I grew up in L.A., and it's one of those cities designed around cars instead of the people that live there. I spent hours every day stuck in traffic, having the experience of looking around and seeing one person in every car.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
In L.A., it's the sort of city where you have to have a car to get around.
In L.A., everyone is in their car all the time, so you're used to not interacting with people for the majority of the day, and it kind of trickles into nightlife and all that. People stay within their circles and there's no real mingling to be had.
In Toronto, I grew up taking a subway, I grew up taking a bus. I spent my formative adult years in New York City, walking the streets, taking the subway. You're connected to the larger whole. L.A. is so spread out, and you're so incubated inside those cars and it's so exhausting to deal with the traffic, without really having the human contact.
Being a pedestrian again is very exciting because in L.A. you live in your car, and you're on a freeway all the time.
I lived in L.A. for four years, and basically, every corner you go to, or in a restaurant, you can't even find people from the same background.
I've run into more people walking in L.A. than if I drove. Because you stand out so much if you walk. People from my past have stopped their cars and said, 'Hey!' But if I was in a car, they never would've seen me.
I love it in the States. The roads are big, the food is big. If it was possible to be in L.A. and still live my racing life, I would move now.
I remember my first night in L.A. I was sitting outside, looking out at the city and thinking, 'I don't know anyone.' I just approached it as a big adventure. I still think of it that way.
I walk out my front door in New York and I'm out on the street and there are people everywhere. L.A. is so much more spread out, so it's really easy in L.A. to have a little more isolation and to just not see as many people.
L.A.'s kind of, like, seven really cool towns. It's so laid-back. If you go in the right spot, you can walk around, and you don't need a car.