Los Angeles
 Diversity, dreams, and drama.
In spite of its reputation as Mecca for the entertainment industry, Los Angeles suffers from an identity crisis. It's known by a number of names, such as La-La Land, Tinseltown, the City of the Angels, and the abbreviated "L.A.," but none of these really convey the vast geographical, cultural, and economic diversity found in this large, complex city. Fueling its disjointed image is the fact that Los Angeles is actually a network of over 60 smaller communities, each supplying its own unique take on what it means to be part of the second-largest city in the country.
Greater Los Angeles is famous for having temperate weather... and for good reason. With an annual rainfall total of only 15 inches, cloudless days are the norm. The city's sunny disposition is just one of the reasons that millions of people visit Los Angeles every year. Tourists and the nearly 4 million locals are intrigued by the fact that the city has everything you could want within its 34,149 square miles. If you were so inclined, you could begin your day in mountain foothills, spend the afternoon in the desert, and still be at the beach in time to watch the sunset give way to a starry night sky. And Los Angeles is one of only a few cities in the world where you can also see stars during the day. Because it's home to 12 movie and television productions studios, it's not uncommon to see celebrities filming at locations throughout the city.
Work and Play
In spite of having an image as celebrity central and offering non-stop entertainment at multiple amusement parks, 300 museums, 80 stages, theatres, and myriad of other tourist attractions, Los Angeles isn't all play and no work. As a major player in the Pacific-rim economy, and home to some of the world's largest corporations, it employs workers in every imaginable field, including aerospace, import/export, oil, tourism, and healthcare. The city's healthcare workers number nearly 400,000, and its hospitals are among the best in the country. Six Southern California hospitals made the U.S. News and World Report America's Best Hospitals 2006 list, and UCLA Medical Center made their honor roll.
Whether at work or at play, there's one fact about Los Angeles that's hard to escape: It's a good idea to have a car. Although mass transit options are available, the sheer distance between one end of the city and the other makes it more practical to have your own transportation. And if you're driving, you may want to carry a map, since some Los Angeles streets wind around and change names.
The New Ellis Island
In keeping with Los Angeles International Airport's (LAX) reputation as the new Ellis Island, the city has tremendous cultural diversity. The fact that over 40 percent of L.A.'s inhabitants were born in other countries is evidenced throughout the city, on store signs in every conceivable language. And the housing options and neighborhood profiles are as diverse as the people who inhabit them. Although the average L.A. home price is $396,000, every possible housing type is available, from one-room apartments in inner-city buildings, to huge mansions overlooking the beach. The high housing costs, plus the California state income tax and a high city sales tax, work together to create a cost of living that is approximately 23 percent above the national average. But its inhabitants know the value of living in this unique, diverse city, and are willing to pay the price to live in the "City of the Angels."
Los Angeles Attractions
 As the second-largest city in the country, Los Angeles has a little bit of everything-and then some. It's home to some of the country's most imaginative theme parks, and it has more than its share of fine aquariums, recreation areas, and museums. In fact, it has 300 museums, which is more than can be claimed by any other U.S. city. It also hosts a few unusual attractions, such as the docked ocean liner Queen Mary, and the Venice Beach Oceanfront Walk, which is a unique combination of California beach fun and a freak show.
But the city's real claim to fame is its proximity to what outsiders call "Hollywood." Although Hollywood is an actual Los Angeles community, the movie studios that are usually perceived to be within its borders are actually spread throughout the city. Most of the studios have tours available, but there are also plenty of other attractions that focus on Tinseltown, such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Museum of Television & Radio, and the Hollywood Entertainment Museum.
