Dear Los Angeles,

[SKOM]

Not sure if you remember me.
I visited you a couple weeks ago with my SO and 2 dogs. We were on our way to Australia from Canada.

Just wanted to say that we really enjoyed our 3 days with you. You weather is quite nice and your people are.... um.. diverse. 
We spent most of our time on your beaches and in your off leash areas. Manhattan beach was nice as was the off leash area in Santa Monica. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn which was also fantastic. Zero complaints.

We even had the opportunity to spend a couple hours on one of your freeways during rush hour. Fantastic 
Did I mention the weather.

Oh and we even got really lost and spent some time in compton. Lets just say I have never felt so Canadian in my life. I was glad it was daylight.

I do have a question - Why were there so many cars without license plates? I mean lots of cars with out license plates 

Hmmm what else can I say. I really do wish I had more time with you LA. Your citizens are far more friendly than I was led to believe. Thanks for a great visit. 

Sincerely,
Gibbs.

p.s I have a prepaid phone card with 8 bucks left on it that is useless here in OZ. PM me and it's yours.

p.p.s. LAX could use a facelift.

[hbliam]

I do have a question - Why were there so many cars without license plates? I mean lots of cars with out license plates 

1-Lots of new cars
2-Lots of people that think it's cool to not put on their plates
3-Lots of reasons for me to pull people over

[darylbowden]

Oh and we even got really lost and spent some time in compton.

Compton actually gets a bad rap IMO (get it, compton, rap?)  It's not nearly as bad as other parts of the city, it just got a terrible name from the Gangsta rap of the early-mid 90s.  It's not beverly hills, but it ain't as scary as we would be lead to believe.

[Gus Duc]

Gibbs,

Dude..... you were two blocks away from a personal Concierge........

Glad you had a good visit....... sounds like your dog liked it too

Catch you next time

[gatuso]

I do have a question - Why were there so many cars without license plates? I mean lots of cars with out license plates 

Those are cars changing ownership.

[derby]

Those are cars changing ownership.

..some of them even w/o the previous owners' permission.

[Grampa]

Gibbs,

Dude..... you were two blocks away from a personal Concierge........

Glad you had a good visit....... sounds like your dog liked it too

Catch you next time

Gus would have even taken you to Ross for pants, had you forgot to bring some.

[madmatt]

..some of them even w/o the previous owners' permission.

[hbliam]

Those are cars changing ownership.

The only cars changing ownership that shouldn't have plates are new cars. Used cars retain the same plates 99.99% of the time.

[hbliam]

Compton actually gets a bad rap IMO (get it, compton, rap?)  It's not nearly as bad as other parts of the city, it just got a terrible name from the Gangsta rap of the early-mid 90s.  It's not beverly hills, but it ain't as scary as we would be lead to believe.

It is as dangerous as you are lead to believe. Try rolling around there at night.

[darylbowden]

It is as dangerous as you are lead to believe. Try rolling around there at night.

I have.  My girlfriend's family lives in nearby Gardena.  Compton is not a great town, but it is a strong family area, with fewer apartments than other areas.  I'm not saying it's great, but there are far worse places in SoCal than Compton.

[hbliam]

It's not as dangerous as it was in 2006 when it hit #1 on the most dangerous cities in the US. Now it's only 14th after the LASD flooded it with Deps....but still #1 in Southern California.

Can I find a worse street or apartment complex in another City? Yep. Stats wise is Compton one of the most dangerous places in the US to live in, drive through, or walk around? Yep.

Combining your view of Compton and your (smart BTW) posts about saving up for a home...I bet you could buy in Compton right now.

[zedsaid]

The only cars changing ownership that shouldn't have plates are new cars. Used cars retain the same plates 99.99% of the time.

Aside from the vanity plates, which remain with the owner... and this is the Land of the Vain. (i'm one to talk, being that i have vanity plates.)

Are there really that many plateless vehicles around here?  I know there are tons of cars that still don't have the (mandated) front plate, but i don't notice all that many cars without any form of registration. (Of course, any percentage is going to be represented largely in a city with this many cars.)

[darylbowden]

It's not as dangerous as it was in 2006 when it hit #1 on the most dangerous cities in the US. Now it's only 14th after the LASD flooded it with Deps....but still #1 in Southern California.

Can I find a worse street or apartment complex in another City? Yep. Stats wise is Compton one of the most dangerous places in the US to live in, drive through, or walk around? Yep.

Combining your view of Compton and your (smart BTW) posts about saving up for a home...I bet you could buy in Compton right now.

Sadly enough, I probably still couldn't...

My hope is to be ready by 2010 (when I see the market bottoming out) and hopefully I'll have ~15% by then.

[MetalDuc]

Sadly enough, I probably still couldn't...

My hope is to be ready by 2010 (when I see the market bottoming out) and hopefully I'll have ~15% by then.

+1 with a relocation to NorCal and should be able to get into someting really nice and really far from Compton.