic their pronunciation. I can usually manage to spell the names of most Latin countries if I try.

except for a quick but controversial trip into the romanticized version of rural California, circa 1920, we have managed to keep this thread pretty light and friendly so far.

Part of the problem is that when people think of California, they think of the image from TV and movies: cars, beaches, surfers, warm weather, convertibles, movie stars, etc. So the LA/OC/SD look becomes the California look. You see that all the time in the Bay Area, where tourists talk about why is it so cold in the winter (or summer in SF). Even the locals seem to have bought-in and are surprised that the winters are cold; I honestly believe that many have a SoCal image of themselves in their minds. (And, I'm not picking a fight; NorCal weather is pretty good compared to the rest of the country.)

The other part has been pointed out before: people are just ignorant about the details so they use LA as a catch-phrase.

milq; "Porto Rico" is my attempt to mimic their pronunciation. I can usually manage to spell the names of most Latin countries if I try.

You mean "Puelto Rico"...

Was Porto Rico named after Rico Suave?

"Puelto" would be about right in NY and San Juan. But I think we better stay away from accents before it starts getting ugly.

Si! I mean, oui!

I don't like it because folks in LA County liberally say that they are in LA when they are not in the city. When I first moved here it would really annoy me that people would lump together Pasadena, El Segundo, Torrance, Long Beach, Huntington Beach! and San Bernadino as "LA". It still annoys me.

why the hell am I supposed to say LA County instead just LA (short form). By the way, the people call America to United States of America for the same reason, to get it easier.

Or you can just say where you are...

"Hey, how it's going over there on the westcoast?"
-"Oh I'm good, just hanging out in Pasadena...."

Or you can just say where you are...

"Hey, how it's going over there on the westcoast?"
-"Oh I'm good, just hanging out in Pasadena...."

Some people don't know where Pasadena is, plain and simple. Why say Oak Park, IL when you can just say Chicago? (I'm sure for people in the area, the location of Pasadena is a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised...I'm a total map and geography geek and I have to right now look at a map to find it's exact location. sue me). Plus Pasadena is more syllables than LA. :-p

It's true that it often is easier to just say LA and often specificity isn't needed. I think most of the gripe from locals comes when someone says something like "LA is really boring" or "LA is really rundown" and you ask them where they were and they say some city 40 miles away in the desert or some seriously downmarket outer suburb. Often they haven't come within miles of LA but still have formed an opinion.

I hate when our own newscasters say " Live from the city of Van Nuys, Im LEO Stalsworth, back to you Diane". I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!!!. MO FO, Your in L.A. Bitch!!!
THEY ARE NOT CITIES!!!! Get it Right!!

When I go out if town, I always say im from L.A. Even when i Lived in Redlands. It avoids the, "Where is that?" question. Cuz your gonna eventually tell them " It by L.A.

Some people don't know where Pasadena is, plain and simple. Why say Oak Park, IL when you can just say Chicago? (I'm sure for people in the area, the location of Pasadena is a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised...I'm a total map and geography geek and I have to right now look at a map to find it's exact location. sue me). Plus Pasadena is more syllables than LA. :-p

My gripe as I said previously is rooted in the fact that people HERE, LOCALS say I'm in LA when they are in fact in Inglewood, Carson or Compton. This had lead the notion that "gee, LA sure is big" when the city is only 469 sq miles. Sure it's big when you assume that it runs from Pomona to Malibu or from Oxnard to Wilmington. I guess it was partially my mentality upon arriving from very border conscience NYC where you never ever ever say "I live in NYC" when you in fact live in Islip or Montauk or Jersey City.

I think correctly identifying your location defeats the idea that LA is soooo spread out which is a direct reference to the county, not the city proper.

People in Carson, Compton, and Inglewood do not say that they are from LA. We say that we are from Carson, Compton or Inglewood.

And in Carson "LA" often means Watts and South LA. Especially with black residents. And "LA" almost never means West LA, Hollywood, downtown, and especially never means the Valley.

And for an earlier post I work in Orange County and they never say that they live in LA. And they consider everything on the other side of the OC border "LA" and they don't like it.

Really when people say "LA" you have to consider who they are, where they live, and even what race they are to know what they mean.

true; for out of towners, everything is LA; for locals, pride of place predominates even if it is hardly distinguishable from the next town over.

The SFV became part of LA largely against their will; I think that still resonates in the Valley and they would be happy to be separated. Certainly a lot of people there think like the OC: that LA is a troubling and dangerous city, to be avoided at all costs.

