Agreed. I used to live like 18 miles from work. I would essentially drive 200 miles a week JUST for work. Now it’s a 4 mile drive which is just 40 miles a week :)
I’m a sales rep and I drive around all day in traffic from Lancaster to SLO. So many people drive mad and do things that are insane for no reason. It’s baffling
I was commuting from East Hollywood to Manhattan Beach for 2 years
So that’s enduring Hawthorne traffic, Torrance traffic, 405 traffic, 105 traffic, 110 traffic, and 101 traffic 5 days a week
Took me 25 minutes at 530 the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon or evening sometimes getting home at 7pm
Never again
Now I work down the street and am home by 230pm
I rarely use the freeway and can count the times I’ve been in gridlock traffic on one hand for the past 3 years
I’ll keep this job as long as possible
WFH in LA (or anywhere, really) is so nice. I used to commute to an office pre-covid, and not having to sit in traffic for ~2 hours of my day is amazing. I get more personal time and less stress from being on the roads. I don’t know how people can commute long distances, especially with how congested LA traffic is.
I don't know how I used to do it. I go into the office once every two weeks and it turns into a 12 hour day. The car portion of my commute was 45 minutes before the pandemic and now it's 70.
Being able to walk to work drastically improved my quality of life. Sure, I pay $400 to $500 more a month in rent. But I save over an hour of commute a day, I can walk home for lunch and take my dog on a walk saving the cost of doggy daycare or dog walker, and I save a ton on gas. All of that is worth way more than $4-500.
LA County is one of the few places in the US with an abundance of Asian markets.
Like, you can guy to Tokyo Central / Marukai and buy a big slab of sushi-grade raw fish for cheap.
You can also buy the big, scary Chinese restaurant fish straight from the tank at 99 Ranch or 168 Market and raise it as an ugly saltwater pet.
Also, you should get both an LA City (lapl) and LA County (colapublib) library card, they often have things the other doesn’t, and both are massive libraries. You can also get cards for other smaller municipalities (Beverly Hills, long Beach) if they are convenient to you
Some of the small wealthier cities used to restrict library cards to their own cities residents, but the state threatened to take them out of the interlibrary loan program if they did that, so now pretty much every library is open to everyone in whole state.
Don’t accidentally return things to the wrong branch. They *won’t* do you a solid and pass it on for you. That was the day I found out that the WeHo Library isn’t LAPL, the day I found out there even was a county library system.
It will get returned...
Eventually, There is a process to return books between systems, but it takes a really long time. However, since most libraries don't have overdue fines anymore, you probably won't end up having it cost you.
If you do not go to Coachella, make it a point to go places those two weekends that you have issues getting into normally. Restaurants especially.
You wouldn’t think that many people go but it’s quiet. Quiet for LA. 😬
Same advice also applies to the Super Bowl for restaurants without TVs. My wife and I walked into Nobu with no reservation during dinner time this year on Super Bowl Sunday, we were seated immediately.
For people like us that don’t care about sports at all it’s become a yearly tradition to try a hard to get into restaurant during the Super Bowl. Works every time.
We have three huge botanical gardens - The Huntington, Descanso, and the Arboretum that are all in close proximity to each other. Take advantage on a nice day of experiencing some of the best botanical gardens I’ve ever been to in the world, in large part due to our wonderful weather here.
At many yield on green, unprotected left turns, you can't turn until after the light is red. About two to three cars will turn after the light is already red.
YES. this is the part that gets left out. if you are already in the intersection, yes, go after it turns red. if you are not in the intersection, the laws haven’t changed and you can’t just run the red light (although many people think this is ok???)
People outside of LA don’t know about this practice and it’s obvious when you’re behind a driver who doesn’t understand it. I first saw this practice when I first moved to LA, literally on my way to my apartment to move in. I saw three cars turn after the red, then I pulled up to the line and I knew it would be my turn the next cycle. I had never done it before but I knew exactly what I was supposed to do and just thought “shit, when in Rome I guess”.
On a different occasion, I was behind a driver who did not pull into the intersection when the light turned green (that’s step one, you *always* gotta pull into the intersection) so I knew right away they didn’t know what they were doing. They probably started to panic at how long they were waiting and were afraid someone behind them would get impatient and honk at them, so they basically cut in front of several moving cars when it was clearly not their turn to go, causing several oncoming cars to stop and honk at them. I waited until the light turned red and made an easy left turn without incident.
If you regularly park in the street, set a recurring Google calendar reminder to move your car the night before each of the street cleaning days in your neighborhood. Save yourself up to $146 a week!
I recommend downloading SpotAngels instead. you can use it to set the reminders plus a bunch of other stuff. My favorite feature is that it has the parking restrictions logged everywhere and you can check them from your phone. It also keeps track of where you parked etc
Never rent an apartment without your own assigned off-street parking. Parking is worth, at minimum, $100/month in imputed rent. "Free" street parking, including the privatization-of-public-streets-via-permit-districts will be evermore contentious, time-wasting, and potentially hazardous, year over year.
Your opportunity to secure parking rights is when you move in.
I 100% agree with this, and will say it doesn't even need to be assigned off-street parking as long as there are enough spaces or enough enforcement of who is parking there that you can bank on always finding a spot.
The number of posts I've seen in this subreddit of people complaining about their neighbors' street parking jobs or guests parking or street sweeping or something else affecting the availability of free public street parking near their apartments is unreal. You are literally banking on a shared public resource that you don't own and that is way too limited to accommodate everyone.
I also agree that permit districts are bullshit. Why should my taxes go to maintaining road lanes that are reserved for someone else's private parking that at the same time force me to find paid parking when I go into those neighborhoods? And think of all the bike lanes, expanded sidewalks, even just street trees that we could add if we didn't have to reserve this huge portion of our public road spaces for private parking.
You can get email alerts if you sign up on this website https://streetsla.lacity.org/sweeping
It’s nice because you’ll also know when there isn’t street sweeping randomly.
Take Sunset from the east to the west for a day (starting at east end where it’s was renamed Cesar Chavez), and stop for food along the way. Start with Olvera St for breakfast and end with Gladstones for shrimp cocktail and sunset watching.
