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As an Angeleno, I generally resent NY Times trying to tell the rest of the nation about life in Los Angeles. Every single article I've read in that vein has had

As an Angeleno, I generally resent NY Times trying to tell the rest of the nation about life in Los Angeles. Every single article I've read in that vein has had the same trite, vaguely condescending cliches like "America’s most auto-centric place", etc. Los Angeles is vast, and some areas are as walkable as Manhattan. We're also building more rail lines than anywhere else in the country. Uber is popular here (like any large city I'm sure) but Lyft has a strong presence (especially in West Hollywood). Frankly, most people I know choose to live near their favorite nightlife spots to avoid the driving problem, or near mass transit.

waterlesscloud 12y ago
I've been in LA for 13 years now, and it's a mixed bag. The traffic is even worse than most people can imagine, if you're driving across several neighborhoods and/or on the freeways. Most other cities don't come close, DC being a notable exception. But even then, the traffic here lasts longer and stretches further. Angelenos don't measure distances in miles, we measure it in how long we expect it to take. Parking can be a hassle in specific places, but for the most part you can find space near where you're going at rates that are reasonable. Although there is less free parking than many other cities. But at the same time, LA is a city of neighborhoods all mashed together, and some of those neighborhoods are quite walkable. I live within a block or two of a ton of restaurants and shops, and within a short 5-10 minute drive of 90% of my needs. It's sucked when I've had jobs that required cross-town commutes, but otherwise it can be quite pleasant. Lot of taxis here. Lot of Uber/Lyft. Lot of Town Car services for the entertainment industry (when you see that town car heading in the neighborhood for a 4:30 AM pickup, you might not envy the actor's life too much). As an aside, I'm actually impressed at how fast the subway system is currently growing. Unlike some cities, projects here are getting completed in years as opposed to decades. The subway/light rail is very different from 10 years ago, and will be very different again in 10 more years. It's still a huge, spread out city, but Metro is tying it together relatively quickly.
- melvinmt 12y ago
  I keep hearing over and over how traffic sucks in LA but I've learned two things since I got here: don't drive cross-town too much (I live near the busiest intersection in Hollywood, yet 90% of shops and restaurants I need are within 5-10 mins drive) and live where you work (30 min walk).
  - ido 12y ago
    Live where you work sounds nice in theory but practically it's not u usual in tech to change jobs every 2-4 years and I don't want to move that often (especially with a family and mortgage rather than rent).
mturmon 12y ago
I have an online subscription to the NYT, and I've lived in LA for about 20 years. I totally agree with you. They tend to send reporters in to live here for a couple of years, so they regard a Manhattan life style as the baseline and any deviation from that is, at best, quirky, and going down from there towards crazy at a fast clip. I was hoping there would be reader comments for this article, because the only thing better is to read Alfonse from Staten Island writing in that he visited his cousin in 2002 and the traffic was horrible, and Sydney from the UWS testifying that he lived there for two years in the 1990s and it really is as bad as all that, probably worse, and how do they live that way.

waterlesscloud 12y ago

I've been in LA for 13 years now, and it's a mixed bag. The traffic is even worse than most people can imagine, if you're driving across several neighborhoods and/or on the freeways. Most other cities don't come close, DC being a notable exception. But even then, the traffic here lasts longer and stretches further. Angelenos don't measure distances in miles, we measure it in how long we expect it to take. Parking can be a hassle in specific places, but for the most part you can find space near where you're going at rates that are reasonable. Although there is less free parking than many other cities. But at the same time, LA is a city of neighborhoods all mashed together, and some of those neighborhoods are quite walkable. I live within a block or two of a ton of restaurants and shops, and within a short 5-10 minute drive of 90% of my needs. It's sucked when I've had jobs that required cross-town commutes, but otherwise it can be quite pleasant. Lot of taxis here. Lot of Uber/Lyft. Lot of Town Car services for the entertainment industry (when you see that town car heading in the neighborhood for a 4:30 AM pickup, you might not envy the actor's life too much). As an aside, I'm actually impressed at how fast the subway system is currently growing. Unlike some cities, projects here are getting completed in years as opposed to decades. The subway/light rail is very different from 10 years ago, and will be very different again in 10 more years. It's still a huge, spread out city, but Metro is tying it together relatively quickly.

melvinmt 12y ago
I keep hearing over and over how traffic sucks in LA but I've learned two things since I got here: don't drive cross-town too much (I live near the busiest intersection in Hollywood, yet 90% of shops and restaurants I need are within 5-10 mins drive) and live where you work (30 min walk).
- ido 12y ago
  Live where you work sounds nice in theory but practically it's not u usual in tech to change jobs every 2-4 years and I don't want to move that often (especially with a family and mortgage rather than rent).

mturmon 12y ago

I have an online subscription to the NYT, and I've lived in LA for about 20 years. I totally agree with you. They tend to send reporters in to live here for a couple of years, so they regard a Manhattan life style as the baseline and any deviation from that is, at best, quirky, and going down from there towards crazy at a fast clip. I was hoping there would be reader comments for this article, because the only thing better is to read Alfonse from Staten Island writing in that he visited his cousin in 2002 and the traffic was horrible, and Sydney from the UWS testifying that he lived there for two years in the 1990s and it really is as bad as all that, probably worse, and how do they live that way.