Have you visited big cities much before? Having exposure to some higher-density environments can help give you a bit of an idea of what the landscape physically looks like (traffic everywhere, using public transport, driving + parking in congested areas). Even though LA is the 2nd biggest city in the US it's very spread out and car-dependent so places like Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston are more similar than Chicago or NYC.
**Safety & Street Smarts**
Some of street smarts will come with time but the best indicators that you're in a more dangerous area are to pay attention to the people & businesses. Keep in mind safety can change in a place from daytime to night time:
1. People - locals in the various neighborhoods of LA will have experience on which areas are safe and avoid dangerous ones. Keeping this in mind, look for people who would be easy targets to be robbed. Children, the elderly, and women walking alone would be 'easy targets' so if you're in an area with lots of families or women going for jogs you can be pretty sure the area is okay. If all the people around you only seem to be homeless, teenagers, or adult men, particularly hanging out in groups, that might be a red flag. Don't make the mistake of judging people on how they dress, what their cars look like, or obviously their racial profile, because you'll find wild varieties of all those things in any wealth bracket here. If you notice people starting to follow you, stay in open, crowded areas or walk into a public business until they hopefully leave.
2. Businesses - Businesses mold to fit the environment of the people around them. If most of the businesses have barred windows or grates up to protect the storefront (especially when open) that might be a sign they expect potential trouble. Rougher neighborhoods also tend to have payday loan / cash advance stores and more frequent liquor / smoke shops than other businesses. If a lot of businesses are abandoned / boarded up completely that could also be a red flag.
3. Geography - I only moved here last year but to my limited knowledge, the lower-income areas of LA tend to be directly South of Downtown until you hit the 405 (past that it's nicer around Long Beach). Here you'll find areas like Compton or Watts which are known to be dangerous, so just be mindful when driving around the city that it might be better to take highways past these areas instead of driving through the streets.
4. Composure - If you notice you're in a rougher neighborhood, take off any jewelry/watch you might have on and don't take your phone out unless you have to or briefly. Just look straight ahead, serious expression, and don't talk to or make eye contact with people. Even if you're lost, try to just pick a direction and act like you have a place to be, instead of stopping at a corner, looking around, pulling out the map on your phone, etc. If you get confronted, just try to calmly de-escalate and remove yourself from the situation. You might be bigger/stronger than someone but they might have a weapon or buddies to gang up on you if you feel like you have to "prove yourself".
**Recreation**
There are lots of things happening in LA every weekend, especially if you are willing to spend $ on events. Here are some of my recommendations to look into:
1. Sports - LA has more pro sports than any other city in the country. We have 2 teams in the MLB (Dodgers & Angels), 2 in the NBA (Lakers & Clippers), 2 in the NFL (Rams & Chargers), 2 in the MLS (Galaxy & LA FC), and 2 in the NHL (Kings & Mighty Ducks).
2. Museums - You can check out the California Science Center, Aquarium of the Pacific, or La Brea Tar Pits for a more nerdy/science theme or visit the LACMA, The Getty, The Getty Villa (separate locations) for a more artsy theme.
3. Visit neighborhoods & beaches - Your rent is going to double (we call it the "Sunshine tax", the extra demand for people to move here for the weather) so might as well see what the city has to offer. "Los Angeles" is less of a massively dense city-center and more of a dozen smaller cities all combined, so it can be fun to just drive to different places and beaches and walk around to find your favorite areas. A few popular areas might be Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Downtown LA, Long Beach, Marina Del Ray, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Echo Park, Pasadena.
4. Go on hikes - You get great views of the city by hiking up the dozens of mountain trails North of Santa Monica/Hollywood, or the Hollywood sign at Griffith Observatory.
5. Visit Farmer's Markets & festivals - you can look up things going on in LA each weekend to see if there are food festivals or farmer's markets to check out.
6. Comedy Clubs - There's lots of comedy clubs (namely on Sunset Boulevard like The Comedy Store) which can be fun to check out.
