Is Downtown LA Safe to Visit at Night?

[WaveJumper]

Out of curiousity, have you actually SEEN 90% of New York? Granted, the holiday season is a terrible time to visit, because the only people you run into are all the clueless tourists walking one way and looking another, but lawless? Miserable? Yes, streets of NY do tend to be dirty, especially in midtown, I'll give you that, and it looks worse when there's slushy snow on the ground. But then there are really beautiful places in the city too. If you were just hitting all the really touristy places during the peak of tourist season, well, you just haven't really experienced NY.

That depends on what you mean by 90%. If you meen litterally yard by yard, then no. I was in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten island, Harlem, Mid- lower and upper Manhattan. I slept in Jersey, and was terriefied. They don't have metered taxis in Jersey, just flat-rates which happened to be not that flat. A taxi operator quoted me $60 plus tolls to Manhattan and the cab driver when he took me to Manahattan said - "Nah, she doesn't know, it's $95 plus tolls". Then i took another, this time, metered cab from Rockfeller center(the only nice area in NY), and i told the driver to do a few rounds of the city. After driving for a few minutes i asked if he's going to charge by the meter. He replied "No, i charge different for tourist tour"? I said " i'll give you $20 on top of the bill, he goes on "Nah, that's not good for me". That was when i was totally dismayed. Having been to Moscow(they don't have real taxis, every car is a taxi- you negotiate the price), in Kiev, in Cairo, in Tanjer and Istanbul, I can safely say i had never seen such audacity. The cab driver went on to tell me "I am not an entertainment cab, you know I'm sayin'?" He took a few rounds at it was 15:35 and his 16:00 shift was nearing, so he said i'll pull over by the brooklyn bridge and drop you off, cause my shift ended". WOW! Way to go NY! We then went to the Empire STate building and there were probably 20 people lined outside to get tickets. We lined up and after20-30 min. we got in. Bam!, the line continues inside. And it continues, and continues and continues... Nobody from the administration bothers to warn the people that the line almost a mile long and streches on 2 floors. Litterally there were a thousand people before us. It took a bit more than 2 1/2 hours to get to the top.
Shops and stroes - same situation - rude salesmen that don't even bother to pretend they were interested. It was explicit that they want you out of there. Very very unprofessional treatment for people who have come from the other side of the Earth to spend their money. Another cab driver flatly told me i was wasting his time for demanding that he left me in front of the ferry terminal, not a 1/4 mile from it. It was frigid outside with strong winds and i had a 3 year old with me. The Hilton New Ark in Elizabeth was terrible by any Hilton standards. The double decker tourist bus i had tickets for(Grayline), had an open upper deck and it was cold even on the first floor(how much maths knowledge does it take to figure that an opening 1x1 metres will keep the first floor cold??). JFK was horrible, no seats in the American Airlines terminal, so everybody was standing up, waiting for their delayed flight on their feet. Very unprofessional. Check in, only self -service - highly uninterested personnel, one fat lady lied to me the lined she opened to relieve the other 150 feet line was for a special flight. Turned out it was for our flight. In general, you constantly get the impression that everybody is out to cheat and do cheap tricks. So sad that it comes from someone who has been to more than30 countries, some of which really shady.

Oh, and when i said NY was dirty, that was an understatement(i was fairly diplomatic). There more horrible instances to our drama, but i won't clutter the thread any more.

Most definitely my very last visit to NY.

 

[Moonbear]

Um, wow, sorry you got ripped off, but your impression is totally inaccurate. Taxis in NJ are very definitely metered. The exception, like most US cities, is there are flat rates from airports. You should have reported that driver!

As for the Empire State Building, I've actually never visited it. It's a touristy place. But, if you just check online, you'll see it's better to buy tickets ahead of time. You can skip a few of those lines if you buy the tickets in advance.

As for the airlines, it doesn't matter what city you're in. If there are major weather delays, the same thing happens. I'm surprised you've never experienced that before.

I've never had such problems with cab drivers. They're always happy to drop people off wherever. If you want to sit in the traffic to go a few extra blocks, they're more than happy to keep the meter running. Never heard of someone refusing that. But, then, I don't often take cabs anymore either, unless the weather is awful. The subways are the best way to travel.

