When people say Los Angeles which region are they referring to?
I think part of the problem here is that the history of the City of Los Angeles has left it with extremely bizarre borders. See this map from Graphatlas.com:There are entire "cities" surrounded by the City of LA (e.g., Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Culver City, etc.), adjacent unincorporated communities that share the name (e.g., East Los Angeles), and a narrow corridor leading down to San Pedro and the Port of Los Angeles.To my mind, any definition that includes Sylmar (because it's within city limits) and excludes West Hollywood, Compton, and East Los Angeles (because they're not) is useless for anything but municipal and political purposes. It doesn't reflect the underlying cultural reality. Note that I'm not saying that Sylmar should be excluded, but that West Hollywood, Compton, and East LA cannot be. In practice, I think the definition of Los Angeles is fluid and can change depending on the conversational context. The map above seems to include the City of LA and immediate neighbors. When someone speaks about LA, I've found that they might mean that entire area. Depending on the context, they might be excluding some of the areas that are not within city boundaries. Also depending on context, they might be excluding areas that are within the city boundaries; for example, someone "going out in Los Angeles" for the night is probably not considering going to Sylmar, but they may very well consider going to West Hollywood.On the other hand, to address the question details, no reasonable definition would include Santa Barbara or Bakersfield. If you're far from the US where people have only heard of New York City, Los Angeles, and other major cities, it might make sense for someone from Santa Barbara or Bakersfield to say they're from LA. In Chicago, probably not.
Why do people say they live in LA when they live in a nearby city, such as Pasadena? People in the Bay Area don’t say they live in SF unless they live in SF proper.
Los Angeles County is huge and highly diverse with more regional cities than you can count (almost).As an example, most people living throughout Los Angeles have never heard of the city I'm from, even though its within the borders of Los Angeles County. Our town is little, less than 5 miles in either direction from the center and you’re in a totally different area, still LA county though. So how on Earth would somebody outside of California know where it is I'm from having never been there and without googling it first?So if asked where it is i'm from, it's just easier to say Los Angeles instead of naming an obscure former ranch town which could be in Orange County or Minnesota for all they know. If asked if I live in the city/downtown, then I'll say no and give them some more detail (which they'll file away in the back of their minds where they'll probably never think of it again).In short, Los Angeles is much more than just its downtown sky scrapers even if that's what people imagine first when they hear the name of the city.
What is the difference between a cosmopolitan city and a metropolitan city?
Metropolitan and cosmopolitan are two words which are used in reference to big cities very commonly in newspapers and television as well. At times it is used for describing the attitude of the people living in these cities.Metropolitan term is used for the large cities which have large population and have numerous opportunities for employment. These areas are linked to the adjoining areas in economical and social terms. Like Mumbai is a metro.Cosmopolitan is the term which is used for larger cities where the population is composed of people from various cultural backgrounds. These people co-exist with each other very easily because of their broadmindedness. A person may also be called a cosmopolitan if he has lived or travelled in different countries. This word is used for describing the urbane and more sophisticated lifestyle.A city can be metropolitan and cosmopolitan, both but a metropolitan area may not be cosmopolitan. The word cosmopolitan comes from the word cosmos which means universe. This explains the meaning of the word cosmopolitan and we can easily understand that it talks about a large city with diverse population of people from all over the world.
Why is Los Angeles referred to as "The City of Broken Dreams"?