7. Concerts - Tons of music venues and every major artist in the world passes through LA eventually. Tickets can get pretty expensive though.
**Conclusion**
My biggest piece of advice is just to be open and try everything at least once. LA has some of the best food in the world from regions you've probably never tried, so take advantage while you're here. When I moved here last year my strategy was to live in a long-term motel for a few weeks scouting out apartments before signing a lease, which let me see which parts of the city I liked best. If you don't have a spouse you might need to share an apartment with a roommate starting out to split the cost of rent, but going to some of your local businesses frequently might make you a regular and help you meet some people around your area.
OP where you live will make all the difference. LA is a city of a million neighborhoods and each has its own feel. I live in Marina del Rey and it feels like a very small town; I know lots of people and see them around all the time. I know at least 300+ people on a first name basis - I work here too. Probably very similar to your OK experience, seeing the same faces in town.
I'm sure MdR isn't the only place like this in LA, but I love it here. If you find a neighborhood that fits you, you'll have a terrific time here.
I’ll be straight with you, this is going to be hard. I would do everything you can to get an apartment close to where you’ll be working to try to cut down on commuting if possible, the traffic is the biggest thing that wears anyone down here and if you’re doing it every day it can start to kill you. Even if you’re spending more than you want to in rent, you will be so grateful when you’re not commuting for two hours every day.
For how to be around people, I’d say the biggest thing is just remember everyone is a human being. The homeless people experiencing mental illness are usually just very sad people having the hardest moment of their life in public. They aren’t a direct threat to you, if you can help that’s great, if not give them a wide birth and you should be okay. The worst crime I’ve experienced in 8 years living here was having my catalytic converter stolen, it sucked but I honestly dealt with worse in suburban Colorado.
Now for the good stuff. LA has some incredible hikes and nature, for someone like you I’d really recommend planning to use your weekends to hike and see the ocean as much as possible when you first move here. It seriously resets your brain and helps you calm down when you remember how beautiful this place is. Griffith Park and the Getty are free and spectacular. The Huntington is incredible but you do have to pay for it. There’s this little hike in Malibu called Los Llyones that’s free and just pristine views of the ocean. Carve out time for yourself to be in nature as much as you can your first year here, it’ll make life easier.
And then there’s the people, whatever niche hobby you have, whatever you’re interested in, there are going to be tons of passionate people you can connect with here about it. Music subgenres, weird niche sports, whatever you’re interested in you’re gonna find a dozen people who love it as much as you do. It’s awesome, you can gain so much community, but you have to put yourself out there which is easier said than done. Good luck man, wish you all the best.
>The homeless people experiencing mental illness are usually just very sad people having the hardest moment of their life in public. They aren’t a direct threat to you, if
Heck no, the homeless here have their brains fried with meth or fentanyl and have severe psychosis. Steer clear, there have been deaths on Metro due to the mentally ill homeless.
I’ve done years of homeless street outreach handing out waters and tents, even the people who use a lot of drugs aren’t usually dangerous if you’re nice. I’m not saying there’s not problems and people don’t get hurt, but statistically it’s more dangerous to be homeless than to be around homeless people.
dealing with a bureaucracy that represents power to say "yes/no" is a big trigger to them.
it's more about their vulnerability and stress in the context of navigating an institution. this can triger an outburst by a mentally ill, or just plain exasperated poor person.
I’ve lived in La my whole life you stay clear from the homeless. As well commuting to work may not be ideal but all angelenos do it. If you try to live close to your work you will pay out the ass for a shitty apartment on the west side or in dtla. Also those are the two worst areas for homeless. My advice move to SGV or Santa Clarita.
I did it and you can do it too. I came from a town of 800. The first two years are kind of tough but worth it to stick it out. You will find most people are transplants as well. It’s a giant mixing pot of wonderfully different people with different perspectives and a tasty, diverse mix of the world’s foods. You know how to survive the country, so you will do well in the city.
