LA's Problems

3979 Views 107 Replies 23 Participants Last post by godblessbotox, May 26, 2006

NewYorkYankee

Discussion Starter · May 22, 2006

Hello all! Im currently living in NYC, Im originally from Tennessee. While I DO like NY, I feel I may like LA more. While Ive never been, I do plan to visit later this year. Before I came to NYC I thought it was perfect and I would love it forever. Well, now I see the problems it has, and my own personal problems with it. So tell me honestly guys, what are LA's problems? Both the main problems of the city, and personally what you dont like about it. Please dont think Im bashing on LA, its not like Im saying "NYC is God's gift to the earth and LA sucks!" Thanks all!

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41 - 60 of 108 Posts

SILVERLAKE

· #41 · May 23, 2006

But let me not digress from the OP's OP!!!!!!!

LA is great except some time it can be hard to travel from A to Z.

yoyoniner

· #42 · May 23, 2006

SILVERLAKE said:
If Chicago is such a great place to live, why did the population go in the shitter from 1950 on.....?

The Chicago metro area has had very healthy growth and has NEVER, at ANY POINT, lost population. The CITY is now growing again at a healthy clip too. White flight to the suburbs is over. White flight to the city is now in. Let's keep it real Silverlake. You are making stuff up again. Don't understand your obsession with Chicago, but this summer would be an excellent time to plan your first visit.

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dweebo2220

· #43 · May 23, 2006

Just to put my two cents in (I haven't posted recently and I also stay away from these absurd competitive group masturbation sessions)

I think the main problem with LA is that it's not THERE yet. I guess it has always been true that LA is a place obsessed with its own (poorly planned) future, but I think it is about to go through one of it's HUGEST changes yet, and in a very different direction. Right now it's all potential. It's not a place people like in that conventional provincial citystate kind of way, and they don't like it that way for a reason. It isn't really a place to be proud of. It is majorly fucked up in a lot of ways. traffic. crime. smog. poverty. segregation and inequality. to name a few.

But to me LA is the most intriguing city on earth, and many people around the world are starting to agree. Some of you guys might not know, but LA is having somewhat of a "moment" right now, a moment that could turn into a pretty nice new identity. I'm graduating with a degree in cultural studies, so I've had to keep tabs on cultural trends. "culture" people- (artsy folks) really like to talk about LA now and how it's a really exciting place to live in because SO MUCH IS GOING TO CHANGE (for the better) AND YOU CAN BE A PART OF IT!

BUT
it's not there yet. If you've got a bad pre-conceived notion of LA, then please wait ten years before coming.

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Jules

· #44 · May 23, 2006

what in god's name is a "Chicagoite"???? :lol:

godblessbotox

· #45 · May 23, 2006

can i make a request?
:badnews:

Fern~Fern*

· #46 · May 23, 2006

godblessbotox said:
can i make a request?
:badnews:

^ I must hear this request???????

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chicagogeorge

· #47 · May 23, 2006 (Edited)

SILVERLAKE said:
Listen the Chicago weather is notorious for being horrible, amongst the nation, amongst ex-residents (who flocked to So Cal), and amongst Chicago itself.

Chicago's weather like shown in my last post to you, is identical in almost every way with the weather in just about every east coast city, especially NYC, and Philly since we lie on the same latitude.

East Coast and Midwest residents who moved to Cali during the 1970's and 1980's, were part of a general westward migration pattern. Today, California is loosing it's domestic population more so than any other state (except maybe New York). Californians are flocking to Arizona, Nevada, and many southern states where the cost of living is not so high. It's current growth is do to international migration and their offsprings. This is the case for New York and Illinois as well.

SILVERLAKE said:
If Chicago is such a great place to live, why did the population go in the shitter from 1950 on.....?

I will try to answer you calmly. I know you are only a teenager who hasn't experience much of life outside your little bubble.

