Until you really take the time to dig in beyond the surface level, to understand why things are the way they are, to explore the nuances in culture from one block to the next, it seems like a pretty bland city. Nothing stands out. The only real attraction is Hollywood, and any Angeleno will agree that Hollywood is literally the worst part of LA. We locals avoid Hollywood. We think WeHo is a scene. We roll our eyes at Silver Lake hipsters as much as we do the same to Santa Monica vegan yogis. But we own it. Through all the bullshit, we have a level of self-awareness that makes up for the swampiness. We are conscious of just how ridiculous we are. And we know we can get away with it, because beyond all the eye rolls, we know we have it good.
Sure, the traffic sucks, the streets don’t make sense, and public transportation is a joke. Sure, it’s grimy, full of has-been’s and trying-to-be’s. Full of mismatched architecture and long-ass parking signs. We’re shallow, self-centered, name-dropping “content creators” who pay $10 for a CBD matcha and talk loudly about our commutes.
But we’re also a relatively young city with incredible reach and influence. We create culture and project it to the world. We are a city of people who still believe. A city of people who insist on creating, no matter how hard the hustle may be (it’s kind of a rite of passage at this point). We refuse to conform. We celebrate the different by giving room to the cultures within the society. No matter who you love, what you worship (looking at you, giant blue Scientology building), what language you speak, what you eat, there’s room in LA to exist and create and evolve.
It takes a little time and a lot of heart to love LA. A shift in perspective, a dose of golden hour magic and you’ll see. Plus, if you hate where you are, just move a mile or two away and try again. We’ve got 503 square miles of potential. You’ll fall in love somewhere.