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Gustav Branting Paulsell's avatar

I was in la for the first time in my life in 2022 and spent a day walking through most of it. Literally the first thing I saw exiting the historic light rail station was a poopy diaper on the ground. Had my own own micro Daniel penny Moment when taking the lightrail, I became so uncomfortable with a man who followed the female conductor when he stood outside the conductor's cabin masturbating that I shoved him off when it came to a stop.

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David Cole's avatar

That's WHY I have a very specific area in which I seek to live. Finding housing here is easy...unless you have standards.

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Ricardo's avatar

Never been to Cali. What's that ocean-friendly area you can walk, day or night, and talk to common, normal peeps?

One day I will visit!... Ah, Zihuatanejo!

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David Cole's avatar

The best, cleanest, and safest beaches are what's known as the "South Bay," the beach cities south of LAX.

El Segundo

Manhattan Beach

Hermosa Beach

(and to a lesser extent Redondo Beach)

El Segundo's great for peace & quiet

Manhattan is lively and fun, with a great boardwalk & pier, and lots of restaurants

Hermosa is the best nightlife

And Redondo, the cheaper fun (arcades, burger stands, roller skating)

These are VERY low crime areas. You get north of LAX, well, welcome to Venice and Santa Monica. Bring your anti-bum spray, and your Steve Sailer "noticing glasses" any time you pull out your wallet.

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Betsy's avatar

My home, the South Bay.

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Stacy Y. Cats's avatar

*sigh* This is why I’m sticking to Orange County.

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Ricardo's avatar

Thank you, Dave!

I don't like to talk to random strangers either, but Ocean translates into fishing for me. Was thinking for a place you can walk the shore, go to a marina and talk to common, ocean loving people.

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David Cole's avatar

The Redondo Beach pier is a great fishing spot. You can set up all day. Or, go a little south past the designated surfing spot and set up your line in the sand.

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Ricardo's avatar

Thanks again.

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Harshkumar's avatar

I don't normally talk to strangers (the girls think I'm a weirdo and the guys think I'm a ph aggot if I do) but I think you can walk any California beach/beach neighborhood during the daylight in relative safety. I prefer the ones with free parking - if you find such a thing, let me know.

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Martin Michael's avatar

Your story re-reminded me why when I was in California two weeks ago, for the first since last being in the USA in 2022, I stayed east of the Sierra Nevadas, sticking to California's mountains and deserts, staying far from the maddening (because of the f**ked up people) coast. And good for you for pulling a Daniel Penny on that pud-pulling pervert and shoving his jerk-off ass off of the light rail.

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Harshkumar's avatar

If you know downtown near 1 Wilshire Place (where all the internet traffic supposedly goes) I walked by there one time and some schizo was walking around yelling, during the daytime. I ignored him like everyone else.

(I stay there when I visit my son, because my wife likes $500 per night hotels in downtown. I was born poor and can handle a Motel 6 anytime)

There are cameras everywhere and I doubt those guys want the good ole LAPD to body slam them, so they tend to leave civilians alone - but no guarantees.

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noochness's avatar

Dave cleans up good!

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Gunther Heinz's avatar

Yes, but did he flush. That part wasn´t too clear.

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David Cole's avatar

LOL!!!!

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Texas Khaan's avatar

A wave of relief swept over me as I viewed Cleaned Up Dave's picture. I was so shocked at Homeless Alcoholic Dave's appearance, I was unable to find words to express my feelings.

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Sarcastic Cynical Texan's avatar

Yes, I too was taken aback by Early Grave Dave's bathrobe look, 'We' thought that our contributions ($500.50 each) were likely to be Given Sent Gone - With The Wind, and then we get to see Renewed Dave, lookin' all youthful! . Losing too many of my favorite authors lately, Buchanan, Derbyshire, Malkin, the VDare crew . . . Be brave Dave & never cave !!!

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David Cole's avatar

THAT you can count on!

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Negrero's avatar

Maybe you meant "you can cunt on"!

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noochness's avatar

Jim Goad too is taking time off---he moved to New Mexico, now Counter Currents is regularly posting some of his greatest hits:

https://counter-currents.com/author/jgoad/

Michelle Malkin, oy, I only wish I had 1/1000th of her testicular fortitude!

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Ricardo's avatar

Yeah, he looked a little disheveled in that Moses cosplay; a San Fran homie, ready to take a squat.

