lifelong southern californian and 10 year resident of santa monica/LA. i also lived in san francisco for 2 years and have travelled the world extensively... observations about the changing city/area:
* lots of new york license plates driving around in the last 5 years, indicating transplants. midwest/upper midwest states also.
* dining and entertainment has taken a major step forward in the past decade. it was never bad, but now it's really good in general. also, ethnic food has always been top notch but is now far more mainstream. food / culture enclaves exist but are frequented by the public at large, i.e. more integration. i see this in other large cities like new york and chicago also.
* public transit has improved in a major way. expo line (light rail from downtown to the beach) is opening next year and will have a major effect. uber also has amazing coverage everywhere, not surprising for a city full of cars.
* the bus system (and local subsystems) is probably the best in the country by a huge margin and is relied upon by probably millions of lower income people. it's very, very good and covers a massive area. it's probably the best bus system in the world, again not surprising for a driving city.
* commercial development was uncorked in the past few years and new construction is happening all over the city.
* the key is to live close to work, or to shift your hours. without traffic LA is extremely fast to get around whether in a car or public transit. it's the traffic that kills everything. lots of car enhtusiasts live in the city and drive around town or in the canyons early in the morning or late at night.
* traffic still sucks but there are many infrastructure projects to improve it. having said all that, people are still buying cars like mad. if you're into cars, it's like a car show every day. not just expensive, but rare, old, and unique custom-built cars too.
* anecdotally, when people leave LA, it's almost always for cheaper places i.e. portland, vegas, denver, etc. they only move to new york or other east coast cities when a lucrative or strategic job offer beckons.
* and last but not least.... downtown LA is now a legitimate downtown. it took 10 years of concerted effort by the powers-that-be, but it's a cultural destination and nice place to live now. a residential construction boom (you could buy a condo for < 100k at one point in the last decade!!!) has fueled a rise in shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, etc. in the downtown area. downtown is also the regional transit hub.
> and last but not least.... downtown LA is now a legitimate downtown. it took 10 years of concerted effort by the powers-that-be, but it's a cultural destination and nice place to live now. a residential construction boom (you could buy a condo for < 100k at one point in the last decade!!!) has fueled a rise in shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, etc. in the downtown area. downtown is also the regional transit hub.
The construction boom started about five years ago and is just peaking. Most of the work before then was commercial to residential conversions. Most of the "effort" went into zoning changes (almost everything downtown was zoned commercial leading to a major glut; occupancy rates were around 20% in some buildings).
The reason it's a cultural destination now is mostly due to the "concerted effort" to raise commercial rent prices elsewhere in Los Angeles. I run a small art gallery in South Park, something that wouldn't make sense if it wasn't for the cheap rent. I know a lot of other people running similar spaces or smaller bars, the story is the same. In a few years when we have to re-negotiate our leases a lot of these places will move or shut down. I really don't care about hipster cafes, but having the Fashion District (all the fabric suppliers, textile printers, and mom-and-pop clothing factories in one place) is great (my wife has a clothing business and I help out sometimes). It's cool if people want a "nice, clean" place to live and spend their money on hipster coffee and lame clothes, but I kind of wish these people would stay on the west side.
"relied upon by probably millions of lower income people."
That sounds odd, about the bus system. So if you can afford it, you pass on the bus system? Why, if it is so great? Where I live I prefer public transport over driving (cycling is best, though).
Most people middle-class or above in LA have cars - so they don't bother with the hassle and extra time of taking the bus. When there's no traffic, taking a car is usually a lot faster than buses + the metro.
And many people see it as a necessity for weekend beach trips, or getting groceries 5 minutes away.
> i'm so very sorry stating an obvious observable fact hurt your fragile moral sensibilities.
Why the patronizing? Asking why you don't prefer the bus when you deem it the best in the world was actually a great question. Using your personal car also makes you move at the same speed as traffic (duh) and obviously it costs you more than a dollar.
It's a stupid question. If you have a car you can go all the way to your exact destination (+/- some parking distance), put things in it, play the music of your choice as loud as you like, hold private conversations, and enjoy greater levels of comfort. If you have children, pets, or weighty items to carry, it's vastly easier than getting on a bus. Also, you don't need to wait for a vehicle to turn up on a particular schedule, you just get into your own. And you don't have to stop every block or two to take on or drop off passengers. And...
I like riding the bus/subway, more so than having a car. But the reasons many people prefer cars are glaringly obvious.
