Los Angeles: a misunderstood city?
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- Опубликовано: 9 июн 2024
- LA: the city everyone either loves, hates...or just doesn't understand. Here's why I think LA is the most misunderstood city in America. Let’s show LA some love in this video (for once)
#losangeles #california
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00:00 why is LA misunderstood?
00:30 hollywood walk of fame...
02:19 LA tourism
03:14 MALIBU & comparisons
06:01 neighborhoods
06:52 creative opportunity
09:03 my LA adventure
Those of us who grew up in SoCal have always known that the screen portrayals are just fantasy, and that Hollywood Blvd is scummy. When you got to "I spend my day...." you pulled it together. Smile.
I’m from Australia. I stayed in an Airbnb in Redondo and had a blast. Manhattan Beach is amazing, there’s top notch craft breweries in Torrance. There’s cool bars and restaurants hidden everywhere in Santa Monica and Venice.
Like, if you go to Los Angeles expecting London or Paris and are disappointed…. just go to Paris or London.
LA is much more australia than paris or london. San francisco is better bet for that vibe
Another great video! As a former New Yorker who moved to LA for a job, I find your content so relatable and even therapeutic 😂
love it
lmao I just subscribed!! I have been so curious about ACTUAL Los Angeles; and your perspective is so refreshing to see in ALL of your videos. It's so interesting that you lived in New York before moving to LA. I find it very cool and unique to hear you compare the two from your personal down-to-earth experience. I am thinking about visiting LA soon (I'm based in ATL), and your videos have been SO SO helpful.
💞Thank you for posting and all that you do!!!!!!!💞 (i love coffee too.. thank you for sharing that you have to pay for parking for literally EVERYTHING... including just going to grab coffee lol)..great visual quality videos, too. Thank you so much again.
Los Angeles is an enigma. Can't wait.
Another great one, Michael. I enjoy watching your adventures around my favorite part of the country, Southern California. Your content is entertaining and uplifting, especially when I'm depressed. I appreciate what you do. Keep it up!
Appreciate it Jake!
I am from LA and currently live in the south and there is no place like LA. There is just an energy about it that I love. Things I took for granted like the beaches and the authentic Mexican food are now such luxuries. It is such a creative place and a wonderful melting pot of cultures.
I think LA and NY have something unique in common. Preconceived notions and stereotypes about their inhabitants. Some are true some not I imagine. Maybe it's the state of being in a place that's iconic and so polar opposites like you said. Interesting video Michael🍎💚
Heading out for a work-cation in a few days!!! Can’t wait, thanks for another beautiful video my bro🤙
Thanks for this video!! Love how you said that you don’t know if it’s forever, but it’s right for you right now. I so resonate with that! I’m moving to LA from Philly area in Feb and have also lived in Austin and Wilmington, DE. My advice for anyone reading this is to definitely form your own opinions about places, people, etc. If I took other peoples opinions for truth, I wouldn’t have experienced half the things in my life. So glad I saw LA/CA for myself, cause I think it’s misunderstood, especially by some east coasters lol
I so agree! It’s easy to be manipulated by social media comments and people’s personal biases lol
How is your audio so good? Even on the beach or in the mountains. It’s crazy! Great video too!
You got a really insightful content. I was so close to visiting LA at one point myself. I had experience with acting/modeling and in late 2015 I was in contact with Capcom about the facial likeness role of Leon for the Resident Evil 2 Remake. I failed to mention I also have a voice acting background, in the end I lost the part and I can't forgive myself for wasting such an opportunity. That would've been a real dream come true to visit this city :). All the best!
never too late!!
@@MichaelMartello Thank you!