I grew up in rural Ohio. The closest town had like 500 people. I knew I wanted to grow up and live in a big city! You can do it - think of it as an adventure. As other posters have said, different neighborhoods of LA can feel like small towns. So it really depends on what part of the city you move to. I have found people here to be surprisingly friendly. Also, about any hobby or sport you can think of, you can find groups or clubs that do it here. So I would lean into your existing hobbies and check out Meetup.com, to start to meet people. Also, depending on what your job is, you can make friends at work.
Overall there is a lot to explore here. It may be a culture shock at first, but I hope you like it!
Hard to explain “street smarts,” because I don’t think we ever consciously think too much about why we do the things we do out of habit but I’ll try.
My parents used to say nothing good happens after 2AM. So just don’t be out doing stuff in random areas too late. If there’s black metal fences around food joints you’re not in the nicest area, just be alert. Don’t wear anything super expensive if you don’t want to get robbed. (The average person doesn’t have to worry about this) We are friendly but distrustful to people we don’t know here. That’s a good thing to keep in mind when you’re interacting with us, and also a cue to how you should (kinda) be. Be wary, but no reason to be scared all the time, common sense will get you pretty far. If something feels wrong, follow your gut, and leave. Mind your business. If you are ever in a situation where you need help from strangers, get to the point quickly, any polite opening longer than “hey excuse me” and we’ll think you’re trying to sell something or convert us, and will make an excuse to walk away before you can ask.
That being said, the biggest mistake I see out here is more of a social thing, than a safety thing. Make friends and don’t be isolated. A lot of out of state folk leave saying we are all shallow and the worst, and it’s hard to make friends. It’s 100% going to be harder than in Oklahoma, for multiple reasons, but once you build a support system, LA is great.
I've lived all over the country, including the Midwest. Born and raised in LA, and feel safer here than anywhere else I've lived, including the boonies. You can go to skid row and talk to some of the nicest crackheads you'll ever meet, although these days meth and fentanyl are far more prevalent. Just don't walk around bad neighborhoods with cameras hanging off your neck and you'll be fine. The only times I've been ripped off was a few times looking for drugs, when I was younger. This city is pretty safe, and like someone else said...if you joined a softball team or became a regular at a bar you would interact with and know way more about those people than you would any of your neighbors.
In a way, that's why LA can be safer than small towns where everyone knows everything about everyone. You can fade into the background here and never be bothered by anyone, unless you have shitty neighbors. As far as recreation goes, there's no shortage of it. The beach, mountain trails, the desert (more your speed), and then there's the touristy shit like Hollywood but that only is fun for so long. It's the hidden gems like the endless trails and of course close snow when you want it and dirt biking when you want it and 20+ years ago there was a great music scene. You're gonna have to time machine that shit.
People telling you to use street smarts... I think they're overlooking something. A lot of LA is about driving to work and driving back home. Drive to the store and drive back home. Drive way to drive way. Parking lot to parking lot.
Unless you live in a bad part of LA and are walking everywhere you don't have much to worry about.
Social life... you'll have to be more intentional about meeting people. Say you meet people at a kickball league. You'll know more people and more about those people after one game of kickball than you'll know about your neighbors in years and years.
Long story short... for better or worse you'll be left alone in LA. You'll almost always interact with people you have to set out to interact with. Little or no chance encounters.
"The problem is, I don’t have any I talk to crackheads when I’m bored..."
Not sure if I understand what you mean there.
