A massive tangle of highways and roads, also rumoured to contain people and houses.
I spent all weekend in a traffic jam in Los Angeles.
by Simon Haines May 3, 2005
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1. The short version of the full name "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Poriuncula," which is what the city was originally called.

2. The city that represents California to the rest of the country. In reality, Los Angeles is as dissimilar as it is possible to be from the rest of the state.

3. An amazing city that is resented by people in most other parts of the country for assorted reasons. Supposedly, we're all liberal, weed-smoking, anorexic gangsters who drive around in SUVs with a Starbucks fat-free latte permanently grasped between our manicured fingers and dream of making it big in Hollywood one day.

Okay, maybe not all at once.

LA does have a lot of suburbs, but over time they've all sort of melted together. It is divided roughly into two main regions. The City is south of the Hollywood Hills and The Valley is north of them (there's no definite line, but you usually know which one you're in. I generally go by whether you're north or south of Mulholland. Probably if you haven't been to LA you don't know what I'm talking about). Some sub-cities in The City are West Hollywood, Hollywood, Downtown, Santa Monica, and Beverley Hills. Some in The Valley are Studio City, Pasadena, Burbank, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, and Valley Village.

Truths: Usually you don't see people walking like in New York. We drive. There are tons of freeways. There is a lot of traffic and you have to learn how to navigate so that you don't get stuck on the 10 freeway for six hours. This city is immensely cosmopolitan. We have slums. We have gangs. We have good restaurants. We have many studios such as Disney, Paramount, Nickelodeon, etc. There's smog, but it's just sitting on the horizon, not bothering anyone. In fact, it makes the sunsets beautiful. We're not as superficial as people think. Our public transportation is horrible. Our public school system is broke. Our weather is perfect 99.99999% of the time. If we have more than two days of nonstop rain local news stations start a StormWatch2000 segment. People here are nice. If you pass someone on the street they will say hello and sometimes even ask you how you're doing. We have really nice museums such as the Getty Center, LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), and the La Brea Tar Pits (better than it sounds). We have beaches. It is not surprising to see someone getting arrested or to sit a table away from an actor/actress at a restaurant. We're pretty laid back people. You will never run out of stuff to do here. I can't think of any place I would rather live.

Misconceptions: Hollywood is NOT THAT GREAT. If you come here you would be better off at The Grove. Many of us are, in fact, aware of the state of humanity. All of the good theme parks are in Florida. Our Universal Studios and Disneyland get old fast. We're not that obsessed with plastic surgery. We don't have big earthquakes that often, though there are minor ones now and then. I've only been in one serious quake, so all you east coast people can stop freaking out.
Los Angeles isn't as horrible as people think it is. In fact, it's probably one of the less horrible cities in this country. I quite like it.
by No one in particular May 27, 2006
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Second-largest city in the United States, after New York City. Located in Southern California and home to about 9 million people in about 4 counties. One of the most (if not the most) diverse cities in the United States. The largest city in California and a major financial center for the Pacific Rim. Competes with New York City as the cultural capital of the United States; most movies and television shows are made in coordinated efforts between Los Angeles and New York, although most movie studios have their headquarters' in Los Angeles.

LA has about a billion suburbs that are essentially considered part of Los Angeles as a single city, although the city itself has only a population of some 3.7 million. Los Angeles is notorious for smog and gang-related crime; seperate inner-city working-class suburbs such as Compton or Long Beach have been made the subject of rap songs talking about the crime levels that have gained some notoriety and earned LA one of it's less-enviable titles as "the Gang Capital of the World".

Fortunately, the beautiful Pacific coastline and the numerous beaches and tropical climate offset some of the not-so-good parts of the city. LA also has an awesome music scene, a great clubbing sector, and countless appreciative cultural institutions such as the Getty Museum to visit that provide the city with a depth, culture and history that are enviable. It's an awesome city. Watch out for the traffic though.
Person who has never been to Los Angeles: Man LA is such a shithole, it has so much smog and traffic and gang-related crime

Me: Have you ever been there

Person who has never been to Los Angeles: No but I saw Training Day

Me: Die please
by Perfect_Cheezit September 17, 2004
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Home of the Mexicans, Blacks, Whites and Asians
Home of the Rich and the Poor
Home of Oppotunity
Home of Success and Failure
Home of Sandy Beaches and Great Weather
Home of Everything from Hip-Hop to Punk
Home of Bruins and Trojans
Home of Hollywood
Home of the Beach Boys and Linkin Park

whats not to love about the City of Angels??
no one can even compare
Born and Raised in LA
To Live and Die in LA
by Shanghai May 10, 2005
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The only place in the world where a person can be seen flipping someone off with one hand, talking on a cell phone, reading the newspaper and drinking a latte, all while doing 90 in the right lane of the thruway.
When I moved from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles I sold my car and killed myself.
by jem March 6, 2004
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The largest English speaking city in Northern Mexico
When are we going to build a fence and give Los Angeles and everything else south of San Francisco to Mexico?
by Little Kicker January 24, 2008
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The place where all the hottest chicks from your town moved to.
We got left with all the ugly ones. The hot ones are all aspiring boat whores in L.A.
by One for the road March 9, 2005
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