I once studied to be an urban planner in college. L.A. was.one of the cities I worked.on during my 2nd year. These are the interesting things I discovered from my historical course
- prior to the 1920s, the urban setting for LA was still like a small town. Their largest building at the time (city hall) would not be built until the 1920s
- the sons of Frederick Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed NYC's Central Park, were in the works for planning several smaller "Central Parks" throughout LA before the suburbs in the east Valley surfaced. They would have been constructed in and/or around these parks
- during this time, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright was also in the works for designing the city itself but not like how it was done in the East. Many locals at the time did not like the urban grey jungle look which explains why the city is spread wide instead of numerous vertical buildings in one setting. So Lloyd Wright designed a city similar to the 70s film (before it was a film), "Logan's Run," without the bubble encased around the buildings. There would be a monorail system attaching one sector of the urban building to the others. i.e., One sector would house the law and judicial buildings, another a commercial district, another business, etc...people could've still walked to and from each of these sectors where he designed walkways adjacent to mini parks around the buildings. Or they could take the monorails.
- in addition to the urban interior monorail, Wright also had planned with engineers to construct major exterior monorail systems that would connect the outskirt towns into the city.
- there were about 4-5 major rivers running down from the mountains into the Pacific Ocean. Numerous floods from storms forced officials to bring in the Army Corp of Engineers to "patch up" the rivers by constructing concrete on them so that they can be controlled and channeled better. Had the Olmsted Bros' plans fell through, it probably would've been better to create smaller man made ponds or lakes to go with the smaller parks and use the rivers' flow as an energy source as well as a main water resource. Now they rely on out of state for this which is a shame
The city of LA would have been much different today had those plans fell through. The reason why it didn't was because the LA council at the time thought it was too demanding even though major projects in the country at the time (Golden Gate Bridge, The Empire St Building, etc) were being built as the economy was thriving before the Great Depression. They would have to build something anyway.
Ask yourselves, what major events were happening at the time? ------>
1) the emergence of the oil industry
2) the emergence of the automobile industry
Interstate Highways would not be built throughout the country until the 1950s when Eisenhower put a mandate. But roads were being built to and from LA even though suburbs around the city weren't fully populated or developed yet. Here, it wouldn't be far fetched to assume the LA.Council at the time were likely bought off from oil and auto lobbyists to persuade them to decline those plans. Which is a shame because fast forward to the present, many of the problems the city faces could have been alleviated had the Olmsteds and Wright's plans came to fruition
As an LA native I'll never understand why so many people want to see Hollywood Blvd...there's some stars on the ground along with human feces and overpriced tourist trap food?
I thought the same thing. I was literally like where are these guys walking, literally all of Hollywood is disgusting and brimming with drugs and transients
100% man! I totally agree.@@gianniclaud
Who likes to be a loner
What’s your LA adventure like?
This was very sweet and actually real af. I grew up here and I always say that I hate it, but I take for granted that I live 15 min from downtown and 45-50 from a dozen different beaches. I really am so lucky to have lived here for as long as I have even if the sprawl kills me at times.
thanks for all your impressions. they are very honest and refreshing. i'm from europe and seriously thinking about moving to los angeles because of the different mindset. i definitely want to check out los angeles this spring. i love how direct and unfiltered you are about real daily life. it gives me more clarity about what to expect there. also the mindset of you and your friends shows how it can be if you want it to be. really great. i'm watching all your videos right now!
Appreciate it!!
I always say, New York is a great city to be a tourist compared to LA. However, I find LA to be a better city to live in than NYC. LA is a place even locals are extremely unfamiliar with. There is always something new one will find out about due to the fact that it is so massive. The combined statistical area (CSA) is 34,000 square miles.
That's like almost 55,000 square kms
For reference, Switzerland is only 41,000 square kms big.
So the conglomerate LA is bigger than Switzerland? What the hell?
@ernesto.carloz Exactly my point. LA is massive. The Angeles National Forest alone in LA County is 700,000 acres.
The closest international cities by car are: San Francisco: 7-8 hours away, Vegas: 4 hours away, and San Diego: 2 hours away.
@Botanicalguy91 I used to think that too--that NYC was a better city to visit than live in, and LA is a better city to live in than visit, but over the last few years I've discovered LA has as much or more to offer tourists as NYC--they're just spread out and not well advertised. LA has more museums than almost any city in North America except for Mexico City. Beaches of course--also breweres, wineries, sports, etc. There's so much to see.
I do still think LA is a better place to live in over NYC. Better quality of life overall.
