In 2022 my husband and I packed up our home outside of San Francisco where we had lived for almost 25 years. With new jobs and a hankering for fresh adventures, we headed south to Los Angeles and rented a home in the middle of America’s second largest city.
When we lived in Northern California, we had visited LA many times. We usually made a beeline to the beaches, cursing the traffic all the way back and wondering how anyone in their right mind could live in this city. But living and visiting are very different things. Besides coming to love LA during our time there, here’s what surprised me most about the City of Angels once I became a resident.
Walkable neighborhoods exist.
As a visitor, I always thought of LA as one giant, spread-out metropolis where one would never, under any circumstances, be able to function without a car. In reality, greater LA is more accurately a collection of decentralized neighborhoods, districts and even independent cities that people think of as being part of LA (e.g. Santa Monica and West Hollywood). Many of these individual areas are surprisingly walkable, and we were fortunate to move into one of them, Hancock Park. But there are others, like Venice, Westwood, and Downtown LA to name just a few.
Remarkably, from our suburban-ish house on a quiet tree-lined street, I could not only stroll to coffee shops and restaurants but also get to three major supermarkets, two farmer’s markets, a drugstore, a movie theater, my doctor, my optometrist and even some of the city’s best museums – all without driving. Our neighborhood is so walkable, we sold one of our two cars and hardly use the other one. Not having to drive too much in this city was a HUGE game changer.
Carmaggedon isn’t just on the freeways.
Having visited LA many times before moving here, the so-called Carmeggedon that is the city’s infuriating jumble of freeways was no surprise. It was usually the reason I would declare upon returning home, “God, I could never live in LA!”
But I didn’t realize how congested the surface roads are too. Now, I truly get why people here measure distance in time rather than miles and why people living in Santa Monica never see their friends who live east of the 405 freeway.
Driving anywhere in and around this city is a soul-sucking experience, period. Don’t even get me started on the perils of taking a left turn! Fortunately, I don’t have to deal too much with LA traffic because of my next surprise.
There is a lot of good public transportation.
That’s right, LA has two subway and four light rail lines, along with a vast and impressive network of buses that run late into the night and reach into virtually every nook and cranny of the city. On some lines, bus service is so frequent, it’s unnecessary to check the schedule. The agency is also making a big push to create more bus-only lanes for speedier, higher-quality service.
With LA hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028, the Metro should get a lot better. Notable achievements right around the corner include a rail link to LAX (finally!) and the extension of Metro’s Purple Line to the westside, including Beverly Hills and Westwood.
I won’t sugarcoat it though – at the time of this writing Metro’s two subway lines are filthy and often feel unsafe. Still, I consider LA’s public transportation network, including the many passenger rail lines that connect to So Cal destinations further afield, to be greatly under-appreciated, full of potential, and worth a try. For more about public transportation in LA, read my blog post here.
The film industry is everything (everywhere all at once!)
It’s no secret that LA is the center of the entertainment industry. What was a little surprising for me when I moved here is how far Hollywood’s influence extends into daily life. From billboard after billboard promoting the latest movie and streaming hits, to random celebrity sightings and film shoots, to always meeting people who work, worked, or aspire to work in “the biz”, it’s impossible to forget you’re living in the entertainment capital of the world even if you’re not involved in the industry yourself.
As a movie buff, I love it. I enjoy the overall enthusiasm people have for movies and film making, the array of unique venues there are for watching movies, and the creative vibe the industry creates. This is a city of dreamers (an doers), and sometimes these are just the kind of people you need in life.
Stereotypes about people in LA are grossly exaggerated.
Stereotypes often don’t track well with reality. LA is no exception. Before moving here, friends warned I would hate it because the people are “fake.” Indeed, it’s a common trope that people in LA are overly consumed with image and don’t take life all that seriously. While there’s certainly some grains of truth in that, unless you’re hanging out 24/7 on Rodeo Drive or watching Selling Sunset, it’s hard not to notice how remarkably rich and diverse this city’s population actually is.
I rode a public bus every day to and from my office in Downtown LA, for example, and “fake” is hardly a word I would use to describe my fellow riders. In the span of about five miles on this bus, you travel the globe. Starting in my own Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, the bus passes through Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, and several lively corners that could be anywhere in South or Central America. Spend some time in LA and you’ll discover that the people here come from almost every walk of life and are overwhelmingly open and friendly.
Helicopters, everywhere!
I don’t think I will ever be able to hear a helicopter again without thinking of my time in LA. The buzzing overhead, mostly from black-and-white police choppers, is virtually non-stop morning, noon, and night.
I get that the city’s size, traffic and terrain make helicopters a practical way to get around quickly, but I’ve never been to or lived in a place where I see and hear more law enforcement helicopters than police cars – not to mention all the media helicopters, traffic helicopters, tour helicopters, paparazzi and film crew helicopters, corporate helicopters and private commuter helicopters.
Perplexed and annoyed at all the buzzing overhead, I did a little research and discovered that the Los Angeles Police Department’s airborne law enforcement program is the largest municipal airborne law enforcement operation in the world and boasts the nation’s largest rooftop heliport.
(UPDATE: Now living in France on a street that seems to be a main thoroughfare for mopeds and motorcycles, I am actually missing the helicopters of LA!)
Donut shops, also everywhere!
Growing up outside of Boston, it was rare not to have at least one Dunkin’ Donuts within a half-mile radius. But I never expected to see donut shops on every corner in LA. As I quickly learned, people here love their donuts as much as their massaged kale and vegan tacos. LA has even been called the donut capital of America. I believe it!
The difference in LA is that the shops on every corner are not Dunkin’ Donuts, except for a small handful (fewer than 10 in fact). While there are some established chains, like Winchells, and a growing number of trendy, upscale storefronts, most are family-run shops with an established and loyal customer base. These mom and pops are often run by immigrant families from Southeast Asia and can be found in almost any of LA’s ubiquitous corner strip malls.
You can hike in the middle of LA.
My biggest fear moving to LA was that I wouldn’t have good places to hike nearby. Sure, there is plenty of outdoor adventure along the coast and outside the city, but the drive is too long for regular excursions, at least from my mid-city location. Fortunately, I discovered that LA proper has its fair share of decent hiking spots with enough elevation gain for a great workout and views to boot. (Yes, LA is hilly – another surprise!)
The closest trail to me was Runyon Canyon, one of the city’s most famous hiking areas where celebrities can sometimes be spotted and you can walk your dog off-leash. While it is not exactly national park or even state park quality you enjoy a rigorous three-mile trek without taking too much time out of your day. You can read my blog post about Runyon Canyon here.
My other go-to area, though a little further away, is Griffith Park. With 53 miles of trails throughout 4,210 acres that range in elevation from 384 to 1,625 feet, Griffith Park is bigger than New York’s Central Park and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park combined. Yes, you read that right!
The point is, if you love big-city living but also love to hike, LA is not a bad place to be.