Los angeles is a city and California's a effin state

true; for out of towners, everything is LA; for locals, pride of place predominates even if it is hardly distinguishable from the next town over.

The SFV became part of LA largely against their will; I think that still resonates in the Valley and they would be happy to be separated. Certainly a lot of people there think like the OC: that LA is a troubling and dangerous city, to be avoided at all costs.

I remember meeting a lady, while back East several years ago saying she was moving to LA. I asked her what part of LA? She said "Temecula". Freakin' Temecula down in the southern part of the IE in Riverside County? Yep!

My mouth was agape and I was of course speechless. LOL I can't understand how she associated Temecula with LA. If she said LA metropolitan area I'd be cool, but LA? Oh come on! That's like 65 miles away from Downtown LA...:lol:

Here in Orange County I've never heard any resident refer to OC as LA. Many OC residents are terrified of LA and want nothing to do with it. I've heard grown men say "I won't go past Long Beach, that's suicide". PUSSIES!!!

Out-of-towners, however, do refer to most of southern California as LA.

I had been an Orange County resident for 2 years and never referred to OC as LA when I talked to fellow Californians. But when I went abroad, of course, hardly anybody knew Orange County so I often referred to OC or its towns as "somewhere near LA", not LA any way. lols.

I had been an Orange County resident for 2 years and never referred to OC as LA when I talked to fellow Californians. But when I went abroad, of course, hardly anybody knew Orange County so I often referred to OC or its towns as "somewhere near LA", not LA any way. lols.

I do not think they think all of southern california IS L.A., just that L.A. is the most known city in that area.

At least they know OC exists.

I am sure people in, for example, southern France gets pissed when someone asks whey they live, they say some city in southern France, and the person asks is it by Paris and they say no, Paris is like 1000 km away.... It is not a problem only we face.

But I do agree with future_trance011, if someone is MOVING to southern california, at least realize if you are in the city, or not even in the county, or on the complete other side of orange county not even near L.A. county border, lol.

As a brit who only recently just visit Los Angeles and amongst other places. As soon as i got home in Britain the first question i got was " see any celebs?". And it was a very common question. To be honest if you continue to promote celebrities, hollywood etc people will always ask about it as it is in your own doing. But i think Los Angeles is from what i saw a very mis-interpreted city. Everyone who hasn't visited just thinks "oooh Hollywoood, celebs, rich houses, sun!" etc. And of course the city has that but beyond the rich and famous i found it be a very diverse an interesting city. I do feel for people living in LA, because almost everyone i know would assume you'r rich and drive a BMW or a Mercedes which isn't entirely true. And when people say California they instantly think LA and rich and famous which is sad since San Franciso, Santa Cruz and Monterey as well as other places are just as cool as LA. But we have the same problem in the UK, people instantly think of London. Still it was a privilege visiting Los Angeles.

Thanks Timmy - Brissy! It's all in the perception, mate!

My own perceptions:

* Municipalities are administrative constructs

* When we look down from above we dont see Beverly Hills or LA or Inglewood...we see one city / urban area

* which is known to the world as LA, regardless of municipality

I live in LA proper...but even if I lived in Pasadena or Long Beach, I would just consider that a different neighborhood of LA.

But that's just me

To me, Los Angeles is just that cancerous growth a few hundred miles to the south that wants to steal more of my water.

Officially, the urban area consisting of Los Angeles and Orange counties is the Los Angeles metropolitan area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_metropolitan_area)

and the connected urbanized area all around LA is called the Greater Los Angeles Area (or Southland) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Los_Angeles_Area) and includes parts of Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County

so no matter what these counties want, they will not be able to get away from the name "Los Angeles" in some form.

However, even with that said, that does not excuse for mistaking something for the City of Los Angeles, when it is not even the same county

Also, we do not have it as worse as the New York metropolitan area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_metropolitan_area) which is the Tri-State Area. That is across 3 STATES! We just have a few counties. See, we are not alone.

Yeah but as I said previously when in Jersey you never say that you are in NYC. But in reality NYC has the opposite effect where not enough of the city is taken into consideration. For example (to my surprise) the amount of people who tell me that they visited NYC and only visited Manhattan. When I ask them did they explore any other parts of the city referring to Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens or SI they respond "no we only were visiting NYC."

klam: completely correct. It's as if the consolidation in 1890 or whenever never happened. Manhattan is NYC; Brooklyn is Brooklyn, Queens is Queens, etc. Which is actually OK since Brooklyn stand alone is a large and interesting city (although it suffers from being too close to Manhattan).

But LA if frickin' everything.