Chicagoland never lost population. In 1970 the metro area had 7 million people. By 2010, there will be 10 million. In terms of percentage Chicagoland is growing at a faster rate than the New York City metro. In terms of the city population, Chicago experienced the same white flight that a dozen other cities experienced (including NYC who lost 1 million residents before gaining them all back recently). Chicago today is experiencing an urban renaissance the likes of which no other American city with the exception of NYC is experiencing. Since 1998, well over 60,000 condos have been built in the city of Chicago. Currently over 40 highrise are under construction in downtown Chicago. An addtional 130 highrises are proposed, or approved for construction. Neighborhoods are being revitalized. The city proper population has stablized and is growing again.

SILVERLAKE said:
But I don't want to talk about weather.

Beautiful late May week ahead in Chicago. Summer is here!

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Fern~Fern*

· #48 · May 23, 2006

What happened here I thought we had taken a turn for the better..... a couple post ago. "Can we all just get along". :grouphug:

klamedia

· #49 · May 23, 2006

dweebo2220 said:
It isn't really a place to be proud of. It is majorly fucked up in a lot of ways. traffic. crime. smog. poverty. segregation and inequality. to name a few.

But to me LA is the most intriguing city on earth, and many people around the world are starting to agree. Some of you guys might not know, but LA is having somewhat of a "moment" right now, a moment that could turn into a pretty nice new identity. I'm graduating with a degree in cultural studies, so I've had to keep tabs on cultural trends. "culture" people- (artsy folks) really like to talk about LA now and how it's a really exciting place to live in because SO MUCH IS GOING TO CHANGE (for the better) AND YOU CAN BE A PART OF IT!

BUT
it's not there yet. If you've got a bad pre-conceived notion of LA, then please wait ten years before coming.

I'm actually proud of all of the problems and having a front row seat to see the city attempt to fix them. But I don't know if I really want them all fixed. The riots, the mass protests, the strikes.......I enjoy seeing the struggle that the city is going through, personified at best by Villaraigosa. On the one hand he wants to sympathize with his people about immigration but not want to alienate the rest of his city. He's at every board meeting, luncheon and backyard barbecue talking about the need for more rapid mass transit, the creation of parks and green space and of course density. We are basically watching a city being forced to grow up and potentially join the ranks of top tier cities of the world.
But I've got to admit, I really like it as the "fucked up but irresistibly charming and beautiful" underdog.

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archd1

· #50 · May 23, 2006 (Edited)

dweebo2220 said:
.....I think the main problem with LA is that it's not THERE yet. I guess it has always been true that LA is a place obsessed with its own (poorly planned) future,.....It isn't really a place to be proud of....BUT it's not there yet....

What do you mean by not THERE yet? Is there an ultimate ideal, the heavenly place that needs to be achieved here? NOT THERE YET? Where or what exactly is THERE? The city, in simple terms, can be thought of as an ORGANISM, a breathing, living thing, that can grow, morph or subdivide into a multitude of related, inter-related or even non-related entities. LA in essence is like that. It grows in it's own unique way, every generation trying to tame the beast but once tamed another beast is born. So to say that there is a THERE for LA is a bit ambiguous and self-serving because LA is a city, unlike any other, a city in constant flux. A continuing urban experiment that never really established results but quite succesfully initiated the process. NO ONE HAS THE ANSWERS.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF LOS ANGELES?
Http://archrecord.construction.com/features/LA/Feature-LA_QA.asp

A few current publications featuring LA:

ART REVIEW, MAY ISSUE

http://www.art-review.co.uk/

ARCHITECTURAL RECORD, MAY ISSUE:

http://archrecord.construction.com/Default.asp

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2

callanoj

· #51 · May 23, 2006

OK, I'm just gonna come right out and say it. One of the biggest problems I have with Los Angeles is that I find most of it to be physically offensive. Sure, there is some great architecture there and the land itself is mostly beautiful.

But, once the smog clears you see that the city is littered with buildings like this:

I'm sorry, I think it's just really ugly!

