How would you explain Los Angeles to someone who’s never been there, but has been to Japan? I've heard about how LA has a really bad problem with trash littering the streets and the air being near-unbreathable or something.
I describe it the same way I would describe Tokyo. It’s a big city broken up into a bunch of smaller cities each with their own style, culture, and issues.
There are some really sketchy parts of it where gang violence is high, there are parts that feel trashy and badly maintained, and there are parts that are super high end and extremely well maintained with minimal litter. In Tokyo you can regularly find massive piles of garbage in some parts of the town regardless of trash day, and in LA some parts are covered with litter and some aren’t. In some areas you can walk around at 3 am and not worry about a thing, in other areas you don’t even want to be walking around during the day time without feeling a genuine risk .
However, way they offer is literally the ability to find anything you could ever want. Whatever your hobby is, whatever your interest is, you will not only find it in LA, you’ll find a thriving community for it and regularly events for it. You will always have the newest stuff first because the city is a major priority, and global imports can be found easier than anywhere else. When you first visit, commuting might seem difficult, but once you get the hang of it, it’s actually fairly simple to beat the rush hours and get a reasonable commute. There are absolutely homeless people, but they aren’t everywhere, they stick to their areas and the nicer parts don’t have them at all.
But mainly, and this is a big factor, the crime and grime is stuff you mostly only experience if you’re in the areas for it, and unless you live in those areas, you’ll rarely have to deal with them.
Everything I just said applies to both LA and Tokyo. I think the big reason a lot of people misunderstand LA is because of Hollywood and the shitty liberal policies that absolutely do harm to the city. But most people just ignore that shit. There are absolutely conservatives In the city and they’re just as loud as the dems. One anecdote that comes to mind was a billboard counting “smoking deaths” in 2019 that kept counting up, and someone vandalized it today “democrats lies.”
But like in Tokyo, you find where you belong in LA and you stick to it. You aren’t traveling the entire city. You go where you live, go where you work, and then go to the areas you play around in. Your hobby and your community will be there. And the best part about LA is that each little segment is such a radically different culture and feeling that you can completely escape the vibes for an afternoon or weekend should you want. It’s a city where you keep yourself busy, but you’re a short drive away from the country side and the mountains
I have lived in Westwood, Burbank, Pasadena, and Glendale, neither have the same issues as say, North Hollywood.
Similarly, lived in Shinjuku about a 10 minute walk to Kabuki cho, considered one of the most dangerous parts of japan, and never once in either city was I assaulted, robbed, or in danger of it. Though there were sketchy times.
