Some info while considering law schools in Los Angeles Forum

[rx3r]

All of that said, LA is awesome if you know how to navigate around.

+1. Also, just live in a nice neighborhood and commute to school if you want to go to Loyola/Southwestern. There are lots of nice neighborhoods 30 min or so away (w/ traffic). Try apartment searching w/ Westside Rentals. You have to pay for it but they'll have much better listings than Craigslist (from experience 2 years ago, don't know if it's still holding up). Also, come out and visit beforehand and just drive around the neighborhoods and look for "For Rent" signs. I found a neighborhood I liked first and then called up all the open apartments in the area. We're within walking distance of a Trader Joe's, Gelson's and all kinds of hippie-dippie stores (may be a plus or minus, but entertaining nonetheless). Also, you can get decent apartments in Hollywood beginning at $900ish for a studio. I think one trick to LA is to get roommates to split multibedroom apartments because you will save A TON of money.

[SandyC877]

Forget it. This thread is full of racist idiots with serious mental problems. The "maps" provided by SwollenMonkey and the "facts" provided by Sandy are so much garbage.

From reading you crap you'd think LA was a mix between Beirut and Mexico City. What junk.

/thread

All you have is your ambiguous claims about "not that bad." I just showed you statistics on air pollution and gang zones defined by LAPD. I also showed you a map regarding how close USC is to South Central. Now you accuse Swollen for racism. That's a terrible way to argue. I think you should forget about it. Chances are, you probably won't be attending USC/UCLA anyway.

[narkizopoint]

Went to UCLA and live in East LA most of my life---it is that bad and anyone who says UCLA is "in" LA has obviously never spent any actual time "in" LA. The "Los Angeles" in the UCLA address is a remnant from when LA was a non-stratified sprawling suburban metropolis that no longer exists.

[SandyC877]

Beverly Hills zip code fail. Back to skid row with you!

hahaha that's typo fail.



(correction: 90210)

[existenz]

Now you accuse Swollen for racism. That's a terrible way to argue. I think you should forget about it. Chances are, you probably won't be attending USC/UCLA anyway.

Let's see what Swollen said:

In LA, you will face homeless people that stink, are high, are dangerous, or just plain mentally disturbed. You will face gangs, crime, and a large Hispanic population that does not give a rat's ass about you and your legal ambitions.

This idiot SwollenMonkey was not claiming that the gangs are composed mostly of African-Americans and Hispanics. He was claiming that gangs AND the Hispanic population present a major problem, because the "Hispanic population" doesn't give a rat's ass about you.

Yes, that is xenophobic and racist. And let's not get into his ridiculous maps about "where Biggie was shot" -- which by the way wasn't even accurate.

Swollen's stupid claim that Westwood is not part of the city of Los Angeles further demonstrates his ignorance. Hollywood is also part of LA even if people claim their neighborhood first. Same goes for the Valley.

All you have is your ambiguous claims about "not that bad." I just showed you statistics on air pollution and gang zones defined by LAPD. I also showed you a map regarding how close USC is to South Central.

I've never stated that the neighborhoods near USC are paradise. This is a big city -- there are criminals. The same goes for New York City, Boston, Chicago. But the city is MUCH safer than it was 10 or 20 years ago. Swollen made it sound like people are regularly getting shot in drive-bys and burned alive on the street, which is ridiculous. He's been watching Menace II Society too many times.

From LA Times two months ago:

Crime in Los Angeles County dropped again in 2009 despite rising unemployment and the bad economy, continuing a slide that has pushed homicides to levels not seen since the 1960s.

Killings dropped about 17% in Los Angeles and by nearly a quarter in areas patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Together, the agencies investigated about 500 killings through Sunday -- a sharp drop in bloodshed compared with the more than 1,500 in 1992, the year of the Los Angeles riots.

...The totals are a fraction of the killings that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the county had roughly a million fewer residents, but its urban core was in the grip of a crack cocaine epidemic and gang violence. Another prime marker of violence, the number of gunshots fired, was also down.

LA is a wonderful city. Like any city, it is not perfect. But these extreme negative views by Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum deserve some pushback. I'd expect any TLSer writing about roving gangs near NYU, as if we still lived in the era of "The Warriors", would also deserve pushback.

[GATORTIM]

[SwollenMonkey]

Let's see what Swollen said:

In LA, you will face homeless people that stink, are high, are dangerous, or just plain mentally disturbed. You will face gangs, crime, and a large Hispanic population that does not give a rat's ass about you and your legal ambitions.

The "Hispanic population" doesn't give a rat's ass about you.

Yes, that is xenophobic and racist.

I never said THE Hispanic population does not give a rat's ass about you and your legal ambitions.

I said, "A large Hispanic population that does not give a rat's ass about you and your legal ambitions. Downtown LA and the areas surrounding USC, Southwestern, and Loyola are packed with a very large Hispanic population making up various parts of Latin America.

So because I say a large Hispanic population that does not care about you or your legal ambitions...this is a reason to jump to fear-mongering and racism?

