Posted on 03/17/2005 3:59:11 PM PST by BurbankKarl
The talk in Los Angeles is the talk of getting out In fact, a third of the residents surveyed said they want to move away, up more than 20 percent from 2003. The mood here in the South Bay, however, is slightly rosier.
Fed up with traffic, crime and skyrocketing housing prices, a growing number of Los Angeles County residents say they plan to move away within five years, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Although the mood in the South Bay area was slightly rosier, the report by the Public Policy Institute of California calls the county's 10 million residents "stunningly unhappy with some key indicators of quality of life and paints a picture of growing concern for any chance of long-term recovery."
"I spend all my money on rent," said San Pedro resident Janelle Anderson. "And now with gas prices going up, I'd love to find a cheaper place to live. But it's not that easy to leave your job and family."
The number of residents who plan to leave the county almost doubled in two years. A similar survey in 2003 found that 17 percent of residents did not see themselves staying in the county. The number is now 33 percent.
In fact, more people in the city of Los Angeles say they plan to leave than the 26 percent who voted in the recent mayoral election, said Mark Baldassare, the survey's director.
"It seems they plan to vote with their feet," he said.
For Torrance resident Gary Webb, it's the unrelenting traffic that makes him ponder leaving.
"It seems like I'm always in my car," he said. "And it keeps getting worse. I can't go anywhere without getting stuck in traffic."
The third annual survey found traffic, lack of affordable housing and low-performing public schools as reasons for the bleak outlook -- 74 percent of the 2,000 participants said congestion on freeways and main roads was a major problem. Another 64 percent said a lack of affordable housing was a big problem in the county. Both those figures have significantly increased from two years ago, when 67 percent cited traffic woes and 54 percent mentioned housing.
"So many dimensions of people are more negative today," Baldassare said. "The way they rate housing problems, the way they view race relations, and increasing negativity were certainly important things we noted."
In all, 58 percent believe race relations were not so good, compared to 53 percent in 2003. Different races also had varied outlooks. Only 21 percent of blacks -- compared to 50 percent of all residents -- say police in their community treat all racial and ethnic groups fairly most of the time.
But there were some silver linings in the survey. For instance, most residents expect race relations to improve.
"There are areas that have optimism," Baldassare said. "Most people believe race and ethnic relations will improve. And we're seeing improvements in the economy and the general belief that the quality of life is still good."
Dowell Myers, a professor of urban planning and demographics at USC, suggested that the survey include a question about whether people planned to move. He said he was a little surprised at the results, but he also cautioned about reading too much into them.
"It's a little higher than I would expect," he said. "It's not clear people are going to act different. People complain about traffic, but don't leave."
But if people do follow up on their plans to move, it could spell trouble in the future.
"The danger is people will still keep coming, but the ones you want to keep might go away because they've got other choices," he said. "You might be keeping the wrong kinds of people. Middle-class taxpayers might get up and go. That's the key. Who are the ones leaving?"
The survey divided the county into four parts. The area that includes the South Bay -- which stretches from Long Beach to Malibu -- was more optimistic about many trends. While generally unhappy with traffic, two-thirds of the area's residents said things were going well. They also gave the highest rating to the economy (40 percent) and expressed strong approval of local parks (68 percent).
"Some of the optimism in the region reflects the fact that people have good air quality, good job opportunities," Baldassare said. "Many people are in good economic shape compared to other parts of the county."
Your city is next.
Have you been to the beach lately on a weekend? It is like Tijuana!
>>>Good.Let all the 3rd world immigrants illegals, LEAVE round up the gangbangers, Close the borders and California and LOS ANGELES will be the greatest place it was when I was a Kid growing up there.
We're considering Oregon or Washington for our retirement anyway, because we have a lot of family up there. At least Oregon has no sales tax (yet), and Washington no state income tax (yet)!
Well I'm down San Diego way, we still have quite a few Surfers down here, Have not seen any Illegals surfing yet
THANK GOODNESS!
This was on CoasttoCoastAM last night!
I went to bed after hearing about the Chinese and Russians attacking the US.... He also said another Tsunami would hit the Islamic areas for crimes against children...
Had to fall asleep at 1230am, or I am very irritable at work.
Prophecy: The Invasion of America
Father Andrew Wingate returned to share his prophetic visions, which he says come to him from "heaven," and are confirmed with a group of other mystic priests, before he announces them.
Here is a timeline of events that Wingate laid out: The Pope will be cured of a serious illness, but shortly after that he will go into exile for eight months, though the world will be told he has died. During this period he will "bilocate" and communicate with various religious communities. Around the time of the exile, the United States will be invaded by a united Russian and Chinese army, aided by additional communist forces. The US will already be fighting a war on three fronts when this happens.
He outlined the devastating consequences of the invasion, which he expects to take place no later than four years from now: Around 30% of the US population will die before the invaders are stopped outside of Omaha, with some of the greatest losses occurring in Texas and the southern half of the country.
Wingate predicted that the assassination of the leaders of France and Germany would precede the U.S. invasion. He also described a vision of an airborne bacteria that would take many lives, though he did not specify a time frame for this.
I took that Tijuana Trolley to the crossing a couple years ago....I felt like I was in Van Nuys.
If I left California it would be for Prescott Valley Arizona or Sedona..ALTHOUGH I love Incline Village in Lake Tahoe need to win the lotto to live there or ask my mom for my inheritance now..LOL>>>
Sorry to say but your right...:(
Ditto that. The envy is just dripping from the non-locals. What the article doesn't mention, and is rarely remarked by many, is that traditionally 'nice' areas are going through tremendous upgrades.
Places like Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Newport Beach, etc just 10 yrs ago where very nice communities. However, in the last decade, the building activity, civic improvements and overall wealth increase have almost made them almost unrecognizable (for the better).
The truth is, LA has always been the leading edge. It foretells the future of the country: a segmented society, with the middle class squeezed out into the hinterland while the rich and working poor (illegals) remain in the cities.
The best thing going for LA is the limited number of freeway underpasses separating these two communities: the west/east 405 and south 101/north 10. The middle-ages had walls - now we have huge raised transportation corridors.
THANKS. SOBERING.
It seems as though God is trying to get this message through
AT LEAST a dozen or 3 different sources.
yep, all the racist employers and workers will leave and the race of parasites will stay... perfect!!
take mom with you.
If you left at 6PM you'd probably arrive at 7:15PM! ;)
Iv'e tried! She won't fricking leave Mar-Vista! bought the house in Dec 75 for 42K Appraised at 800K you think she would want to leave..
Her Answer
All My friends are here....
Is this show kinda like Art Bell's???
I've long considered Studio City to have more in common with BH than with places like Van Nuys and Chatsworth. Very nice, oak studded hills with funky, non-look-alike homes. And only an easy pop over the hills of BH is what you're after ...
I was born in San Diego and lived my entire 43 years in CA. This state has turned into an overpriced $#!+hole.
Hablan Espanol, SA? You can have it...
"of BH" > "if BH"
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