@danmur2797 I agree. In fact, LA is ranked third city with the most museums. Only Paris & Moscow have more than LA. Los Angeles is underrated because too many people don't understand it. Even locals don't actually know a lot about it either. I, myself, am really just discovering the beauty. Yes, blah... traffic... blah. The city has too many hidden gems to count, and it takes a lifetime of never being bored.
LA is what you make of it. Always has been. That is why people come here, for the possibility of achieving the impossible.
As a native Angeleno I completely disagree with you assessment that LA lacks tourism value. It depends on how you define tourism. LA's tourism is varied.
LA has some of the best collections of museums in the country.
It's a great sports city as well with some of the best sports venues in the country.
You have some of the most beautiful beaches, and you're very close to the mountains for skiing, during the Winter, or the desert for exploring wildlife.
There are several beautiful garden venues in the region like the Huntington Library, the LA Arboretum, Descanso Gardens, Exposition Park, the Getty Villa, and The Getty.
You have 4 major amusement parks with Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Universal Studios, and Knotts Berry Farm.
You have the best variety of great restaurants representing so many parts of the world in one geographical region. It's ridiculous!
You have the historic DTLA, Union Station, and Olvera Street.
We have Griffith Park. The largest urban park in the country and much bigger than Central Park in NYC. It also has many more amenities than Central Park.
The public transit network is much better than you imply as many of the places I listed are accessible via public transit and will only improve in the years to come.
Interesting how you completely ignore the Eastside (East of the LA River) of the city. Where you will find some of the best Latin American food in the country.
Hollywood Blvd has it's charm, and you might spend half a day and eat at a place like Musso's to get that old Hollywood feel.
LA might have the occasional mouse, but NYC, by comparison, has gigantic rats running around all over the place including their more expensive Metro system.
Lastly, and one thing you failed to mention explicitly is LA's weather. That is part of the tourism draw too. So, again, it depends what you mean by tourism. LA is what you make of it. That's true for the tourist who visits the city of angels too.
Hollywood Blvd is actually filled in better today than it was 10-20 yrs ago. Grauman's in the 1990s was surrounded by parking lots & some of the land near Hollywood & Vine, including the Pantages, was the same way. Similarly, NYC's Times Square is better today than it was years ago. But in certain ways, LA over the past 30 years has evolved more than NYC has, partly because LA's urban roots are more modest. In other ways, however, NYC has added to its prominence because sections like the Bronx or Brooklyn have been improved. In turn, the central part of LA, although its near Skid Row, probably has more substance today than it did years ago. But other cities & countries are experiencing the same thing too. Look at towns similar to Dubai or Shanghai. They're also always a mixed bag (good amenities, lousy weather, good weather, too much crime, etc) & constantly going through up-down cycles.
Agree with what you said about LA not really being a city - it’s a conglomerate of different areas and experiences.
I always tell people who go to LA to NOT do tourist LA. Everyone who does tourist LA comes away hating it. NYC is so easy because you have so much actual fun stuff to do in a small area. LA is the opposite. Not a lot and it's all spread out. I always tell people to do research, and figure out what is important to them and to pursue that. For example, like cars? Peterson auto museum or rent a fun sports car to go on the PCH. But it really is what you make of it, and LA is just fun to get lost in with a car driving around and getting tacos at the gas station stand.
Not really
There's A LOT to see and do in LA. It is spread out, but there's a lot.
Amazing Museums: LACMA/MOCA, The Getty/Getty Villa, Huntington Museum and Botanical Gardens, Academy Awards Museum, Museum of Natural History, California Science Center (space shuttle Endeavor), the Griffith Observatory (also museum), the Queen Mary (also museum), the Hammer, the Broad, the Annenberg Space of Photography, Norton Simon, Peterson Auto, the Grammy Museum, etc.
There's the theme parks (Universal Studios, Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Raging Waters, etc.).
There's nature--beaches, deserts, mountains, lakes and creeks, the Angeles National Forest, etc.
There's amazing restaurants, craft breweries, wineries, etc.
There's sports events--Dodgers, Rams, Chargers, Clippers, Lakers, Kings, Galaxy, Angels, FC, etc.
