Things to do / Travel Guide
The famous Gold Rush of the mid 19th century earned California the nickname “The Golden State.” Southern California is still golden today: the golden sun shines down on miles and miles of golden-sand beaches as movie stars, media moguls, and Austrian-born politicians chase after the quintessential “golden opportunity” that keeps the American dream alive and kicking on the West Coast. As such, southern California has remained a beacon for American entrepreneurs, who give it its unique, nearly-mythical cultural characteristics.
Southern California is also on the cutting edge of the newest trends, as whatever happens here typically sweeps the rest of the United States in a maddening fury. But southern California isn't only about Hollywood and fantastic weather; once you steer past all the hula hoops, hippies, yuppies, and flashy cars, there is culture to be found here, too.
Southern California didn't initially appear as a shiny bauble on the world stage until 1908, when the Hollywood film industry was born. Nearly 100 years later, the state's most famous export essentially dominates the planet's entertainment media with nearly 80-90% of what appears on American television and in American movies having been filmed somewhere in California. “The southland,” as southern California is called by the locals, manifests a complex identity of healthy living and excessive parties, Disneyland, Sea World, actor-turned-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, at least three different Chinatowns, and even NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
If movies and movie stars don't immediately come to mind when you think of southern California, then perhaps earthquakes do. Southern California has had more than its fair share of earth-shattering occasions. The best-known fault line in the world, the San Andreas Fault, runs right up the coast and spawns a major earthquake roughly every 10 years.
People come from all over the world to southern California to visit Disneyland or Universal Studios, dine at Spago's or Jerry's Famous Deli, shop on Rodeo Drive, see the beautiful homes in Malibu and La Jolla, surf, or to simply follow their dream of hitting it big in the movies. Some spots are known for catering to tourists, like Hollywood Boulevard, while other areas are primarily residential or industrial, like downtown L.A. As tourism is one of the main components of the local economy, there is something for everyone in southern California.
Southern California is on Pacific Time, three hours behind Eastern Time.
During the summer months, the heat and the sun can be a challenge for some visitors with dehydration, sunstroke, and sunburns ranking high on the list of potential risks for tourists. The best way to avoid these potential pitfalls is to drink lots of water, wear a hat, apply sunscreen daily, or just simply avoid direct exposure to sunlight.
There is, of course, the potential for an unexpected earthquake in southern California, as such events happen on a large scale about once a decade. Fortunately, most buildings have been retrofitted to minimize the effects of wanton disaster. Most visitors to southern California therefore take the potentiality of a sudden earthquake in stride.
Like any major American city, there is crime, sometimes violent, in this metropolitan region. For the most part though, southern California is a safe place to visit. Most of the stereotypical “dangerous places” are only so because of multimedia exaggerations of the truth. In any event, the main tourist areas of the city are generally distant from the high crime areas.
As the entire region's demographic is so highly mixed, with southern California's residents coming from a myriad of backgrounds, you might find yourself bumping into people whose English is quite basic. At the very southern end of the Golden State near the Mexican border, for instance, there are some towns where Spanish is the primary language.
Due to the sheer volume of cars on the southern California roads at almost all hours of the day, it is recommended that drivers exercise some extra caution, especially when driving at night.
|
|
|