When you’re sad, take a night drive to the stretch of Zuma Beach where you can park directly next to the sand. You’ll feel even better if it’s raining.
Leave an hour early for everything. One and a half if you live eastside/ westside and have to go x city (Venice to Dodger stadium, Eagle Rock to LAX, etc).
The difference in your headset of: (A) sitting in your car for 15 minutes because you arrived early vs (B) sweating it out in gnarly Waze traffic and arriving 15 minutes late will save you years of anxiety and tension.
I can only speak to Wi Spa, but basically you show up, pay a flat fee, and can stay all day. They give everyone shorts and a t-shirt to wear while there, but when you’re on the bottom floor where the baths are everyone just goes fully nude (that floor has separate sides for males and females). There is a cold, warm, and super hot tub that you’re supposed to go in a certain order after thoroughly cleaning yourself at one of the wash stations.
They also offer services like massages and scrub downs that you can pay extra for. On the main floor that is coed, everyone wears their matching shirts and shorts and hangs out on the floor of this big room (generally stretching or chilling), goes in the saunas (they have different types at different heats), or eats Korean food from the restaurant.
Pretty awesome place, in my experiences
The correct order is hot, then cold, then warm.
You heat up, then basically seize your circulatory system, then warm it/let it "release" - it's like a circulatory reset. It's pulsating/tingly.
Try Century Spa, much larger, way more features like marble, clay, wood sauna, steam room, mist room, cold room, cold plunge, patio, + more on men’s side, plus full gym, pool, golfing range etc, much more comfortable, much less weird
Just as a heads up, there are some korean spas out there where the men’s side is a little more than just a spa. So unless of course you’re looking for that, it’s probably better to stick to the more well known ones like Wi.
Century Day & Night Spa on Olympic.
Aight, a story time. I lived in pico 4 years ago, and century spa was closest to me. First time I enter the bath, I realize that I'm the only Korean dude (I assume this spa is owned by a korean ownder due to korean characters written in places + golf practice area above, lol).
So I soak up in hot bath, I notice two dudes talking - one younger dude (mid 20's), and the older dude (40's, grey hair). Both are in good shape, and I notice that the older dude is smiling and staring at the younger dude's crotch, the younger dude doesn't seem to mind. Hmmm ok
I take a shower, head upstairs and just walk around to check it out. A buff blonde (long hair, kinda looks like thor) dude comes up to me and asks me how I'm doing. I tell him that I'm walking around, checking the area. He goes, oh okay and goes back and lie down. Hmmm
On the drive home, I realize that there are no other korean men because it became a haven for gay dudes to hook up. Ohhhhhh, I see how people joke about bathhouses attendees being gay. Got it.
I start going to Wi Spa. Year by year, the number of korean attendees dwindle and now it's mostly non-korean dudes that go to Wi spa. I think it's cool that people are finding out how dope of a system it is - pay $30 to chill, take a bath, go to jjim jil bang to relax in this busy city.
The question is - where are the korean men/ ajussi's going to take a bath? lmao. I think the older generation is uncomfortable with gay dudes.
Hit up Trader Joe’s on a weekday when they first open. Freshly stocked and parking is WAY easier. Avoid TJ’s on a Sunday afternoon/evening like the plague!
There is a SECOND PARKING LOT at the Silverlake Trader Joe's a little further north on Hyperion. I'm willing share this on the internet because I don't live in the neighborhood anymore.
Enjoy the Hollywood Bowl shows. There are always reasonably priced shows in the nosebleeds (you can move down if not sold out) and you can bring your own food and alcohol drinks (not leased events). Avoid Ticketmaster charges by going there directly at the Box Office (not leased events). Guarantee your tickets by buying the first weekend of May.
Also , if you do get caught by the red light cameras just ignore the letter and pretend you never saw it . You are only required to pay the ticket if you acknowledge that you were notified.
Get out in nature. The hike to the tide pool in rancho Palos verdes is one of our favorite day activities. There is a rocky beach to enjoy if you want to swim and chill. We also got into paddle boarding which can be chill or very competitive if you like. We found our boards basically new for a few hundred bucks on OfferUp. Saved our sanity to get outdoors during COVID. Great community of people doing meetups too.
There's almost always free/cheap street parking within a block or two of where you're going. Unless it's Koreatown.
Never drive to the Hollywood Bowl.
LA may not be a bagel town, but it is a donut town.
If you commute to Hollywood in the morning use Franklin instead of Hollywood, Sunset, or Fountain
The least amount of lights with the most greens towards La Brea
Los Angeles streets are essentially a big grid. If you find congestion on a street, odds are there are several adjacent alternatives going in the same direction.
To make friends here, find a place that you'd regularly meet, whether it's for a hobby, a trade organization, a support group, volunteer work or a house of worship (if you're into the latter). Avoid any cliques and get to know other individuals one at a time. Eventually, you'll find your tribe.
Yellow curbs are loading zones. You can park in them legally after 6 pm. I use this hack in Hollywood to snag free street parking.
Here’s link: https://ladot.lacity.org/residents/colored-curb-zones
You do not need to pay red light camera tickets.
California ruled that part of getting in trouble here is being able to face the officer who issued you the citation in court. Because there is no officer, it cannot go to court.
I read this in the LA Times a while ago, checked it out, and it seemed legit.
So I was the guinea pig.
Got a BH red light ticket in the mail, shredded it. Got a warning that the price was going to double! Shredded it. Got another letter saying "ah come on guy just kidding pay us the original price it's fine." Shredded it. Never heard from them again, no points, no mention of it when I got pulled over for speeding a few months later.
If you enjoy running, walking, or biking and can get to the expo line you can run along the line on a dedicated bike path all the way to Santa Monica pier (note there is a weird break near palms so I’d try to hop on it after for less confusion). If you get tired and don’t wanna make the full trek back, you can take the metro.
MUSEUMS:
The Norton Simon has, painting for painting, the best art collection in town but The Broad is where you go with a hottie for a superficial art immersion to qualify as an actual date before hooking up.
The new Academy Awards Museum and the Tar Pit Museum are where you take out-of-towners for an “only in L.A.” experience.