Better now.

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Patrick's avatar

Shit, Dave, the people/culture of the SM/Venice Beach zone could provide fodder for 100 columns, if not a novel or three. You could do for Too Far West what Steinbeck did for the Salinas Valley. You have to admit, it is kind of an interesting set-up for a (temporarily) rootless Jew to be reporting from the inside of one of the most counter-cultural places in America. I wish you all the best in your search for a haven out there.

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Terry C's avatar

That's an idea that ought to grow legs. Great comment!

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noochness's avatar

YES YES YES! There must be L.A. news/kultcha websites that would pay for content like that.

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David Cole's avatar

Thank you!

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Daniel F's avatar

Looking good, Dave. Thank you for all of the updates, and hope that all of your work goes well and that you find living arrangements that give you peace of mind.

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David Cole's avatar

Thank you!

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Craigazazoth's avatar

One last thing; it’s sad what you wrote.. Santa Monica was a great place ca 2004-2008 I was an art dealer and did the Civic center show.. It was safe as could be.. all night walking beach everywhere.. Dems really fucked us…

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David Cole's avatar

Once everything closes at the Promenade, which is the route I strolled, it becomes Night of the Living Schizos. Genuinely unnerving.

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Craigazazoth's avatar

Oofff.. Jesus! Glad u survived!! Good read man thank you! Have a great week! Don’t let the landlords over charge you!! :)

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Harshkumar's avatar

Landlords live to overcharge!

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Terry C's avatar

You know it!

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David Cole's avatar

Much obliged, friend! You have a great week too.

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Negrero's avatar

I work two blocks off tthe promenade... 40 percent vacancy.. A city council man was assaulted in daylight a few months ago... The rich liberal city is $10 million in the red.. a studio apt rents for $2400 on average

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Negrero's avatar

I'm reading this as I look out my window toward the civic center during my lunch

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Craigazazoth's avatar

Awwwwww i’m jealous !! lol those were actually amazing years. I’m not gonna bore you guys with my own stuff but I loved it there. It’s sad what’s happening because it was such a beautiful fun place I mean, of course once in a while even in the early 2000s you’d see a homeless person you know around by the beach by the skate park or whatever (oh that’s Venice ) but no, you would see them around, but it wasn’t that bad. It was nothing really at night. We were safe. We would go on the beach at night..We would go walking around by the hotels. I used to stay at the Huntley and I absolutely loved the penthouse. AMAZING!!! It was the most fun ever. I wonder if the Huntley is even still there?!? that’s when I had money, now I’m broke. Ughhh anyway sorry for the trauma dump. ( funny I promised I wouldn’t bore you and I totally did that !) I’m just a long time fan of David. I miss his YouTube videos so anyone of you guys are a friend to me!!

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Negrero's avatar

Just a few days ago a homeless guy who rides around on a bycicle outfitted with two large subwoofers stabbed three people.

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Craigazazoth's avatar

Dude, that is Spooksville. I mean, firing squad right away!!! Yeesh!! Be safe!!!

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Negrero's avatar

You might like a YouTube guy who bikes around Venice, Santa Monica, downtown etc and tells what's going on.. Search for German in Venice

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Harshkumar's avatar

How much was the penthouse?

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Terry C's avatar

Hi Dave! These Fear and Loathing-esque dispatches are as raw as they are hilarious. You’ve got a real gift for turning chaos into storytelling gold.

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David Cole's avatar

Thank you, Terry! Truly appreciated.

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noochness's avatar

Yes, you articulated wonderfully what I was trying to express. Fear and Loathing in Los Angeles.

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Abdul Alhazred's avatar

Damn you went from Donald Sutherland to Ricardo Montalban overnight with that haircut.

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noochness's avatar

Yeah, before the clean-up Dave was definitely "Don't Look Now"!

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Abdul Alhazred's avatar

His thick mop definitely matched lol.

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David Cole's avatar

LOL!!!!!!!

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Kelly Harbeson's avatar

I just wish I cleaned up as well.

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noochness's avatar

Steve Sailer's book Noticing is now available as an audiobook at Audible.com; maybe Republican Party Animal can be made available there as an audiobook. I know Audible is owned by Amazon, but perhaps it could be slid in under the nose of the witchburners. And It could be read by Kelsey Grammer or another one of the former Friends of Abe!

