Los Angeles, CA | Img: mike_s_ect
They say never build up expectations or you’ll end up disappointed. Well, I’d built plenty about LA. I’d pictured it a warmer, laid-back version of New York with a few palm trees scattered here and there. Most importantly, I expected me to like it – who wouldn’t want to be able to dress up year-round and avoid the torture of pants-pants-nothing-but-pants during the winter?
Most people you’ll meet in NY have lived in LA at one point and vice versa – it’s almost like the two are interchangeable. And yet, they are strikingly different. NY is a true city stuffed to the gills with crowds, events and garbage. LA is less crowded and therefore more manageable and clean. If there was anything I learned about LA it’s that everyone drives a compact car and no one gets out of bed before noon. If my friends’ lifestyles are any indication, people roll out of bed at the crack of noon, roam around in search of food, work on their projects and then meet up with friends for dinner – to go to bed at precisely 3 am. The only exception to this was Mosh who just moved here a few months ago and still carries on with the diurnal work ethic.
LA is cuter, hands down. I’ve lost count of all the ornate, colorful buildings I spied from the streets. And then of course, there are the mansions! My friend Lumi graciously gave us a tour of her place known as “the castle” – which is exactly that! A 1930s castle in Hollywood complete with turrets & arches, and bathrooms bigger than my living room…
NYC | Img: Mike G. K.
Back to reality: NYC has its own charm. There is tons more variety here and – no offense – more substance. It’s all-around a more intense experience, if you will. In LA, someone like me finally gets to drop down my armor and relax… only to be haunted by the feeling that something ain’t right. It’s ridiculous and sad, but I guess I’m one of those overstimulated, neurotic and slightly insane city dwellers who is so used to the filth and danger, anything less seems bland by comparison.
Yes, life can be difficult in NY. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? NYC hits you in the face with its eccentric fashions, quirky mom & pop shops and weird smells in Chinatown. You grow a thicker skin, walk brisker, think faster. Before you know it, you’re a soldier in this big jungle of a metropolis, where everything has to be fought for. Big Apple offers no low-hanging fruit, but what’s awaiting at the top is always scrumptious.
I’ve gone away before, but never have I gained such an insight on my city. For the first time in my life, I am able to identify myself – not as a man or woman, Russian or American, but a New Yorker.
Your descriptions of both cities are enticing and make me want to visit, but obviously New York is where your heart lives! I hope one day to find a city that I love so much.
I think LA takes a little time to get to know. It’s so spread out, that you could live here for years and not truly meet the city. In fact, I lived here for probably 6 years before I started to really feel at home.
There are really interesting bars that kindof “hide” themselves, like “The Edison” in downtown. There’s a chinatown and little tokyo in downtown, but both are pretty small, as a lot of folks moved out during the war to other areas… so instead, you’ll find more in Torrance ( a little south of LA) for your Hawaiian, Japanese, etc…
Arcadia has some -friggin amazing- chinese dumpling places, etc…
Huntington Gardens is gorgeous.
The fabric district and ghetto garment districts you’d probably enjoy (both downtown)
And then going to one of the coastal beaches would be great like Santa Barbara, Huntington, Santa Monica, etc…
depends on what you like to do!
I hope I get to be a New Yorker. It’s surprisingly tricky to make a move there. But I will keep fighting!
As a girl that grew up in SoCal, this made me very homesick. I still live a very L.A. lifestyle and I’ve yet to be in another city where it doesn’t get me strange looks.
Between the fashion, the attitude and the quirks it creates a very definitive personal style, even when though unique to each person.
I agree though that living in NYC is much more the energy an urban warrior where LaLa Land can be like a princess sprawled out in the sun by the ocean. No right or wrong, just different and unique.
Both your descriptions make me long to get out of Canada and do some travelling to the United States. I’ve never been to New York, or to L.A. but it sounds like I’d fall in love with them both!
I wouldn’t want to live in either NYC or LA but I do like NYC a LOT more then LA. I actually hated LA when I went there. I went on vacation to San Diego and spent some time in LA and I wasn’t impressed. People seemed fake, city is very spread apart and traffic is HORRIBLE. And you pretty much have to own a car to live in LA. LA is also one of the worst polluted cities and my skin definitely noticed that. I also got a rash from teh LA Sun with 50spf sunscreen on. And I wasn’t at a beach either. I was walking down Melrose shopping.
NYC is great to visit (and I visit at least yearly) but it’s a bit too much city for me…although living in Brooklyn may be ok since it reminds me a lot of Boston which is a city I lived in before.
“For the first time in my life, I am able to identify myself – not as a man or woman, Russian or American, but one thing: New Yorker.”
Love that line. I’ve always thought of myself as a New Yorker before American. I can actually go further and identify myself as a Brooklynite. I live in Queens during the school year and it’s not the same. Even if it’s the same city.
This was a great article. I could really feel how you did while reading it. I love NY! I live in the philly burbs and while travelling to philly is fun, there is nothing as exciting and as alive as New York, to me that is. I have recently formed an obsession, and have been taking the boltbus there every weekend!
I was born and raised and still live in Southern California…however I’ve only been to LA a handful of times. My parents never liked driving all the way over there because of the traffic, but this past year I went a couple of times for an art class I was taking at school. I really enjoyed it. I’m not sure if I’d want to live there, but it’s nice to know it’s only a somewhat short drive away. I love southern California and I don’t think I’d ever want to live anywhere else. I’m much too slow-paced to live in NYC or some other big east coast city. I need the sunshine to survive and I don’t like to be rushed. I understand why some people prefer the fast-pace lifestyle and the rich culture and history of New York City, but my heart will never leave sunny California.
