LA Guide
You’ve seen SNL’s The Californians?
In that case you know everything there is to know about LA and are prepared!
In case you haven’t, here’s the link: https://youtu.be/dCer2e0t8r8
And also some advice below:
Traffic
… is certainly a thing so add 15 mins to every ETA google maps is giving you, and triple the time during rush hours and on weekends. Double check your route and ETA close to leaving since travel time estimates on apps can change SIGNIFICANTLY depending on the time of the day and weekday you are planning your trip for.
Parking
… is certainly an even bigger thing. There are plenty of public parking garages (90 mins to 2 h free) and street parking with affordable rates throughout the city. Even though plenty, it can be hard and take forever to find parking on weekends in popular neighborhoods / areas.
Valet parking and other Public Parking lots, with stand-up advertisement displays and people waving flags to navigate you inside, charge between $ 15 – 30, always ask for the rate before turning in if rate is not advertised.
Another LA gem – please always read ALL parking signs (even if there’s 10 of them) when using street parking. Parking enforcement – particularly in Santa Monica – is fierce and will give you a ticket without hesitation (even for a 1-minute expired meter – no kidding).
We recommend using bikes and Uber / Lyft going places (on the westside), in most cases you will save yourself a lot of frustration and time looking for a parking spot and eventually paying the same amount for parking as the Uber / Lyft rate would have been.
LA’s public transport system is unfortunately not that well developed or always safe which we hope will change in the future.
Helpful App to find parking: Parkopedia
Homelessness
... is part of LA. Most homeless people are harmless and appreciative of acknowledgment or something to eat, drink, or a couple of Dollars. Be careful, however, since some homeless have mental illness or addiction issues and can show unpredictable, sometimes violent, behavior. So be observant as you usually would be and please help if you can.