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Brian P Henry's avatar

I wouldn’t have thought that finding a decent place to live in LA would be that difficult, but I’m from Appalachia so what do I know. But you are looking much, much better and maybe it’s time to call Ms Tay to she if she can be of assistance.

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David Cole's avatar

Indeed!

RE housing:

The thing is, I have a very specific set of demands:

6-month lease (most places want a year)

Absolute quiet (no barking dogs in any neighboring yards; small children at a distance)

AC (believe it or not, not all L.A. units have AC)

In-unit washer/dryer

Bathtub (many L.A. places are shower-only)

Very specific borders; L.A.'s huge, but I only want to live in one particular square area

So yeah, that makes it complicated. If I had no standards, I could move to the fuckin' Valley tomorrow.

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Terry C's avatar

There’s nothing even slightly high-maintenance about those expectations. I adore both children and barking dogs—so long as God blesses them far away from me.

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Harshkumar's avatar

Move to the Dallas suburban area and you can get a virtual castle for $200 per square foot with ample AC and plenty of beans to mow your yard, clean your pool, clean your house, and our eating establishments are quite reasonable.

Plenty of room and only traffic jams during rush hour and special events.

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Keith Shapiro's avatar

I grew up in a Miami neighborhood where the most dangerous things at 3AM was a beanpole 23 year old with glasses, braces, and red hair. A different world that's never coming back.

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Kate Cahill's avatar

Looking good Dave!! Bright-eyed and not bushy! best of luck w/ the house hunting!

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Kate Cahill's avatar

ha ha! just caught my typo. From Moses to God in 24 hrs.!

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David Cole's avatar

Thank you!

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Arsenio Orteza's avatar

Nobody makes lemonade out of life's lemons like David.

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x3e8ndes [add title here]'s avatar

I'm respectfully watching from a distance of 3000 miles, and thinking "hard" or "spiked" lemonade. -- member of Alcoholics Anonymous, 40 years ethanol abstinent

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noochness's avatar

Great job man!

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noochness's avatar

Dave, are you near the riot areas? Are they spreading or are they being contained?

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David Cole's avatar

Dude, don't trust the news (especially the MAGA news). Everything that's happened since Friday was confined to Downtown, period. Everything. And Downtown's where it belongs - home of City Hall, the main courthouse, and Skid Row. It's an hour away from the Westside. That's what MAGAs aren't getting. Downtown was where "Occupy L.A." was in 2011. It's FINE when it's Downtown. What made BLM/Floyd so horrific was that they brought the terror West. As long as shit stays Downtown, nobody else in the fucking city even knows it's happening. Because only bums live down there (nobody in City Hall LIVES there!).

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Harshkumar's avatar

Our beloved Dave makes a great point here - LA isn't as bad as one would think. Why do I say that? Unfortunately, my son lives in LA in an area known as Koreatown, full of gangs, drugs, and everything else. However, I've walked around all the neighborhoods in the area, including walking through MacArthur Park with all the zombie drug addicts. They have some sort of unspoken arrangement with the LAPD. Honestly, drive by the place sometime - it is a real eye opener.

No one fucks with civilians during the daytime! Sure, the occasional guy will accept a handout, but they are not aggressive at all. I've walked from his apt to Korean BBQ joints with the family, and everyone is, if not friendly, at least is not predatory.

As an aside, do not fall for the 'famous pastrami' at Langer's Deli- for $28 bucks, it ain't that good. Dave tells me to go to Factors instead, and it is just north of Pico, to boot.

Okay, so if my boy leaves his keys in his car with a sign that says 'steal me,' it will be gone. But they otherwise leave people alone. Entire families live throughout that hellhole of a city without much trouble from the criminals. In spite of the weather, I call it a hellhole because it is costly, crowded, and inconvenient. (Unless you can afford the areas where Ol Dave lived in Beverly Hills, I recommend visiting as little as possible)

If I were worth ten million dollars, though, I would move to Beverly Hills. Beautiful city, peaceful, not crowded, and spectacular year-round weather. You can buy a half assed place in the flats for about $2000 per square foot. But you need plenty of money to enjoy the place, unless you want to stay home and harass ph aggots on the internet. If Reagan were reincarnated and all the liberals moved away, the place would be heaven on earth. If you care, you almost always see someone famous there, just living their normal life. It is almost surreal.