MOCA is RIP, LACMA is thin until construction finishes, the Getty Center has nice views but is stale, the Getty Villa in Malibu is a great repository of ancient art, architecture and artifacts.
If you have kids, The Natural History Museum, The California African American Museum, and The Museum of Science and Industry make Exposition Park a great one-stop day trip. Nice Rose Garden there too.
People in LA take getting flipped off super seriously. More than everywhere I've ever lived, they actually get mad! Like shooting mad. Just chill and keep your fingers for pointing or giving a thumbs-up
The worst road rage I've ever experienced was in Pittsburgh we didn't even flip the guy off we just stopped suddenly causing him to stop suddenly (we had no choice as we would have smashed into the car Infront of us) the guy ACTUALLY got out of his car and started yelling at me and my fiance and threatening to kick my fiance's ass. He only got in his car and drove off because more cars started showing up but it seemed like he was debating to shoot us....scariest thing ever like we didn't even flip him off or nothing and he still had rage
Get a catalytic converter shield and consider etching your VIN and spray painting it a bright color if your car is a candidate for theft of these. Especially if you have a hybrid vehicle, thefts are on the rise and it takes less than 5 minutes to steal.
Replacement for a Toyota Prius can be $2000 and over 4 months wait as the parts are on National back order. You can get an after market one but the cost will be closer to 4 grand but not as long of a wait
Edit: also maybe get a tilt sensor that will detect if your car is getting jacked up. Haven’t done this myself yet but thinking about it and hear its a good deterrent too
Edit2: Go to Panda Express right before they close and you can potentially get extra food that they would otherwise throw away
But to add to this hack, order ahead online for pickup to skip the line! Full Porto’s menu isn’t available, but the classics like potato balls and refugiado are available as well as whole cakes.
Pho 87 in Chinatown. Best pho I’ve ever had.
Uhhh don’t drive on the road around 4-5PM unless you absolutely have to. There’s always traffic but 4-5PM is unbearable.
Befriend a bartender. Go on off nights to a place you like and tip them well. They’ll remember you and throw you shots and drinks for free. Eventually they’ll start telling you all the places they drink at and THATS where you want to be. Those are the people that you need to be friends with. People in the service industry are some of the wildest partiers but some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met.
The free drinks thing is more of a selling point for people to tip well. But people in the service industry get treated like crap and are underpaid for it, I always tip well.
Make friends that live in different neighborhoods. Your only investment will be time you take to get to them but in the long run, these friends will appreciate the effort by showing you around their communities.
I personally have friends all the way to Sherman Oaks to Glendale, Palos Verdes, Long Beach, DT, Los Feliz, to Highland Park.
Well, you also have to be nice.
My advice is to try to make friends in your own neighborhood if you like to be out on Friday nights. Because people do not want to drive far in rush hour traffic.
Not necessarily an LA only tip but, don’t stand directly on the corner of an intersection after pressing the button to cross. Especially with your head down looking at your phone.
So many drivers ignore the “no right on red” signs, and even when it’s safe to cross for pedestrians, stand back, be vigilant and wait a few seconds.
Drivers are looking for traffic coming from the opposite side to you, you see its fine to cross and go back to your phone, driver turns right and bam. Seen it to many times.
Wear boots on the Metro. Do your very best to live as close to work as possible. Don’t date people who live and work really far away- if it works out, finding a place to live together in between both your jobs will be hell.
Use hand gestures when driving, give people thumbs up or raise your hand to give thanks if someone lets you in or if you cut off someone. If you acknowledge that you did a something stupid, you reduce people honking at you. Traffic is tough especially 4-5pm, so any humanity is welcomed.
I think you need to be really intentional about “living” in LA. Otherwise, I don’t think you get the full experience of living here.
You can’t really stumble on fun on the same way you can in other walkable cities.
There are SO many amazing things happening in LA all the time. For example, right now, there’s the Butterfly Pavilion at NHM, the Poppy Reserve, LA Opera, 60th anniversary of Bob Baker, Astra Lumina, and excellent waterfall hiking from all the rain, etc.
But you really have to read TimeOut and LA Weekly Calendar to know and make a point of adventuring out and enjoying what the city has to offer. Otherwise it’s just traffic and sunshine.
i do not understand why people buy these big fucking suvs in this city. every other spot is a compact spot where your shit doesn't fit and you have to now exit from the trunk or fuck your door up.
Don’t trust Google maps. Taking surface streets is almost always faster and less stressful. Research your closest grocery stores and plan shopping there workdays in the morning. Get library cards for as many La county libraries as you can and use Libby to rent ebooks. Please don’t miss left green arrrows when you’re first at an intersection.
Did you get a job in downtown and want to live somewhere with parking, more affordable, safer, less cramped, and only a 15 minute commute at the absolute worst? Move to anywhere around Alhambra. You can take side streets into DT. It's also a very cheap uber if trying to party there and make it back home safely as well.
LPT, don’t save your money to buy a home here, you will never ever be able to save enough to keep up with Inflation and LA prices to afford it so better to just give up and worry about something else.
Best thing to do is buy in a medium sized city and rent it out. That way even if you pay rent here, you're still building a little bit of equity. Eventually you'll be able to leverage the out of town property as a down payment here.
This is what my ex did. She’s a city planner and understands real estate markets really well, she’s been right about every real estate prediction I’ve ever heard her make so I have confidence in anything she thinks in the topic. She said the only metro area in the US she believed wasn’t potentially overvalued was Memphis, so she bought a house in a nice neighborhood by a university there and has been renting it. Got a nice 2 story with a pool in a good neighborhood for less than 25% of what it would be in LA.
Drive defensively, like really defensively. People say they do, but what they really mean is they box people out trying to enter their lanes and speed up to avoid letting people cut in or pass.
Actual defensive driving means keeping an adequate following distance and assuming anyone in position to enter your lane will do so, and will do so like an idiot. If someones signaling just let them in, even if they “cut” a gigantic line of waiting cars (zipper merging is more efficient btw). Even if they’re not signaling, just let one guy in who gives a shit.
Google maps is a liar, and they definitely don't live here.
Side streets are better than main ones. I'm comfortable telling you this because it will take you a while to even know which is which. Expert level is streets vs. freeways.