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chicagogeorge

· #52 · May 23, 2006

^
Dude, every city has crappy 1960's style crappy apartment complexes. I hate them too.

callanoj

· #53 · May 23, 2006

But in Los Angeles they dominate. And, most cities on the east coast don't have that era of architecture. At least not in the abundance that L.A. does.

Zoning laws and Neighborhood development authorities are pretty serious back east. In fact, some times they can be a major pain ibn the ass.

godblessbotox

· #54 · May 23, 2006

oh go piss off... like boston looks that nice anyhow

callanoj

· #55 · May 23, 2006

godblessbotox said:
oh go piss off... like boston looks that nice anyhow

Ha! Don't be so sensitive! You didn't design that building. Did you? I'm just saying I don't like the amount of buildings that look like that in Los Angeles.

By the way, Boston is really beautiful.

mid-town

· #56 · May 23, 2006

SILVERLAKE said:
DUH....IF YOU LIVE IN LA, YOU CAN GO TO THE OPERA, MUSEUMS, SYMPHONY, FASHION SHOWS, INDUSTRY PARTIES, RIDE SUBWAYS, LIVE IN SKYSCRAPERS, HOB-NOB IN THE TRENDIEST GRITTIES URBAN HOODS!!

buT IF YOU LIVE IN ny OR chICAGO, YOU CAN'T GO MOUNTAIN BIKING, SURFING, SKIING, PLAY BEACH VOLLEYBALL, AS EASILY PLUS THE WEATHER SUCKS IN CHICAGO 9 MONTHS OF THE YEAR AND SUCKS IN NY FOR LIKE 6 MONTHS OF THE YEAR.!!!!!!!!!!

SILVERLAKE, you can do everything you listed in NYC. We can go to the:
Opera
Museum-NYC was founded in 1624
Symphony
Fashion Shows-Probably more than LA
Industry Parties-we have actors and singers like Beyonce and Young Jeezy
Ride Subways-NYC DEFINITELY has more
Live in Skyscrapers-NYC has the most
Hoods-not something to be proud of but NYC has worse hoods(South Bronx, Bed-Stuy, Jamaica in Queens, Harlem)
Mounatain Biking-15 miles north of NYC(Hudson River Valley)
Surfing-We have surfers in NYC and a TON on Long Island and they talk normal
Skiing-15 miles north of NYC(Hudson River Valley)
Play Beach Volleyball-Volleyball's for wussies. New York's a big hockey and football state
SO WHY DON'T YOU STOP DOGGING NY AND CHICAGO, YOU VOLLEYBALL WIMP.

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Fern~Fern*

· #57 · May 23, 2006

mid-town said:
SILVERLAKE, you can do everything you listed in NYC. We can go to the:
Surfing-We have surfers in NYC and a TON on Long Island and they talk normal

^
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Someone please give me a bucket, I'm going to piss on myself...... Are you serious, Dude????

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mid-town

· #58 · May 23, 2006

Ferneynism said:
mid-town said:

SILVERLAKE, you can do everything you listed in NYC. We can go to the:
Surfing-We have surfers in NYC and a TON on Long Island and they talk normal

^
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Someone please give me a bucket, I'm going to piss on myself...... Are you serious, Dude????

Click to expand...

What? We have surfers here. Big deal. Surfers just don't say this in NY-Gnarly!!!! Rad!!!! That's annoying.

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callanoj

· #59 · May 23, 2006

Well, now we gotta draw the line. I think it's safe to say that the East Coast, let alone New York, is not known for it's big surfing community. The West Coast, especially L.A. is known for surfing.

mid-town

· #60 · May 23, 2006 (Edited)

Who cares what they're known for. NYC's known for Rap, but Atlanta is trying to take that away. NY has a TON of surfers. We have Long Island and Lake Erie and Lake Ontario get pretty wavy too. We have a lot of lakes and a lot of ocean space. Long Island may look small but stretch the coastline of it into one straight line and see how much of a coastline there is. NY is also 7th for the most water area in the country. NY's water area is 7,342.22 sq. mi. and California's water area is 7,736.23 sq. mi.

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