<p>i am currently attending high school in texas. i was born in los angeles and moved to texas when i was 6, been here since. im a junior in high school. this past summer i visited NYC and fell in love with it. i always wanted to go to school there but after visiting it just confirmed my dream..this past halloween i went to UCSB where my brother goes.. absolutly loved it too..people were so laid back and just there to have fun and it seemd really relaxed..i don't live in either place though..so from u guys who do, which is better? NYC vs. any school in SoCAL...</p>
<p>Your questions are profound. The answers are confusing.
California has been my home for twenty years; SoCal for ten. </p>
<p>One one hand, NYC is supposed to be the "most happening" city in the world. Empire State Building, Central Park, Museum of Natural History, very good four- and two-year schools--there is plenty to do in the Big City. OK--I've only spent three hours there, but it was a shocker! It is very easy to get around, lest you drive; distance is easily overcome underground. Lots to see and do. More detailed synopsis? Better read a native's post.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Los Angeles, which I'm going to use as a canonical, albeit biased, representation of Southern Calif., is a major hub for East Coast sun-bathers seeking permanent and semi-permanent relocation.
Our freeway system is intense! Take the 210 to the 2; transition to the 5. Now get on to the 110, making sure to merge right for the Interstate 10 turnoff. Head west for ten miles, and look for signs pointing to the 405-N. Go over the hill--there's U.S. highway 101. But stay on your guard, or you'll miss the interchange for the 134 heading west! Now that you've dodged the giant SUVs cutting across four lanes at once and the 90 mile-per-hour Mitsubishi Eclipse drivers in the Suicide Lane, you haven't gone anywhere, since you're back on the 210, finishing where you began. Greater Los Angeles (sometimes called the "anticity" because of its extensive urban sprawl) extends for miles.
Was the freeway interlude suggestive enough? That's a real route--it'll take you around much of the county, and guzzle about a half tank of gas. </p>
<p>Hopefully that last paragraph didn't send you in circles; things get linear now, I promise. GLA (and neighbors) is dotted with a host of strong institutions. Have you researched the UC system? UCLA, UCSD and UCSB are all very good.
How about USC (just don't go off-campus at night)? And if you're ambitious, or just want to know when and where the last earthquake struck, there's Caltech (but cf. a post of mine on the relevant board). Theme parks aren't far away. Take a breather (and a fat wallet) at Disneyland, D's California Adventure, Knott's Berry Farm or Six Flags Magic Mountain. Moreover, Los Angeles is a Young city: the mean age is somewhere in the low thirties; the median is just about dead-center Gen-X (source: Census 2000 data).</p>
<p>On the third hand, you might prefer a happy medium outside of the smog and snow. SoCal has nice weather, but don't drink the water and don't breathe the air. I imagine that people in NYC sometimes get attacked, so-to-say, by killer snowmen when winter rolls around; better invest in a warm wardrobe. Good Luck!</p>
<p>I go up to NYC a few weeks every year, and it's a great place to go. It's so easy to find your way around.. someone can give you their address and you know exactly how to get there as soon as you hear it, even though youve only been in the city for two days... it's pretty cool. i haven't been out to socal (yet) so i cant comment on that :)</p>
<p>i am a new yorker born and raised, and ive been to la quite a few time (cuz thats what we do), and theyre similar and soooo diff at the same time. its a little disorienting for me when im in cali bc you can't get anywhere by walking (you always need a car) and in ny you can just walk out of your apt at like 2 am and chill out at a bar or on the street (its always safe bc there are always ppl). then again, la and cali is very cool bc its sunny and the people are less hostile and more attractive, but its all a little bizarre. like everyones had a lobotomy. its tough to switch from nyc bc everyones got such an attitude and are so exciting, and at la theyre a bit more subdued. i think that nyc provides a better college experience. (even though im probably going to california from university)</p>
<p>i live in LA, born and raised. i never had much to compare it to until i went off to college, and i just have to say, as arrogant as it sounds.. los angeles is amazing. The traffic, the smog, the busy-ness... it all makes los angeles the beautiful, exciting, metropolis it is. Anything you could possible want is 20 mins away. AT MOST. Once your in los angeles, no place else seems sufficient (lol, with the exception of nyc, which has just as much if not more to do than la). Keep in mind though: UCSB is only one campus. not all the UC's are thay way..AT ALL. Also- you went for halloween. UCSB is NOTORIOUS for their halloween parties (although ucsb is crazy anyway). Almost all of my friends who are at UC's (cal, sd,la, irvine..) drove up there with friends from their college to party. But yeah, i guess my point is that it depends what uc youre looking at. ie: UCSB and UCSD are pretty opposite. UCSB=party school, UCSD=def. fun but you have to work to find it, def. more study-oriented.
