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Is Los Angeles Worth Visiting?: Why I Love LA

Los Angeles, California from the Eyes of an LA Local. I've lived in LA most of my life, and this is my unique perspective of Tinsel Town in case you're planning a trip to LA | LA travel | travel LA | Los Angeles travel | travel Los Angeles

 

Los Angeles may regularly battle furious fires roasting a good couple hundred thousand acres or so, and sure, the city can reach a toasty 100+ degrees Fahrenheit on an average summer day, and yes, the word “drought” is as ubiquitous as the word “juicery”—in fact, Los Angeles has all the ingredients for a wasteland (no, not the Melrose thrift store). And yet it’s not.

It’s been over a year since I last left LA and moved to Jeju Island, “the Hawaii of Korea,” to teach English and travel. And though I’ve left Los Angeles hundreds of times, I’ve never quite experienced this kind of homesickness. After all, I’d moved to Florida, Thailand, and Prague, and never really looked back while living in any of those places (except Florida. Florida sucks.).

I’ve missed very few places the way I miss California. It’s a place that keeps giving and is full of surprises (don’t believe me? Here are some interesting facts about California you may not be aware of). And sure, California’s got Joshua Tree, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Barbara…but guess what, they’re all easily reachable by LA!

There are a million cool things to do in LA, but is Los Angeles worth visiting? Let’s dig into it.

 


Before You Go




Booking.com

 

Sunset Blvd, LA

The LA Some Know

The Los Angeles many non-LAers know is a cut-and-paste grid of Rodeo Drives and Santa Monica Piers, a “land of plastic,” of Calabasas TV stars and Beverly palm trees and Chatsworth pornos and frozen faces and red carpets and Universal Studios and Whole Foods to-go boxes. But this isn’t the LA I know. (Entirely.)

And this is certainly not why I love LA.

 

READ MORE| Riding the Rise of the Resistance Ride at Disneyland

 

 

My Los Angeles is an LA of grit.

A golden grit that clouds your lungs and your eyes and your judgement in the best way and the worst way.

A grit made from the particles of a gamma-ray burst shooting from Jim Morrison’s infamous urine stream on the bar of WeHo’s Barney’s Beanery.

A grit trekked through Hollywood gutters and Walk of Fame stars on wedge booties, encrusted in the tires of Valley SUVs, fairy dusting those red carpets that look so much dirtier in person, and in the sun-beaten face lines of the people who aren’t plastic.


The Secret to Cheap Flights
 

 

My Los Angeles is an LA of many.

LA is diverse and it’s beautiful.

Latino, Filipino, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Japanese, Thai, Indian—my LA fits so many worlds in one city. So many worlds, representatives flashing red or white in an almost constant ribbon down the 405. After all, nobody walks in LA (unless it’s from bar to taco truck).

LA is definitely not one of the cheapest places to live in California, but many people, and many kinds of people, certainly still choose to live there.

Don’t miss our guide to the dopest places to eat in LA–stuffing your face with cuisines from around the globe is part of the LA experience, brutha!

 

Nobody Walks in LA

Los Angeles is notorious for its less-than-stellar public transportation, so you’re DEFINITELY going to want to rent a car.

 

Chinatown, Los Angeles

 

So many worlds, and with so many people, my LA is a city of Angels (and demons).  And no, it’s not perfect. And as sunny as it may be, its eyes are nothing like the sun (that’s a Shakespeare reference, sorry).

And maybe the LA I know will cease to exist in the next few years, reduced to rubble in some San Andreas tantrum. But it’s home. And there’s this: it’s f****ing awesome.

Cannabis Cafe? Mexican luchador wrestling? Clown-centric macabre freak show bar? Bob Barker marionette show? Alien party?! Find all this and more on our LA Bucket List. THIS is why I love LA.

 

And make sure you have a solid LA itinerary to navigate your way around. We also have our own 5 Day LA Itinerary.

 

READ MORE| Learn about the best scenic drives in LA

 

Experience How Awesome LA Is (On a Budget)

We highly recommend checking out the current Los Angeles deals, to get a feel for the kinds of discounted activities you can enjoy nearby.

You’ll find discounts on everything from food & drink at the best LA restaurants, to amusement parks, whale-watching, sporting events, concerts, and TONS more.

For Hollywood specific deals, it’s worth checking out the Hollywood deals.

 

Good Times at Davey Wayne's, LA

My Los Angeles is home.

I’m an LA girl, born and raised until I was 11, then returned to every summer until my 18 year-old brain decided to move back to the mistress that will always have my heart. Sure, LA’s got a lotta haters.

But they’re slanderers and you should ignore their heinous dribble.

And it may be dry and drought-ridden and dusty and smog-covered, but no wasteland I know offers such Edenic sprawls of glistening produce, such global variety in fruits and vegetables so easily taken for granted until it’s no longer there. This is why I love Los Angeles.

Supermarkets here on Jeju Island regularly play mean tricks on us, selling produce shipped over from California (but for 10 times the price), though we can find some wicked Jeju green tea fields and Jeju tangerine trees.

 


 

Los Angeles Palm Trees

My Los Angeles has something for everyone.

From beaches to city life to music to free events to fantastic hikes (even LA hikes for dogs!) to cheap exotic produce to magical sunsets to eternal warm weather and easy and cheap access to global cuisine to all things both incredibly basic and legitimately incredible, my LA really does have something for everyone.