I have yet to go to NY, but LA is my home and I currently live in DC and I miss it very much. This made me so incredibly homesick.
I think that people from LA and people from NY often get along and understand each other better than people from other parts of the states, but there’s a definite difference between the two.
Thank you so much for writing this! I’m a New Yorker as well and I always feel the same thing when I go to other cities (including LA). Heck, even when I went to Copenhagen, I thought, “This is it?” Of course, there’s something to like about each city, but I totally get what you mean by nothing having quite as much “flavor” as New York.
I’ve lived in SoCal my whole life and I still haven’t done everything there is to do around here. You definitely need a car. You have to actually travel to get to different places. You also have to do some research to find out about all the fun places to go and things to see. It’s also very hilly is some areas . . . so high heels hurt even more than they would normally. But it’s worth it. I still feel like a tourist when I’m out having adventures in my state.
I’ll never forget when our NYC friend came down to visit us in San Diego for a week . . . he was all hopped up on coffee wanting to see everything: the zoo, the parks, the bars/clubs, LA, every beach there is, art galleries and museums, etc. His go-go-go attitude really tired me out! There just wasn’t time to see everything! I’m so glad he came because I ended up taking him to places that I’ve never been to before. He says he’s going to get a house here with his girlfriend soon. I guess he wasn’t disappointed!
I’m an SF Bay Area girl, and while I love it…I also love LA so much!! Maybe it’s just because I read tons of Francesca Lia Block :)
…I’d love it even more if I got to live in a castle! What does your friend do for a living?! I want those kind of digs…
Yes, you are a New Yorker and you capture the essence of our city beautifully. Sometimes contrast is the best way to understand something and your eloquent prose expresses real truth.
That was very well written. I cannot imagine living somewhere more congested than L.A. I think I would hate that about N.Y.
hey miss
good to see you are having fun :) … if you see lumi again, say hi for me too
now … come visit australia ;)
b
Having never visited either, I see myself as probably liking new York better. From what I hear, LA has a lot of driving and a pretty relaxed style when it comes to fashion. Likewise, I have heard that New York is more pedestrian and public transport, with more interesting clothing spotings.
I did my anthropology essay on something very similar to this; humans can suffer culture shock in places with no ‘dirt’ they need disruption, challenges etc. That’s why really perfect suburban neighbourhoods and lifestyles are often portrayed as eerie (like in the virgin suicides) and also why retirement ‘towns’ in western society are critisized – they’re striving for presteen conditions when humans simply don’t know how to deal with them!
well written.
That was really awesome to read : )
I feel the same way with Surrey and Vancouver (Surrey is a city outside of Vancouver). Less people in Surrey so it’s cleaner and kind of bland, similar to your description of LA. Vancouver would definitely be your description of NYC, more variety and stuff to do. Although, both cities are scary so you can get a think skin from either hahahah!
I haven’t visited either city but I love how every place has its own feel and mood. The nearest city to me is probably more comparable to LA, whereas London would be our equivalent of NY. London feels too fast-paced for me, but I know that if I lived there, I would get used to it and become part of it.
I actually live in the countryside now but I still walk, dress, talk and behave like a city dweller – if I compare myself to my relatives who’ve always lived in the countryside, there’s a big difference. I adapted to city life really quickly, even though I only lived there for two years, so I think I could probably up the pace even more and live in any city if I wanted to :)
Really interesting article!
x
Maybe what you are sensing is the East Coast/work ethic, West Coast/laid back ambiance of each city. I’ve never been to NY (or the East Coast), but I imagine that its a lot more laid back here on the West Coast than it is back East.
Pretty good post. I just found your blog and wanted to say
that I have really enjoyed reading your posts. In any case
I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
your description is spot on. when i visited LA i expected to love the laid back atmosphere, and figured it would suit me better than my fast-paced nyc norm, but something felt wrong about it. not that i didn’t enjoy my stay, but i definitely realized how much of a new yorker i was afterwards.
That is a really lovely piece of writing. It’s easy to tell you’re heart is in it. :)
I read something somewhere once. New York is wonderful because all these amazing things are right at your fingertips. The difference with LA is that you have to look for it because they are hidden. There are a million lovely and amazing things here that take a little while to find. And there is nothing sexier than a really good secret.
New York has the highest unsolved crime rate in the country. Higher than New Orleans even, yikes.
I do have to point out that as a Korean who spent a decade in LA, if there’s something that New York cannot even possibly compare to LA with, it’s Koreatown.
Then again, LA’s Koreatown’s only rival is the motherland itself. HAHA.
I’m living in New York right now, and I definitely think the two cities are both awesome, but completely different kinds of cities. For one thing, not many people actually live in LA, but in all the suburbs around it, which is why we have such terrible urban sprawl there and bad traffic from all the commuting.
I also do miss the laid-back atmosphere of LA. Everyone’s so in my face or stare at me here, especially as I stick out with my gothic clothes. Also, the tourists suck ass and walk 10x slower than I do.
I guess it’s because I grew up in LA, so it will always be the city I return to and love, no matter its shortcomings.
Big Apple offers no low-hanging fruit, but what’s awaiting at the top is always scrumptious
Marvelous!