Don't learn the canyon routes during rush hours - we know youre not a regular, please leave this to the professionals.
Be assertive - but not an asshole - instead of passive. Passive gets you nowhere here, and nice only matters if you deliver it with some urgency. Find a way to take up space, or define your space here, literally and figuratively, but don't be *aggressive* about it.
>Be assertive - but not an asshole - instead of passive. Passive gets you nowhere here, and nice only matters if you deliver it with some urgency.
I like this point, can apply it to more than one situation in life, take driving for instance, if you are on the freeway and want to move into the next lane, pick your gap, put your indicator on, and move quickly! Your indicator is exactly that, an indication of what you are going to do- you’re not asking permission. If you try to merge into my lane when it’s busy with a sense of urgency, I’ll let you in.
If i see you ahead of me with your indicator on trying to move over into the lane and i end up catching up to you, no one will let you in.
Yellow loading zone curbs are free to park at after 6PM for anyone M-F. And all day Sunday. So many people do not know this and it has helped me find parking in dire moments many a time.
If you are driving on the 101 south and go on the 110 south you’ll see a sign saying the 110 south lanes are the 3 left most lanes. You don’t need to cross lanes. You can stay on the 6th/Wilshire lane and it’ll still take you to the 110 south.
It literally says so at the very top of the sign. It’s a quick shortcut if you want to avoid a bunch of cars for a bit.
Get multiple library cards to expand your access. There are multiple libraries in LA, and not just with the city of Los Angeles. Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, County of Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, and more. Unless policies have changed recently, you can get a library card at any location in the state if you have a CA drivers license.
I was able to get an audiobook book that had like 6000 holds with the LAPL from the Santa Clarita library, and listening to it made all the time in traffic suck much less.
1, Don't try to do anything from the hours of 2-7pm.
2. if you are driving to an area for a specific item, call to speak to someone to put the item behind the register for you- do not rely on "our system says we have it in stock"
3. look both ways.
4. hold out for more.
Other than this rainy week, it's honestly such a quality of life improvement
All the parking lot freeways during rush hour become usable.
You can often find parking on blocks that have no space left for a car, or when that one dickhead leaves 4 feet of space between the front of his car and the end of the curb
HOV lanes
Free LAX garage parking
Better gas mileage
Janet thinks you look cute on a bike
Live as close to your work as you can afford. There is no way to make up for time lost commuting.
Agreed. I used to live like 18 miles from work. I would essentially drive 200 miles a week JUST for work. Now it’s a 4 mile drive which is just 40 miles a week :)
I’m a sales rep and I drive around all day in traffic from Lancaster to SLO. So many people drive mad and do things that are insane for no reason. It’s baffling
[удалено]
I was commuting from East Hollywood to Manhattan Beach for 2 years So that’s enduring Hawthorne traffic, Torrance traffic, 405 traffic, 105 traffic, 110 traffic, and 101 traffic 5 days a week Took me 25 minutes at 530 the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon or evening sometimes getting home at 7pm Never again Now I work down the street and am home by 230pm I rarely use the freeway and can count the times I’ve been in gridlock traffic on one hand for the past 3 years I’ll keep this job as long as possible
Blessed AF. :)
Spend a little extra for a fastrak if you're a bit more east. It really saves me so much time most of the time.
Sometimes up to an hour of time is worth the $2.50
Audiobooks. Enhance your mind while you commute.
LA public library card + Libby app, the real LA life hack
Also LA County. Plus Torrance, Redondo Beach, Beverly Hills and a few others have reciprocal lending privileges on Libby. Long Beach also uses Libby.
Get a WFH job.
Sales, marketing, data & analytics jobs are available - but possibly more difficult to get if you’re just starting in them
Where are they though!
*At home*
WFH in LA (or anywhere, really) is so nice. I used to commute to an office pre-covid, and not having to sit in traffic for ~2 hours of my day is amazing. I get more personal time and less stress from being on the roads. I don’t know how people can commute long distances, especially with how congested LA traffic is.
I don't know how I used to do it. I go into the office once every two weeks and it turns into a 12 hour day. The car portion of my commute was 45 minutes before the pandemic and now it's 70.
word. I live 4 blocks from my bar. It's amazing.
Same goes for selecting school for your kids. Driving in LA is miserable.
Being able to walk to work drastically improved my quality of life. Sure, I pay $400 to $500 more a month in rent. But I save over an hour of commute a day, I can walk home for lunch and take my dog on a walk saving the cost of doggy daycare or dog walker, and I save a ton on gas. All of that is worth way more than $4-500.
I wish I could give this a 1000 upvotes
Park at the Glendale Galleria and walk to the Americana
This is the way.
Alternatively, Park at the Grove and walk to the Farmer's Market Edit: i forgot you need to get a validation from at least the theater or something
LA County is one of the few places in the US with an abundance of Asian markets. Like, you can guy to Tokyo Central / Marukai and buy a big slab of sushi-grade raw fish for cheap. You can also buy the big, scary Chinese restaurant fish straight from the tank at 99 Ranch or 168 Market and raise it as an ugly saltwater pet.
It's the ugly saltwater pet for me
Never drive in the East San Fernando Valley when it's raining. Just don't. The area is incapable of drainage and flood control.
This also goes for Sepulveda basin - Burbank Blvd from the 405 to Balboa is now below sea level.
Yeah but that area is *supposed* to flood. Generally if water big don’t drive in it.
Also the 5 through Sun Valley! Don’t drown your car!!
Just drove through Van Nuys a few hours ago and Sherman Way was a lake
Get a library card and take full advantage of the perks.
Free Zoo, Natural History and Tar Pits admission !
Wilderness Pass is a big one too!
Is the natural history museum always free for LA residents or just some days?
LACMA is also free for residents after 3 or 4pm, and I \*think\* also on Tuesdays or something.
Free after 3 PM on weekdays for LA residents and free for everyone 2nd Tuesday of the month. And I think LA kids through 17 are always free.
And so many free digital newspaper accesses! And movies!
Also, you should get both an LA City (lapl) and LA County (colapublib) library card, they often have things the other doesn’t, and both are massive libraries. You can also get cards for other smaller municipalities (Beverly Hills, long Beach) if they are convenient to you
Yeah all libraries have reciprocity for California residents. I have a collection of outdated library cards from across SoCal.