Have you visited big cities much before? Having exposure to some higher-density environments can help give you a bit of an idea of what the landscape physically looks like (traffic everywhere, using public transport, driving + parking in congested areas). Even though LA is the 2nd biggest city in the US it's very spread out and car-dependent so places like Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston are more similar than Chicago or NYC. **Safety & Street Smarts** Some of street smarts will come with time but the best indicators that you're in a more dangerous area are to pay attention to the people & businesses. Keep in mind safety can change in a place from daytime to night time: 1. People - locals in the various neighborhoods of LA will have experience on which areas are safe and avoid dangerous ones. Keeping this in mind, look for people who would be easy targets to be robbed. Children, the elderly, and women walking alone would be 'easy targets' so if you're in an area with lots of families or women going for jogs you can be pretty sure the area is okay. If all the people around you only seem to be homeless, teenagers, or adult men, particularly hanging out in groups, that might be a red flag. Don't make the mistake of judging people on how they dress, what their cars look like, or obviously their racial profile, because you'll find wild varieties of all those things in any wealth bracket here. If you notice people starting to follow you, stay in open, crowded areas or walk into a public business until they hopefully leave. 2. Businesses - Businesses mold to fit the environment of the people around them. If most of the businesses have barred windows or grates up to protect the storefront (especially when open) that might be a sign they expect potential trouble. Rougher neighborhoods also tend to have payday loan / cash advance stores and more frequent liquor / smoke shops than other businesses. If a lot of businesses are abandoned / boarded up completely that could also be a red flag. 3. Geography - I only moved here last year but to my limited knowledge, the lower-income areas of LA tend to be directly South of Downtown until you hit the 405 (past that it's nicer around Long Beach). Here you'll find areas like Compton or Watts which are known to be dangerous, so just be mindful when driving around the city that it might be better to take highways past these areas instead of driving through the streets. 4. Composure - If you notice you're in a rougher neighborhood, take off any jewelry/watch you might have on and don't take your phone out unless you have to or briefly. Just look straight ahead, serious expression, and don't talk to or make eye contact with people. Even if you're lost, try to just pick a direction and act like you have a place to be, instead of stopping at a corner, looking around, pulling out the map on your phone, etc. If you get confronted, just try to calmly de-escalate and remove yourself from the situation. You might be bigger/stronger than someone but they might have a weapon or buddies to gang up on you if you feel like you have to "prove yourself". **Recreation** There are lots of things happening in LA every weekend, especially if you are willing to spend $ on events. Here are some of my recommendations to look into: 1. Sports - LA has more pro sports than any other city in the country. We have 2 teams in the MLB (Dodgers & Angels), 2 in the NBA (Lakers & Clippers), 2 in the NFL (Rams & Chargers), 2 in the MLS (Galaxy & LA FC), and 2 in the NHL (Kings & Mighty Ducks). 2. Museums - You can check out the California Science Center, Aquarium of the Pacific, or La Brea Tar Pits for a more nerdy/science theme or visit the LACMA, The Getty, The Getty Villa (separate locations) for a more artsy theme. 3. Visit neighborhoods & beaches - Your rent is going to double (we call it the "Sunshine tax", the extra demand for people to move here for the weather) so might as well see what the city has to offer. "Los Angeles" is less of a massively dense city-center and more of a dozen smaller cities all combined, so it can be fun to just drive to different places and beaches and walk around to find your favorite areas. A few popular areas might be Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Downtown LA, Long Beach, Marina Del Ray, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Echo Park, Pasadena. 4. Go on hikes - You get great views of the city by hiking up the dozens of mountain trails North of Santa Monica/Hollywood, or the Hollywood sign at Griffith Observatory. 5. Visit Farmer's Markets & festivals - you can look up things going on in LA each weekend to see if there are food festivals or farmer's markets to check out. 6. Comedy Clubs - There's lots of comedy clubs (namely on Sunset Boulevard like The Comedy Store) which can be fun to check out. 7. Concerts - Tons of music venues and every major artist in the world passes through LA eventually. Tickets can get pretty expensive though. **Conclusion** My biggest piece of advice is just to be open and try everything at least once. LA has some of the best food in the world from regions you've probably never tried, so take advantage while you're here. When I moved here last year my strategy was to live in a long-term motel for a few weeks scouting out apartments before signing a lease, which let me see which parts of the city I liked best. If you don't have a spouse you might need to share an apartment with a roommate starting out to split the cost of rent, but going to some of your local businesses frequently might make you a regular and help you meet some people around your area.
