Does Los Angeles have the greatest location of any city in the world?

[milquetoast]

Originally Posted by saiholmes

Where was this one taken?

Lucas Janin, for whatever reason, states this is the course just north of the actual picture (Chevy Chase) but this is actually Scholl Canyon.

You can see the curved road under construction in the satellite pic that leads to the roundabout in Lucas' picture.

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[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by saiholmes

Where was this one taken?

that might be from scholl canyon golf course in glendale.

[saiholmes]

appreciate

[pesto]

dimeth: and new towers are going up all over.

[Westsidelife]

Saddle Peak, Topanga Canyon...

image hosted on flickr

From Flickr, by nategrossman

[isaidso]

It depends on what one finds desirable. The negatives for me would be climate and natural disasters. Ideally, I want a city to have 4 distinct seasons. I look forward to the change of seasons, and California just doesn't offer all 4 in one place. Los Angeles is prone to earthquakes, mudslides, and forest fires. This area is really a desert so lack of water is a major issue as well.

Apart from these drawbacks, it's a stunningly beautiful area of the world. Great beach setting with mountains and valleys. I'd say that Vancouver has the best location of any city in the world. Despite the climate and natural disasters, LA's is still one of the better locales though.

[Westsidelife]

Originally Posted by isaidso

This area is really a desert so lack of water is a major issue as well.

Only the eastern Inland Empire is a desert...


From Wikipedia

Apart from these drawbacks, it's a stunningly beautiful area of the world. Great beach setting with mountains and valleys. I'd say that Vancouver has the best location of any city in the world. Despite the climate and natural disasters, LA's is still one of the better locales though.

You say Vancouver has the best location of any city in the world, yet it doesn't have 4 distinct seasons, either.

Yeah, I've always been blown away by Vancouver's stunning natural beauty, especially after the Winter Olympics. Vancouver has much better access to winter sports; I'm sure skiing/snowboarding in Whistler is much better than it is in Big Bear.

Vancouver's geography does have a few drawbacks (IMO). It's not known at all for its beach culture, although there are some beautiful beaches. But my biggest complaint, and it's a general one, is that it and other cities are too isolated. Cities like Sydney and Cape Town, especially, are located in the most remote corners of the earth. A large part of the reason why I think LA has the greatest location is because of the numerous world class destinations that are just a stone's throw away. There's the outrageous fantasyland known as Las Vegas, the incredibly urban and sophisticated San Francisco, the relaxing resort getaway of Santa Barbara, and LA's more family-friendly sister named San Diego, among others. If none of those amazing destinations do it for you, well, heck, there are amazing destinations within Greater LA itself!

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

Only the eastern Inland Empire is a desert...

the incredibly urban and sophisticated San Francisco

wtf does that mean?

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Ideally, I want a city to have 4 distinct seasons. I look forward to the change of seasons, and California just doesn't offer all 4 in one place. Los Angeles is prone to earthquakes, mudslides, and forest fires. This area is really a desert so lack of water is a major issue as well.

LA has 4 seasons as well......I guess "distinct" would be subjective and admittedly they are milder. Though I used to live in a "distinct" 4 season locale and that shit is overrated. I wouldn't mind ultimately living in Colombia or Panama.......seasons are just so unnecessary.

How many times do we have to repeat that "LA is not in a desert". If LA is in a desert conclusively because of the lack of fresh water then I guess Atlanta is too.

[PragmaticIdealist]

Most people, incidentally, do not consider the low desert or the high desert to be part of the Inland Empire, which is more defined by the coastal-facing sides of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains and the inland-facing sides of Kellogg Hill, the Chino Hills, the Puente Hills, and the Santa Ana Mountains.

[PragmaticIdealist]

image hosted on flickr


This is Autumn in Oak Glen, which lies a little more than an hour away from Los Angeles.

[PragmaticIdealist]

image hosted on flickr


This is Winter in San Bernardino, also about an hour away from downtown L.A.

[PragmaticIdealist]

Southern California even has a distinct Springtime.

image hosted on flickr

[croyboy]

when was the last time anyone died in an earthquake around here? probably 1994.
mudslides? probably 2004 or 05 aand it was in laguna.
forest fires "in" LA? not really.

if you live anywhere in hollywood, downtown, koreatown, long beach, santa monica, east la, or anywhere else "in" LA, you're immune from all natural disasters except earthquakes. but even then, the san andreas fault only borders the outer metropolitan area. the last quake we had was so insignificant (to us) that the news actually broadcasted san diego's pool water making mini-waves.

seriously, have we had a death in the last 16 years from earthquakes?

[PragmaticIdealist]

Most major metropolitan areas in the United States, in fact, are just as susceptible to the Big One as Los Angeles is, even though they have fewer small earthquakes. And, frankly, I'd prefer to be in a place that has designed buildings to withstand these forces.

Native Californians always find this preoccupation transplants and visitors have with earthquakes amusing. I know I do.

[PragmaticIdealist]

Forest fires and mudslides are just another part of nature. They only cause problems for people who build in areas prone to such events, unless, of course, George W. Bush happens to be President and he de-funds the removal of National Forest trees that happen to be infested with bark beetles. Then, the smoke can impact populations in the Los Angeles basin.

No one has mentioned tsunamis, yet. But, people who build in low-lying coastal areas also endanger themselves and their property.

People build near flood zones, too. But, all of this questionable development is just a reflection of people not respecting the natural environment. So, we should get smart and start instituting urban-growth boundaries.

[milquetoast]

I'll mention tsunamis!

In April 2029, on Friday the 13th, 2004 MNH, an asteroid 300 meters across, will travel between man made satellites and the Earth's surface.

If it passes close enough to travel through a gravity field 1 half mile wide at a certain distance from the surface, it will swing around instead of fly away and in 7 years will strike between Hawaii and California.

These are the "NEOS" that really worry scientists because they're more frequent than the dinosaur killers that are miles across, and since they're much smaller they tend to explode in the atmosphere- this one able to take out an area the size of Texas.

Here, I've traveled into the future to accompany I E and Ash 3 on the beach. Here is the transcript (last words) when the wave approaches:

.

Ash 3: Yip!

.

I E: Oh, this sucks! Ooohh dude ......... this really ......

ASH NUMBER THREE COME HERE!

Don't ..... (8 seconds) ... why did I come here?

I have a life, I do!

Why is it getting so big, oh that's just overkill now!

Why do I insist on not going into San Bernardino?

Come onnnnnn ........ EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

(transcript ends)

[milquetoast]

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[future_trance011]

Fantastic thread, Westsidelife! I like how all these people from other places are calling Los Angeles a desert.



Eaton Canyon Falls...only a 10 minute hike from Altadena.


From www-scf-usc.edu


Abalone Cove, Rancho Palos Verdes





From www.meetup.com

Malibu, California...up along the Pacific Coast Highway

By Kristztilevi, from photobucket

More of Malibu

By portunus, from photobucket

Avalon, Catalina Island

From wikipedia

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by PragmaticIdealist

But, all of this questionable development is just a reflection of people not respecting the natural environment. So, we should get smart and start instituting urban-growth boundaries.

I like what you're talking about!