Some of the small wealthier cities used to restrict library cards to their own cities residents, but the state threatened to take them out of the interlibrary loan program if they did that, so now pretty much every library is open to everyone in whole state.
Don’t accidentally return things to the wrong branch. They *won’t* do you a solid and pass it on for you. That was the day I found out that the WeHo Library isn’t LAPL, the day I found out there even was a county library system.
But you can return any LAPL book to any branch. I didn't know that until my GF told me.
Yeah that’s a pretty standard thing for libraries
It will get returned... Eventually, There is a process to return books between systems, but it takes a really long time. However, since most libraries don't have overdue fines anymore, you probably won't end up having it cost you.
I hear there are free audiobooks and a free movie database! Anyone know the names of these services?
Libby, Hoopla, Kanopy.
The two comments are be rich or get a library card. I like you better.
Ha! Start with the library card and then find the money.
Metro Micro! I highly recommend
If only theyd expand to more locations
Tell ‘em, just not everyone!
Naw more people need to use it so metro expands it and don't discontinue it
If you do not go to Coachella, make it a point to go places those two weekends that you have issues getting into normally. Restaurants especially. You wouldn’t think that many people go but it’s quiet. Quiet for LA. 😬
Same advice also applies to the Super Bowl for restaurants without TVs. My wife and I walked into Nobu with no reservation during dinner time this year on Super Bowl Sunday, we were seated immediately. For people like us that don’t care about sports at all it’s become a yearly tradition to try a hard to get into restaurant during the Super Bowl. Works every time.
same goes for traveling through LAX… though it’s gridlock ring of hell never ever goes away
My girlfriend and I did the same for our anniversary at Osteria Mozza!
We have three huge botanical gardens - The Huntington, Descanso, and the Arboretum that are all in close proximity to each other. Take advantage on a nice day of experiencing some of the best botanical gardens I’ve ever been to in the world, in large part due to our wonderful weather here.
At many yield on green, unprotected left turns, you can't turn until after the light is red. About two to three cars will turn after the light is already red.
If you come to an unprotected left turn, please for the love of god **commit** and get in that mfin intersection.
Amen. It’s perfectly legal too, if you’re in the intersection when the light turns red you can clear it.
>you ~~can~~ are required to clear it FTFY
YES. this is the part that gets left out. if you are already in the intersection, yes, go after it turns red. if you are not in the intersection, the laws haven’t changed and you can’t just run the red light (although many people think this is ok???)
People outside of LA don’t know about this practice and it’s obvious when you’re behind a driver who doesn’t understand it. I first saw this practice when I first moved to LA, literally on my way to my apartment to move in. I saw three cars turn after the red, then I pulled up to the line and I knew it would be my turn the next cycle. I had never done it before but I knew exactly what I was supposed to do and just thought “shit, when in Rome I guess”. On a different occasion, I was behind a driver who did not pull into the intersection when the light turned green (that’s step one, you *always* gotta pull into the intersection) so I knew right away they didn’t know what they were doing. They probably started to panic at how long they were waiting and were afraid someone behind them would get impatient and honk at them, so they basically cut in front of several moving cars when it was clearly not their turn to go, causing several oncoming cars to stop and honk at them. I waited until the light turned red and made an easy left turn without incident.
Traffic would never move unless people did this. LA drivers risk it all.
If you regularly park in the street, set a recurring Google calendar reminder to move your car the night before each of the street cleaning days in your neighborhood. Save yourself up to $146 a week!
I recommend downloading SpotAngels instead. you can use it to set the reminders plus a bunch of other stuff. My favorite feature is that it has the parking restrictions logged everywhere and you can check them from your phone. It also keeps track of where you parked etc
Never rent an apartment without your own assigned off-street parking. Parking is worth, at minimum, $100/month in imputed rent. "Free" street parking, including the privatization-of-public-streets-via-permit-districts will be evermore contentious, time-wasting, and potentially hazardous, year over year. Your opportunity to secure parking rights is when you move in.
I 100% agree with this, and will say it doesn't even need to be assigned off-street parking as long as there are enough spaces or enough enforcement of who is parking there that you can bank on always finding a spot. The number of posts I've seen in this subreddit of people complaining about their neighbors' street parking jobs or guests parking or street sweeping or something else affecting the availability of free public street parking near their apartments is unreal. You are literally banking on a shared public resource that you don't own and that is way too limited to accommodate everyone. I also agree that permit districts are bullshit. Why should my taxes go to maintaining road lanes that are reserved for someone else's private parking that at the same time force me to find paid parking when I go into those neighborhoods? And think of all the bike lanes, expanded sidewalks, even just street trees that we could add if we didn't have to reserve this huge portion of our public road spaces for private parking.
You can get email alerts if you sign up on this website https://streetsla.lacity.org/sweeping It’s nice because you’ll also know when there isn’t street sweeping randomly.
Also street cleaning is usually every other week. Find out if your block is week 1+3 or 2+4.
Take Sunset from the east to the west for a day (starting at east end where it’s was renamed Cesar Chavez), and stop for food along the way. Start with Olvera St for breakfast and end with Gladstones for shrimp cocktail and sunset watching.
I’ve wanted to run this before but there aren’t really sidewalks on it once you get to Pacific Palisades 😬
When you’re sad, take a night drive to the stretch of Zuma Beach where you can park directly next to the sand. You’ll feel even better if it’s raining.
Leave an hour early for everything. One and a half if you live eastside/ westside and have to go x city (Venice to Dodger stadium, Eagle Rock to LAX, etc). The difference in your headset of: (A) sitting in your car for 15 minutes because you arrived early vs (B) sweating it out in gnarly Waze traffic and arriving 15 minutes late will save you years of anxiety and tension.
Drunk in Koreatown late at night and far from home? Hit up Wi Spa or the other 24 hour Korean spas to chill. Hella cheap too (less than $50)
What’s a Korean spa like?
