Common Claims about Los Angeles!

Welcome to the next chapter of the adventure, Dear Friend! We are very happy to see you! Los Angeles was the very first US destination we ever visited. It was a long time ago, when information was not as available as it is today. If you had a genuine curiosity about the world, you could not just search for it online. You had to visit the library and search for information in outdated literature. Therefore, we had no idea what LA was really like. But we were eager to finally experience first hand the culture that had been portrayed to us through the lens of a camera.


Was America really like we had seen in it all those movies and TV shows? Was there really that much violence and criminality? How dangerous would it be for two young Europeans to walk on foot in certain neighbourhoods? And were Americans always angry and rude? Well, as we have said many times in our articles/tweets/post:

Through Experience comes Wisdom

The world really must be experience in person. What is considered dangerous changes from decade to decade. At one point in time, people were afraid to travel to Africa. When these lines were written, it was America. Today, most people would probably say it is the Middle East. Well, we have traveled to all these places and can tell you, dear friend, that fear and ignorance makes the most entertaining stories… and they are almost always exaggerated! Caution is great, but fear is really unnecessary. A fact that would be once again confirmed in this new chapter of the voyage.

What are common misconceptions about Your city?

Below are a few claims about Los Angeles that we investigated back then. Let us know what you think, and how times have changed? What are the misconceptions people have today about your city? Post in the comments!
Samuel L. Jackson wax figure

1. The city is governed by the showbiz industry!



This one was actually correct - or so it seemed to us anyway. The town is all about entertainment. People we encountered seemed very preoccupied with TV/Media and the entertainment industry. Some people came off as a bit superficial, paying too much attention to external appearances. Perhaps it was just us, or maybe it comes with the territory? On a bright note, we really appreciate people who focus on their dreams and go for it all in. 😊

We had expected to encounter a lot more glamour though - like we had seen on american shows - and we did in some places. They were quite spectacular. But large portions of the city were the complete opposite. They seemed rather run down, and people we met said they were struggling just to make ends meet. They say: Reality is never the way media depicts.

2. A car is a must???



Wrong! There is a perfectly well functioning underground system as well as buses that can take you anywhere.
Walking towards the Hollywood sign
Provided you have the time to wait for the bus, you manage perfectly well without a car. We should mention, however, that nowadays we always rent a car whenever we are in LA because we are more pressed for time than we were back then. Also, during our first visit, we lived very centrally, right by all the tourist stops on the star walk so everything was close.

If you stay in the city center, it is quite easy to walk. We walked all the way to the Hollywood sign, even though the locals thought we were crazy for doing so. Yet, LA is a big city, and if you live a bit in the outskirts it might be easier to just rent a car rather than taking public transport. We suppose that the locals would have a difficult time getting to their jobs without a car.

3. LA is dangerous. Never take the bus or be out after dark

Well, this one may be partly right. We have never had any problems walking in LA. Moreover, we felt no apprehension taking the bus, even late at night. We rode the bus almost every night (latest round 23), but we stayed in the “safe” areas.

There were a few funny characters in the buses after dark. They were preaching the end of the world and how we should be good to each other. But it was very harmless and we never felt scared. Besides, things like that can occur in any large city. It seemed more sad than anything else really.
Let us end the debate of preconceptions here. After all, we would rather show you what LA really was like, rather than discuss what it was not. Take our hand dear friend, and let us resume the adventure Around the World in 50 Days. We had left off on day 34, and just said goodbye to Fiji.

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