Okay, fine. I never thought I'd say it. But yeah, I love LA.

December 19, 2007 2:33 PM

So hey, how has LA changed in the last 3 years during my absence? Update, please.

I've been in the Bay area since June of 2004, and as I've mentioned a few times I'm thinking of moving back home to Southern California within the next 6 months. I've realized that while there are a LOT of cons to living in LA (I'm not going to pretend it's perfect, it's pretty draining sometimes), pretty as it is there aren't enough pros that make me feel I'll ever truly flourish in the Bay area... not when it comes the things that really make me tick as a person. I miss my musicians and my support system, as well as the creative community in general (I've realized that being a small fish in a big pond actually inspires me to become a much stronger and better swimmer). I find people warmer down there, there's more energy, and bars don't close by midnight (!). Plus I miss living where I can get Thai food delivered to my house and people drink wine without having to discuss the tannins first. :)

Thing is, after 20 years of living in LA, I've now been gone for three, though. I used to be a tourguide in LA. I knew the town backwards and forwards when I left it. I knew all of the latest cool places, I knew the neighborhoods to live and where not to live. But I left town when Hahn was still Mayor and Lindsay Lohan looked like this... a lot of things have changed. I hear that downtown is busier now. I hear a lot of things are happening. I also hear that a lot of places are gone (Arons Records!??? OH MY GOD NO!)

As I slowly lean towards heading back down south... looking for a new job (which reminds me: are there any good creative employment agencies I don't know about?)... finding a place for my puppy & I to call home... tell me, what's the latest? What kinds of stuff should I be aware of? I know rents are more (I had a rent controlled place when I left. Sigh.), but what other local happenings have I become totally oblivious to? Are there any cool new things I've been missing out on? Or bad stuff I don't know about?

I feel out of touch... please enlighten me.

posted by miss lynnster to travel & transportation (36 comments total)

And if you hate Los Angeles, please do not come into this thread just to share that. You should be able to happily love where you live without needing to share your unsolicited hate of where I'm from. Please.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:36 PM on December 19, 2007

Well, I moved here.

The Smell is getting national attention. LA Weekly sez "Gangs is worse than evar."
posted by klangklangston at 2:52 PM on December 19, 2007

ooh, come back come back come back, Miss Lynnster!

Anyway, the things that immediately spring to mind: the Getty Villa opened last year, and it's great. At LACMA, we're killing ourselves in preparation of opening the Broad Contemporary Art Museum in February. Was Disney Concert Hall open when you left? I finally made it there last month to see Neko Case, and it really is quite nice. Downtown is definitely busier now, even compared to when I first moved to L.A. in 2000 -- I know someone who just moved into a funky old converted office building, and he said he's surprised by how much he loves it: great restaurants and bars nearby, MOCA within walking distance, etc.
posted by scody at 2:59 PM on December 19, 2007

Which smell is that? The exhaust smell or the people smell? Or is it like New York where the air smells like maple syrup and pancakes?
Yeah, not as many gangmembers here in Burlingame... that's for sure. Unless you count soccer moms gangs.
posted by miss lynnster at 3:00 PM on December 19, 2007

More traffic than ever, higher rents than in the Bay Area (or at least comparable), and the "lofting" of downtown and Pasadena. Construction cranes are all over the place now - something that I don't recall seeing more than two or three years ago. I'm hoping this will all be for the best and that more housing will lead to lower rents, someday - wonder if that's too much to hope for?
posted by chez shoes at 3:05 PM on December 19, 2007

Re: The Smell.