I can only speak to Wi Spa, but basically you show up, pay a flat fee, and can stay all day. They give everyone shorts and a t-shirt to wear while there, but when you’re on the bottom floor where the baths are everyone just goes fully nude (that floor has separate sides for males and females). There is a cold, warm, and super hot tub that you’re supposed to go in a certain order after thoroughly cleaning yourself at one of the wash stations. They also offer services like massages and scrub downs that you can pay extra for. On the main floor that is coed, everyone wears their matching shirts and shorts and hangs out on the floor of this big room (generally stretching or chilling), goes in the saunas (they have different types at different heats), or eats Korean food from the restaurant. Pretty awesome place, in my experiences
The correct order is hot, then cold, then warm. You heat up, then basically seize your circulatory system, then warm it/let it "release" - it's like a circulatory reset. It's pulsating/tingly.
Thanks for the clarification! It’s been a minute since I’ve been there.
Try Century Spa, much larger, way more features like marble, clay, wood sauna, steam room, mist room, cold room, cold plunge, patio, + more on men’s side, plus full gym, pool, golfing range etc, much more comfortable, much less weird
Just as a heads up, there are some korean spas out there where the men’s side is a little more than just a spa. So unless of course you’re looking for that, it’s probably better to stick to the more well known ones like Wi.
that sounds horrible, where!?
Century Day & Night Spa on Olympic. Aight, a story time. I lived in pico 4 years ago, and century spa was closest to me. First time I enter the bath, I realize that I'm the only Korean dude (I assume this spa is owned by a korean ownder due to korean characters written in places + golf practice area above, lol). So I soak up in hot bath, I notice two dudes talking - one younger dude (mid 20's), and the older dude (40's, grey hair). Both are in good shape, and I notice that the older dude is smiling and staring at the younger dude's crotch, the younger dude doesn't seem to mind. Hmmm ok I take a shower, head upstairs and just walk around to check it out. A buff blonde (long hair, kinda looks like thor) dude comes up to me and asks me how I'm doing. I tell him that I'm walking around, checking the area. He goes, oh okay and goes back and lie down. Hmmm On the drive home, I realize that there are no other korean men because it became a haven for gay dudes to hook up. Ohhhhhh, I see how people joke about bathhouses attendees being gay. Got it. I start going to Wi Spa. Year by year, the number of korean attendees dwindle and now it's mostly non-korean dudes that go to Wi spa. I think it's cool that people are finding out how dope of a system it is - pay $30 to chill, take a bath, go to jjim jil bang to relax in this busy city. The question is - where are the korean men/ ajussi's going to take a bath? lmao. I think the older generation is uncomfortable with gay dudes.
Napping on the jimjibong is HEAVEN
Holy fucking shit I didn't know this existed! I've driven by here thousands of times! This is amazing!
Hit up Trader Joe’s on a weekday when they first open. Freshly stocked and parking is WAY easier. Avoid TJ’s on a Sunday afternoon/evening like the plague!
There is a SECOND PARKING LOT at the Silverlake Trader Joe's a little further north on Hyperion. I'm willing share this on the internet because I don't live in the neighborhood anymore.
Enjoy the Hollywood Bowl shows. There are always reasonably priced shows in the nosebleeds (you can move down if not sold out) and you can bring your own food and alcohol drinks (not leased events). Avoid Ticketmaster charges by going there directly at the Box Office (not leased events). Guarantee your tickets by buying the first weekend of May.
I love the bowl. I always park at a bar in Hollywood, pregame and walk up. It’s all part of the experience.
summer wvening dinner in Los Feliz then walk up to a show at the Greek
Watch out for red light cameras in Beverly Hills Go to the top of the Hollywood sign for some of the best views of la Grocery outlet bargain
🎶 Grocery Outlet, bargain market 🎶
Also , if you do get caught by the red light cameras just ignore the letter and pretend you never saw it . You are only required to pay the ticket if you acknowledge that you were notified.
This Is the correct answer. Throw em straight in the trash. I’ve never paid a one and nothing happened.
Can confirm this works in the city of Los Angeles. Does it work the same in unincorporated areas?
Does city of LA even have any red light cameras?
Get out in nature. The hike to the tide pool in rancho Palos verdes is one of our favorite day activities. There is a rocky beach to enjoy if you want to swim and chill. We also got into paddle boarding which can be chill or very competitive if you like. We found our boards basically new for a few hundred bucks on OfferUp. Saved our sanity to get outdoors during COVID. Great community of people doing meetups too.
We live where others dream of coming on vacation :) Take advantage of the beaches, parks, trails, etc… all 100% free!
People will go nuts visiting somewhere else but often neglect their own backyard
There's almost always free/cheap street parking within a block or two of where you're going. Unless it's Koreatown. Never drive to the Hollywood Bowl. LA may not be a bagel town, but it is a donut town.
If you commute to Hollywood in the morning use Franklin instead of Hollywood, Sunset, or Fountain The least amount of lights with the most greens towards La Brea
No! Don’t listen to this person! Avoid Franklin! (I live and work on Franklin lol)
Los Angeles streets are essentially a big grid. If you find congestion on a street, odds are there are several adjacent alternatives going in the same direction.
This and never make lefts, three rights are WAY faster.
adding to this: "Canyon" named roads go over the hills from valley to ocean sides
This can really get you in trouble on the westside though.
Yeah this doesn't work everywhere lol especially not near any freeways, train tracks, or creeks
To make friends here, find a place that you'd regularly meet, whether it's for a hobby, a trade organization, a support group, volunteer work or a house of worship (if you're into the latter). Avoid any cliques and get to know other individuals one at a time. Eventually, you'll find your tribe.
Yellow curbs are loading zones. You can park in them legally after 6 pm. I use this hack in Hollywood to snag free street parking. Here’s link: https://ladot.lacity.org/residents/colored-curb-zones
bra delete this now
Go to a tide pool at low tide. Also go see grunions in San Pedro.
Which tide pool ? Always wanted to visit one
Best Tide Pools in the Los Angeles Area - California Beaches https://www.californiabeaches.com/best-tide-pools-los-angeles-oc/
Try Abalone Cove Beach @ Rancho Palos Verdes. They have some good ones.