I'm not seeing the connection between xenophobia and my comment. Maybe there is no connection.

Definition of xenophobia http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/xenophobia
xen·o·pho·bi·a   [zen-uh-foh-bee-uh, zee-nuh-] an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.

Dude, I'm Latino and I don't give a rat's ass about you or your legal ambitions.
Is that xenophobia?

Secondly, homelessness is a major problem in and around Los Angeles. The problem is that homelessness is also segregated by ethnic identity with homeless Latinos and African-American more prevalent in the areas closest to Downtown LA and South Central. White homeless people, as far as I have seen, are in big numbers in the West Hollywood and Hollywood area, but they too are in the Downtown Skid Row area.

Maybe you should read things carefully. I have elaborated on my points and clarified as best as factual circumstances allow.

Fark-o-vision, another user here, provided an excellent example of Los Angeles and how it is different. Los Angeles is segregated like you wouldn't believe. If you choose to not acknowledge that, more power to you. I acknowledge it, but do not let it define me. I know it exist and that's all I need to know.

existenz, take a trip to Downtown LA and make sure you visit 6th Street and San Pedro. Go alone and make sure to take a lot of fancy visible jewelry with you. =-)

[Mr. Matlock]

1

[SwollenMonkey]

LA is a wonderful city. Like any city, it is not perfect. But these extreme negative views by Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum deserve some pushback. I'd expect any TLSer writing about roving gangs near NYU, as if we still lived in the era of "The Warriors", would also deserve pushback.

I have stipulated that my perspective may be unique due to my current and past living arrangements. Why are you on this forum if you cannot read carefully? Try to fix this before you enter law practice, I'm assuming you will make it out of law school, so that you do not screw up a contract.

Way to attack your opponents while misreading their arguments. Any lawyer would be proud.

[arhmcpo]

Brief aside: comeeeeeee outtttt to playyyyyyaayyyyyyyyy. (Awesome Movie)

Now continue to argue. it is entertaining

[SwollenMonkey]

I know it's kind of a tangent, but FWIW.... It's REALLY hard to find a Mexican homeless person in Los Angeles. I've lived here 13 years, I'm not positive, but I don't think I've seen any. That's a great cultural phenomenon, IMO.

Take 110 South and get off on the Florence exit and get on the left lane to make a left turn. You will see a few homeless Mexicans, as far as I can tell, living off to the left side as soon as the freeway ends.

Update: You can also take a trip to the LA River at the outskirts of Downtown LA and you should see a few homeless people living there as well. This might have changed ever since the mayor took the initiative to beautify the LA River, but I'm not sure.

[Fark-o-vision]

The whole "it is in LA, because the map says so" argument would hold up in court, maybe, and definitely on a geography class. I suppose, in a lot of ways, learning to argue precisely is really what we're supposed to be doing now, so I can't fault that line of thought. I would like to say, though, that life isn't a geography test. Weighing housing decisions, transportation options, and living arrangements requires more than knowing the technical boundaries of any city. So, while Westwood and the valley might be LA, they are not LA. No zoning board map, or historical boundary grid, can change the reality that there is a marked difference between LA and the communities surrounding it.

I guess the best analogy I can think of is NYC. How many people, from NYC, consider Queens "the city"?

This is only important for those looking to relocate who are unfamiliar with the city. They may be looking for places in LA, asking around and contacting Realtors, when they should be looking at Burbank, Westwood, Santa Monica, Long Beach (I know, but still better), or other neighborhoods. Living ten miles and thirty miles away is often more or less the same thing, since those first twenty miles you can probably drive in fifteen minutes, while the last ten could take you thirty or forty five. You'd be trading a half hour commute for lower rent, a better neighborhood, and fewer headaches. This is very much in keeping with the culture of the city.

[Mr. Matlock]

1

[Fark-o-vision]

I know it's kind of a tangent, but FWIW.... It's REALLY hard to find a Mexican homeless person in Los Angeles. I've lived here 13 years, I'm not positive, but I don't think I've seen any. That's a great cultural phenomenon, IMO.

Take 110 South Freeway off-ramp and get off on the Florence exit and get on the left lane to make a left turn.. You will see a few homeless Mexicans, as far as I can tell, living off to the left side as soon as the freeway ends.

Hmmmm.... been there a few times. It was actually pointed out to me by a Latino co-worker. Families are sooooo tight. There may well be a few, just not many.

I spent two years in Riverside, just up the ten freeway, and I think you don't see homeless Latinos in L.A. because many of the ones without family stay in the makeshift refuge camps that travel along that big desert, going from Riverside to Mecca and on up towards Bakersfield.

[crossingforHYS]

I have lived in Los Angeles for over 15 years now and I have never had any problem with gang or crime. I think a lot of things that are represented in the media is untrue. But of course no matter where you live, you need to consider the location. Since Los Angeles is such a widespread city, there are areas that are much more run down and a lot of areas that are beautiful and great to live in. Of course, it all comes with a price tag. You get what you paid for.