UCLA is pretty ideal. Its great cuz it has its own college town, and then in addition to that you have this entire, endless city around you so theres never a shortage of things to do or not being able to find something you need. And then ofcourse its usually nice out. From so-cal you can take a 2-3 hr roadtrip with friends and go snowboarding. Lots of choices. I dont know, im sooooo biased, but la and cali in general are great. great great great. anyway thats my shpeel on so-cal. im sure nyc is just as great... It just depends what your looking for.<br>
i dont know how true this is but ive heard that if you love la, you proabbly wont love nyc, and vice versa.... (?)</p>
<p>yeah id have to agree with the last statement. unless , of course, you're woody allen (re: annie hall)</p>
<p>I have lived in both NYC & LA and there are things to love about both cities (and things to hate as well.)</p>
<p>LA
Sunny, hot, smoggy, dry, entertainment biz obsessed, looks & body-obsessed, beachy, congested, gridlock, t.v., new, groovy, laid back</p>
<p>NYC<br>
dynamic, compact, financial world-obsessed, international, hot & muggy/cold & snowy, literate, cultural, historic, corridors of power</p>
<p>My advice is to base your decision on the school first and the city second, as the school culture will probably have the most impact. For example, LA at Oxy vs LA at USC vs LA at Loyola Marymount-- 3 different experiences....</p>
<p>Cities are great when you've grown up in the sticks (as I did.) </p>
<p>After 5 years in NYC & 7 in LA.... I am happy to be back in the sticks!!</p>
<p>yeah growing up in nyc has made me sorta jaded to the world. im like "ok theres tokyo, london, paris, and la, those are the only places i can live" and to b quite honest, tokyo's just for shopping.</p>
<p>LOL filmxoxo, i agree.
but i just want to say i really dont think la is look-obsessed at all. Or at least not anymore than other big, main city. if anything, los angeles is the place where anything and everything is accepted, no matter that you look like (ie: west hollywood and hollywood... if you've never been, hollywood is definitly different than its stereotype: anything but glamorous) But theres a big mixture here. Some are super glamorous, some are super grundgy. Also, ive never really felt the entertainment-industry-obsession around me at all. But SBmom is right-- its the university, not the city.</p>
<p>see i figured what u looked like didn't matter in NYC because there are so many different types of people running around anyway. i didn't think it was that look-based. same with cali, but it just seemed liek with NYC being so diverse it wouldn't matter what u dressed/looked like..</p>
<p>la can be pretty superficial. but other students wont be so much. </p>
<p>you really cant go wrong with either. its a really hard desision.</p>
<p>I'd just like to remind everyone that the OP asked about SoCal, not just LA. From San Diego to Orange County to Santa Barbara to Ventura to Riverside, there is a lot more to SoCal than LA.</p>
<p>All of them have sunshine and all of them are laid back (laid back as in casual and friendly, not laid back as in lazy). But not all of them are smoggy and not all of them are show biz obsessed.</p>
<p>NYC is a great place to live if money is of no concern.</p>
<p>pick for the college, not for the location</p>
<p>however, california is warmmm :o)</p>
<p>ya but part of picking college is location..i just want to end up in NYC in the end, so i dunno if going to school there is the way to go, or go to school in socal and then make my way to NYC...</p>
<p>its like do i want to go from a laid back style to a fast paced on the move style, or just start out with and keep going with the fast paced.</p>
<p>the sooner you get here, the better. after a while youll never be accepted. :)</p>
<p>parts of la are fast paced. i enjoy that though, keeps things lively. san diego is EXTREMELY laid back. Personally, i didnt enjoy it as much as, for example, la or nyc. Its vvverrryy mellow. I think if your looking for something comparable to nyc, you can pretty much cross sd off your list...</p>
<p>** i mean cross sd off your list of places in socal you'd like to go to school</p>
<p>LA at Oxy vs LA at USC vs LA at Loyola Marymount-- 3 different experiences....</p>
<p>I'd like to hear your opinion (SBmom) or anyone else's regarding their experiences at any (or all) of the above. What are the differences and which do you prefer? It'd be nice to hear outside opinions in addition to my own experiences.</p>
<p>I don't have specifics, I just know the character of these three schools is extremely different. Oxy is small LAC, Loyola is Jesuit LAC, & USC is big huge Univ... all three quite different.</p>
<p>What do you want to study?</p>