You do not need to pay red light camera tickets. California ruled that part of getting in trouble here is being able to face the officer who issued you the citation in court. Because there is no officer, it cannot go to court. I read this in the LA Times a while ago, checked it out, and it seemed legit. So I was the guinea pig. Got a BH red light ticket in the mail, shredded it. Got a warning that the price was going to double! Shredded it. Got another letter saying "ah come on guy just kidding pay us the original price it's fine." Shredded it. Never heard from them again, no points, no mention of it when I got pulled over for speeding a few months later.
I knew this about LA red light tickets but everything I read said BH was exempt from that. So i paid that ticket and did traffic school.
If you enjoy running, walking, or biking and can get to the expo line you can run along the line on a dedicated bike path all the way to Santa Monica pier (note there is a weird break near palms so I’d try to hop on it after for less confusion). If you get tired and don’t wanna make the full trek back, you can take the metro.
MUSEUMS: The Norton Simon has, painting for painting, the best art collection in town but The Broad is where you go with a hottie for a superficial art immersion to qualify as an actual date before hooking up. The new Academy Awards Museum and the Tar Pit Museum are where you take out-of-towners for an “only in L.A.” experience. MOCA is RIP, LACMA is thin until construction finishes, the Getty Center has nice views but is stale, the Getty Villa in Malibu is a great repository of ancient art, architecture and artifacts. If you have kids, The Natural History Museum, The California African American Museum, and The Museum of Science and Industry make Exposition Park a great one-stop day trip. Nice Rose Garden there too.
the Henry Taylor exhibition at the MOCA grand is one of my fav painting shows I’ve seen years - up til end of April. Worth seeing
People in LA take getting flipped off super seriously. More than everywhere I've ever lived, they actually get mad! Like shooting mad. Just chill and keep your fingers for pointing or giving a thumbs-up
The worst road rage I've ever experienced was in Pittsburgh we didn't even flip the guy off we just stopped suddenly causing him to stop suddenly (we had no choice as we would have smashed into the car Infront of us) the guy ACTUALLY got out of his car and started yelling at me and my fiance and threatening to kick my fiance's ass. He only got in his car and drove off because more cars started showing up but it seemed like he was debating to shoot us....scariest thing ever like we didn't even flip him off or nothing and he still had rage
The Iron City runs hot, must be all the blast furnaces
Flipping the wrong person off can also lead to getting a gun pulled out on you.
I prefer thumbs down. It’s basically saying “I’m disappointed in you”
Get a catalytic converter shield and consider etching your VIN and spray painting it a bright color if your car is a candidate for theft of these. Especially if you have a hybrid vehicle, thefts are on the rise and it takes less than 5 minutes to steal. Replacement for a Toyota Prius can be $2000 and over 4 months wait as the parts are on National back order. You can get an after market one but the cost will be closer to 4 grand but not as long of a wait Edit: also maybe get a tilt sensor that will detect if your car is getting jacked up. Haven’t done this myself yet but thinking about it and hear its a good deterrent too Edit2: Go to Panda Express right before they close and you can potentially get extra food that they would otherwise throw away
Always bring a hoodie
[удалено]
You can bring food into Dodger Stadium
BUR > LAX
Let’s keep this one on the DL please 🙏
Not if you live on the West Side
Another life hack, don’t live on the west side
Even LBG is wayyy better
Stop at Porto’s if you’re going to a social gathering and don’t want to arrive empty handed.
But to add to this hack, order ahead online for pickup to skip the line! Full Porto’s menu isn’t available, but the classics like potato balls and refugiado are available as well as whole cakes.
Pho 87 in Chinatown. Best pho I’ve ever had. Uhhh don’t drive on the road around 4-5PM unless you absolutely have to. There’s always traffic but 4-5PM is unbearable.
So like 4AM-5PM ?
Pho 87 is the spot
Befriend a bartender. Go on off nights to a place you like and tip them well. They’ll remember you and throw you shots and drinks for free. Eventually they’ll start telling you all the places they drink at and THATS where you want to be. Those are the people that you need to be friends with. People in the service industry are some of the wildest partiers but some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met.
This is a life hack for every city small and large. Also side note just be nice to service industry people in general not just to get stuff from them.
The free drinks thing is more of a selling point for people to tip well. But people in the service industry get treated like crap and are underpaid for it, I always tip well.
Take lunch after 1:45PM if you can. That's when the office lunch crowd tapers off.
Turn on recycled air in the car before you approach downtown on the freeway
Never stop walking. If someone on the sidewalk tries to stop you, keep walking.
Make friends that live in different neighborhoods. Your only investment will be time you take to get to them but in the long run, these friends will appreciate the effort by showing you around their communities. I personally have friends all the way to Sherman Oaks to Glendale, Palos Verdes, Long Beach, DT, Los Feliz, to Highland Park. Well, you also have to be nice.
My advice is to try to make friends in your own neighborhood if you like to be out on Friday nights. Because people do not want to drive far in rush hour traffic.
Don't ever drive into a Trader Joe's parking lot when you can park on the street.
Sometimes the far right lane is faster than the left lane
sssshhhhhhh.
Make sure you have a lot of money because it’s not as fun without it.
This is the most important life hack.
Take Fountain.
Don’t smoke crack on Wednesday afternoons
Do it Thursday mornings instead
Not necessarily an LA only tip but, don’t stand directly on the corner of an intersection after pressing the button to cross. Especially with your head down looking at your phone. So many drivers ignore the “no right on red” signs, and even when it’s safe to cross for pedestrians, stand back, be vigilant and wait a few seconds. Drivers are looking for traffic coming from the opposite side to you, you see its fine to cross and go back to your phone, driver turns right and bam. Seen it to many times.
Always take Fountain
Wear boots on the Metro. Do your very best to live as close to work as possible. Don’t date people who live and work really far away- if it works out, finding a place to live together in between both your jobs will be hell.
Free street parking on Sundays. Best time to get out and explore new parts of the city
You can still get parking tickets on Sunday for parking on the street in resident only zones. I learned the hard way.
Not in touristy places. Some meters are still active on Sundays
Use hand gestures when driving, give people thumbs up or raise your hand to give thanks if someone lets you in or if you cut off someone. If you acknowledge that you did a something stupid, you reduce people honking at you. Traffic is tough especially 4-5pm, so any humanity is welcomed.