After all, LA is the entertainment capital of the world

And if LA itself isn’t enough, a short SoCal road trip away from Los Angeles you have just about everything else: desert, mountains, forest, and wine. Wuick trip to the wineries of Calistoga California, anyone?! Maybe some glamping in Joshua Tree?

LA also happens to have some incredible scenic drives too.

So off-with-their-heads to all y’all haters, I’m an LA girl.

 

 

The LA Caveat

(I’ll only add one.) While I wholeheartedly believe everyone should have their pants dropped by LA in their lifetime, it’s not the easiest city to penetrate in a short period.

The second largest urban region in the U.S., Los Angeles is a big, big [beautiful] girl, and her public transportation leaves loads to be desired (so definitely rent a car).

So Is Los Angeles Worth Visiting?

Yes. Duh.

But to really feel LA, you kinda gotta stick around and let it feel you. So screw it. Come on down, spend a few months in the City of Angels.

Take a California Road Trip or explore where the stars live in Tinseltown.

Soak up the blazing California sun at a Los Angeles hotel rooftop pool.

Make an ass out of yourself at an open bar app-launch party or break in your leather Zana Bayne bondage-mask and a very risque body harness at a Rhonda or a Bar Sinister. These all may or may not be personal experiences 🤣.

Go crazy. Be extra. This is why I love Los Angeles.

So hop on our LA travel itinerary and get yourself over to the Venice Boardwalk.

Shake your booty at a Houston Bros bar or leave that hoity-toity crap behind for some elbow-brushing with a few Hell’s Angels at a valley dive, or anything else on our Ultimate Los Angeles Bucket List.

And when it’s all done, watch the sun rise over the Santa Monica mountains with a belly-full of greasy tacos before your infrared sauna sesh and Thai tea macaron ice cream sandwich pickup at The Milk Shop the next day. Hell, get some botox (I hear all the kids are doing it). But really don’t.

 

Plan the rest of your LA trip! Check out the coolest things to do in LA, the best places to eat in LA, the best dog-friendly hikes in LA, the best scenic drives in the LA area, and consider decorating your own cake at the Ace of Cakes chef’s studio.

Also, learn tips and tricks for Universal Studios Hollywood, the best Halloween festival in LA, and why we think LA is freaking awesome.

Lauren at Venice Beach, LA

Additional LA Guides

Want some further suggestions to help you plan a trip to Los Angeles?  Have a peek at some of these dope posts (or you could always just check out our LA Pinterest board)!

 


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Los Angeles, California from the Eyes of an LA Local. I've lived in LA most of my life, and this is my unique perspective of Tinsel Town in case you're planning a trip to LA | LA travel | travel LA | Los Angeles travel | travel Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California from the Eyes of an LA Local. I've lived in LA most of my life, and this is my unique perspective of Tinsel Town in case you're planning a trip to LA | LA travel | travel LA | Los Angeles travel | travel Los Angeles

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What place will you always call home no matter where you go?

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31 Comments

  • Reply
    Candy
    at 8:35 am

    This was so poetic and exuberant, with gorgeous pictures, I really fell in love with your Los Angeles! Thanks. My home is Long Island, just outside of New York City, and I love it for the beaches and quiet near home, and the great shows, museums, and hordes of people from all nations in the city.

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 3:10 pm

      You’re too kind, Candy! I’ll have to make it ’round Long Island again sometimes soon–it’s been awhile!!

  • Reply
    Yuliya
    at 10:41 am

    love this post! I plan on visiting LA/Cali in the future and this post made me more excited about it

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 3:11 pm

      Glad to get you excited, Yuliya! Hope you enjoy your trip!

  • Reply
    Micamyx|Senyorita
    at 11:54 pm

    It is a dream of mine to visit LA mostly for the pop culture and possible gigs i can go to. I also have a relative there so it should be nice 😀

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 2:18 pm

      Yeah it’s a blast! Let us know if you ever need any tips!

  • Reply
    Chloe
    at 2:44 pm

    I totally agree with you! There’s so much to do in Los Angeles! 🙂

    Chloe // http://funinthecloset.com/snow-bunny-hoodie/

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 2:19 pm

      Oh so much, and so many free things to find as well!

  • Reply
    LaaLaa
    at 5:15 pm

    This is a great insight from a native Californian, your words are beautiful. I’ve never been to LA but would definitely like too. I’ve not got to the stage where I’ll call somewhere home no matter where I am x

  • Reply
    Juliette | Snorkels to Snow
    at 6:18 pm

    Ha! I love this post. I will always think Christchurch is my home, no matter how broken or cold it gets and the years I spent trying to leave it, it will always be home.

  • Reply
    Kat
    at 2:02 am

    I think L.A. will be our next home. We just moved from NJ to SF Bay Area a year ago and because it is crazy expensive here we’re looking to make our move in a year or two. Looking at photos of all the awesome places our friends have in L.A. for the same amount of money we pay here for rent has made us quite jealous… 🙂

    • Reply
      Lauren West
      at 4:59 pm

      Yeah SF is definitely pricey! Of course LA isn’t the cheapest place in the world, but this city is a lot bigger and more spread out, so space isn’t at as much of a premium.

  • Reply
    Maya
    at 12:25 pm

    I went to LA a couple of years ago, and it was the most amazing week of my life! #missIt

  • Reply
    bianca nunez
    at 10:22 am

    I really need to visit! thanks for sharing!

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