Los Angeles is a vast beautiful land filled with so much culture, but unfortunately, movies and media don’t often capture that. In fact, L.A. is often depicted in an unrealistic light. So we decided to debunk some of those theories! Although some assumptions like loving tacos, sitting in traffic, and putting avocado on everything *might* be true―it seems there’s a ton of misinformation out there.
We asked Angelenos what things people get wrong about Los Angeles―and we’ve collected some of the best responses below along with some of our own!
1. “That we all know how to surf… I can’t even swim.”
2. “People think we’re all vegan. False, I need my al pastor tacos!”
3. “The Los Angeles river actually contains water!”
4. “They think the main attractions are Hollywood and Beverly Hills”
5. “That L.A. has no culture when it’s actually full of it.”
6. “You don’t need a car to get around.”
7. “The ultimate lie is that people believe you can make it from the beach to downtown in 10 minutes. Impossible.”
8. “People are unfriendly or unwelcoming. Not true at all!! They are wonderful!”
9. “You just walk out onto the street anywhere and see a celebrity.”
10. “That we all have plastic surgery.”
11. “Everyone is trying to be an actor.”
12. “Hollywood is exactly what they see in movies.”
13. “That we don’t walk… we hike!”
14. “That everyone goes to the gym and eat foods based on trend diets. There wouldn’t be that many In-N-Outs and Starbucks if that were true.
15. “Everyone is rich.”
16. “We know where all the movie stars live.”
17. “That we go to the beach often.”
18. “That we hate New York and New Yorkers. I love them both! “
19. “We all eat avocado toast all the time.”
20. “They think we all work in the entertainment business.”
