<p>Kinda a random question, but how bad is the smog in Los Angeles? I'm considering universities in LA, and I wanted to know if the smog can get really bad. What's the opinion of some of the residents of the city?</p>
<p>Well, I'm not a resident, but my dad travels to L.A. all the time for work. Whenever I ask him how the trip was (b/c I'm interested in going to school there), he says, "Hazy. Smoggy. You'd hate it." </p>
<p>I have a feeling you get used to it, though, and don't even notice it after a bit ;) The only thing I'm sad about is no stars at night, but I suppose you go to any city and if the smog doesn't do it the light pollution will...</p>
<p>Also, I wonder how it feels to run there. The indoor track complex is by a major highway and the smog gets sucked in through the vents. Hurts your throat like a mother...</p>
<p>Hope it wouldn't affect one's health though</p>
<p>when i visited LA i saw the hollywood sign and thought it was cloudy out, and my dad told me no, that was SMOG from the city.</p>
<p>I wouldn't let smog deter you from going to UCLA though, heh, LA just has more smog because there are so many cars there, really it's not bad, LA is nice.</p>
<p>i'm out at USC, which is closer to more major roads and freeways than UCLA. the effect of smog is almost non-existent. you can definitely tell the air is "heavier" when you walk on the sidewalks next to the major streets, but that's not different from any other major road and can't be attributed to the smog proper. people still run laps around campus for exercise. </p>
<p>unless you have some serious respiratory condition, i don't think smog should be a deterrent. the weather can't be beat...yesterday was honestly the first day since i've been here when it was something other than sunny for the whole day, and it was just a thin layer of haze (no, not car emission-induced :p).</p>
<p>
[quote]
which is closer to more major roads and freeways than UCLA. the effect of smog is almost non-existent.
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</p>
<p>I think you mean the visual effects right around the area (not that I fully agree). LA smog (that leaves LA) goes elsewhere in southern California.</p>
<p>It definitely affects me when I travel there. Many major cities now have similar problems.</p>
<p>There are many days in LA were the smog is clearly visible. How "bad" it is depends on how sensitive you are (asthma, etc).</p>
<p>Some rules of thumb:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Hot weather is smoggier than cool weather - so for a fair chunk of the school year (i.e. winter) it won't be too awful.</p></li>
<li><p>Farther inland is worse than near the coast - so UCLA, Pepperdine, and Long Beach State are better off than USC, which is better off than the Claremont schools, which are better off than UC Riverside.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I went to LA in july and didn't notice any difference in the air quality.. and I live in a pretty rural area of maryland..</p>
<p>Where in md?</p>
<p>2 hours from the huge DC metro area lol</p>
<p>You're lucky</p>
<p>The closer inland you travel, the worse the smog becomes. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>'Tis true. I think the populous centers should pay to clean up and do more to prevent the smog they allow to go Inland (because that worse smog is coming from places like LA).</p>
<p>Yeah, it can get smoggy at times. I'm from a very rural area and I go to UCLA... and I'm at atmospheric science major so I notice the smog a lot because I'm a freak/nerd, but you definitely get used to it. It's certainly not as bad as you would think--it's mainly only bad during the summer. During the rest of the year, usually, you can see the snow-capped mountains from the dorms, and they're about 50 miles away. I do notice, however, how clear the air is when I go home..</p>
<p>I go to a Claremont College and smog never bothers me. Some days are hazier than others, but the effect has NEVER been (noticably) anything but visual (single exception: the massive fires of Oct. 2003, and that was smoke, not smog). It's an urban area like any other, but I find the hype much worse than reality. The only time I've ever been significantly bothered by smog was while I was at LMU, b/c the campus looks down over LA which makes haze veeery apparent on some days. Other people I know though, who spend much more time at the campus, shrug their problem off as quickly as I do to people who say it's bad in Claremont.</p>
<p>For the record, I grew up in the midwest and a small-ish CA town (i.e. am not just "used" to smog). If you think it'll trouble you, then visit. To each his own.</p>
<p>To each his own indeed- people certainly should visit, and when they do, remember that the season and time of year affect the air quality and what not.</p>
<p>I grew up in the Valley (ugh), and things were waaaay better in West LA.</p>