Los Angeles is dirty. The people there are fake, they will not look you in the eye, they will not listen to what you say. They will look behind you to make sure there isn’t someone more important they should be talking to. They are plastic personalities and will try to use you to get ahead..

but like anywhere, there’s good folks about, you just have to look really hard in LA, eventually you will connect with some real individuals.

I have to disagree with that first answer… you may find people like that, but I’d say that they are the ones you’d have to look to find. I find the majority of the people in LA to be as friendly as anywhere else. I always have a good time when I go there, and have found that if I am friendly to people, they are almost always friendly right back! Just don’t try to “site-see” while you’re driving! When it comes to driving in LA, it’s pretty much a “GO!! OR GET OFF THE F#@%king ROAD” kind of town!

Have fun! :o)

danimation must be one of the thousands of failed actors who come out here and end up waiting tables..that must be the reason for his sour grapes.

Having been born here and lived here all my life, Angelenos are lovely and friendly, except when faced with rude visitors who feel they must classify everyone with one statement.

L.A. Is a fabulous place to visit, there is no other place with our attractions and you can be in the desert, mountains, ocean or another country all within two hours.

But don’t think of moving here, it’s too expensive, the traffic is abominable and the transplants and immigrants have made it a third world residence.

I’ve lived in southern California for my whole life and I find the people to be very uptight, and compared to many of the other cities and states I’ve visited most folks in LA are far from nice. Of course their are millions of folks in the area so there are going to be exceptions, but I just found that to be the general feel. I personally don’t enjoy LA, the city all that much, comparatively speaking; but everyone is different and thats what makes the world go round.

I lived in Cali my whole life, but not right in LA. We moved from LA when I was young to the suburbs.

Most people who live in the city of Los Angeles are NOT native Californians. If you go to Hollywood you’ll find that everyone there is a transplant from another state or country.

Native Californians are generally friendly if you are friendly. They expect you to smile a lot, and if you do then they will respond nicely.

There are lots of regular, middle class people in Southern California, and even around LA, who are not materialistic or self-absorbed. There’s a lot of diversity in people’s backgrounds & cultures. Everyone is NOT rich, although the standard of living is high for many.

Car culture is big though, so you’re not going to see many people walking unless it is in a touristy area. That does tend to separate people socially as everyone is in their own car instead of walking together on the street, & it also causes a lot of stressful traffic.

I agree that you’d have to look to find the thoroughly shallow & fake people.

Los Angeles is whatever you make it. If you want to find wonderful things and people, they’re there. If you want to find suckage, it’s there too. In spades. What you project and look for is what you’ll receive. Trust me, I have a web site that’s all about exactly this.

Many of us are very nice people. If you want advice on stuff while you’re here, e-mail the contact link at my web site and I’ll try to answer any questions you have. I’m third generation native so I know the area very well. Just please don’t be scared of this place or the people in it, it can be a LOT of fun! It’s just that people feel cooler when they’re bitching about it… kinda like smoking. It’s what the hip kids do for fun, bitching about stuff (BTW, I say this as someone who once moved out of LA filled with the same negativity. I learned that I was wrong… my attitude was the problem, not L.A.).

Fact is, you can’t stereotype a place that stretches across 498.3 square miles and is filled with ten million people. There is no one type of person here, it’s a melting pot of many different communities and cultures. There are more hidden treasures here than most people realize. Or want to.

I should add that the people who give LA its superficial image are more often than not people who come here temporarily from other places and act like they never would at home. Perez Hilton is from Florida, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton were both born in New York. Their attitude problems didn’t start here, they brought them here. And trust me… native Angelenos don’t like those fools any more than the rest of the world does.

to be honest with you…i hate LA. i’ve lived in California my whole life. i live 45 minutes east of LA, but i go there about once a month. it’s a dirty place for the most part. the people aren’t too friendly. there is crazy smog. INSANE traffic at all hours of the day. NO parking. everything is expensive.
that’s just MY opinion though. i’m not a huge city person.
but i guess if you’re just visiting, it could be cool.
the beaches are always nice to check out. go see hollywood.
if you do decide to visit, be sure to keep your guard up at all times. people out in LA are crazy. and be prepared to spend.