The many ways people get LA wrong

For the first couple of years I lived in Los Angeles, my dad couldn't help himself. Every time the city came up in conversation, he'd burst into song:

"L.A. is a great big freeway," he'd belt out in his baritone, "Put a hundred down and buy a car."

I'd wait patiently as he worked it out of his system.

"In a week, maybe two, they'll make you a star!"

This feels like an apt way to start a conversation about the ways people get our city wrong — the way it's condensed down into one thing, one image, one archetype, one ... song?

And look, L.A. is a highly visible place. It's been the backdrop for countless movies and TV shows, which may make some people feel that they know the city. But in fact, that understanding is only screen deep.

Recently on LAist 89.3's daily program AirTalk, we asked listeners: What are the most common mischaracterizations of Los Angeles?

Here's what we learned.

L.A. as epicenter of surf culture

Here's a quintessential L.A. scene at Venice Beach, but it's only one part of what makes L.A. L.A.

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Ashley Balderrama

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LAist

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Tad, who grew up in Redondo Beach, called to talk about surfing, which he has done all his life. "But the idea is that everyone here grew up on the coast with surf culture and beach life, that is not the reality," he said.

The reality is that L.A. has a population of roughly 3.8 million people and covers roughly 500 square miles. Beach and surf culture is just a slice of the pie. A great slice! But just one slice.

Val from Orange shared a similar sentiment. "Orange County has a reputation of being rich people and the beach, but there's so much diversity. That's definitely not all it is," she said.

L.A. as barren desert

"Los Angeles isn't just that" seemed to be the resonant message from callers about a range of stereotypes — one I constantly to convey to friends and family..

Like I tell my dad: "Dad, it's a great song, but you know L.A. isn't just a great big freeway, right?"

For Lisette in Pasadena, the idea that L.A. is just a desert is an image she'd like to correct.

"Hearing that makes me want to flip tables!" she said. "Southern California is a Mediterranean climate that once had marshes and wetlands. This idea of L.A.-as-desert also ignores the climate variations."

This is not an oasis in the desert. It's the Ballona Wetlands on L.A.'s Westside.

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Al Seib

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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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It's true. Drive from the coast to mountains and you may experience a handful of microclimates in that one trip.

As someone from New England, I constantly bump up against people claiming L.A. has no seasons.

"We do have seasons here!" Lisette proclaimed. "But they are Southern California seasons ... subtle," but still seasons.

L.A. as a place where everyone works in entertainment

The film and television machine is huge. That's undeniable. But the idea that everyone works in it and for it? Not even close.

"People I meet or listen to from out of state seem to always think everyone here is or wants to be in the entertainment industry," Liz from South Gate wrote us to say. "They think everyone is stuck up and spoiled. That couldn't be further from the truth."

Are you reading this article instead of working on your screenplay?

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David McNew

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The truth? Liz's community in southeastern L.A. County, "is made up of the hardest working and most humble folks I've ever known."

Larry Mantle, host of LAist's AirTalk, echoed this. He said Southern California can be mischaracterized by a "Hollywood-centric view of Los Angeles, where palm trees line every street." It makes sense, he explained — after all, a lot of the creatives who write the film and television we consume live in that world!

But, he added, "that ends up being a shorthand for what Los Angeles and Hollywood are like."

Then there's the flip side.

L.A. as post-apocalyptic hellscape

An aerial view of graffiti spray painted by taggers on at least 27 stories of an unfinished skyscraper in downtown L.A. The type of post-apocalyptic scene some outsiders see as a bigger truth.

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Mario Tama

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Getty Images

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Encampments on every street. Wanton criminals. A dystopia of drug addiction and disorder. This is the impression that some people have of L.A., a stark contrast to the glitz and glamour others lean on.

Neither, listeners remind us, paints a fair nor complete picture.

Trey in Woodland Hills remembers when his dad was watching Fox News years ago and heard Los Angeles referred to as a "lawless hellscape." The term stuck.

"That's how he's referred to it ever since," Trey said, "without living here or understanding the beauty and complexity of our city."

L.A. as liberal enclave

People face off at a protest in Huntington Beach. Southern Californians represent a broad array of political views.

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Frederic J. Brown

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AFP via Getty Images

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The geography, the culture, the people — we heard a lot of ways L.A. is mischaracterized.

Katrina in Palm Springs said the biggest misconception she encounters is "that all of California is super liberal." Every time she leaves her house, she feels as though she's bumping up against people all over the political spectrum.

L.A. as endless sprawl

A view from the Park to Playa trail in L.A.

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Chava Sanchez

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LAist

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And now for my favorite mischaracterization — L.A. as an endless sprawl, a great big freeway devoid of anything natural or rugged wilderness.

Wrong-O!

Chris in downtown Los Angeles said, "People don't realize how much nature there is." He backpacks, bikes, hikes and rock climbs all around the region. "L.A. is home to some extremely wild environments," he said, "and you don't have to drive far to access them.

Chris says one of his favorite views is driving east on the 10 during winter months, when you can see the snow-capped Mount Baldy out the window.

"I don't think people comprehend that L.A. has this massive snow-capped mountain."

Will the real L.A. please stand up?

As we all know, there's no one "real L.A." The city is an incredible mix of all its composite parts — the people, languages, landscapes. It's why I live here, and why so many of us do.

Maybe L.A. is mischaracterized because there's only so much of the place that one person can experience at once.

But if these people are anything like my dad, they'll keep visiting. And from one year to the next, grow to know it and love it — not just for one part (in his case, the La Brea Tar Pits) but for the many facets that make up this exceptional place.

Listen to the full AirTalk segment here: