"Los Angeles" Los Angeles by kdoc13

Being from the Midwestern part of the US of A, there is always this image that is given to us of LA as a place where crazy people live, and a culture of sex drugs and rock and roll embody every portion of life. And for the most part it is not true, I am happy to say. There are exceptions of course...

My first visit to LA was memorable because I got stuck in traffic while a former football star took a joyride around town in the back of a white Ford Bronco. My second trip, a while later, happened durring riots. I was told to stop going to Los Angeles. I did for a while. My last trip was rather uneventful, and to be honest, I kind of missed the excitement.

The atmosphere of the left coast is a plesant change from the midwest though. It seems like there is a very progressive can-do attitude that is infectious. Plus, it is a world class city, with a whole lot of things to keep a person occupied.

Easy to navigate highways?

I will never forget my most recent trip to LA. In the middle of June, a little overcast, not all that humid, and a temperature of maybe 86 degrees, plus, it never rained. In Ohio, this would be perfect! A little slice of heaven. In LA, the lead story on the TV news was "June Gloom"! Everyone was upset at how dismal the sky looked, and how it wasn't that warm. I kept thinking to myself, if this is bad weather, this is really the place I must live!

As for the area itself, LA is known for its terrible traffic. Trust me when I tell you that LA is not bad when compared to Cincinnati's I-75 near downtown and the bridge. I actually enjoyed rush hour in LA. Plus, there are major highways everywhere. Getting from point A to point B was simple. If I couldn't get there by highway, there was a subway that could.

Most of the areas are really nice, I was even sort of impressed with South Central LA in the daytime. Granted it isn't the safest place in the world, but it isn't as bad as the TV news makes it seem. The only thing I didn't like was how spread out the city seems to be. Even in great traffic it always seemed to take forever to get from where I was staying in Montebello to someplace like Hollywood, or Long Beach.

• Pros:Much better than the TV and Movies make it seem
• Cons:A lot of smog, and if you aren't used to the heat, it can be a bit harsh.
• In a nutshell:I liked visiting here a lot, and can't wait for the next trip.