Los Angeles: the Good, the Bad and Everything in Between
78Between Dreams and Reality
The City of Crippled Angeles
At the foot of the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles is considered to be the Paradise in its urban form; the climate is terrific and the city offers to many a dream of glory, money and fame.
Located at only 97 miles from the skiing resort of Big Bear and less than 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean any eccentric Angelino may chose to ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon.
At one time Los Angeles delivered on its promises; fortunes were made and legends were born. The movie industry has been the most influential business in this city and it has employed thousands of people. The actors, the writes and the producers are only part of the industry. They brought the city glory and fame.
The big majority of the “unknown” are the ones who brought prosperity to the city; thousands of people who work behind the scene and away from the bright lights; technical support personal, catering companies, restaurants, hotels, souvenir shops, beauty parlors, and the rest.
If the movie industry ever gets the common cold, the rest of us get pneumonia; if they get a headache we risk brain damage.
The economic boom that the movie industry has brought to Los Angeles is not all good an dandy; heavy traffic, pollution, prostitution and a perpetual sense of not measuring up to standards of unrealistic dreams of perfection has followed.
Emulating celebrities and rushing to plastic surgeons office to have a tuck here and there, to augment this and that, has turned us into a plastic town of Crippled Angels.
The drive through obsession began in Los Angeles; it went from fast food establishments to movie theaters and now we have the first drive through zoo in the world.
The status symbol of the “big house” and “powerful car” has taking over common sense and decency. Country clubs with exquisite golf courses and beautiful homes with perfectly manicured lawns coexist with housing projects and ghetto areas. The rich and the poor do not exactly mix, but they enjoy 340 days of shinny sun a year as well as the Pasadena Rose Parade.
If you live in Los Angeles, I hope you have a cellular phone, a private Pilate instructor and a personal shrink; without those “basic necessities” you are not even considered a person in this city of crippled Angeles.
The fun loving Angelinos have their Dodgers Stadium to enjoy, but do not have an Opera House or a Carnage Hall; not to worry, we will get by with the infinity of movie theaters just a tiny bit larger than my own living room.
Los Angeles is a melting pot and many different nationalities coexist; they all bring color and perfume to the city. One could enjoy a different cuisine every day of the year before runs out of options.
So what is that Los Angeles is not?
It is not a cosmopolitan city; its melting pot is still melting and the true flavor of a gourme meal did not reach yet its full potential. It will take some time if ever before Los Angeles discovers the pleasure of enjoying the atmosphere of relaxed living and distinct sophistication of San Francisco.
Until than, the angels will probably keep on losing one wing at the time …
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Hi Tony,
Thank you for stopping by,
I know more people who have moved out of Los Angeles, than people who moved in
Hi Gabriella, looks like you have done an interesting description of this city. I've never visites myself (and I might not, any time soon) but i could see it through your hub.
Like everything else in life, Los Angeles has good and bad parts; the in between is plenty and the weather is great - spring at Christmas time and summer all year around
Hope you will visit it sometime and see for yourself
WOW, I just got an e-mail from HubPages that this hub has been nominated for Happy-Hubnaggets.
I don't really know what it means, but there are 10 nominees, so if you get a chance, please vote for me (only if you liked my hub, that is)
Yes, Gabriella. You got that right! It means if your hub gets to be on the top 5 with the most votes, your hub will be featured in the official Hubpages newsletter. Isn't that cool?
To vote (you can vote for your hub *wink* it's allowed), click here: http://hubpages.com/_hubnuggets10/hub/Merry-Christ And you can also invite your friends or family to vote for your hub as well. No spamming in the Hubpages forums but you can email your friends to vote for your hub.
Again to vote: http://hubpages.com/_hubnuggets10/hub/Merry-Christ
Merry Christmas and have fun with the Hubnuggets!
Congratulations Gabriella. It's exciting to get that email isn't it? GOOD LUCK
Yeah, California Girl, liked this a lot. Some how I have not felt homesick for the states ever, but you reminded me of how great it could be, thanks. Grew up in SF in the 50''/60's/70's. Fished for trout were the silicone valley is now, hunted deer in Los Gatos. Picked fruit where high rises exist. It is so ever changing and progressive. Need to be young to keep up. Good luck with the Hub Nugget. You deserve it. Your writers voice sings. Actually, your writers voice rocks!
Thank you so much bearclawmedia,
I am very happy you liked it and maybe even voted for me; apreciate that.
I have another hub on California Crises, a man made disaster if you have the time, you may like it.
Take good care and have a very Happy New Year
Hello Duchess and thank you for stopping by
I am excited about the nomination; feels good to be appreciated. Do I have your vote? I hope I do, but at any rate I am just happy you read the hub.