Aquarium of the Pacific
Autry Museum of Western Heritage
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
California African American Museum
California Science Center
Catalina Island
Chinatown
Disneyland Park
Disney's California Adventure
Getty Center
Guinness World Records Museum
Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Wax Museum
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Japanese American National Museum
Knotts Berry Farm
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles Maritime Museum
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens
Mann's Chinese Theatre
Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Television & Radio
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Pacific Park
Page Museum/Rancho La Brea Tar Pits
Paramount Studios
Queen Mary
Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace
Ripley's Believe It or Not
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Six Flags Magic Mountain
UCLA Armand Hammer Museum
Universal Studios/Universal CityWalk
Venice Beach Oceanfront Walk
Warner Brothers VIP Studio Tour
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Los Angeles Shopping
L.A. practically invented the fashionista; after all it is home to Rodeo Drive. Plus, this is a city that has to cater to Hollywood glamour and Diva size attitudes. So if you're looking to shop - from trend-setting fashions to tourist schlock mementos - Los Angeles has your shopping needs covered like no other place in the world.
Hollywood hand-me-downs can be found at:
Studio Wardrobe/Reel Clothes
It's A Wrap
Western Costume
Classic Hollywood
Rodeo Drive/The Golden Triangle
Robertson Blvd
Melrose Avenue
The Beverly Center
Third Street
La Brea
Downtown/Santee Alley
Sunset Plaza
Westwood Village
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Los Angeles Nightlife
The club and bar scene in L.A. is about as finicky as the clientele... it changes constantly to fit the mood. But no matter how the city is feeling that night one thing is certain -there is always some place to go to see and be seen. In a single night you can easily stumble from It-crowd clubs to designer bars to hair-metal temples to comedy clubs to ground-breaking theatre. Of course, on the ever-changing list of venues there remain some Hollywood nightlife legends that you have to experience just to say you did:
Viper Room
Knitting Factory
Whisky a Go Go
Temple Bar
Nightlife resources:
http://www.la.com/nightlifeandmusic
http://losangeles.citysearch.com
http://www.timeout.com/travel/losangeles/nightlife.html
http://www.clubzone.com/home.asp?city=2
http://www.pubclub.com/losangeles/index.htm
http://www.10best.com/Los_Angeles,CA/Nightlife/Best_Nightlife/index.html
http://www.losangeles.com/nightlife/
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Los Angeles Healthcare Facilities
Los Angeles has to meet the demands of some very demanding personnel. So it's not surprising that this city has an abundance of high quality healthcare facilities, some of which are world renowned for their research programs and cutting-edge technology. The major healthcare facilities in the area include:
Brotman Medical Center
California Hospital Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Century City Hospital
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
City of Hope National Medical Center
East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital
Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center
Good Samaritan Hospital
Granada Hills Community Hospital
Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital
Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center
Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center
Little Company of Mary San Pedro Hospital
Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center
Los Angeles Shriners Hospital
Martin Luther King, Jr./Charles R. Drew Medical Center
Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA
Mission Community Hospital
Motion Picture & Television Hospital
Northridge Hospital Medical Center-Roscoe Campus
Northridge Hospital Medical Center-Sherman Way Campus
Olive View Medical Center
Orthopaedic Hospital
Providence Holy Cross Medical Center
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center
Saint John's Health Center
Sherman Oaks Hospital
St. Vincent Medical Center
UCLA Medical Center
USC University Hospital
Valley Presbyterian Hospital
West Hills Hospital & Medical Center
West Los Angeles Veterans Healthcare Center
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Los Angeles Nursing Resources
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
California Board of Registered Nursing
California Department of Health Services
California Nursing Outcomes Coalition Database Project
California Registered Nurses License Renewal
American Nurses Association/California
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Los Angeles Weather
They say it never rains in Southern California. And if you go by Los Angeles' weather, that statement is nearly true. L.A.'s rainfall comes to only 15 inches or so annually, with most of it occurring between November and March, leaving the summers relatively dry.
Because Los Angeles covers such a wide territory, temperatures vary by region. Average summer temperatures are in the 80s near Downtown, but you can usually count on it being 10 degrees warmer in the San Fernando Valley, and 5 to 10 degrees cooler near the beaches. In the winter, the scenario reverses. Downtown usually has an average high in the 60s or 70s, and the San Fernando Valley's temperatures usually dip 10 or more degrees below that.
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