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AgataDeux's avatar

Koreatown is pretty nice at least the part I lived in. Also some great Art Deco architecture, and one of the only walkable parts of LA.

MacArthur park is basically its own neighborhood, I don’t think anyone from LA considers that K town. Real estate agents might be calling that Koreatown but apart from Wi Spa there aren’t really Korean businesses there, it’s dominated by Central Americans. Wilshire/Western: firmly K town and some of the best most affordable hair cuts, spas, etc in the city.

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Negrero's avatar

True. I pointed out to him the same

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Negrero's avatar

Mc Arthur part is not in Korea Town

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Harshkumar's avatar

MacArthur Park is close enough to Koreatown for me to walk to it from there, but technically, I didn't say it was in Koreatown. (though, honestly, who gives a darn anyway?) In Koreatown, Koreans are no longer the majority. Hispanics are the majority now in the area formerly and formally known as 'Koreatown.'

Many of the businesses and buildings there are likely owned by Koreans, one of whom probably bought Dave's old lot and is going to put up a McMansion there in Beverly Hills.

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Negrero's avatar

You did say it was in the areae, hence Korea Town. Oh, Koreans themselves never were the majority. They own most of the businesses but few actually have lived there

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noochness's avatar

That's great to hear, thank you! I'd put a link to Petula Clark singing her biggest hit, but I just heard this crazy-ass jazz piece that quotes from Zoltán Kodály's Háry János Suite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_4qxnyOf4s

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Terry C's avatar

I suspected the media was flogging pure agitprop. Thanks for the update, Dave.

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AgataDeux's avatar

Seconding this. DTLA is its own animal & it’s kind of a mini NYC in a way- more walkable, there are CRE & finance-dominated buildings, a garment/jewelry area, the courthouse etc as Dave said.

DTLA has some nice condos that out of towners got swindled into buying that are only a couple blocks from Skid Row. But mostly unless you work in the Wells Fargo building or have jury duty, you’re not like hanging out in DTLA. It’s a place most angelenos go because they have to.

There’s a decent Korean spa & Jewish deli near MacArthur Park & you can see traces of prosperity in the area in the architecture, but it’s dominated by poor people from Central America (not Mexicans more like Salvadoran/Guatemalan). This is an areas where unlicensed vendors line up on the street in front of tax paying businesses & wonder why people get mad at them. The deli workers are union, get paid over the odds, get free meals but they still complain about racism & the owners being anti Central Americans. It’s like people with a peasant mindset who don’t get how to live in a developed country. They don’t get that people want vendors to be licensed, wash their hands, pay taxes etc they can’t see a big picture beyond their own life & struggle.

Places where college educated people live when they move to LA start with like Koreatown, it’s got some issues but much greener and skews whiter. The Latinos are more Mexican/Colombian and like ‘get it’ more.

What’s not in DTLA is the stuff most people think of when they think of LA: beaches, good shopping like ‘nice’ stores & malls etc, the entertainment industry (mostly starts on like the edge of Koreatown where some talent agencies are located).

When I lived there & was dating, LA natives were skittish about bringing a woman to a dodgers game they’re like ‘people get stabbed let’s go see the Angels’ but white hipster transplants don’t get that stigma. Like NYC, if you visit you want to hang around with some natives because they’ll help you understand what the city is actually like.

LA natives, the bright ones you see in good jobs were usually born at Cedars Sinai & like Dave life for them starts on the more western side of the city. Or they’re from Pasadena/Glendale - LA county but not LA proper.

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Harshkumar's avatar

That Jewish Deli near MacArthur Park is called Langer's, and they charge an outrageous $28 for their 'famous' salami sandwich. It was at most above average, though the people were nice. The area around that, which I have walked through, obviously, looks like a third-world flea market with all the people hanging out, though they were friendly to me.

I speak a little Spanish.

Next time, per Dave's advice, I'm going to Factor's.

https://www.factorsdeli.com/

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David Cole's avatar

From a lifetime of eating deli food, I can honestly say, nothing beats Factor's.

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Craigazazoth's avatar

You look great Dave! Seriously!! Healthy too!! But question?? Are you from Druidia? You don’t look Druish….( funny as line!! Only movie fans will get it! )

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David Cole's avatar

LOL!!! I get it!

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