This is my old neighborhood. I couldn’t find a better picture.
A few days ago I got off the phone with my gal pal who lives in L.A and she told me how much it sucks there. I used to live in Los Angeles, California but recently moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a big change from what I was used to. I grew up in K-town, Los Angeles. The area I grew up in isn’t considered ghetto by most of people who live there but I’ve lived in many different areas and can say first hand that it isn’t the best. Throughout my entire life I’ve witness all sorts of crime in that area, I’ve had a gun pointed at me more than once and I’ve witnessed someone get shot twice. No, I’m not a gangbanger. I just got so used to seeing violence it kind of doesn’t surprise me anymore. I also picked up a few tricks of my own when it comes to fighting and self-defense. The earliest memory I have of my neighborhood is walking to my middle school in the 6th grade and finding a girl not much older than I passed out on a couch in the sidewalk only to find out later that she wasn’t passed out, she was dead.
I was talking with my s.o about this just this week, about how there’s not really much realism when it comes to portraying Los Angeles on TV. Generally, when people think of Los Angeles or California; they think of Hollywood, Malibu, Beverly Hills or the beaches. Personally I’ve lived in all types of neighborhoods. So here is some realism. When they show footage of Hollywood on TV it’s not the same as in real life. If they showed real footage you would see the staggering homeless crisis in Hollywood just as much as you would in skid row. I’ve lived in Koreatown, Highland Park, Hollywood, South Central, Compton and Inglewood. In each one of those cities I saw what they don’t show you on TV; homelessness, shootings, crime etc.
I usually watch my week day TV on the CW. The CW shows us Malibu on Two and a Half Men but if you were to go to the real Malibu during the winter, many of the home owners there have trouble when the tide gets too high and it threatens the structure of their homes not to mention the surfer gangs there who harass beach goers because they see parts of the beach as their turf yet Charlie never complains about this issue. I also watch The Big Bang Theory that supposedly takes place in Pasadena; I’ve been to Pasadena and there’s no freaking way a waitress living on her own on minimum wage could ever afford a 1-bedroom apartment across the hall from two physicists who live in the same building; cost of living is too high for that.
Then I watch Mike & Molly that takes place in Chicago. For those who aren’t familiar with Mike & Molly; it’s the story of a couple composed of a writer and a Chicago P.D officer who get married and have to live with her wacky family to save money to get their own place. I’ve never lived in Chicago but I do watch the news a lot and not once has officer Mike Biggs responded to a call about a murder in any episode. The crime rate is super high so it surprises me that the worst guy he’ll arrest is a guy peeing on a public street. I guess in some aspects its being as realistic as it can for, a comedy when referring to the incompetence of our police officers.
It’s a big difference from Las Vegas. Some of the locals here think the area I live in is ghetto but really the area I live in is normal compared to some ghettos in Los Angeles. Also I think it’s got to do a lot with the police actually doing their job here. I’ve been living here since June of last year and not once have I had a gun pointed at my face or been robbed just walking down the street. Big difference. My girlfriend was telling me the exact same thing she said and I quote: “People think L.A is so awesome but they’ve never lived here. It sucks, its overpriced and dangerous. I want to get the hell out of here.”
A little more realism wouldn’t kill them, honestly.