I live in the Westwood area now and I love it. I can walk around at night and I don't have any concern.

In my part of Los Angeles, you cannot walk around at night and the people usually are inside by 8 o'clock pm.

In my neighborhood (around Los Angeles), an Armenian said hello to me last night.

lol ...me too!!! an armenian and a russian actually

[SwollenMonkey]

I have lived in Los Angeles for over 15 years now and I have never had any problem with gang or crime. I think a lot of things that are represented in the media is untrue. But of course no matter where you live, you need to consider the location. Since Los Angeles is such a widespread city, there are areas that are much more run down and a lot of areas that are beautiful and great to live in. Of course, it all comes with a price tag. You get what you paid for.

I live in the Westwood area now and I love it. I can walk around at night and I don't have any concern.

In my part of Los Angeles, you cannot walk around at night and the people usually are inside by 8 o'clock pm.

In my neighborhood (around Los Angeles), an Armenian said hello to me last night.

lol ...me too!!! an armenian and a russian actually

You live in Hollywood? Little Armenia is in Hollywood.

[SandyC877]

LA is a wonderful city. Like any city, it is not perfect. But these extreme negative views by Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum deserve some pushback. I'd expect any TLSer writing about roving gangs near NYU, as if we still lived in the era of "The Warriors", would also deserve pushback.

I have stipulated that my perspective may be unique due to my current and past living arrangements. Why are you on this forum if you cannot read carefully? Try to fix this before you enter law practice, I'm assuming you will make it out of law school, so that you do not screw up a contract.

Way to attack your opponents while misreading their arguments. Any lawyer would be proud.

He's resorting to ad hominem now. He's not someone you can reason with. Just do him the favor and don't respond to him.

[SwollenMonkey]

LA is a wonderful city. Like any city, it is not perfect. But these extreme negative views by Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum deserve some pushback. I'd expect any TLSer writing about roving gangs near NYU, as if we still lived in the era of "The Warriors", would also deserve pushback.

I have stipulated that my perspective may be unique due to my current and past living arrangements. Why are you on this forum if you cannot read carefully? Try to fix this before you enter law practice, I'm assuming you will make it out of law school, so that you do not screw up a contract.

Way to attack your opponents while misreading their arguments. Any lawyer would be proud.

He's resorting to ad hominem now. He's not someone you can reason with. Just do him the favor and don't respond to him.

I agree. +1!

[GATORTIM]

my brother was out visiting me recently and we were able to watch a middle-aged man in a late model Beamer solicit a homeless, tranny prostitute on Santa Monica and Highland

[rx3r]

Living ten miles and thirty miles away is often more or less the same thing, since those first twenty miles you can probably drive in fifteen minutes, while the last ten could take you thirty or forty five. You'd be trading a half hour commute for lower rent, a better neighborhood, and fewer headaches. This is very much in keeping with the culture of the city.

+1. We're on the same page here.

[Mr. Matlock]

1

[rx3r]

You live in Hollywood? Little Armenia is in Hollywood.

Glendale. "BIG Armenia"

Hahaha! So true.

[existenz]

lol

The whole "it is in LA, because the map says so" argument would hold up in court, maybe, and definitely on a geography class. I suppose, in a lot of ways, learning to argue precisely is really what we're supposed to be doing now, so I can't fault that line of thought. I would like to say, though, that life isn't a geography test.

I guess the best analogy I can think of is NYC. How many people, from NYC, consider Queens "the city"?

Fark, here is the NY version of what Swollen wrote:

NYU is in paradise. End of story. Whatever happens in the NYU area that may be bad, is not that bad when compared to stank-ass New York City.

All he had to do was say "Westwood is not that bad compared to stank-ass downtown" or "stank-ass South Central" or "stank-ass Inglewood". But to say Westwood is great compared to stank-ass Los Angeles is like saying apples are great compared to fruit.

[SwollenMonkey]

lol

The whole "it is in LA, because the map says so" argument would hold up in court, maybe, and definitely on a geography class. I suppose, in a lot of ways, learning to argue precisely is really what we're supposed to be doing now, so I can't fault that line of thought. I would like to say, though, that life isn't a geography test.

I guess the best analogy I can think of is NYC. How many people, from NYC, consider Queens "the city"?

Fark, here is the NY version of what Swollen wrote:

NYU is in paradise. End of story. Whatever happens in the NYU area that may be bad, is not that bad when compared to stank-ass New York City.

All he had to do was say "Westwood is not that bad compared to stank-ass downtown" or "stank-ass South Central" or "stank-ass Inglewood". But to say Westwood is great compared to stank-ass Los Angeles is like saying apples are great compared to fruit.

Hi! You still a member here?
So, have you figured out what subjective anecdotal evidence is? Drop the hostile attitude.

[Renaixença]

A friend of mine who lives in LA told me that if you try walking in certain parts of the city you may end up with a "cap" in (up?) your buttocks.