[speakeasy]

(04-03-2012 09:30 AM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  

Bottom Line: You can live in Los Angeles without a car. But it's not "easy" as MikeCF claimed somewhere. It definitely hinders your game, though it doesn't need to preclude you from getting laid. In other words, it's possible, but it's definitely playing life on the difficult setting.

The subway in LA is up-and-coming, but not where it's going to be in, say, 10 or 15 years. If you live near a current line or station, it definitely enhances your mobility--getting you Downtown, for instance, which is a new hot spot. LA has a robust bus system as well, that pretty much goes everywhere. But the strength of LA transportation continues to be its world-class freeways. Buses are slow and the subway doesn't go to key places.

Don't underestimate the car culture of LA. "Regular" people have cars. There's an ugly undercurrent of class/race association with public transportation there. Your average bar skank and bitch is going to judge you for having a bus pass. The exception is the occasional Silverlake hipster, since they're starting to think using the bus is cool, but that's still an overwhelming minority--even within their little enclave.

I know LA better than I know my own dick. This is as good as gospel.

My only disagreement with you is that if you look at the proposed timeline of adding new metro lines, I think it'll be a hell of a lot longer than 10 or 15 years before we have anything close to a world-class rail system. I'll likely be long gone from L.A. before they finish extending the purple line to Santa Monica.