It's a venue, known for a new wave of "No Wave" punk bands like No Age (say that three times fast). Other regular performers are BARR, Mika Miko, The Silver Daggers and Carla Bozulich. While it's been around, in some form or another, since about 1998, it's only since 2003 that it's gotten enough notice that national publications (Rolling Stone, SPIN) have started covering it. It was big enough that I'd heard of it back in provincial Ann Arbor, though it might not be your scene.
posted by klangklangston at 3:16 PM on December 19, 2007

The Smell is a music venue that started out in North Hollywood, but moved downtown a few years ago. It's part of the whole Downtown LA renaissance thingy that's all the rage lately.
posted by sideshow at 3:17 PM on December 19, 2007

See how out of touch I am? I didn't even realize The Smell was inital capped for a non-sarcastic reason. And I used to work in the music biz. Man, I'm in the dark now... or I've become old or something. Daaang. Ouch.

Thanks for those insights, scody! I used to go to museums a lot down there on my days off. The Disney Hall was opened about a year before I left, but I didn't get to it. Rents don't seem higher than here from what I've seen on craigslist & artdecoapts, though (I'm paying $2000 for a place that would easily be about $3600 in the City).

BTW, my link got borked. Here's another Lohan innocence time capsule.
posted by miss lynnster at 3:21 PM on December 19, 2007

Oh, and speaking of North Hollywood (as sideshow mentioned), it is now known as "NoHo" and has a burgeoning arts/theatre scene (which isn't brand-new in the past three years, but is definitely a little more on the map these days). Lots of folks I know (besides me) have decamped from L.A. proper to live up in the North Hollywood/Studio City/Toluca Lake/Valley Village neck of the woods (well, neck of the Valley, I guess).

Besides all the good sushi restaurants up and down Ventura Blvd., rents haven't increased quite as much relative to WeHo/decent parts of Hollywood/Los Feliz/Silver Lake/Hancock Park/etc. (my bf and I rent a great 2-BR Spanish bungalow with a yard for $1800/mo. that would easily cost us $2500 in a comparably nice neighborhood outside the Valley).
posted by scody at 3:35 PM on December 19, 2007

higher rents than in the Bay Area (or at least comparable)
Wow, wildly inaccurate as far as I know. Rents are still very reasonable for such a big city.

The Downtown revival thing is finally happening for real- people are actually going out there to more than a few places. Griffith Observatory FINALLY re-opened, I went last week and it's great. There's in incredible new fish taco place in Los Feliz. Eagle Rock and Atwater are allegedly getting hip, but there's still not that much there in reality.

And we still snicker wildly at Bay Area-er's who say "The City," haha. Welcome back!
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:18 PM on December 19, 2007

oh and they forced David Geffen to let the public use the beach at his house!
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:19 PM on December 19, 2007

I am a L.A. Downtowner from back before the gentrification happened and it was all artists. It is very yuppified and pricey now (long gone are the $ Pabst from a speakeasy, the street parties, etc.), and the character is fading and I have even seen a velvet rope or two. But I am staying open to it, and it sure is nice to be able to get dinner after 8 p.m.

-Super dog friendly. Dogs (although designer ones) are everywhere. They even have a dog martini bar.

-The Downtown Artwalk every second (?) Thursday is really picking up, so you can still drink wine while walking around on the streets.

-A friend has a great little loft on the tenth floor, central to the Bank District, dog friendly, and is only $1400/month. (wow, you even get a concierge downtown, who would have thought...)

Now I live on the East Side, by the Brewery. Love it, no pretentiousness, great bars, old school car culture, day of the dead, guerilla art, all that. Also many dogs. (But not in a good way. It will make you very sad most of the time...)
posted by Vaike at 4:45 PM on December 19, 2007

BTW, I am very happy in L.A., (even if I mostly refuse to go west of the 101). So many different cultures, groups, intellectual interests. The diversity really rocks. And there are so many treasures, there really are.
posted by Vaike at 4:57 PM on December 19, 2007

I'm brand-new to L.A. and have nothing useful (as of yet) to contribute to this delightful thread, but if miss lynnster's giving tours of L.A., sign me up for tickets now. I'll even steal a Duck Tour vehicle for the purpose. All aboard!
posted by mykescipark at 5:16 PM on December 19, 2007

Rents are still very reasonable for such a big city.

