Ok, this is a major issue to touch upon. Every traveler knows that transportation is the most important aspect of traveling and visiting a new place. And when you come to a new place to live there temporarily, transportation is especially important because you depend upon yourself more than the people you visit. And… how is it at
Los Angeles?
Trips to the grocery store, local eateries, or out of the valley are always a headache! Why? Because of all the cars, cars, and cars!! I cannot believe how many cars Los Angeles has and the amount of gas that is guzzled up and spewed into the atmosphere by the residents of Los Angeles County! People here explain to me that the geography is the reason why Los Angeles is so dependent on cars – due to earthquakes and the risk of damage; many buildings are one-floored which causes the entire urban/suburban geography to be so spread out rather than condensed. The earthquakes are also the reason why public transportation is so lousy here in Los Angeles – for a long time until recently, the city was too afraid to build an extensive underground subway system like any other busy metropolis of America would. There’s an interesting story about the demise of trolley and bus system in Los Angeles, but I’ll cover that in another blog entry because it’s a worthy story to cover profoundly.
Anyway, the walk to a grocery store has enough distance that it would be a much less hassle to drive there, and the same is true for practically any aspect of life in South California. People drive everywhere for any reasons, and more often than not – popular places (such as bookstores, movie theaters, etc) are unreachable except for by car. I was lucky that my apartment was situated next to a busy street with lots of strip malls so I was right next to a business district and was able to walk to a lot of restaurants, shops, and food store. However, when I wanted to go out of my local area – I would have to walk for miles. After a while, I found that very tiresome and frustrating… Especially as I was used to DC’s public transportation and condensed city planning. To walk from my apartment to get a burger, it was roughly the distance from Gallaudet University to Dupont’s Circle – and imagine how many burgers I could get along the way in DC!! In fact, Forbes has rated Los Angeles as part of the worst commute in America, with all the traffic and cars (commute between Los Angeles and Long Beach).
However, I was blessed with a beloved mode of transportation that was extremely useful, ecology-friendly, and healthy at the same time. A friend had gotten sick of fixing up her bicycle all the time so she gave it to me (Thanks, Haley!) for free. I fixed it up and really enjoyed taking my white 1950’s-style cruiser out for riding whenever I needed to go to places. Here's a picture of my beloved!
After solely depending on my bicycle for most basic transportation, I started to really realize how people could use their bicycles more often rather than using cars – such as those trips to grocery stores. I found it convenient to bicycle to the grocery store and buy enough food to fill my basket to bicycle back to my apartment, then make another trip in few more days, rather than buying food in bulk and bringing it home in the car as most people would. If the majority of
America did their food shopping this way, I’m sure that our gas emissions would reduce by so much.
If you ever think to move to Los Angeles, I’ll let you know that this statement is both sad and true at the same time – You Cannot Live Without a Car.
I was lucky to live near a very convenient business district, that I enjoyed riding my bicycle most of the time, and to have friends who would give me rides to downtown LA and beaches. But realistically speaking, it’s impossible to live in Los Angeles County or the entire South California for all that matter without a car. The public transportation is a disappointment and the landscape is usually very spread out with all the buildings that places are far to get to without a car. However, I’m proud to say that I made it without a car this summer and I still managed to have a great time in California! This shows that a little bit of positive thinking, some healthy legs, and whole lot of patience can go a long way in surviving Los Angeles… ;-)
