I’m in L.A. for the week managing a few special events for my company (none of which, sadly, is The Oscars).
Those of you who know me or read this post know that I have a love-hate relationship with Los Angeles: I love the weather, the beaches and my very good friends who live here. I hate everything else (and the parallel parking twice).
Now having spent some time here for both work and play, I admit that many of my issues with this “city” are based on long-held assumptions I’ve developed from a combination of rumor and reality television – i.e. there appear to, in fact, be lots of brunettes here, and I went a full two hours once without seeing someone in an Ed Hardy ensemble last time I was in town.
So – because I’m aware that it is not sensible to judge a book by its reality tv adaptation, I’ve decided to spend my week here exploring a few myths I hold about the left coast, 20-nothing life in an effort to finally put this feud (in my head) to rest.
- The social life here is really disjointed – I have this image of LA being a lonelier and more disconnected city because you have to drive from place-to-place, so in my mind groups of friends are smaller and tighter versus sprawling and diverse as they are in Manhattan. I feel like in LA you meet one set of friends inside the industry where you work and that’s that. This is not rooted in any logic or personal experience.
- People don’t ask you what you do or where you come from, they ask you who you know – Someone once told me that the first question you’ll get asked at an LA party is “who do you know here?” It’s an LA cliche (and multi-city reality) that the 20-something set is a social-climbing bunch of users only after networking connections. That seems like an incredibly broad statement for an entire city but it’s true that people come here to “make it” in any number of entertainment-based industries. So is there a greater focus on who can help you get there? Perhaps. But is that any different than the New York scene? We’ll see…
- An insane percentage of the men are gay. My LA girlfriends claim that there is a higher concentration of gay men in the LA-area than in New York, Boston, and Chicago combined – sooo than just greater than in New York.
- An even more insane percentage of men seem gay on account of the “LA look” – This seems more likely, but I can’t say I have enough evidence. Logic would hold that in a town full of actors there are an insane percentage of men who seem like a lot of things.
- This town has a series Peter Pan complex – I’ve heard it from male and female friends, gay and straight. You don’t ever have to grow up in LA. People become over-night successes at any age meaning the whole concept of growing up and settling down before it’s too late doesn’t exist. People are healthier, more active, and commonly dressed in t-shirts and flip flops. Could that be any different or worse than any other city where people go to make it big? I don’t know. And is this a negative? I really don’t know.
- It is far easier to live on far less money here – LA is expensive, there’s no doubt about that. And this isn’t meant to be a comparison between what you get for what you pay – a 1,000K a month apartment in LA will of course be bigger than one in New York. The question is, can you do more for free/less here? More beaches, parks, and cheap restaurants? Or is it that pot-luck dinner parties and movie nights on the couch rule the social scene because people have more space to entertain…
The English author Quintin Crisp said that, “Los Angeles is just New York lying down.” I like how that sounds, but don’t at all know what it means, so I’m going to stick with the assumptions above.
Six myths to bust in one week on four pair of shoes (I went with the one-palette pack).
Stay-tuned for answers and commentary from LA correspondents – and feel free to share your opinions, from this coast or the right one, in comments.
4 comments
Comments are closed.
(none of which, sadly, is The Oscars)
Right, because you’re ever going to see the Oscars somewhere other than y our 15 inch TV.
I found Los Angeles to be friendlier than NYC, but I have never lived in NYC. Socializing can get difficult because after working a long day, the last thing you wanna do is drive 20-30 minutes to get somewhere, try and find parking, and then pay $12+ for a drink. I really enjoyed my time there, however, now that I live in Texas, LA seems like hell.
I don’t think you should generalize LA as representative of the entire West Coast – San Francisco is very different! As are Seattle and Portland… I’m just saying…
LA is just a city, no better or worse than any other city. There are pros and cons but us natives sure do tire of assumptions and stereotypes about what a bunch of dippy blonde dumbasses we’re supposed to be.