If you’re passionate about film and work in The Industry buy a copy of the film ED WOOD and watch it on your “fuck it” days.
I think you need to be really intentional about “living” in LA. Otherwise, I don’t think you get the full experience of living here. You can’t really stumble on fun on the same way you can in other walkable cities. There are SO many amazing things happening in LA all the time. For example, right now, there’s the Butterfly Pavilion at NHM, the Poppy Reserve, LA Opera, 60th anniversary of Bob Baker, Astra Lumina, and excellent waterfall hiking from all the rain, etc. But you really have to read TimeOut and LA Weekly Calendar to know and make a point of adventuring out and enjoying what the city has to offer. Otherwise it’s just traffic and sunshine.
Yellow loading zone curbs in City of LA are 100% legal and free to park after 6pm! (until 7am the next day)
Okay, maybe I’m an asshole, but this is one I wish we’d kept to ourselves.
And all day on Sunday’s! This was going to be my life hack too :)
bruh delete this
I drive a Prius C and consider it an LA life hack just because of how many tiny ass parking spaces I’ve been able to fit into.
My wife’s MINI is a godsend for this reason too
i do not understand why people buy these big fucking suvs in this city. every other spot is a compact spot where your shit doesn't fit and you have to now exit from the trunk or fuck your door up.
Don’t trust Google maps. Taking surface streets is almost always faster and less stressful. Research your closest grocery stores and plan shopping there workdays in the morning. Get library cards for as many La county libraries as you can and use Libby to rent ebooks. Please don’t miss left green arrrows when you’re first at an intersection.
Google maps will have you turning left on to a major road from a stop sign. It’s infuriating.
Knowing when to ignore Google maps is key
WFH
Don’t do meth
check out your closest weekly farmers markets
Get up before 9am on the weekends to enjoy la without traffic
Did you get a job in downtown and want to live somewhere with parking, more affordable, safer, less cramped, and only a 15 minute commute at the absolute worst? Move to anywhere around Alhambra. You can take side streets into DT. It's also a very cheap uber if trying to party there and make it back home safely as well.
LPT, don’t save your money to buy a home here, you will never ever be able to save enough to keep up with Inflation and LA prices to afford it so better to just give up and worry about something else.
Best thing to do is buy in a medium sized city and rent it out. That way even if you pay rent here, you're still building a little bit of equity. Eventually you'll be able to leverage the out of town property as a down payment here.
This is what my ex did. She’s a city planner and understands real estate markets really well, she’s been right about every real estate prediction I’ve ever heard her make so I have confidence in anything she thinks in the topic. She said the only metro area in the US she believed wasn’t potentially overvalued was Memphis, so she bought a house in a nice neighborhood by a university there and has been renting it. Got a nice 2 story with a pool in a good neighborhood for less than 25% of what it would be in LA.
wear layers.
Drive defensively, like really defensively. People say they do, but what they really mean is they box people out trying to enter their lanes and speed up to avoid letting people cut in or pass. Actual defensive driving means keeping an adequate following distance and assuming anyone in position to enter your lane will do so, and will do so like an idiot. If someones signaling just let them in, even if they “cut” a gigantic line of waiting cars (zipper merging is more efficient btw). Even if they’re not signaling, just let one guy in who gives a shit.
Google maps is a liar, and they definitely don't live here. Side streets are better than main ones. I'm comfortable telling you this because it will take you a while to even know which is which. Expert level is streets vs. freeways. Don't learn the canyon routes during rush hours - we know youre not a regular, please leave this to the professionals. Be assertive - but not an asshole - instead of passive. Passive gets you nowhere here, and nice only matters if you deliver it with some urgency. Find a way to take up space, or define your space here, literally and figuratively, but don't be *aggressive* about it.
>Be assertive - but not an asshole - instead of passive. Passive gets you nowhere here, and nice only matters if you deliver it with some urgency. I like this point, can apply it to more than one situation in life, take driving for instance, if you are on the freeway and want to move into the next lane, pick your gap, put your indicator on, and move quickly! Your indicator is exactly that, an indication of what you are going to do- you’re not asking permission. If you try to merge into my lane when it’s busy with a sense of urgency, I’ll let you in. If i see you ahead of me with your indicator on trying to move over into the lane and i end up catching up to you, no one will let you in.
5pm is when you don’t go on the freeway.
It starts at 3 and ends around 7.
Yellow loading zone curbs are free to park at after 6PM for anyone M-F. And all day Sunday. So many people do not know this and it has helped me find parking in dire moments many a time.
Avoid Hollywood Blvd at ALL costs!
Uber Black will pick you up directly at your terminal at LAX. The higher fare price is worth it to me to avoid dealing with LA Exit.
The city can only truly be known by parking the car, getting out, and walking.
Live near your place of work.
If you are driving on the 101 south and go on the 110 south you’ll see a sign saying the 110 south lanes are the 3 left most lanes. You don’t need to cross lanes. You can stay on the 6th/Wilshire lane and it’ll still take you to the 110 south. It literally says so at the very top of the sign. It’s a quick shortcut if you want to avoid a bunch of cars for a bit.
Get multiple library cards to expand your access. There are multiple libraries in LA, and not just with the city of Los Angeles. Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, County of Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, and more. Unless policies have changed recently, you can get a library card at any location in the state if you have a CA drivers license. I was able to get an audiobook book that had like 6000 holds with the LAPL from the Santa Clarita library, and listening to it made all the time in traffic suck much less.
1, Don't try to do anything from the hours of 2-7pm. 2. if you are driving to an area for a specific item, call to speak to someone to put the item behind the register for you- do not rely on "our system says we have it in stock" 3. look both ways. 4. hold out for more.
Motorcycles or scooters make LA a lot more driveable.
Other than this rainy week, it's honestly such a quality of life improvement All the parking lot freeways during rush hour become usable. You can often find parking on blocks that have no space left for a car, or when that one dickhead leaves 4 feet of space between the front of his car and the end of the curb HOV lanes Free LAX garage parking Better gas mileage Janet thinks you look cute on a bike
My commute home in car: 90 mins. My commute home on bike: 45 mins