Tag: Los Angeles

It’s December. It’s the season of the holidays. It’s also the season that Steven Taylor fears the most when it comes to driving in LA’s streets and highways. With the holiday season coming in, there will be more vehicles due to everyone who will be busy preparing for Christmas dinner and doing some holiday shopping.

Now, is Los Angeles traffic that bad? Well, Steven Taylor says it’s indeed bad. Among all cities in Southern California, LA takes the cake when it comes to traffic. According to one article, the City of Angels “…has a congestion level of 45 percent, while San Francisco comes in at 39 percent.” – San Gabriel Valley Tribune. While everyone in the city is already using bikes and public transportation, using cars and other vehicles as a means of transportation in the city is by far the easiest way to get around LA. And this is especially true if you’re a tourist.

So how does one cope with LA traffic? Fortunately for you, Steven Taylor knows his way around vehicles and LA traffic. Here are some of his easy-to-follow advice on how to deal with heavy LA traffic.

Just Deal with It

The first piece of advice Steven Taylor has for all motorists in LA today is to just accept the fact that the city is plagued with traffic problems. In fact, all of the biggest cities in the world are always prone to traffic problems. Road congestion “…is a growing problem and it is primarily due to ongoing urbanization and population growth.” – U.S News on the World’s Most Congested Cities.

The earlier you admit this to yourselves, the better you’d be at peace while driving on the road. Steven Taylor has encountered many friends who used to road rage every time they encounter heavy traffic. However, when they realized that they really couldn’t do anything about it, they all calmed down and just thought of ways how to survive the ordeal!

Turn off the Radio

Are you surprised by this advice? Even Steven Taylor is also surprised when a good friend told him to stop listening to music on the radio when facing heavy traffic. In fact, cut off all distractions. Turn off the phone and shift your attention to the road in front instead. This will give you focus while driving, which will help you get out of the traffic jam faster and help you avoid committing driving mistakes too.

Plan Ahead

Knowing when and where you’re going with your vehicle can also help you in dealing with the heavy LA traffic. For shorter distances, try using commuting or even walking to the destination. If one needs to drive a vehicle, Steven Taylor suggests scheduling the drive during a time when traffic congestion is not at its peak. It’s really easier to drive when there are only a few cars on the road.

Originally published at http://steventaylorlandlord.wordpress.com on January 8, 2022.

While walking outside one sunny day, Steven Taylor quickly realized that his daily walks have gotten shorter every week. From around two to three hours of walking around the neighborhood, the habit cut off from one to two hours because Steven Taylor simply can’t handle the heat anymore. 

Indeed, LA and the rest of Southern California feel like one gigantic oven because of the intense heatwave. In fact, the problem has gotten so big that California is moving to create and adopt heatwave rankings. Some people believe that the intense heat is only temporary and will be gone naturally once the cooler months come in, but experts believe that the dry months are going to stay longer. This is perhaps a product of climate change, a fact that is always ignored by most people all over the world. 

Well, with the intense heatwave being a problem, Steven Taylor has made it clear that changes will need to be made in his household. He does his research and found many useful ways on keeping oneself cool during the dry season: 

Drink plenty of fluids.  

It’s simple, it’s effective, and it’s very healthy too. Drinking a cold glass of water is enough to keep yourself cool for a couple of hours. Just make sure you are drinking water most of the time and not soda. Increased soda intake is going to add more sugar into your system, thus making your body warm. It also raises your risk of diabetes and other health problems. If you want some tasty liquid refreshments, Steven Taylor recommends drinking freshly squeezed lemonades or orange juice. 

Limit the number of times you have to go out.  

If you need to get out of the house, make sure you already take care of everything while outside. Exposure to prolonged heat is very dangerous, so make sure to rest under a shade when needed. But if you really don’t have any business in going out, then stay put inside your home. 

Invest in an air conditioner.  

If you can’t, at least make sure that your house has proper ventilation to let air come in and out of the house.  

Wear light-colored or loose clothing 

Funny enough, Steven Taylor has a lot of clothes that are too big for him. These are clothes that he used to wear before he toned down due to exercise.  

In any case, if you have light-colored or loose clothing, using them during the heatwave is a good idea, since loose clothing helps in letting the air circulate inside your clothes, thus keeping you cool while going out. If you have too many t-shirts that are too big for you, it’s sometimes a good idea to remove the sleeves, thus transforming your big T-shirts into something loose and comfortable to wear. 

Originally published at https://steventaylorlandlord.blogspot.com.

Steven Taylor is in love with Los Angeles. The city is simply amazing. Nicknamed ‘the City of Angels’, Los Angeles is a sprawling metropolis that is full of amazing people, historical and beautiful landmarks, and beaches that truly belong in the postcards.  

Of course, one might think that this is just Steven Taylor thinking out loud. However, an article that was published this year suggests that it’s not just Steven Taylor who thinks that Los Angeles is one of the greatest places to live in the United States. In fact, nearly one-third of Americans are now seriously considering where they live (thanks to the pandemic) and that the majority of them believe that Los Angeles is a better place to live. 

The report came out in June of 2021. Los Angeles came in at 126th place, while the consistent number one choice is Boulder, Colorado. The rating system depends on a number of factors, but the biggest factor would have to be the availability of jobs despite the pandemic. Los Angeles gained a point of 6.1 out of a 10 point scale, with desirability coming in with a perfect 10 point score. Again, Steve Taylor isn’t surprised why.  

The city is a bustling metropolis filled with many skyscrapers. The city is also a known hub for many IT centers, perhaps the only industry that is not entirely affected much by the pandemic, thanks to the availability of remote work-from-home options for workers. 