You have to look for parking, deal with traffic jams (maybe buses have extra lanes, they would in the greatest bus system of the world). You don't have to focus on driving but can read. You don't need to maintain a car.
And so on.
Granted in my city we also have subways. But the question really interests me, because having to rely on a car would be a complete no go for me. So if that is (still) the case for LA, it's not the city for me.
I know all that, because as I explained, I personally prefer using public transport. But other people have different use cases, and for many of them a car is a superior solution. I don't think you have to rely on a car to live in LA, but you're not going to enjoy it if you can't get to grips with the concept that many people do like cars, for both their utilitarian benefits and their very very obvious function as status indicators in a town built around the entertainment industry.
I can of course imagine reasons why people like cars. I was just surprised by the distinction of poor people using public transport and rich people using their cars.
Actually I consider it a privilege to not need a car. I pay for it with higher rent, I suppose - living closer to the city center, and in a city big enough to have public transport to begin with.
I have no idea what LA is like, does it have things like 8 lane streets? Seem to remember hearing that years ago. That to me would look very outlandish, I don't think I have ever seen an 8 lane road.
Maybe some LAians just can't imagine how different other cities are? Maybe in LA parking space is not scarce, and neither is space on the roads (with 8 lanes). But in other cities it might be different, and the incentives for cars change, not just because of ideology but because of circumstances.
As an LA resident currently in NYC for college your claim of best bus system is humorous to me because when I'm in LA I rely on the buses heavily but they do slow down commutes and can be somewhat flaky. LA has the terrible public transportation reputation because of the buses, even though they are fine to me, but not as good as a real subway system. "Best bus system" to me sounds like "best masters program" rankings; they can be not terrible, but probably not great.
I lived in the South Bay for 6 years, and they were the best years of my life. I definitely plan to own there in the future (and likely AirBnB it out and surf there as I please), but decided to move for the expense reasons you mention.
Anyway, my initial thought behind this article was, "If you're gonna be poor, you might as well do it in LA". Weather is great, and the ocean can do you wonders.
I left LA (Manhattan Beach/Torrance) for San Jose. Cost of living was about the same in both places. Northern Cali was where I grew up, so I did have some old friends here too.
LA was picturesque, and had really awesome things to do, but ultimately I left because of allergies to the local flora and the smog. And I never got into the focus on looks and connections. People were always talking about T&A (both on guys and girls) and name dropping.
Of course, All this is 15-20 years ago, maybe things have changed.
Re: DTLA. The Arts/Warehouse District (near Bestia, Stumptown Coffee etc.) is very Brooklynesque today. Tons of young people walking around these days. Hyperloop (yes, the tube train project) even has their offices around there.
* lots of new york license plates driving around in the last 5 years, indicating transplants. midwest/upper midwest states also.
* dining and entertainment has taken a major step forward in the past decade. it was never bad, but now it's really good in general. also, ethnic food has always been top notch but is now far more mainstream. food / culture enclaves exist but are frequented by the public at large, i.e. more integration. i see this in other large cities like new york and chicago also.
* public transit has improved in a major way. expo line (light rail from downtown to the beach) is opening next year and will have a major effect. uber also has amazing coverage everywhere, not surprising for a city full of cars.
* the bus system (and local subsystems) is probably the best in the country by a huge margin and is relied upon by probably millions of lower income people. it's very, very good and covers a massive area. it's probably the best bus system in the world, again not surprising for a driving city.
* commercial development was uncorked in the past few years and new construction is happening all over the city.
* the key is to live close to work, or to shift your hours. without traffic LA is extremely fast to get around whether in a car or public transit. it's the traffic that kills everything. lots of car enhtusiasts live in the city and drive around town or in the canyons early in the morning or late at night.
* traffic still sucks but there are many infrastructure projects to improve it. having said all that, people are still buying cars like mad. if you're into cars, it's like a car show every day. not just expensive, but rare, old, and unique custom-built cars too.
* anecdotally, when people leave LA, it's almost always for cheaper places i.e. portland, vegas, denver, etc. they only move to new york or other east coast cities when a lucrative or strategic job offer beckons.
* and last but not least.... downtown LA is now a legitimate downtown. it took 10 years of concerted effort by the powers-that-be, but it's a cultural destination and nice place to live now. a residential construction boom (you could buy a condo for < 100k at one point in the last decade!!!) has fueled a rise in shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, etc. in the downtown area. downtown is also the regional transit hub.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city