There's concerts with all artists and music genres and amazing venues--Hollywood Bowl, The Greek, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Staples Center, etc.
There's film festivals, art galleries, varied events, etc.
There's walkable neighborhoods to shop from Santa Monica, to Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Glendale to Arcadia, Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach, Burbank to La Cañada, etc.
I mean there's something for everyone.
We just need to inform people better.
Hey Micheal all love from India here 🇮🇳. I will be coming to LA on Jan 24' to pursue my master's. Been following your journey from past couple of months and I've found inspiration to what's it's like livin' in the city of Angeles. Hope to see you soon someday.
Michael, I always relate to your videos. I wonder if Long Beach, Orange County, or San Diego would be more energizing to you? I love the OC and it is so less stressful and it has more genuine people. Hang in there bud!! Thanks!
Thanks Randy!! I would say I still love the energy & activities LA provides. Sure it can be stressful but there’s a ton to do and accomplish here :) OC is so nice. Maybe one day!☀️
I definitely think Los Angeles unfairly gets a bad rap! I live in Arizona, so I've spent a bit of time in LA and Southern California and while a lot of the things people dislike about the city do exist, there is so much more than just Hollywood. If you go off the beaten path just a little there is much to enjoy. I stayed in Eagle Rock when I last visited, super charming area. I think some people just played GTA 5 and got this idea that LA is just like Los Santos, and not a living, breathing city with millions of people.
What a vastly different video from "The Dark Reality of LA" lol. There's literally no homelessness included here, which is pretty much everywhere in LA
This is the best video I've seen you make so far 👏🏻 But I do have to say that I disagree with you about LA not being a good tourist destination. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a joke, but we have fantastic weather, incredible culinary diversity, great museums, and activities that everyone can enjoy like going to the beach, hiking, amusement parks, big and small live theater, world-class botanical gardens, parades, nightlife... there's tons of awesome stuff for tourists to do here 🙂
thanks!! good point, I think more so it can be a good tourist destination, but tourists usually do it wrong lol
Great Pleasure!
Thank you!!
Michael, I been to Los Angeles only 3 times in my 66 years being born 5 miles west of Lincoln California which according to California map Lincoln California is north side while L.A. is far south it about 500 miles away so that why I only been to L.A. 3 times in my 20's.
today I am 66 years of age so that let you know how long it has been since I been to L.A. city. First time I and my younger sister went to a wedding next to Dinseyland 3rd time Magic Mountain park oh I almost forgot 1998 took my 2 nephews to see Dinseyland while they were young. so, 4 times I was in my 40's the last time I seen L.A. it was super crowded with people and took a long time to get to L.A. thanks for sharing your video and experience.
Born and raised (culver) and never leaving, I will die in LA
I moved here for a contract which ended unexpectedly three weeks later. I’d like to stay here if I can but if not it’s back to the cold northeast for me :/
I'm definitely going to go there once I get across from this side of the pond from london
Have fun! Definitely rent a car if you can, and try to plan to see some of CA's great national parks (and Big Sur, if you can swing it)
I definitely will even though i cant drive but i have a lot of places on my list there i want to explore and the Big Sur is now on my list also @@cami_ille
Tempted not to watch this as you have been quite negative in your recent uploads. I moved here OCT 2022 and your videos were so refreshing and pleasant. I was enjoying the city just as much as you. But watching your perspective change has been hard as a viewer of your content as I still love living here and fully believe the good out ways the bad ten fold!
hey thanks for the feedback! the good outweighs the bad, for sure :) hopefully I conveyed that in this one.
LA LA LA ❤❤❤❤❤❤... my dream is to live there 😃 I visited it once and fall in love with it, that inner peace and feeling of warmth ..oh LA 😌
As a native Angeleno trust me when I say it’s overrated, and it’s not all that safe. It’s good to visit not all that great to live in
I just watched a vid about where some of the rich & famous live in London, which is a much easier city to understand & appreciate. The UK's capital has been the hub of culture & commerce for centuries. It's scenically like a movie backlot, sort of a real-life version of the 1960's movie Mary Poppins. But since that city's weather & terrain (& development history) are different from that of an LA, even for the well-heeled, London is not necessarily a more logical choice. I used to wonder why certain UK-born showbiz VIPs lived in LA instead of London. BTW, some of the biggest movies & TV shows over the past 50 years have been or are now being produced in metro London, not the US, much less LA.