Compared to NY and SF, yes. Compared to Chicago? Be prepared to weep.
posted by scody at 5:25 PM on December 19, 2007

Ahhh, diversity...
posted by miss lynnster at 5:27 PM on December 19, 2007

Traffic is worse than ever. New buildings are going up downtown, particularly near Staples Center. They've converted part of the Pantry into Riordan's Bar and Grill, and there is now a Ralph's supermarket downtown. Did I mention that traffic has gotten even worse?
posted by malocchio at 5:32 PM on December 19, 2007

Particularly traffic on the Westside (by which I mean west of Westwood, mostly). It is such an unimaginable nightmare scenario that I can't believe how bad it is, every single time I am stuck in it anew (and I try never to be). It's no picnic anywhere else, but it once took me 20 minutes to go about four blocks from about Beverly Glen to Veteran during midday. And that's not atypical.

The movie-going experience is getting even better, as they've renovated the AMC in Century City (I think you were here when the Grove and the Arclight were installed? If not, they're great, too).

There's a new theater downtown next to the Staples Center (Nokia Theater), and they built it in the Staples Center parking lot, which makes me incredibly put out, as a Lakers fan.

The air quality seems to improve every year, with fewer gray days. Whether that's attributable to all the Priuses on the road, I can't tell.

We have a new head of Animal Control, Ed Boks (he blogs!), and he is trying to make all the shelters no-kill.

LAist.com and blogging.la are not really representative of anything in the city, and I frequently wonder why they're still on my RSS reader. Don't read them, because real Angelenos are as intelligent, accepting and fun as always!
posted by tyrantkitty at 5:43 PM on December 19, 2007

Well, I'm used to SF rent so I've already lost my spirit on that as well as traffic since SF is the 2nd worst traffic in the nation. At least I know the sidestreets in LA so now I look forward to getting creative and taking LA Story-style shortcuts over lawns & through alleys & stuff. Wheee!

Is Riordan's Bar & Grill what's now on the modern cafe side of The Pantry? It was two separate restaurants before, with the old section on the corner and the entrance to the newer part was a few yards east. Do they still have cool stuff at Cinemateque? What about LA Conservancy and Charles Phoenix? Is Keith Van Straaten still doing What's My Line? Any fun new events going on? Do tell!

Okay, I'm off to Arabic class. Please keep the comments coming. I'm loving this! :)
posted by miss lynnster at 5:45 PM on December 19, 2007

Farmer's market's have flourished in the past three years. There seems to be one going on in every major community. You'll find one every day of the week. At the original markets......Santa Monica, Hollywood......amazing stuff can be found.....raw dairy, bison meat, liquid cane sugar made for you on the spot, artisan cheeses at good prices

Hollywood Blvd is beginning to go through some major changes similar to downtown. Whole Foods will be moving in near Hollywood/Vine and some big buildings are starting to be built.

More gelati stores....some good ones in Silverlake.
posted by goalyeehah at 6:14 PM on December 19, 2007

On the topic of traffic: there's a proposal to change traffic patterns on Olympic and Pico, so that Olympic is primarily westbound, and Pico is primarily eastbound. Opinions differ on whether this is clever or insane.

Charles Phoenix is still doing his thing. (He actually approached my boyfriend via my bf's writing partner, who runs the Steve Allen Theater [great programming; you might like!], about doing a collaboration on vintage stereo cameras/stereo slides, but I think that project's been tabled for now...) "What's My Line" is still going on too, last I heard. Haven't been to Cinematheque in about a year, but their schedule still seems pretty good. So reasonable amounts of coolness still abound!
posted by scody at 6:19 PM on December 19, 2007

higher rents than in the Bay Area (or at least comparable)
Wow, wildly inaccurate as far as I know. Rents are still very reasonable for such a big city.