I'm sure someone else is going to provide a much more thoughtful response but in the meantime, I'll chime in.What I can say is that I've known a LOT of "actors" and "actresses" throughout my life... I've been close friends with them, been to their weddings, ate at their restaurants and even saw one on the side of a building.... it was amazing.He was about 30 floors up, washing the window.The others, well, one was a valet driver for a local company that served weddings... and more than a few were waiters....In truth, I've only really known a few that "made it" and of those few, only one had her own show for a period of time, even if it was only on Outdoor Life, I was still proud of her..People come to LA with the thought that because they've won their local talent shows, because their friends laugh at their jokes, because they can pretend to be anyone anywhere any time, that they have what it takes to make it big in Hollywood.They pour off the planes, trains and whatever other means and head straight for the studios, lined up at the door of every single casting call they can find and.... they don't get a second look.More than a few of them are actually quite talented and honestly, some of the most beautiful men and women in the world are in Los Angeles representing every single country on the planet... and they all want one thing, success in Hollywood.It takes more than all of that to make it big though, a lot more. You have to be a businessman/woman, you have to be an entrepreneur and manage your image and define yourself. You have to network and schmooze. You have to survive and last one extra week.. you have to make it before it breaks you.Sadly, most will break before they even get on a commercial. A lot of people go back to where they're from, some go back to college, others pick up where they left off... all in all the streets of LA have caught a lot of tears from a lot of beautiful people suffering from a lot of broken dreams.Most people won't think twice about coming out here. They know the odds are one in a million and I commend their optimism. No one should ever let another person crush their dreams but inevitably, the town chews through people like a meat grinder and spits them out the other side sending them packing one after another.It's a rough city.
What are the differences between living in Los Angeles and New York City? To me, they seem exactly the same.
While I was born and raised on Manhattan and live there today, I did live in LA for six years while going to college and working my first two years after college.The LA Metro postdates my era ... back when I lived in LA it was something that people talked about wanting but that no one believed would ever happen. It's up and running now and quite extensive, which is impressive and a very good sign.A big difference is population density. The US as a whole has about 80 people per square mile. Los Angeles (Greater LA Area) has about 23.9 thousand people per square mile, while New York City (New York metropolitan area) has about 56.0 thousand people per square mile [List of United States cities by population density]. So NYC is more than twice as densely populated as LA.New York is near the Atlantic Ocean, while LA is near the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific waters near LA are colder all year round. The Atlantic near NYC gets warm enough in the late summer that you can frolic in the water without freezing, but the Pacific near LA is never that warm.LA has earthquakes. NYC does not have earthquakes.LA's average temperature is 63.9 degrees F, while New York's is 54.9, almost ten degrees colder.LA's per-capita income is $26.7 K, while New York's is $22.4 K.EmploymentIf you live in LA your industrial opportunities include aerospace, movies, manufacturing, tourism). In New York the economy revolves around finance, media, entertainment, telecommunications, high-tech, tourism and entertainment, publishing, and services.Finally (and this is a universal truth, with no exceptions) New Yorkers are all Type A personalities, while LA is entirely populated by laid-back Type B personalities. :-)[And if you believe that last line, you need to move to LA.]
Is Long Beach, Inglewood, Compton, Hollywood, and other cities considered Los Angeles?
All of the cities you listed are in the county of Los Angeles, but the Hollywood district is the only area actually within Los Angeles city limits. The other places are separate cities. Some people consider any Los Angeles suburb or city near Los Angeles part of "Los Angeles".
Is it true that nobody walks in Los Angeles? Would people think I'm crazy if I walked down the streets there? Should I be scared of doing it?
Like many cities, there is a political subdivision called "Los Angeles," and a much larger Metropolitan service area generally referred to as "Los Angeles." For instance, Venice Beach, Hermosa Beach, Westwood, Hollywood, and Culver City are not necessarily part of the city of Los Angeles, but they would all be included in the place that people generally refer to as Los Angeles.Wherever there are surface streets and sidewalks, there are people walking, especially if there are commercial establishments of any kind. The joke in the movie "L A Story" of Steve Martin's driving next door to borrow a cup of sugar might be true in Beverly Hills or Rodeo Drive, where the next house might be a quarter of a mile down the road amid the grand estates of Hollywood celebrities, but any place in the rectangular grids south of Santa Monica Blvd., or Olympic Boulevard, or Pico, South beyond Century Boulevard (100th St.) and a good 10 miles east to west, from Sepulveda Boulevard on the west past La Brea, Fairfax, Vermont, and into the area known as little Korea on the east, There are many neighborhoods that are mixed residential and commercial, often with storefront shops on the first floor and apartments above. In these areas, you will almost always see people walking.On the other hand, if you were in Beverly Hills, "commoners" walking down the street might attract attention, and I wouldn't be surprised if a police officer stopped to inquire about my business.