In an entirely different survey done just a few days ago, Los Angeles came in at 7th place for the Most Fun Place to live in the United States. Based on data compiled by the United States Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Trust for Public Land, and Tripadvisor.com, it was proven that Los Angeles is amongst the cities with easy access to parks, venues that encourage outdoor activities, more restaurants, theaters, and places where there’s live music for entertainment. Also included are places where people can shop.  

Steven Taylor believes that among all cities in the United States, Los Angeles takes really great pride in its oneness with nature. One can clearly see it with our parks, our beaches, the nature trails, mountains, and others. Also, the city takes really great care of these natural gems so that future generations can continue to enjoy these parks and beaches. These, together with the malls and shopping centers of Los Angeles, are what contributed to the city getting the top 7th spot compared to other big cities, such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Las Vegas. 

Apart from the natural and man-made attractions, Los Angeles is also famous for being a city that supports and is home to many sports teams. The city is home to the LA Lakers and Clippers for basketball. It is also home to many other popular sports teams, such as the Dodgers, Angels, Rams, Chargers, Kings, Ducks, Galaxy, and the LA Football Club. If a city supports this many teams, then one can be sure that it’s a city where its citizens are always looking for something fun to do every day! 

Times have changed. Steven Taylor can still remember it like yesterday, when everyone is out in the open, having fun and enjoying all the great things that the city of Los Angeles has to offer. And then, in the blink of an eye, the COVID 19 pandemic happened. As hundreds were rushed to hospitals because of the virus, those who didn’t wish to get the disease had no choice but to remain inside their homes. Cities all over the world were placed on lockdown, including Steven Taylor’s beloved home city, the city of Los Angeles. 

2020 was the year where the world witnessed how terrible the pandemic was. The economy took a turn for the worst, supplies became increasingly expensive, and offices were forced to close down. By the time the year ended, things were so bad in LA that it was thought the city would become the epicenter of the spread of the virus. 

Even Steven Taylor also felt the effects of the pandemic. Because of the lockdown, there were lesser opportunities for Taylor Equities to build and talk business. Everyone is simply trying to survive both this health and economic crisis. Steven Taylor’s office staff also had to work at home because of the lockdown. But it certainly wasn’t all that bad. 

The pandemic kept families stronger. With Steven Taylor working at home, he now has enough time to discuss and keep in touch with his family. The same also goes for millions of people who are forced to work at home; the pandemic is literally rekindling the closeness of friends and family, as people began to miss each other and they would use different methods of communication just to keep in touch 

The hope for a new normal came when vaccinations were finally ready for the millions of people living in the United States. In the state of California, around 24.3 million people are vaccinated against COVID, which makes up around 61.6 percent of the state’s total population. Nowadays, Los Angeles is getting ready to start vaccinations for its younger citizens. The city is hoping that before the end of this year 2021, the entire population will be vaccinated finally against COVID 19. 

Of course, the government of Los Angeles is constantly reminding its citizens to be vigilant and to always practice social distancing. Just because the city of Los Angeles is now on its way to the new normal status, it doesn’t mean that its citizens can just frolic and have fun in the city. Besides, the vaccinations may keep doing well against preventing the further spread of the virus, even a vaccinated person is still going to contract COVID 19 if he/she is not wearing a face mask or is observing social distancing.  

Right now, the city also waging a war against misinformation. Steven Taylor believes that everyone should do their part by only talking about information that came from the local government and to stop spreading misinformation! 

Always remember to keep a good distance away from another person and to always wear your face masks! 

All things have a beginning.  

That can be said to Steven Taylor, who once started from scratch while working to establish my family. Steven Taylor also can’t help but think about the time around what Los Angeles looked like 50 years ago. This was probably a time when everything was still simple and less noisy, probably. But to make it sounds authentic, Steven Taylor decided to write an article about it so we can all get nostalgic and talk about the good old days of LA. 

If one were to calculate correctly, 50 years ago would mean 1971. Even during the earlier years, Los Angeles was already making some noise because of its rich history and culture. Not to mention, the La Brea Tar Pits are still surviving and it is probably the oldest surviving landmark of Los Angeles.  

It’s because of the La Brea Tar Pits that Los Angeles’ museums have some fossils to show off to the public and to scientists for research. But still, Steven Taylor’s already leading to a different topic, so don’t worry and Steven Taylor will gladly talk about the La Brea Tar Pits soon. 

At this time, the city of Los Angeles is already an established city with thousands of people living in the area thanks to the past glorious days of Hollywood and the industrial revolution that opened many businesses in the city.  

But for now, it’s time to head back to the magical 1971 and list down all the important events that played out in this wonderful City of Angels: 

1971 – The famous Los Angeles Convention Center finally opens in Downtown LA. It is also the same year that Magic Mountain opened to the public for the first time. Today, the venue is now known as Six Flags Magic Mountain.  

1972 – Biking enthusiasts would forever remember this date when Los Angeles finally inaugurated the South Bay Bike Trail. This linked the Pacific Palisades to the rest of the beaches towns, such as Santa Monica, Venice, and Marina Del Rey 

1976 – The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites open in Downtown LA. The 35-story hotel would become a famous city landmark and is featured in the movies ‘True Lies’ and ‘In the Line of Fire’. 

As time passed by, more and more familiar landmarks would open in Los Angeles. Landmarks such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Hammer Museum, a new airport terminal in the Los Angeles International Airport, and the Japanese- American National Museum. Several important world events would also happen in Los Angeles during these times.  

Such events were the 1984 Summer Olympics, Pope John Paul the 2nd’s visit in 1987, Nelson Mandela visiting Los Angeles in 1990 as part of his world tour, and the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Originally published at https://steventaylorlandlord.blogspot.com.