Just to clarify - I haven't been apartment-hunting in over a year, but when I last did so it was near impossible to find a decent single/studio under $1200-$1500 month. And I wasn't looking for luxury - no swimming pools or other amenities, I just wanted something safe and clean. I wasn't looking in the Valley or the Westside - this was Silver Lake, Northeast L.A., and Pasadena.

A quick perusal of Craigslist confirms that this price range is comparable to the Bay Area.

Another thing that was comparable to the Bay Area was that for every rental I looked at, there were a dozen-plus people competing for the same place. I've lived in Northeast L.A. most of my life, and this is a really recent development, in my experience.
posted by chez shoes at 6:44 PM on December 19, 2007

I can speak mainly to downtown. Art Walk (it's second Thurdsays) is hopping, but note that they're cracking down on wine drinking on the streets (only fair, since street people were getting ticketed while gallery goers were jaywalking and guzzling on the same blocks and thinking they were exempt). Come down and ride the free DASH bus to get the lay of the land--my husband Richard and pal Terry "Mayor of Downtown" Ellsworth are the official ambassadors on one bus, street rhymer Mike The Poet on the other.

The Cornfields park NE of Chinatown is open and pleasant for strolling. The downtown Ralphs is much nicer than anyone expected, with nightly wine and cheese tastings, dry cleaning and several delis. The last real skid row bar, Craby Joe's, may be shutting, which is heartbreaking. Go eat some pickled eggs and soak in the atmosphere while you still can. Cole's is closed, but being renovated. The sweet and ruined Linda Lea Theater next to the Smell has been turned into the (ahem) Imagin-Asian Center, all glass and chrome and eventually pan-Asian programming. Colori at 8th and Olive is serving amazing Italian food for almost nothing, and the Fairfax flea market people are launching a flea on the opposite corner in January.

Drop me a line when you get home, lynnster, we'll show you around the place!
posted by Scram at 6:52 PM on December 19, 2007

I just stopped by to say how much I hate LA.





I keed, I keed. I moved to NoHo at the beginning of 2006 and it's been good to me. I can't say much for how the rest of LA has fared, but in the (almost) two years I've been here NoHo has developed nicely. I'm told by friends who've been living here for a while that they no longer fear being shot. Apparently NoHo wasn't such a nice neighborhood a few years ago.
posted by mullingitover at 7:11 PM on December 19, 2007

Is Riordan's Bar & Grill what's now on the modern cafe side of The Pantry?

Yup. I haven't tried anything from the grill yet, as it seems fairly pricey. The bar, I'm sorry to report, is poorly stocked.
posted by malocchio at 7:13 PM on December 19, 2007

Atelier Zero Event List is a one place to get some ideas of what is currently happening aroundabouts. I would peruse other 'goings-on" blogs, and see if they are things you would be interested in goings-on about.

You can get an idea from them about what specific things you enjoyed before, and how they have specifically changed by checking out new blogs on old hangouts and friends.

Scram: yes, I suppose that is the right wine thing to do. double standards. that is why I tend to be wary of the disparity that the changes are bringing.

(also, Joel Bloom just barely left us, still the mayor of Downtown in my eyes and heart)
posted by Vaike at 7:13 PM on December 19, 2007

In 04, Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice was home to a handful of thrift-type shops and a couple of bars. Now it's gone all Smart Car, gym and Pinkberry. You can see Prada-coated tiny blonde chicks window shopping after a glass of wine in the Otherroom. At night you can barely drive through without waiting for the valet guys to do their thing.

It's nicer, but ya know.... Much harder to score crack now.

