"Los Angeles Unconfused " a Los Angeles Travel Page by GlobetrottAngelino

Sure it can sometimes be a frustrating place to live or visit as it certainly isn't a place that is easily understood. It is tough to get a feel for LA but the variety and diversity of the city, the outdoor laid back lifestyle, and the endless opportunities give the place a spirit that is hard to resist. It is a place that requires some serious exploration as it is a little too fragmented and complex to just show up for a day or two and get an understanding of it. You get out of LA what you make out of it. It is not a follow the crowd type place, which can be a problem for visitors from East Coast and some European cities. It is a place of nooks and crannies and not of big things that will awe you. You may not realize you like it until you have gone away and want to come back.

Los Angeles is the one place where Asian, Anglo, and Latino cultures merge more than any other place in the world. There are also very large Jewish and African American populations (both the biggest of anywhere in the Western US), which results in an interesting mix of food, culture and style.

The TV and Movie industry certainly has made an imprint on the City, but it certainly doesn't make up the whole city. Its impact is often a bit overstated as the majority of people work in other fields (traditionally the Entertainment Industry isn't even the largest industry in Greater LA - it was aerospace until a few years ago), but that wouldn't make LA seem as unique.

Culture and style here are often ridiculed as if there is none. There is a more relaxed vibe that is seen in dress and some architecture. For instance you won't see a building built like a pair of binoculars or a stack of records or a subway station made as if it was a movie theater, anywhere else.

For serious culture, it is a little known fact that LA has more museums than any other city on Earth, even if no one is especially large or famous. Perhaps the most famous is the Getty Center, which isn't the best art museum in the city, at least not collection wise (Norton Simon is). The LA Phil, in either its summer home, the Hollywood Bowl, or the stunning Disney Hall is up there with just about anywhere in the world.

One minute it may seem like a boring American suburb and the next it may seem like no place in the world. Whatever it does to you, enjoy.