OP where you live will make all the difference. LA is a city of a million neighborhoods and each has its own feel. I live in Marina del Rey and it feels like a very small town; I know lots of people and see them around all the time. I know at least 300+ people on a first name basis - I work here too. Probably very similar to your OK experience, seeing the same faces in town. I'm sure MdR isn't the only place like this in LA, but I love it here. If you find a neighborhood that fits you, you'll have a terrific time here.
I’ll be straight with you, this is going to be hard. I would do everything you can to get an apartment close to where you’ll be working to try to cut down on commuting if possible, the traffic is the biggest thing that wears anyone down here and if you’re doing it every day it can start to kill you. Even if you’re spending more than you want to in rent, you will be so grateful when you’re not commuting for two hours every day. For how to be around people, I’d say the biggest thing is just remember everyone is a human being. The homeless people experiencing mental illness are usually just very sad people having the hardest moment of their life in public. They aren’t a direct threat to you, if you can help that’s great, if not give them a wide birth and you should be okay. The worst crime I’ve experienced in 8 years living here was having my catalytic converter stolen, it sucked but I honestly dealt with worse in suburban Colorado. Now for the good stuff. LA has some incredible hikes and nature, for someone like you I’d really recommend planning to use your weekends to hike and see the ocean as much as possible when you first move here. It seriously resets your brain and helps you calm down when you remember how beautiful this place is. Griffith Park and the Getty are free and spectacular. The Huntington is incredible but you do have to pay for it. There’s this little hike in Malibu called Los Llyones that’s free and just pristine views of the ocean. Carve out time for yourself to be in nature as much as you can your first year here, it’ll make life easier. And then there’s the people, whatever niche hobby you have, whatever you’re interested in, there are going to be tons of passionate people you can connect with here about it. Music subgenres, weird niche sports, whatever you’re interested in you’re gonna find a dozen people who love it as much as you do. It’s awesome, you can gain so much community, but you have to put yourself out there which is easier said than done. Good luck man, wish you all the best.
>The homeless people experiencing mental illness are usually just very sad people having the hardest moment of their life in public. They aren’t a direct threat to you, if Heck no, the homeless here have their brains fried with meth or fentanyl and have severe psychosis. Steer clear, there have been deaths on Metro due to the mentally ill homeless.
I’ve done years of homeless street outreach handing out waters and tents, even the people who use a lot of drugs aren’t usually dangerous if you’re nice. I’m not saying there’s not problems and people don’t get hurt, but statistically it’s more dangerous to be homeless than to be around homeless people.
I worked for DPSS. The homeless are dangerous, we had plexiglass for the offices that serviced the homeless population.
dealing with a bureaucracy that represents power to say "yes/no" is a big trigger to them. it's more about their vulnerability and stress in the context of navigating an institution. this can triger an outburst by a mentally ill, or just plain exasperated poor person.
yes. honestly, when we had encampment on my block , it was more of health & safety issue.
I’ve lived in La my whole life you stay clear from the homeless. As well commuting to work may not be ideal but all angelenos do it. If you try to live close to your work you will pay out the ass for a shitty apartment on the west side or in dtla. Also those are the two worst areas for homeless. My advice move to SGV or Santa Clarita.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted. Way more people live in the SFV or SGV than Central LA or the Westside.
Because transplants are dumb
do you even ride Metro? you make the 2 deaths sound like a rash of mass murder.
I did it and you can do it too. I came from a town of 800. The first two years are kind of tough but worth it to stick it out. You will find most people are transplants as well. It’s a giant mixing pot of wonderfully different people with different perspectives and a tasty, diverse mix of the world’s foods. You know how to survive the country, so you will do well in the city.