Unless Venice Unchained have their way, by 2010, it will most likely have a Starbucks a Fred Segal and anything else mirrored on Third St. Promenade.
posted by rocco at 7:24 PM on December 19, 2007

(Vaike, Terry is the upstairs Mayor, Bloom was downstairs.)
posted by Scram at 8:07 PM on December 19, 2007

Uh, scody...the Getty villa RE-OPENED; the one good thing my algebra/chemistry teacher in high school (work habits were not based on whether or not one did ones homework, but on how well one did, he spoke disparagingly about his daughter, refused to pronounce an Armeinian girl's name correctly, refused to clarify solving for X and whose only reaction when I became overwhelmed from being bullied in class and ran out of the room was to bitch to the counselor)did was to take us there on field trips.

I grew up in 91607; its post office was Valley Village LONG before gerntrification.


I'll be in town between the 29th and 7th...meetup? Can we coax DaShiv down?
posted by brujita at 11:03 PM on December 19, 2007

I grew up in 91607; its post office was Valley Village LONG before gerntrification.

I live there now, transplant from eight years prior; it was North Hollywood before, yes? And seconding the NoHo is suddenly getting a lot of attention thing (certainly in the arenas of transit and housing) but Downtown is out of control.
posted by davejay at 12:38 AM on December 20, 2007

I live in Glendale in a living room/dining room/kitchen/bedroom/bathroom/pool apartment for $1050/mo. Silverlake/Eaglerock gentrification. Only one Classical Music station left on the air. Machine Project is usually a fantastic geeky-ish BYOB friday night event.

You might want to follow Blogging LA for a while, or peruse the old posts.... lot's of junk, but lot's of good stuff. Also maybe if it suits you... LA Food Blogging.
posted by zengargoyle at 12:44 AM on December 20, 2007

There is more traffic. Rents are higher. There is still rent control in LA but they raised it 5% this year. Downtown is finally gaining some traction as a real place to live/visit.

There are plans to expand light rail to Culver City by 2010.

If you want to get back into being a guide, let me know. Or if you think you might want steady temp work in an office (which would be flexible and flow from part-time to full-time), please let me know.

Arclight opened up a theater in the valley.

Felt Club has become a bit of a thing, along with PinkBerry. Golden Apple comics moved to Melrose and La Brea.
posted by Mozzie at 10:41 AM on December 20, 2007

Haven't lived in L.A. for twenty years. But go back often to visit friends and family. Lots of traffic. Lots of energy. I grew up in Pacoima. When NoHo gentrification gets that far north, let me know. ;-)
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 10:53 AM on December 20, 2007

The name on the post office has always been Valley Village, though the suburb signs saying VV have only gone up within the past 15-20 years.
posted by brujita at 11:05 PM on December 20, 2007

Culver City has become a major restaurant destination area. Lots more art galleries too since 2004.

The Cinemateque still rocks. The Westside Pavilion theaters are now an Arclight-style multiplex. UCLA Archives have moved to the Hammer Museum screening room and are better than ever. LACMA still programs good stuff. The LAIFF and the AFI film festival were very good this year.

Because of increasing traffic congestion, pick your neighborhood carefully. Avoid the far westside like Venice or the far eastside like Pasadena. Live in the center - Koreatown, Miracle Mile, Larchmont, Hollywood, etc. Eaglerock is the new Echo Park. West Adams is still below the radar.
posted by conrad53 at 1:49 PM on December 27, 2007

conrad53 probably identified one of the biggest changes in the past few years. Culver City downtown has grown leaps and bounds, with some of the best places to eat in the city.

I concentrate pretty heavily on the food scene (as the creator of the previously mentioned la.foodblogging.com). Since you have lived here before, you know about the different neighborhoods and ethnic enclaves scattered about.

I live in Santa Monica and commute over near LAX. It's 15 minutes in on the 10->405 and 30 minutes home on Centinela. It's true what previous posters said about Westside traffic. If you are heading east under the 405 between 4-6pm, you may go nuts.

I have always been of the opinion that it's good to live reasonably close to work. You can explore the city on the weekends and evenings when traffic slows a bit.

Which areas are you looking to work?
posted by jonah at 8:36 PM on January 14