Rockefeller Center is the only NICE place? Ugh! That's the worst of the worst tourist trap areas.

Though, I have NO idea why you decided to stay in Elizabeth. That is one of the worst parts of NJ, with the smelly refineries nearby. I would never advise someone to stay there...ever.

 

[WaveJumper]

Um, wow, sorry you got ripped off, but your impression is totally inaccurate. Taxis in NJ are very definitely metered. The exception, like most US cities, is there are flat rates from airports. You should have reported that driver!

Call Green taxi in NJ at 973-643-4100 and ask for a car with a meter(the driver told me there were no meter cabs in NJ). I also took a black taxi from Queens Center Mall in Queens that had no meter whatsoever. The front desk at the hotel told me there were no metered taxis in NJ. While it is possible that everyone was lying, i am not. Here is the hotel tel. in case you want to see for yourself what they have to say about metered taxis in NJ - 1-908-351-3900. Somebody has asked a similar question in this thread:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-jersey/791201-taxis-meters-new-jersey.html

As for the Empire State Building, I've actually never visited it. It's a touristy place. But, if you just check online, you'll see it's better to buy tickets ahead of time. You can skip a few of those lines if you buy the tickets in advance.

I did and they asked for a specific time when i would visit. ESB is not on my list of top priorities and it was not possible to set a particlular timing that i would observe. ESB is just a building, and relatively short one at that(by moderns standard, though still the tallest in NY) and definitely old. 2 1/2 hours or advanced fixed timing tickets are out of the question. It's the same with the EIffel tower, i have no idea why people would wait hours to climb on top of it(i have, though it was many years ago, and there were no lines).

As for the airlines, it doesn't matter what city you're in. If there are major weather delays, the same thing happens. I'm surprised you've never experienced that before.

I was speaking about there being nowhere to sit in the departure hall. I don't mind delays, but would appreciate having somewhere to sit, while waiting.

Rockefeller Center is the only NICE place? Ugh! That's the worst of the worst tourist trap areas.

What would be a good NY area?

Though, I have NO idea why you decided to stay in Elizabeth. That is one of the worst parts of NJ, with the smelly refineries nearby. I would never advise someone to stay there...ever.

Hotels in Manhattan are four times as expensive between Christmas and New Year's eve than the other days of the year so i decided to cut some corners and stay at a Hilton in Jersey. $400-500 per night for a 3-4 star hotel is outrageous for a place like NY, imo.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

LA is amazing, even better than i expected. I love BelAir, Beverly Hills & Hollywood, downtown and what not

Bel-Air and Beverly Hills?! You asked about downtown LA, which is a completely different place. Of course Bel-Air and Beverly Hills are nice.

Hollywood is a trashy place...I'm not sure what part of it you were in, nor what part of the day. At night you'll see plenty of transvestite hookers. West Hollywood is nicer, but that is a different neighborhood.

The sprawl of LA is a big big plus for someone who has lived most of his life in cramped Europe.

I hate the sprawl of LA...it's impossible to get anywhere. And there is really no open space anywhere...if you want to get away from the "cramped" European-style city, then try some place in the Midwest, like St. Louis, Indianapolis, etc. Tons of open space.

Weather is great, 21-22 deg C, wearing short sleeves, everything is perfect. LA is really amazing to live in, i am starting to consider eventually buying a house sometime.

I wouldn't base your decision to move here on a few days' vacation. The weather is nice in December, sure, but in the summer it gets quite hot (think over 40 C). And many apartments in the LA area do not have air conditioning (for some crazy reason). If you want to buy a house, I hope you're loaded...they are quite expensive. Unless you want to live in Compton.

Also consider that you are probably in a much better mood while on vacation than you would be normally...not stressed out, not in a hurry. That sprawl you so praised earlier is going to become a major frustration, once you find you have to commute an hour in heavy traffic to and from work every day. If you can find a job, that is...LA has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country right now...something like 12%.

If you are most impressed about the open spaces in America, then I definitely suggest you check out some cities in the Midwest. They have a lot more open space than LA, at a much lower price (by a factor of 4 at least). If you want warmer weather, then check out the South and Southwest.