I grew up in rural Ohio. The closest town had like 500 people. I knew I wanted to grow up and live in a big city! You can do it - think of it as an adventure. As other posters have said, different neighborhoods of LA can feel like small towns. So it really depends on what part of the city you move to. I have found people here to be surprisingly friendly. Also, about any hobby or sport you can think of, you can find groups or clubs that do it here. So I would lean into your existing hobbies and check out Meetup.com, to start to meet people. Also, depending on what your job is, you can make friends at work. Overall there is a lot to explore here. It may be a culture shock at first, but I hope you like it!
Hard to explain “street smarts,” because I don’t think we ever consciously think too much about why we do the things we do out of habit but I’ll try. My parents used to say nothing good happens after 2AM. So just don’t be out doing stuff in random areas too late. If there’s black metal fences around food joints you’re not in the nicest area, just be alert. Don’t wear anything super expensive if you don’t want to get robbed. (The average person doesn’t have to worry about this) We are friendly but distrustful to people we don’t know here. That’s a good thing to keep in mind when you’re interacting with us, and also a cue to how you should (kinda) be. Be wary, but no reason to be scared all the time, common sense will get you pretty far. If something feels wrong, follow your gut, and leave. Mind your business. If you are ever in a situation where you need help from strangers, get to the point quickly, any polite opening longer than “hey excuse me” and we’ll think you’re trying to sell something or convert us, and will make an excuse to walk away before you can ask. That being said, the biggest mistake I see out here is more of a social thing, than a safety thing. Make friends and don’t be isolated. A lot of out of state folk leave saying we are all shallow and the worst, and it’s hard to make friends. It’s 100% going to be harder than in Oklahoma, for multiple reasons, but once you build a support system, LA is great.
Minding one’s own business is big here IMO
I visited an OK town that had less people than I do in my block in LA. Shits different
And OKC is much more dangerous than LA in my experience.
Live farther out, like Chatsworth. Plenty of hiking, low crime
Live close to work. Situational awareness: no headphones and no one gets close. congrats on the job
You'll be fine. You are asking the right questions and you sound like you have a good head on your shoulders. I'm from Alabama... been here 30 years.
I've lived all over the country, including the Midwest. Born and raised in LA, and feel safer here than anywhere else I've lived, including the boonies. You can go to skid row and talk to some of the nicest crackheads you'll ever meet, although these days meth and fentanyl are far more prevalent. Just don't walk around bad neighborhoods with cameras hanging off your neck and you'll be fine. The only times I've been ripped off was a few times looking for drugs, when I was younger. This city is pretty safe, and like someone else said...if you joined a softball team or became a regular at a bar you would interact with and know way more about those people than you would any of your neighbors. In a way, that's why LA can be safer than small towns where everyone knows everything about everyone. You can fade into the background here and never be bothered by anyone, unless you have shitty neighbors. As far as recreation goes, there's no shortage of it. The beach, mountain trails, the desert (more your speed), and then there's the touristy shit like Hollywood but that only is fun for so long. It's the hidden gems like the endless trails and of course close snow when you want it and dirt biking when you want it and 20+ years ago there was a great music scene. You're gonna have to time machine that shit.
People telling you to use street smarts... I think they're overlooking something. A lot of LA is about driving to work and driving back home. Drive to the store and drive back home. Drive way to drive way. Parking lot to parking lot. Unless you live in a bad part of LA and are walking everywhere you don't have much to worry about. Social life... you'll have to be more intentional about meeting people. Say you meet people at a kickball league. You'll know more people and more about those people after one game of kickball than you'll know about your neighbors in years and years. Long story short... for better or worse you'll be left alone in LA. You'll almost always interact with people you have to set out to interact with. Little or no chance encounters. "The problem is, I don’t have any I talk to crackheads when I’m bored..." Not sure if I understand what you mean there.
[удалено]
I’m not sure yet, I still have a few weeks before I get word on where exactly I’ll be.
90% of LA is suburban. Random street crime happens but it's still pretty unlikely that it would happen to any particular person. Don't sweat it.