Have a very Happy New Year
I'm glad I don't live there anymore. I grew up there but moved away at 13 -- thank heavens. There are far better places to be:
Wyoming: Cheyenne, Wheatland and Yellowstone;
Colorado: Denver, Highlands Ranch, Littletown and Golden Minnesota: Waseca, Owatonna, Minneapolis and Winona
Florida: St. Lucie, Hutchinson Island, Stuart
Pennsylvania: Collegeville, Limerick, Phoenixville
I love all these places far more than California. And I would have never known that had I not moved! Thank GOD
I live close to LA but I try to go through it or around it most of the time.
An occaisional stop in LA is very interesting, but it lasts for a long time before you think of going back to it.
Thanks
Thank you bieberela,
I am sure there are better places than Los Angeles, but for right now I will stay
OpinionDuck happy to see you again,
Never knew you live so close by; stop for coffee sometime and have a very Happy New Year
Fantastic job here... Congrats for the nomination and wish you all the best!
Thanks Gabriella
Have a Very Happy New Year
Thank you for the compliment General,
Really appreciate you stopping by and reading my hub.
Just got the e-mail saying the hub will be featured on the HubNuggets pages, so thank you if you voted for me, and thank you if you just read the hub and did not get a chance to vote
Good read..I also grew up in L.A...I now live 3,000 miles away if that means anything! Anyway, great job and good luck!
Hi Gabriella - I was born there and lived there happily for the first 58 years of my life. Despite the impossible traffic that now permeates the entire area, I would still rate LA as the greatest city on Earth - and I've been to many of the other nominees for that honor - New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, San Fran, Cancun, Tokyo, and on and on and on. Never been to Europe or Australia or Africa, sorry to say, but I'm sure there is no other place like LA anywhere in the world. Your assessment of the place is pretty right on, but somewhat lacks the awe that should accompany it. You can't see LA in a day, a week, a month, or a even a year - no, it takes a lifetime to purvey all that is the true Emerald City of the world. And I've found that people are really no different than any other place on Earth. In LA, you get the complete mix, and many have the great qualities that humanity is famous for.
I've seen LA like few before me have. I was a Hollywood messenger for 15 years and I pretty much got to see it all, uncensored. I've met hundreds of big stars and found most to be fairly down to Earth, and quite approachable. I met Dick Clark on a sleepy LA morning with his two Dalmations as he arrived at work in Burbank, and I met Faye Dunaway on a quiet West LA afternoon as she answered the door - much to my surprise and delight - and found her special, but also quite human, and very nice. I've written a book about those travels, which is as yet unpublished - but will be in the coming year, I suspect as I've finally published my first novel. The book is called Roadkill and is set in LA where a madman is killing off cell phone wielding drivers in revenge for the death of his wife under similar circumstances. The book captures the nuances of LA as one who has lived there his whole life only can. You can read about it on my Hub, Published...at Long Last, under my Hub Moniker, Muderboy.
Great Hub, Gabriella, and congrats on your rather impressive honor, bestowed by your peers, which is always the best I suspect, and good luck - although luck has nothing to do with it, I'm sure - in all future endeavors... Muderboy
Than you Highvoltagewriter,
I am happy you liked this hub and still remember LA for what it is. I just found out the hub will be featured so maybe more people will get a chance to read it (and stay away from California), just kidding
Hello muberboy,
First, let me congratulate you on your success about publishing a book. That is great and I know the feeling having been published myself more than once.
I am glad you still have great memories about Los Angeles, but it is by no means the greatest city in the world.
Los Angeles does not have a soul and it has very little heart.
To compensate, it has great weather and plenty of traffic, but I still like it and will be living here for a few more years.
It is a very artificial city.
Thank you for stopping by Avinash,
I agree up to a point, but the entire world is becoming more and more plastic and artificial, so Los Angeles is not the worst city either
I always enjoy my stay everytime I visit LA. It may not be the best city, but it is not also the worst place. This is an informative hub about its good and bad side, generally. Have a great week!
Thank you Tina,
Like every other city in the world things go from good to bad and the gray area in between takes about 70% of the picture.
One thing is for sure; visiting Los Angeles is better than living in Los Angeles
Great hub, the thing I don't like is that there is too much traffic there and it takes forever to drive 40 miles in the area. Other than that its not too bad :)
Thank you Zzron,
The traffic is not getting better, but we learned to live with it. Our biggest problem now is the economy and the lack of choice for a decent governor; not much sunshine at the horizont
I lived in LA several years ago and I didn't like the all the traffic and phony people either. I am back on the east coast and I am happier here.
Hello you Pamela
If traffic was bad a few years ago you can only immagine what is it now; nightmare! The weather is still nice and people are people everywhere - some good, some not so good.
tony0724 2 years ago
The plastic and shallow mindset of Los Angeles is one of the many reasons I moved away from there. I grew up in and around that city most of my life. I still live in a large city but the people here do not seem so artificial