Also, when cities like Paris exist, the long-quoted title of "world's greatest" must not include the entire solar system : P. Moreover, another major Ca city, San Francisco (long complimented, while LA has been treated as more of a place to tolerate), because of politics, economics & natural up-down trends, is going through the wringer right now. YT vlogger Nick Johnson has shown most of the major urban areas of the US & has described LA as one of his least favorite cities. However, TBH, not a whole lot of America looks all that interesting or appealing either. But to each his own. Another thing: The same pro & con arguments about cities & nations could have been (or were) made over 25, 50, 100 years ago. So as much as things change, some things never change.
Everyone says that their local city is now doing more in film, TV, series than LA--and it's usually temporary or not quite true.
Vancouver, NYC, the U.S. state of Georgia, Toronto, London, etc.
25 years ago it was Vancouver which some claimed was replacing LA--they do still film a lot there, but Vancouver has become a secondary film center rather than the gravitational center.
Same for NYC, Toronto, etc.
London has filmed things like the Harry Potter franchise (among others), but the fact remains most major movie studios, media companies are headquartered in the Los Angeles metro. Warner Brothers--the studios that made Harry Potter--are still based in LA.
And filming in LA has never really stopped. Film, television, game shows, etc. are still widely filmed for U.S. audiences in LA. And even if films are shot in other countries or cities, they all eventually go into post-production (editing, music scoring, CGI effects, etc.) in LA. The recent Barbie hit was filmed between LA and London. And they're currently building more studio space in downtown LA among other LA metro locations.
San Francisco has no bearing in this argument since they don't really have a film industry to speak of. THEY think they tolerate LA, but economically and culturally speaking LA is of more import than San Francisco. LA has a more renowned Philharmonic and opera company than San Francisco's, not to mention that LA has a much larger array of museums. Most visitors to LA though never visit a museum, or if they do, it's one, when there's nearly a dozen equally great ones, and more.
LA metro is nearly 3 times larger than San Francisco and LA metros GDP is the 3rd largest globally with nearly $1.5 trillion GDP--thats larger than the GDP of some G20 countries. And puts LA's economy ahead of other global cities like London, Singapore, Shanghai, Toronto, Paris, Sydney, etc.
There's LA city and then there's LA COUNTY. they are 2 completely different things and I think that's what out of state people don't understand. But yes, LA city does suck haha
I love you
No you're expectations are just too high lmao. Or you just don't know where to look
As an Angelino there is literally 0 possibility that you have seen everything that Los Angeles has to offer, even if you live here your whole life. I still find some interesting places that have been here for years.
Edit and also the problem is that LA is not the downtown regions that we talk about it's the Greater LA region we talk about. So it's not walkable to begin with cause all the attractions and stuff to do are so far from each other. LA Metro trying to connect that but with shitty politicians it's going not so good
disneyland
No one in Cali wear cardigans.
No, you get on a damn wrecking ball 😅
Nah. Not barely a city. Not conglomerate of cities and more. /
I’m just going there to make fun of people 😂 and make myself feel better knowing that it’s the crown jewel of stupidity. I don’t like the beach, sick and tired of seeing dumb palm trees every bloody day. I live where the most powerful in the world people live. So it’s a trip just for laughs
pls not the mannequins😭💀
Grungy hipster lol😂 . As an Angeleno your not one of us!
No it's definitely not misunderstood it's crime infested and tons of homeless just keeping it real
No, it's not "keeping it real". We're very much aware of those issues, but there's a lot to see and do in LA. The crime rate in LA isn't even that high compared to other major cities like St. Louis or Chicago or San Francisco. No southern California city has a top 10 crime rate according to the FBI. The closest is San Bernardino.
LA has a lot of world class museums, sporting venues, concerts, concert halls, theater venues, art galleries, etc.
Craft breweries, restaurants, wineries, etc.