Which city has the larger population: New York City or Los Angeles?
It's hard to define exactly what is meant by "Los Angeles".Los Angeles is a city. As others have said, the population is about 3.8 million. When people say they live in LA, they don't mean the city. I live about here: Google Maps . I don't live in the city of LA, I live in an unincorporated district of Los Angeles County. I know people who have lived in LA for 20+ years, and don't know that this area is not LA City. Everyone calls it LA. If you asked me where I lived, I'd say LA. There are cities within the city of LA. You can't leave the city of Santa Monica (except by boat or air) without travelling through the city of Los Angeles. Same is true of West Hollywood (which is a city, Hollwood isn't), or Beverly Hills.Los Angeles is a county, which has about 10 million people. Trouble is that LA County stretches a long way North and a long way East (and a bit of a way South). People in Long Beach don't say that they're in LA , because they're in Long Beach. The same is true of Palmdale, or Pomona. There are 88 cities in Los Angeles County of which Los Angeles is one (whereas New York comprises five counties). Los Angeles is a metropolitan area, which encompasses most (but not all) of LA County, and stretches beyond into Orange County, which is definitely not Los Angeles. (The separation is sometimes called the "Orange Curtain").Here's a map of the metropolitan area (the actual city of LA is the burnt yellow part).The conclusion is that when someone says that they live in Los Angeles (population 3.8 million) they probably don't live in Los Angeles. It helps to clarify things in New York that a big chunk of the metropolitan area is in a different state so no one from Newark says they are from New York (although if you are flying into Newark, you still consider yourself to be flying into New York - at least I do).
Is New York City more liberal than Los Angeles?
No not at all NYC has had Republicans Mayors for 16 years now. Far many more Latte Liberals in LA. Bloomberg is the man
I hear Los Angeles is a dump, is this true?
The Los Angeles metropolitan area is the largest by area of any US city. The biggest difference you'll see in LA versus say New York or Chicago is the vast sprawl of suburban communities. There are some high density, urban areas like DTLA and Santa Monica. But the vast majority of LA consists of individual neigborhoods.What visitors consider LA to be and what locals consider “LA" to be are two different ideas. I live in the far northern part of LA county, a 70 mile drive from downtown. LA County is about 100 miles wide and 90 miles long. I live in LA, but in that I live in a part if the vast Los Angeles metro area. If an Angeleno tells me they live in LA, its understood that they live in proper Los Angeles….the area encompassed by Glendale and Pasadena to the northeast, Griffith Park to the north, the 105 freeway to the south, the 405 to the west, and the 60 freeway to the east. In that area alone, there are about 30 varied neighborhoods.Like any city, LA has it's nice and it's not so nice. Downtown IS a dump. It's one of the oldest sections of city, and has serious problems with vagrancy and failing infrastructure. But in current LA, the shitty parts of town are slowly going away. Much of the criminal activity that 90s LA was known for has decreased with the suppression of the gang violence by local police. South LA is no vacation spot, but less and less residents becAme victims of gang-related criminal activity since the early 2000s. And with the housing demand at its peak in California, seedy neighborhoods are being refurbished to accommodate affordable housing.The thing about LA is the juxtaposition of wealth. Some of the most expensive real estate in the states is in the coastal towns between Malibu and Long Beach. Houses worth hundreds of millions, if not billions. Go 10 miles inland and you often find yourself in the heart of a working class neighborhood with homes dating to the 50s. I've traveled a fair amount, and there's no town quite like it