The Great Eastside-Westside Throwdown

Venice, Santa Monica and Malibu used to be synonymous with West Coast creativity, and free-spirited living (think Venice artists, Frank Gehry and the Santa Monica architects, beach-inspired artists/surfers/musicians). But pricey real estate has driven creative Angelenos east, first to Silverlake and Echo Park, then to downtown, Highland Park, Eagle Rock and beyond. This has given rise to strongly held opinions and prejudices among a subset of Angelenos about which side is superior — from the perspective of the arts, multicultural relations, urban living, essential LA-ness and hipster levels relative to New York.

Tonight on Which Way LA? we are going to explore this Eastside-Westside rivalry with a knockdown, drag-out fight between listeners and invited guests from both sides of the argument, as well as a few voices from parts of town that are neither Eastside nor Westside and don’t know what the fuss is all about. Listen below:

We reached out to listeners online and through the Public Insight Network. Asking them why they loved their part of town (and which side is better?)

Listeners like Kim Richey said that the Eastside is better, “Better parking. Proximity to downtown and cultural venues. Metro system/union station. Historical areas: Angeleno heights, Highland Park, Garvanza, South Pasadena, etc. The zoo. Griffith Park. Hollywood bowl. 5+ freeways to navigate from. Neighborhood pockets and variety of farmers markets. Heavy artist clusters in each eastside ‘hood.”

And others, like Edmond Bina, came down in favor of the Westside. He says, “The Westside is better because of the cool ocean breezes, the big open spaces and the feeling of being closer to nature. Life seems to move a bit slower on this side and the people more relaxed, how can you not be when you have the beach right here?”

Still want more? Go here.